CHAPTER 2: THE PRODUCTION OF SPEECH SOUNDS

Articulators

above the larynx Vowel and consonant: -definitions -differences between vowels & consonants Vowels: -differences among vowels -short vowels -long vowels -diphthongs -triphthongs

I. Articulators above the larynx I.1 Process of producing speech sounds

Air: lungslarynx through vocal tract ending at the mouth and nostrils atmosphere. set of muscles producing changes in the shape of the vocal tract = articulators

I.2. Main articulators

Pharynx: a tube which begins just above the larynx; 7 cm long in women & 8cm in men; at its top end divided into 2: 1 part being the back of the mouth and the other being the beginning of the way through the nasal cavity. Velum (soft palate) :allows air to pass through the nose and through the mouth Hard palate (roof of the mouth). We can feel its smooth curved surface with our tongue.

The alveolar ridge: between the top front teeth and the hard palate. Its surface is really much rougher than its feels, and is covered with little ridges. The tongue: a very important articulator and can be moved into many different places and different shapes. It is usual to divide the tongue into different parts, though there is no clear dividing lines within the tongue: tip, blade, front, middle, back, root.

front

back

blade

tip
Fig.2 Sub-divisions of the tongue

root

 The

teeth: includes upper and lower teeth, is in contact with the upper side teeth for many speech sounds. The lips: important in speech; can be pressed together, brought into contact with the teeth, or rounded to produce the lip-shape for vowels like u:.

II> Differences between vowels & consonants

Vowels and consonants are different not only in the way that they are produced, or manner of articulation, but their distribution, or the different contexts and positions in which particular sounds can occur. E.g.: The sound /p/ is produced by stopping the air stream from the lungs totally and then releasing it sharply with a small plosion. After the sound /h/ we often find vowels, for example, in the words hen, hat, how,

PHONETIC SYMBOLS Phonetic symbols of English consonant and vowel sounds

-/s/:soon, cease, sister Consonants -/z/: zero, music, roses, -/p/: pen, copy, happen buzz -/b/: back, baby, job -/~/: ship, sure, national - /t/: tea, tight, button -/2/pleasure, vision -/d/: day, ladder, odd -/h/: hot, whole, ahead -/k/: key, clock, school -/m/: more, hammer, sum -/g/get, giggle, ghost -/t~/: church, match, -/n/: nice, know, funny, sun natured -/d2/: judge, age, soldier -/7/: ring, anger, thank -/f/: fat, coffee, rough, -/s/: sung photo -/l/: light, valley -/v/: view, heavy, move -lr/: right, wrong, sorry, arrange -/8/: thing, author, path -/j/: yet, use, beauty -/5/: this, other, smooth -/w/: wet, when, queen

Vowels
/1/kit, bid, hymn, minute /e/dress, bed, head, many //trap, bad /4/lot, odd, wash /^/strut, mud, love /$/foot, good, put /i:/fleece, sea, machine /e1/face, day, break /a1/price, high, try /41/choice, boy /u:/goose, two, blue

/6$/goat, show, no /a$/mouth, now /16/near, here, weary /e6/square. fair, various /@:/start, father /0:/thought, law, north, war /$6/poor, jury, cure /3:/nurse, stir, learn, refer /6/about, common, standard /ju/thank you, influence, situation /n/suddenly, cottonl middle, metal(stress mark)

ENGLISH VOWELS
I> Definition: Vowels are differentiated from consonants by the relatively wide opening in the mouth as air passes from the lungs out of the body. This means that there is relatively little obstruction of the air stream in comparison to consonants. [Avery & Ehrlich, 1995: 28] II> Differences among vowels (vowel classification criteria)

quality or in quantity. Quality: features other than length which distinguish one vowel from another [Richard et al., 1993: 404]. characteristics: -Tongue height: how far the tongue is raised close, half close, half open, and open vowels (four-way division), or high, mid, low vowels (three way division). -Tongue part: which part of the tongue (the front, the middle, or the back) is raised front, central and back vowels.

Lip shape: whether the lips are rounded, spread, or neither rounded nor spread. +rounded for rounded vowels +spread for unrounded vowels, +neither rounded nor spread for neutral vowels. Tenseness/laxness: whether the muscles are tense or lax muscles: tense for long vowels, lax for short vowels.

 Quantity

/Lengththe physical duration of a sound: +different in length long vowels are long short vowels are short

III> Classification of vowels

English vowels : monophthongs (pure vowels), diphthongs, and triphthongs. [Finch, 2000: 76-77] Monophthongs: single vowels/pure vowels, vowels with a single perceived auditory quality produced by a movement of the articulators toward one position in the vocal tract. [Crystal, 1999:221] E.g.: 1/kit, bid, hymn, minute /e/dress, bed, head

front high/ close Half close mid Half open low/ e i: 1

central

back
U:

6
3:

0:

open

^
` neu tral a:

spread

rounded

English pure vowels

/i:/: long, tense, high, front, spread /1/: short, lax, high, front, slightly spread /e/: short, lax, mid, front, slightly spread /`/: short, low, front, slightly spread, tenser than /e/ /u:/: long, tense, high, back, rounded, slightly protruded /$/: short, lax, high, back, rounded, slightly protruded

/0:/: long, tense, mid, back, rounded, but not protruded /4/: short, lax, low, back, slightly rounded, but not protruded /@:/: long, tense, low, back, neutral /3:/: long, tense, a bit lower than mid, central, neutral /6/: short, lax, mid, central, neutral /^/: short, lax, fairly low, central, neutral

Diphthongs

(glides): vowels sounds which involve a movement from one vowel to another. centring Closing

ending in 6

ending in $ ending in 1

16

e6

$6

6$

a$

e1 a1 41

Triphthongs
glide

from one vowel to another, and then to another [Finch, 2000: 76]

closing diphthongs +

e16,

a16, 416, 6$6, a46

SUMMARY

Definitions of vowels & consonants Differences between vowels & consonants: manner of articulation (way of sound production), distribution Vowels: definition, differences among vowels : tongue height, tongues part, lip shape, tenseness/backness, length Monophthongs: short and long vowels, diphthtongs, triphthongs: definitions, sound description

Game: Pairs of written vowels