UNIT 1

i. What are phonetics and phonology and why are them useful
ii. Articulatory phonetics: organs of speech
iii. The articulators
iv. Phoneme, phone, allophone and symbols
v. Which pronunciation model?

1. DEFINING PHONETICS
- Phonetics is an empirical science which studies speech sounds, more specifically:
• how they are pronounced: manner and place of articulation → ARTICULATORY PHONETICS
• how speech sounds are transmitted from one person to another: the physical properties
(found waves) of speech sounds (intensity duration...) transmission → ACOUSTIC PHONETICS
• how they are perceived by other human beings taking into account this perception will be
mediated by the ear and the brain → AUDITORY PHONETICS

1.2 PHONETICS VS PHONOLOGY

Phonetics: concerned with actual production of sounds (physical) which can serve as speech
sounds (those produced by human vocal apparatus) and which are used in particular languages
(isolated).
• phoneticians deal with the physical side of language (empirical science)
• example: F (voiceless) vs V (voiced)
• Unit of phonetics is the phone (physical segment in the utterance [spoken sentence])

phonology: concerned not with the individual sounds which are realised in particular language, but
the patter of relationship which sounds follow in the context of a language
• deals with abstract side of language

• unit of phonology is the phoneme (cognitive abstractions of phones)

PHONETICS PHONOLOGY

descriptive linguistics theoretical linguistics

all speech sounds (universal) sounds of a particular language

actual production of speech sounds / in isolation patterns of relationship of the sound in a

particular language

studies phones studies phonemes

studies the production, transmission and perception abstract side of the sounds of a language
of sound / physical side of lenguaje

1.3 WHY ARE PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY USEFUL?

- to prove your own pronunciation
- to improve your own listening skills
- to be able to describe how sth is pronounced and spelt in as systematic way (a must for an
english teacher)
- to distinguish accents (and get information about another person )
1.4 SYSTEMATICITY IN PRONUNCING /-on/
This is mostly pronounced with schwa, but a smaller
number of words have the lot vowel in BrE and just a
few have a STRUT
a) /ən/ 3276 words : it has ordinary, everyday words
(person, season, iron)
b) /Ɒn/ 300 words: tend to be foreign and a high
proportion of them are names (Vuitton, icon)
c) /An/ 3 words (son, won)

1.5 systematicity in pronouncing /-ought/ and /-aught/

2. ARTICULATORY PHONETICS: ORGANS OF SPEECH

What parts of the body do you think are immediately
necessary when we speak?

OUR SPEECH APPARATUS

1. the respiratory apparatus or lungs: provide the air to produce most speech sounds (except
for glottal sounds)
2. the larynx generates most of the energy to produce speech sounds (containing vocal folds/
cords)
3. the articulators (above the larynx): give form to the different speech sounds

3. ARTICULATORS
- pharynx: a tube divided into two parts at its upper end: one is the back of the mouth (visible al
abrir la boca) and the other is the beginning entrance to the nasal cavity
- the velum or soft palate: it can be touched by the tongue when we make the sounds K or G
( velar consonants) where the tongue is in contact with the velar. its final tip is called uvula
- hard palate: “roof of the mouth” deep its smooth curved surface with the tongue
- alveolar bridge: space between upper teeth and hard palate. sounds made with the tongue
touching this place are called alveolar (d, t)
- tongue: very important articulator (because of its flexibility it can produce different speech
sounds) phoneticians distinguish between tip, blade, front, back and root
- teeth: upper teeth more important. example: fricative sounds (Ɵ)
- lips: important for bilabial or labiodental sounds (b)
- jaws: not really articulators like the others because they don’t make contact with other
articulators
- nasal cavity: sth similar to jaws, although it plays a very important role in producing some
sounds (nasal like m, n and !)
4. PHONEME, PHONE AND ALLOPHONE
Phoneme
• mental representation of a sound, “abstract units” (focus of phonology)

• smallest unit of speech with meaning, distinguishing one word from another

• each phoneme exists in contrast with other phonemes (structure or system)

• seen as a part of a structure or system

• understood in the context of a particular language

• represented between slant brackets by convention example /b/, /p/

Phone
• the actual representation of a phoneme

• physical version of a phoneme

• individual sounds / seen in isolation

• represented between square brackets [b]

Allophones
• one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds (phones) used to pronounce a single phoneme

(abstract unit)
• physical realization / variants of phonemes

• allophones do not imply a change in meaning as phonemes do. it is like writing “A” instead of

“a”, there is a difference but with no change in meaning, we are talking about the same letter
• EXAMPLE: the P’s in “pat” “spat” and “tap”: all differ phonetically. that difference

(determines by context) has no significance in English. (However there are languages where
pronouncing the aspirated or unsprayed “p” will bring difference in meaning. Then, in that
language they will be different phonemes)
• Two types

I. when allophones take place because of their position in the word, this is known as
complementary distribution. Example: “Tea” (where /t/ is aspirated) versus “eat”
(where /t/ is not) reason: it is preceded by a vowel
II. not linked to any position but related to dialectical differences. this is known as free
variation. example: tomato or tomato

4.1 INTEGRATING PHONEMES AND ALLOPHONES WITH PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

example:
- /l/ in leap (clear) and peel (dark)
- they are phonetically different (phonetically, physically speaking, they are different)
pronounced in a different way, they sound different
- they are phonologically equal (phonologically, cognitively speaking, they are one sound)
- the l of leap vs the l of peel: the same phoneme /l/ within the system of the language, but
they are realised/pronounced differently
 30.01.24
4.2 MINIMAL PAIRS
Minimal pairs: words whose difference depends on just one phoneme. it usually deals with words
which may cause some confusion among learners
- example:
• it may apply to consonants

/p/ vs /b/ pat vs bat

/v/ vs /b/ very vs berry
/s/ vs /∫/ see vs she
• it may apply to vowels

/I/ vs /i:/ ship vs sheep

/e/ vs /I/ desk vs disk
/æ/ vs /ʌ/ bat vs but

4.3 SYMBOLS (i)

- there are different phonetics “alphabets” but the most well known is the IPA’s (international
phonetic association)
- IPA provides the international academic community with notational standard for the phonetic
representation of all languages
- the main advantages they offer
• Conventionalised and consistent kind of notation (agreement)

• allow users to represent how words are pronounced in each language by menas of phonetic

transcriptions
- this association is particularly active in English

4.4 SYMBOLS (ii)

difference between phonemic transcription and phonetic transcription:
- phonemic transcription (broad phonemic):
• represents the different phones of a language.

• between slant brackets /b/

- phonetic transcription (narrowed phonemic):

• it goes into more detail with more specialised symbols: diacritics or marks which modify the

symbol
• they represent the allophones of a language

• in square brackets [b]

4.5 SYMBOLS (iii)

- knowing these symbols is a must
- reasons why we need them:
• to be able to transcribe

• to understand how to pronounce a word properly

- especially important int the case of English were words are usually not pronounced as they are
spelt
- compare english and spanish
• chica, vestido, india women, busy, village, pretty
5. WHICH PRONUNCIATION MODEL?
- focusing on pronunciation, there is a model that was developed ove the 20th century,
• spread by the media (TV, broadcasting stations...)

• taught to foreign learners of english

+ Daniel Jones & A.Gimson: Received Pronunciation (RP)

- different names have been suggested for a more modern version
+ Roach, Setter: BBC English
+ Lindsey: Southern British English (SBE)
+ Collins & Mees: Non-Regional Pronunciation (NRP)