What is Phonetics?

Phonetics is the study of speech: how speech is produced and

how it is perceived.
The aim of phonetics is the development of theories of
speech production and speech perception by means of
experimental investigation of speech sounds in all languages.
Phonetics differs from phonology
The subject matter of phonology is the investigation of sound
systems (primarily) by means of observation. The aim is to
account for the organization of sound systems in different
languages and to provide formal representations of them.
The Organs of Speech
Organs of speech
Spanish/English Vowels
i u
front central back
i: u:

e o

e u

:
:
a

Spanish Vowels

low Lax a:
Tense
Properties of Vowels

Most sonorant (audible) sounds

Sound is caused by vocal fold vibration
Usually function as syllable nuclei
Almost always voiced
Vowel sounds change according to SHAPE
of vocal tract, no obstructions in vowels
Four Parameters of Vowels
Tongue HEIGHT
High / mid / low
Tongue BACKNESS
Front / central / back
Lip ROUNDING
Round / unround
Tenseness
Tense / lax
Vowels of English

front central back

i: u:
high
u
Round
e
mid
:
:

low Lax
Tense a:
Tongue Height

Put your hand under your chin and

say seat, set, sat
High: leak, lick, Luke, look
[i:], [], [u:], [u]
Mid: bait, bet, but, bought, boat
[e], [e], [], [:], [u]
Low: cat, car
[], [a:]
Tongue Advancement
Front: seek, sick, sake, sec, sack
[i:], [], [ei], [e], []
Central: luck
[]
Back: look, road, law, dot
[u], [u], [:], []
Lip Rounding
In English, only the high and mid back
vowels are produced with lip rounding
Round vowels: [u], [u:], [o], [:]
Unround vowels: all the other vowels
Tenseness

Tense vowels
The tongue is at an extreme height or
backness
Lax vowels
The tongue is not at an extreme position
Compare Pete and pit
Vowels in English
Vowels
Vowels are determined by changes in
position of the lips, tongue and palate.
These changes can be very slight and
difficult to detect.
In English, vowels can also glide into
(move quietly) one another to form
diphthongs and even triphthongs.
 Diphthongs: Centring

Diphthongs are those sounds that consist of a

movement or glide from one vowel to another.
The first part of a diphthong is always longer and
stronger than the second part
Diphthongs: Closing

i: u:
u

ei

oi

ai au
 Voiced/Voiceless
The level of vibration of the vocal cords determines whether a sound
is voiced or unvoiced.
If the vocal cords are apart, then air can escape unimpeded. Sounds
produced in this way are said to be voiceless.
If the vocal cords are very close together, the air will blow them apart
as it forces its way through. This makes the cords vibrate, producing
a voiced sound.
Exercises: Try making the difference between them
Voiceless/Voiced
English Vowels
/i:/

Production: Being a long vowel, it almost sounds like

a diphthong in RP. It is long enough to be one, but it
does not actually glide into another vowel sound. The
lips are only slightly spread.
Approximate Castilian Production. It is found in the
tonic Castilian /i/ accompanied by dental or palatal
consonants.
e.g. capilla, castillo, s (emphatic), chino
 Most important spellings that represent /i:/

ee see, feed, bee.

ea read, eat.
ie shield, field.
e scene [si:n], be, these.
eo people
ey key
ay quay
Minimal Pairs.

read rid
Peach pitch
leap lip
feet fit
bean bin
seen sin
beach bitch
sheep ship
/i/

Production

When you say this vowel sound, the front

of the tongue is raised towards the palate.
The position of the whole tongue is
relatively high in the mouth, making it a
closed vowel. The lips are slightly spread.
Approximate Castilian Production

In the first stages of learning English, Spanish-speakers usually

have difficulties in distinguishing / i / and / i: /, since both are
varieties but dont make any difference in meaning.
We can find an approximate production when the Castilian /i/
is in unstressed position:
e.g. ltimo, cursi, pitar.
The Castilian vowel is more closed and tenser, nevertheless;
as the English / i / is more relaxed and lightly more
centralized, some perceive it as / e /, especially in words like
these:
e.g. milk, fill, pin.
Most important spellings that represent /i/

Mainly: I and Y:
Rich, lady, body, milk,
In unstressed position it may be represented by
any vowel:
- Language [l.gwd ],
- wanted [wOntid]/[wa:ntid],
- Money [mn.i ],
- minute.[mn.t]
/e/

Approximate Castilian Production.

The Castilian /e/ is usually more closed and tenser
that the English equivalent. Nevertheless you can
get a more open realization in the following cases:
1. when it is in contact with the vibrant / r /:
cerro,reto.
2. followed by / x / (jota):
3. diphthong / ei /:
b. Most important spellings that represent /e/

Ea: head, dead

E: bed, pen, sell.
A: many, any.
Minimal Pairs.

/i/ /e/
sit set
bid bed
rid red
will well
till tell
fill fell
built belt
//

Approximate Castilian Production.

In Castilian there is not a similar vowel, on the
other hand it is in the speech of many Valencians.
The most approximate sounds would be in
syllables that had a palatal consonant.
e.g. chanza, ancha, llano, fallo.
A didactic resource would be to pronounce /e/
and make a bigger separation between the jaws.
//
Most important spellings that represent //:
a: hand, match, lamp,

/ / /e /
flash flesh
mass mess
Rack (shelf) wretch
bad bed
bag beg
man men
pat pet
/a: /
Approximate Castilian Production.
It doesnt exist in Spanish. This sound and // and
// are a focus of confusion for beginners.
Some Spanish people pronounce / g / as a guttural
instead of velar, specially between vowels, this /a/ is
similar to the English corresponding.
e.g. haga, traga, saga, ...
The important aspect is to give double quantity,
because its a long vowel.
Most important spellings that represent /a:/

a ask, grass, car.

er,ear clerk, heart
al half, calm.
au aunt, laugh
Minimal Pairs.

/ a: / //
March match
lark lack
bark back
carp cap
Barn ban
//

The organs of articulation maintain similar

positions to the ones of /a: /
The tongue and jaw are lowered as the back of the
tongue is used to articulate this vowel.
The lips are slightly rounded.
Portal, cortar, cordial, loro.
Most important spellings that represent //

o not, box, dog.

a want, what, watch
au because
ou cough
ow knowledge
Minimal Pairs

// //
cop cup
shot shut
lock luck
strong strung
mock muck
long lung
gone gun
/:/

The difference between / / and / :/

is quantity.
For many Spanish speakers it sounds
more proximate to /u/ than to //
Most important spellings

o horse
oor poor
ore more
aw saw, law
oar board.
ou bought
our four.
a all
au: taught
Minimal Pairs.

/ : / //
caught cot
sport spot
short shot
stalk stock
// Articulation: The tongue and jaw are
raised as the back of the tongue is
used to articulate this vowel. Hence it
is a back, close (high) vowel. The lips
are rounded.

Approximate Castilian Production.

The Spanish sound is produced at the back and
it is more tenser. A similar sound can be heard
when it is next to r and l: hurto, pulso,
Most important spellings.

u full put.
oo book, look.
ou could, should.
o woman
/u:/
Production: This vowel is
towards the back and is a
close sound. The lips are
only moderately rounded.

Approximate Castilian Production:

It is more closed and tenser than the
Spanish u ( apart from being longer)
Most Important Spellings.

oo spoon, shoot, troop, boom.

ou soup, route
o do
u June, flu.
ew, ue, ui, oe jew, suit, shoe, blue.
Minimal Pairs.

/ u: / / /
fool full
Luke Look
cooed could
shoed should
pool pull
//
Articulation:This is a central vowel, and
one which is more open than mid-
ranged. The lip position is a neutral one.

Approximate Castilian Production:

This phoneme together with /a:/ and // is a focus of
confusion for Spanish speakers who can assimilate it to an
a sound. This sound seems to be more approximate to
the Spanish A when it is accompanied by velar
consonants: regate, coja, jaque,
Most important spellings.

u sun, run, fun.

o won, come, done.
ou country, southern, young.
oo blood, flood.
Minimal Pairs.
/ / // // /e /
cup cap money many
but bat but bet
run ran won when
some Sam done den)
uncle ankle
much match
/:/ - /:/

Approximate Castilian Production.

There is no similar sound in Spanish.
This is a central vowel. The lips are not rounded.
A didactic procedure would be to produce a
Spanish e and, little by little, to approximate it
to an o, not reaching it.
Most important spellings

ir first
er serve
ear earth
ur nurse
or word
our journey
Minimal Pairs.

/: / /e /
bird bed
learned lend
turn ten
burn Ben
world wed
//
The schwa is an unstressed central vowel
and is the most common vowel to appear
in English.
There is no similar sound in Spanish. We
tend to assimilate it to an unstressed e
when it is not final (another- n. )
r

In final position we assimilate it to an a.

(letter)
Most important spellings.

It has no regular character to represent it.

Any vowel or group of vowels may in
unstressed position may represent //.
Minimal Pairs.

As it never occurs in stressed position,

there are no contrastive elements.