DANANG UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ENGLISH PHONETICS, & PHONOLOGY (FOR IN SERVICE CLASSES) LIMITED CIRCULATIONbeh Introduction Mon Prete “The study of speech sounds can be treated from two basic points of view: phonetics and phonology. The terms phonetics and phonology are commonly used in discussions of the sounds of English and of English pronunciation in general. ‘These terms sometimes can be used with clear distinction and sometimes with confusion or interchangeably. There is an important and fundamental distinction, but at the same time there is an obvious and equally fundamental connection. To put it briefly at this stage, one could say that phonetics and phonology are two ways of looking at the same thing with their own different subject matters and tasks. For the definition of each term we would like to present the aim and tasks of phonetics first, then we will Took into those of phonology. Phoneties Phonetics is the study of the sounds made by the human vocal apparatus, in particular of those sounds used in speech, We can call these speech sounds. It is customary to recognize different branches of phonetics. 1. Acoustic phonetics: Acoustic phonetics studies the transmission of speech sounds through the air from the speaker to the hearer and is thus concerned with measuring and analysing the movement and vibration of the air. This involves investigation within the framework of physics, and an acoustic phonetician deals with speech wave forms and studies their frequency and aruplitude in much the same way as.a physicist or acoustic engineer. Amplitude (or louciness, size of pressure differences) ~ usualjf measured in decibels (4B) Frequeney (or pitch) : usualty/ measured in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz) | Two sine waves may have | the same frequency and different amplitudes, and vice versa, = eee ene 2. asegemmveh aca Teesag ess (emplfudes, ies Wavelength usually measured in centiseconds or miliseconds 2. Auditory phonetics: ‘Auditory phonetics is the study of the hearing of speech sounds and deals with such questions as how we perceive and recognize different speech sounds. Such investigations take place largely within the framework of psychology.the outer ear: modifies the incoming sound signal and amplifies it at the eardrum the middle ear: improves the signals and transfer it to the inner ear the inner ear: converts the signal from mechanical vibrations into nerve impulses and transmit it to the brain via the auditory nerve. 3. Articulatory phonetics Finally, articulatory phonetics is the study of the production of speech sounds by the human vocal apparatus, of how a speaker produces, by means of the organs of speech, the sounds he or she uses in speech and of how we can classify and describe such sounds. From our point of view as teachers and learners of language this is obviously the branch of phonetics which concerns us ‘most, and this course will be concerned mainly with articulatory phonetics. Henceforth, when we talk about phonetics, we shall take this to refer to articulatory phonetics. Phonetics, then, deals with all speech sounds. It tries to describe how they are made, to classify them and to give some idea of their nature. Phonetic investigation shows that human beings are capable of producing an enormous number of speech sounds. The range of articulatory possibilities is vast. Yet we notice that each language uses only some of the sounds that are available. What is more, each language has its own particular selection from all the available ‘sounds, so that no two languages have exactly the same set of speech sounds. Even more importantly, each language organizes and makes use of the sounds in its own particular way. ‘The study of the selection that each language makes from the vast range of possible speech sounds and of how each language organizes and uses the selection it makes is called phonology. We sce here the source of much of the confusion, because both phonetics and phonology are concerned with the same subject matter, that is, with speech sounds as produced by the human vocal apparatus, but they look at this subject matter from different points of view. Phonetics tends fo be a more general discipline, in that it is concemed with speech sounds ‘without reference to their function or role in any particular language. Because of this, itis sometimes claimed to be an autonomous discipline, to be pursued without reference to phonology and other aspects of linguistics. But even in general phonetics there are many notions and concepts, such as that of the syllable, which itis virtually impossible to discuss without bringing in phonological and other linguistic considerations. Phonology, on the other hand, tends to be more particular, in that it is usually concerned with the patterning of sounds in a particular language. It always needs to make reference to phonetics. Phonology can, of course, have a more ‘general dimension, as when it is concerned with the universal aspects of sound patterns and systems and of rules involving sounds, since it appears that many principles governing the way sounds are used and organized apply to all languages, although of course details differ from language to language. Similarly, phonetics can be more particular, as when it confines itself to dealing only with the sounds of a particular language. In the latter case, however, there is inevitably a close relationship with phonology, as itis difficult to study the sounds of one language without taking into account their relationship to one another and the way they work together. One might sum up the relationship between phonetics and phonology by saying that phonetics provides the descriptive and classificatory framework for phonology. In other words, phonetics describes and classifies the speech sounds while phonology studies how they work together and how they are used. Or, we could say that phonetics is concerned with what specch sounds are, their nature, while phonology is concerned with what they do, their function. The 2distinction between phonetics and phonology is the familiar distinction between form and fisnotion which is to be found in many fields of study. In summary, systems of sounds can’be studied from two basic points of view. 1 Phonetics is the study of the sounds of language according to their production in the vocal organs (articulatory phonetics) or their effect on the ear (acoustic phonetics). Alt phonetics are intorrelated because human articulatory and auditory mechanisms are uniform. Systems of phonetic writing are aimed at transcribing accurately any sequence of speech sounds; the best known is the International Phonetic Alphabet. 2 Bach language uses a limited number of all the possible sounds, called phonemes, and the hearer-speaker is trained from childhood to classify them into groups of like sounds, rejecting es nonsignificant all sorts of features actually phonetically present. Thus the speaker of English ignores sounds that are very important in another language, e.g., French or Spanish. Phonemes include all significant differences of sound, among them features of voicing, place and manner of articulation, accent, and secondary features of nasalization, glottalization, labialization, and the like. The study of the phonemes and their arrangement is the phonemics of a language. The term, Phonemies can be used as another term for Phonology. Phonetics which is aimed at providing sets of features and properties for describing speech sounds has 3 approaches: 1. Acoustic phonetics deals with the transmission of speech sounds through the air (How the sound waves are measured) 2, Auditory phonetics deals wi the ears, nerves and brain) listeners’ perception (How speech sounds are perceived with 3. Articulatory phonetics deals with the physiological mechanism of speech production (How speech sounds are produced using articulators). Phonology which studies the function o speech sounds and how they are organized into phonological patterns is aimed to answer these questions: 1. How many distinctive sounds are there in a particular language system? 2. Which rules that govern the interaction between these sounds?ARTICULATORY PHONETICS VOCAL TRACT & ARTICULATORS Vocal folds ‘Names of articulators Perhaps readers and leamers may get confused with the terms used for the articulators. The table below will help the make clear the common names and what each of them mean. ‘Normal name Fancy name | Adjective Lips Labia Labial Teeth Dental “Alveolar ridge ‘Alveolar Hard palate palatal soft palate ‘Velum Velar Uvula ‘Uvular | Upper throat Pharynx Pharyngeal ‘Voicebox Larynx ‘Laryngeal | Tongue tip. Apex Apical. Tongue blade Lamina Lamina “Tongue bod; Dorsum Dorsal “Tongue root Radical Tn phonetics, the terms velum, pharyrx, larynx, and dorsum are used as often or more often than the simpler names. alveolar ridge ‘A short distance behind the upper teeth is a change in the angle of the roof of the mouth. (in some people it's quite abrupt, in others very slight.) This is the alveolar ridge. Sounds which involve the area between the upper teeth and this ridge are called alveolars. (hard) palate * the hard portion of the roof of the mouth. The term "palate” by itself usually refers to the hard palate, * soft palate/ velum the soft portion of the roof of the mouth, lying behind the hard palate. The tongue hits the velum in the sounds [&], {g], and [g]. The velum can also move: if it lowers, it creates an 4opening that allows air to flow out through the nose; blocked, and no air can flow through the nose. uyula the small, dangly thing at the back of the soft palate. The uvula vibrates during the r sound in many French dialects, pharynx the cavity between the root of the tongue and the walls of the upper throat. tongue blade the flat surface of the tongue just behind the tip. tongue front/ body/ dorsum. the main part of the tongue, lying below the hard and soft palate, The body, specifically the back part of the body (hence "dorsum, Latin for "back"), moves to make vowels and many consonants. tongue bacl/ root the lowest part of the tongue in the throat cpiglottis, the fold of tissue below the root of the tongue. The epiglottis helps cover the larynx during swallowing, making sure (usually!) that food goes into the stomach and not the lungs. A few languages use the epiglottis in making sounds. English is fortunately not ‘one of them. : vocal folds/ vocal cords folds of tissue stretched across the airway to the lungs. They can vibrate against each other, providing much of the sound during speech, glottis the opening between the vocal cords, During a glottal stop, the vocal cords are held - together and there is no opening between them, larynx the structure that holds and manipulates the vocal cords. The "Adam's apple" in males is the bump formed by the front part of the larynx. it stays raised, the opening is‘THE SPEECH PRODUCTION MECHANISM ‘The articulation process is the modification of sound waves produced by the airstream, phonation, and oral-nasal processes. In other words, this process is a composition of fundamental components involving aspects of speech sound production known as initiation, phonation and articulation. Initiation mechanism At this initial moment, we need to have an airflow as a source of energy to make a speech sound, : Airflow generated from the lungs is called “pulmonic” and airflow out of the lungs is celled “egressive”. The vast majority of speech sounds in the world’s languages, in fact, all sounds in most languages are made with “pulmonic egressive airflow”. However, it is possible to speak with “ingressive pulmonic airflow” (going in the lungs). Although “ingressive pulmonic airflow” is possible in the production of speech sounds, no language in the world seem to make distinctive use of this mechanism. There ere two good reasons why egressive airflow is the norm in all languages: 1. Ingressive airflow does not allow vibration in the vocal folds (phonation). It’s hard to make the distinction between “pea” and “bee” when they are uttered with ingressive airflow. 2. gressive airflow is easy because speaker can use the pressure of full lungs to control slow sustained exhalation, With ingressive airflow, filling the lungs in a slow controlled inhalation is harder and it is a problem for getting the oxygen into the bloodstream quickly and efficiently. Sy eae Fig. 1 Egressive pulmonic airflow & Ingressive pulomonic airflow Phonation mechanism ‘The term “Phonation” refers to all movements of the vocal folds in producing speech sounds — and in particular to the sounds that involve vibrations of the folds. The vocal folds can be manipulated in many ways, but linguists usually recognize five phonation modes which are relevant to speech production (Only four will be mentioned in this course). A phonation mode is a category of vocal setting that allows a particular type of voice quality. ; In this section we will see the structure of vocal folds and how they move. The structure of the larynx ‘The larynx is positioned in the top of the trachea. Primarily it is a valve which regulates the respiration, but additionally it is a sound source. The larynx houses the vocal folds which open 6and close. The larynx are very complex structure ~ a delicate web of bone, cartilage, muscle and ligament. The vocal folds themselves are made up of loose bands of muscles that can move over each other to allow high speed vibration, Vibration cycle of the folds Vibration is the opening and closing of the voral folds, which repeats up to 400 times per second. What kind of mechanical structure allows for such rapid movement and fine control? ‘The Aerodynamic Myoelastic theory suggests that, rather than any mechanical muscular action, the airflow itself and the elasticity of the folds combine to produce this action (Known as “mucosal wave”. Here is how the cycle works: ‘When the folds close, the pressure of the air below them increases. When this pressure exceeds the pressure holding the folds together, they burst apart and air flows again. This air flow again drops the pressure (the Bernouli effect), and the folds get sucked back together ag “ Jes these pressure changes created by regular puff or air coming through the folds that produce sound, not the folds clapping together or vibrating. ‘The vocal folds have a certain thickness, and the lower edge of the folds open before the upper edge, so the opening moves upward, Then the lower edge of the folds closes before the upper edge, so the closer moves upwards. Fig. 2 The structure of the larynx Fig, 3: Vibration eycle of the vocal folds ‘The vocal folds are held together along their full length with enough tension to allow vibration: ‘The vocal folds momentarily block airflow from the lungs. ‘The air pressure underneath the vocal folds increases. ‘The increased pressure forces the vocal folds up and apart. As the pressure falls again, the vocal folds snap back together. Gotol. rt Arh AANA Aah Fig. 4 The opening and closing of vocal folds in vibration cycles peeee 7Each repetition of this eycle causes a "glottal pulse". ‘The number of times this occurs in a second is the fundamental frequency of voice. Varying the tension of the vocal folds results in different rates of vibration (and so different pitches). Phonation modes With different movements of the vocal folds, different phonation modes can be created. By phonation mode, it means a category of vocal setting for a particular type of voice quality. Fig. 5 Vocal folds are wide apart Fig, 6 Vocal folds are narrowing for vibration Four phonation modes or glottal states ' We mention here 4 phonation modes due to the work of glottis and vocal folds. In doing this, we try to answer the main question: Are the vocal fold vibrating or not? A simple answe Segments with vocal fold vibration are voiced, all others are voiceless. ‘As we will see, there's more than one way the vocal folds can vibrate. There's more than one way they can fail to vibrate, i This mode can be thought of as “normal” vocal fold vibration” involving opening and closuré along the full length of the folds, eg, [bin bad, [d] in bad Seem vOucciss sounds are produced with the ligament folds and arytenoids are held wide apart to allow non- turbulent airflow between them, eg. [s] in sad, (f] in fat Nee CG Fig. 6 Vocal folds for voiceless mode Fig. 7 Vocal folds for voiced mode ‘whisper mode involves earns creaky mode involves the holding the length of the . vibration in the vocal folds ligament folds closed, but with very low while holding the frequency, and the folds arytenoids open. In being closed for more ‘whisper mode airflow is, time; also, the folds being forced through a much bunched up & thick allow smaller opening than in slow vibration ata slow'air voiceless mode flow rate Fig. 8 Vocal folds for whisper voice Fig. 9 Vocal folds for creaky voice Note: Some Vietnamese leamers of English tend to utter voiceless sounds with grave accent *as in 85 6 si at the beginning of a word (e.g. “stress”) and thus fail to perform voiceless sound [ s ]. g Teed Artie For st are re bbe me| nose | Alony ridge varie’ deper Fig Sp un Li| It a WyArticulation inechanism | For shaping the sounds, we need resonating cavities such as nasal cavity and oral cavity which are responsible for the passage of the airstream. Besides these two resonators, the velum should be mentioned here as the one that allows the airstream to go out through either the mouth or the nose to be defined as oral sounds or nasal sounds. ‘Along with the resonators mentioned above, the articulators such as the tongue, the alveolar ridge, the hard palate, the glottis, the lips and the teeth play an important role in yielding a variety of configurations of sounds. Each of them may interact in the process of articulation depending on the active role or passive role they assume. 3 fundamental components involving aspects of sound production Initiation mechanism phonation mechanism articulation mechanism “The lungs larynx & vocal folds Articulators & cavities Sor Sor for energy source - vibration shaping sounds with pulmonic airflow voicing sounds different quality & : constriction \ Fig. 10 Three fundamental components involving aspects of sound production ‘THE DESCRIPTION & CLASSIFICATION ‘OF ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS Speech sounds as segments or phones - A segment ei t ‘Any discrete unit or phone, produced by the vocal apparatus, or a representation of sut i unit, In linguistics (and phonetics), segmtent is used primarily “to refer to any discreet unit that car be identified, cither physically or auditorily, in the stream of speech” (after A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics, David Crystal, 2003, pp. 408-409), ‘A phone In phonetics, the smallest perceptible segment is a phone as an unanalyzed sound of a language. It is the smallest identifiable unit found in a stream of speech that is able to be transcribed with an IPA symbol. g s, In spoken languages, a segment may be a consonant, vowel, tone, or stress. In this course the term segment is used as to name a speech unit at the level of a sound that can be identified from a larger unit like syllable, For example, there are 3 segments [h }, [©], { t] in the sound sequence [ het ]- at Vowels & Consonants — A major division among English speech sounds ‘In English, there are 44 basic speech sounds that can be grouped into 2 major classes: 24 consonants and 20 vowels. This basic division is made based on the distinguishing features or phonetic properties that members in cach class may share. ‘Vowels and consonants can be distinguished on the basis of difference in 9- articulation + acoustic manner = function For more details please consult table 2.2 the major difference between consonants and vowels (Reference books: O'Grady, Wiliiam & Michael Dobrovolsky (1993) Contemporary Linguistics - An introduction, St. Martin Press, New York, p. 18) 10 AD The B.D The ( LPH this In pt | cont: (typi ther cons Ap acti (ab tong (de The| ton] con tog Th Th pal pre tor| the CqTHE ENGLISH CONSONANTS A. Definition ‘The consonant is a speech sound produced with a complete or partial obstruction of the air stream in the vocal tract. B. Description ‘The consonants can be described in terms of articulatory parameters: I Place of articulation (This tells us the points where the articulators actually touch or are the closest) Tn phonetics, the place of articulation (also point of articulation) of a consonant is the point of contact, where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an active (moving) articulator (typically some part of the tongue) and a passive (stationary) articulator (typically some part of the roof of the mouth). Along with the manner of articulation and phonation, this gives the consonant its distinctive sound, ‘Types of articulation + Aplace of articulation is defined as both the active and passive articulators. For instance, the active lower lip may contact either a passive upper lip (bilabial, like {ml} or the upper teeth abiodental, like {f]). The hard palate may be contacted by either the front or the back of the tongue. If the front of the tongue is used, the place is called retroflex; if back of the tongue (‘dorsum’) is used, the place is called "dorsal-palatal", or more commonly, just palatal, There are five basic active articulators: the lip ("labial consonants"), the flexible front of the tongue ("coronal consonants"), the middle/back of the tongue ("dorsal consonants"), the root of the tongue together with the epiglottis (“radical consonants"), and the larynx (“laryngeal consonants"). These articulators can act independently of each other, and two or more may work together in what is called coarticulation (see below). ‘The passive articulation, on the other hand, is a continuum without many clear-cut boundaries. ‘The places linguolabial and interdental, interdental and dental, dental and alveolar, alveolar and palatal, palatal and velar, velar and uvular merge into one another, and a consonant may be pronounced somewhere between the named places. In addition, when the front of the tongue is used, it may be the upper surface or blade of the tongue that makes contact ("laminal consonants”), the tip of the tongue ("apical consonants"), or the under surface (“sub-apical consonants"). These articulations also merge into one another without clear boundaries. Consonants that have the same place of articulation, such as alveolar [n, t, 4, s, 2, I] in English, are said to be homorganic. uWList of places where the main types of obstruction may occur sho Fig. 11 Bilabial: between the lips Fig. 12 Labiodental: between the lower lip and the upper teeth i‘ foe Fig. 13 Dental: Between the front of Fig. 1. ig. 14 Alveolar: between the front of the ‘the tongue and the top teeth longue and the ridge behind the gums Fig, 15 Postalveolar: between the Fig. 16 Palatat: between the middle of ‘front of the tongue and the space the tongue and the hard palate behind the alveolar ridge Fig, 17 Velar: between the back of the tongue and the soft palate (the velum) 2 Apart fi ° Ret] « Uw the (All of the + Phd + Bp - Ep Table Sound cli | Bilabial | [Dental | | Labio-de| | Alveolaa‘Apart from these places of articulation (for English phonetics), there are also: + Retroflex: in “true” retroflexes, the tongue curls back so the underside touches the palate * Uvular: between the back of the tongue and the uvula (which hangs down in the back of the mouth) (All of the above may be nasalized, and most may be lateralized.) + Pharyngeal: between the root of the tongue and the buck of the throat (the pharynx) + Bpiglotto-pharyngeal: between the epiglottis and the back of the throat + Epiglottal: between the aryepiglottal folds and the epiglottis (see larynx) Table 1 Place of articulation: 8 major types of interaction of consonants Sound class ‘Articulators ‘Sound segments Passive ___ Active Bilabial upper lip Lower lip Tp. 5 m, wy Dental Teeth Tongue tip To, 8) Labio-dental ‘Upper tecth Lower lip Thy ‘Alveolat Teeth ridge tongue Tedsanhal Palaio-alveolar [behind alveolar ridge |tongue blade | [tf ds, 3] Palatal hard palate Tongue front ti Velar soft palate ‘tongue blade Tk aT Glottal : ‘voeal folds Th?) 1. Manners of articulation (Types of obstruction caused by closing or narrowing the articulators) Constriction degree Place of articulation refers to where the narrowing occurs ~- which active articulator gets close to which passive articulator. Constriction degree refers to how close they get. The main constriction degrees are: Stop: the active articulator touches the passive articulator and completely cuts off the airflow through the mouth. English stops include: [p], [b] (8, (4, Oc), fg) 7- a Fig. 18 The silent phase Fig. 19The release phase 13‘Affricate: can be seen as a sequence of a stop and a fricative which have the same or similar places of articulation. They are transcribed using the symbols for the stop and the fricative. e.g. (t{], {43} fricative: the active articulator doesn't touch the passive articulator, but gets close enough that the airflow through the opening becomes turbulent. English fricatives include (£1, (V), (61, (5), (21, Es), (5) (5, Ch) - In nasals, the velum is lowered to allow air to pass through the nose (technically a place, but generally as a manner of articulation). English nasals include ml, [a], [9] In lateral, the air is released past the tongue sides and teeth rather than over the tip of the tongue. English has ‘only one lateral [1 ] approximant: the active articulator approaches the passive articulator, but doesn't even get close enough for the airflow to become turbulent. English approximants include {j), Lo], fr], and (1). Fig,20 The silence phase Fig.21 The release phase Fig 23 Fricative | § i Fig.25 Nasal [»} = Fig.27 Appro: 4 apee Table 2 Manner of articulation: 6 major types of stricture degrees Stricture or Movement or interaction | Sounds obstruction types _| of articulators Stops (plosives) | complete stop ofr, he |p. b, 6d kg 7] rapid separation ‘Afiricates: stop of air, then slow |, 43] separation Fricatives narrowing, causing TOEEVSZhSEI b audible friction ‘Nasals Towering of velum, air |[m,n, 9] ‘esoapes through nose Lateral air escapes downsides of |[T] tongue “Approximants slight narrowing, not Twit] enough to cause friction “The pronunciation of [0 }.[4 [1], [45] and the Vietnamese learners problem For many Vietnamese speakers of English, [6 ] is mispronounced as (¢"} in[ Can 0] (think that, This failure is due to the fact that these speakers fil to release the airstream flow Comainuously through a narrow slot between the tongue andthe upper teeth during the pronunciation For the Vietamese learners ftom the Souther part of Vietnam itis, hard to Franounce the afficte {i because there is no sound with fricatve post-alveolar Tike this. They aan make voiced {¢ ] in [c6p ] without audible friction 4 the speakers from the north do. However, some speakers of English still make [ 2] instead of [j ] and this isa common error for many speakers from the north. Clear [1] vs dark [+] It isa fact that quite a few Viemamese learners of English fail to perform the correct form of dark [ ]in such sequences as [ait] (11). Most of the pronounce this dark [¥] as fm ] as in [slouin } instead of [sku J. Few of them realize thet this velarized form can function as the back vowel [ ] in Vietnamese spelling and pronunciation. The evidence is thatthe Vietnamese trord “hiu? sounds a bit like “hill? [ht ]. As result, for some of them, [ Kaltfo ] is made [ kantfo] Clear [1] (before a vowel) dark { 4] (after a vowel) Pil [ait] child [.tfer#] while [wat } owl [aut] oil. fod} meal [ mish] sehigol [skest ] useful { ju] howl how {havi [ bab ] fire-fire (faut J f fax] mile-mind [ mat] fmamd ] 15Farther reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, and other speech organs involved in making a sound make contact. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants. For any place of articulation, there may be several manners, and therefore several homorganic consonants. One parameter of manner is stricture, that is, how closely the speech ‘organs approach one another. Parameters other than stricture are those involved in the ar sounds (taps and tills), and the sibilancy of fricatives, Often nasality and laterality are included in manner, but phoneticians such as Peter Ladefoged consider them to be independent. ‘Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. In the articulation of approximants, articulatory organs produce @ narrowing of the vocal tract, but leave enough space for air to flow without much audible turbulence, ‘Approximants are therefore more open than fricatives. This class of sounds includes lateral ‘approximants like [I], 98 in lip, and approximants like {j] and [Ww] in yes end well which correspond closely to vowels and semivowels. Palatal approximants correspond to front vowels, ‘velar approximants to back vowels, and labialized approximants to rounded vowels. They are typically briefer and closer than the corresponding vowels. When emphasized, approximants may be slightly fricated (that is, the ‘airstream may become slightly turbulent), which is reminiscent of fricatives. Examples are the y of English yes! (especially when lengthened) Occasionally the glottal "fricatives" are called approximants, since [hi] typically has no, more frication than voiceless approximants, but they ate often phonations of the glottis without any ‘accompanying manner or place of articulation. A stop cuts off airflow through the mouth, ‘Airflow through the nose does not matter -- you can have both oral and nasal stops. Oral stops are often called plosives, including in the IPA chart. Nasal stops are usually just called nasals. ‘Approximants that are apical or laminal are often called liquids (e-g., {c], [)- Approximants that correspond to vowels are often called glides (e.g., [j] corresponds to fi, {w] to fu). 2 subelasses of approximants: Liquids { 1, r] & Glides [w,j] ‘Approximants: # no major obstruction + no auditory effect of friction Liquids [1, r J: Glides { w, j }: characterized with high level of sonority | characterized with their dual nature © can be syllable nuclei, e.g. [terbl] + predominantly vocalic (like vowel) 4 can be consonant. [ork] * distribution: consonantal {junrves ott}, (nju For some Vietnamese learners of English who come from the Northern part of Vietnam, the English glide [ w ] is realized phonetically as [ u: ] due to the fact that in this northern dialect, there is no speech sound like [ w ] in the sound system of Hanoi dialect. When performing [w J these people may stay too long in the nucleus [u: ] and thus fail to perform the gliding to [2]. . For some of them, the phonetic form [ wuld ] may be pronounced as [ uld J. The same can be said to the glide [} ] which can be articulated by starting with the vowel [ i] then rapidly gliding into [9]. Accordingly, [ ju:niva:sotr ] may be realized as { icunrvs:satr J. : IL Voicing or State of the glottis: Here, we deal with the vibration of vocal cords during the articulation of the consonant. 16. For n| the ve] ‘The Allthy final infle ‘That actit pror infl! Dar Bel| 1? 21 3.1* 2. Neyorcent [z ]-&82 pens_on the table For now, we can simply use the terms "voiced" and "voiceless" to answer the question of what the vocal cords are doing: © In voiced sounds, the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation of the consonant, e.g. [b, 4, g] « In voiceless sounds, the vocal cords are not vibrating during the articulation ofthe consonant, ¢.g. [f, , tf] ‘The pronunciation of Plural form —S ‘Although most leamers of English have leamed the rule to pronounce the plural form — s at the final position in the syllable, they stil fail to perform the actual phonetic Forms of this inflectional or grammatical ending. Especially, itis a problem of comprehending as well as pronouncing this plural form — s in various contexts of connected speech. Nguyen Thi Thanh ‘Thanh (2007) has pointed out this problem and proposed solutions in terms communicative activities and exercises to enhance the learners’ skill of pronunciation in terms of the pronunciation of inflectional endings -s, ed in particular phonetic environment. For a detailed ‘explanation, please read the Graduation Paper “An investigation into the pronunciation of inflectional endings in english by students of College of Foreign languages ~ University of Danang — Problems and solutions” (2006). Below is the rule of pronunciation and exmples 1 Negrpmpen ES {62 } e.g. 2 glasses, 2 watches 3. Nevzggs #8 [8], €-8- 2 books_on the table eg. [f, 8, tf] + The pronunciation of past form - ED 1. V4 + ED [ed], e.g, wanted, needed 2. V-yoicen ED [a]. e.g. He opened_a box 3. Veyuzgs #ED It], eg He looked_at us More examples: [z]lor[s]or[ oz]? : dams, houses, tents, beds, dogs [d]orft}? helped us, asked us, begged us, missed it C. Classification: English consonants can be described in terms of 3 parameters: voicing, place of articulation and ‘manner of articulation. 7Table 3 Classification of English consonants ace | Bitabial | Dental | Labio- | Alveolar | Palato- | Palatal | Velar | Glottal Maun dental alveolar Stops -voice |p t k ° +voice |b d ‘Affricate ~ voice u + voice d: Fricative ~ voice 8 f 8 f h +yoiee 8 y z Nasal m 2 0 Lateral T 7 Appr |W T i Ww ximant D. Identification of a consonant ‘A consonant can be identified using the three parameters that has been mentioned above. Eg.fk] 1. voicing: voiceless 2. place of articulation : velar 3. manner of articulation: stop ‘Also, a corisonant can be judged with more phonetic values such as whether itis nasal or oral; central or lateral depending on whether this consonant is articulated with the velum being lowered or not; the airstream escaping through a passage in the middle of the tongue or downsides of the tongue. E.g. Term T 2 3 4 3 voiced or place of | central or oralor | articulatory Consouat voiceless | articulation lateral nasal action Ts] voiceless ‘alveolar (central) (oral) Sricative | 18 Gre LF Voi con bel eg Voi an