One of the main concerns in studying The study of how speech sounds

the English language or any language develop patterns and work according
for that matter is to know the sound to it is phonology. Phonology
system of language. That’s why identifies and demonstrates the
Phonology, the science of sound sounds that form a language. It
subsumes under linguistics. The first analyzes how the sounds develop and
combine to make words, and explains
requisite in learning a foreign
why it is important to recognize
language is getting acquainted with
certain phonetic features to identify a
the sounds peculiar to the language. word.
To be an effective communicator in
English, you must have a good Phonology, the study of the sound
command of its sound system. You patterns in languages, can be divided
must be aware that many of its words into two parts: Phonemes (vowels
are differentiated only by one vowel and consonants) and Prosody (stress,
sound and distinguished solely by a rhythm and intonation)
difference of consonant sound. That’s
why in this chapter, it will help you Phonology is often distinguished
pronounce English better than you do from phonetics. While phonetics
now. Our focus this time is on the concerns the physical production,
production of the correct sound of the acoustic transmission
English language specifically the and perception of the sounds of
speech, phonology describes the way
articulation of the consonant/vowel
sounds function within a given
and diphthong sounds. We will be
language or across languages to
studying pronunciation and encode meaning.
articulation which are crucial problems
of the Filipino communicator in Phonetics deals with the production
English. of speech sounds by humans, often
without prior knowledge of the
language being spoken. Phonology is
about patterns of sounds, especially
Phonology: The Sound different patterns of sounds in
System of Language different languages, or within each
language, different patterns of sounds
in different positions in words, etc.
Presentation of Content
Phonetics is a branch
of linguistics that studies how humans
Phonology vs Phonetics make and perceive sounds, or in the
case of sign languages, the equivalent
Definitions aspects of sign. Phoneticians—
linguists who specialize in phonetics—
The word ‘phonology’ came from the study the physical properties of
Greek word ‘phōnḗ’ which means speech. The field of phonetics is
"voice, sound", and the cliché suffix traditionally divided into three sub-
‘logy’ came from the disciplines based on the research
word ‘logos’ which means “subject of questions involved such as how
discussion". So, phonology means the humans plan and execute movements
study of speech sound. to produce speech (articulatory
phonetics), how different movements
Phonology is one of the six affect the properties of the resulting
subdivisions of linguistics. It includes sound (acoustic phonetics), or how
the study of how speech sounds humans convert sound waves to
combine in language in general and in linguistic information (auditory
any particular language. phonetics). Traditionally, the minimal
linguistic unit of phonetics is
Phonology is the study of the the phone—a speech sound in a
patterns of sounds in a language and language—which differs from the
across languages. Put more phonological unit of phoneme; the
formally, phonology is the study of phoneme is an abstract categorization
the categorical organization of speech of phones.
sounds in languages; how speech
sounds are organized in the mind and On the other hand, it can be said that
used to convey meaning. phonetics is the subset of phonology.
This is due to the fact that phonology
is based on phonetics. Hence,
phonetics forms a very important part f v ŋ
in the understanding of the origin of
sounds. A philologist pays a great θ ð l
importance to both phonetics and
phonology when he compares two or s z r
more languages and their
characteristics. A linguist accepts ʃ ᴣ j
various causes for sound or phonetic
changes. h m

Segmentals: The tʃ dz

Sounds of English
English Consonant Sounds B. NATURE OF OBSTRUCTION OR
MANNER OF ARTICULATION
The English Consonants

Consonants are determined by

1. Stops- when produced with
whether the vocal cords, vibrate
complete obstruction of the air
where the air is impeded and how it is
passage
impeded; using linguistic terms, they
are determined by Voicing, Place of
Articulation and Manner of
vl vd
Articulation. Voicing shows whether
the vocal cords move or not. Manner
shows in which the stream of air is Bilabial stops – {p}
interfered with. Place shows the point {b}
in the vocal track at which the
obstruction is made. Alveolar stops- {t}
{d}
Consonant sounds are those sounds
which are produced with the partial or Velar stops- {k}
complete obstruction of the air column {g}
by some parts of the speech
apparatus. Below are the three
dimensions in the production of
consonant sounds (Diaz, 2006). 2. Fricatives-when produced with
partial obstruction

vl vd
Three Dimensions of Variation in the
production of consonant sounds: Ladiodental fricatives-
{f} {v}

Dental fricatives {θ} {ð}

A. Voicing hard th

Alveolar fricatives {s}

Consonants may be voiced or {z}
voiceless. Voiced sounds are those
sounds which are pronounced with the Post alveolar
vibration of the vocal cords. Voiceless fricatives {r} {ʒ}
sounds are those sounds which are
pronounced without the vibration of Palatal fricatives {ꭍ}
the vocal cords.
Glottal {h}
Voiceless Voiced
Voiced

p b w 3. Affricates- are produced when a

stop combines with a fricative. Like
t d hw the fricatives, they are continuants.
They may be prolonged as long as the
k g n speaker wishes.
 toothridge or the back ofthe upper
front teeth. {t} and {d} are examples
Alveolar affricates- {tꭍ} and of alveolars.
{dz}
5. Post-alveolar- when the tip of
the tongue is articulated against the
back part of the alveolar ridge as in
4. Nasals- are produced with the {r}.
air stream passing through the nose
than the mouth. 6. Palatal- when the tongue is
arched towards the hard palate like
Bilabial nasal-{m} the consonant {ꭍ}.

Alveolar nasal- {n} 7. Velars- when the back of the

tongue closes against the velum or
Velar- {n} soft palate as when we say {k}.

8. Glottal- when friction is

produced by the air passing through
5. Lateral- is produced when the the glottis as in {h}.
air stream is stopped in the center by
the tip of the tongue against the
alveolar ridge, while the air passes Below you will find a consonant chart
along one or both sides of the tongue. of English containing all of the
phonemes we discussed. While
Alveolar lateral- {l} reviewing the IPA symbols, take note
of the following:
5. Semi-vowels-in their
production, there is lack of friction and The columns are labeled by place or
the sounds are vowel-like in their articulation.
voicing but they function as
consonants. They are semi-vowels. The rows are labeled by manner of
articulation.
Bilabial- {w} as in wear, win
When two consonants are next to each
{hw} as in why other in the same cell (i.e. they share
the same place and manner of
articulation), the consonant on
Palatal- {j} as in new,
the left is voiceless and the consonant
view
on the right is voiced.
C. POINT OF ARTICULATION
The English Vowels
This refers to the upper parts
of the mouth which the lower parts
called the articulators, come in contact A vowel is a permanent element in a
with in the production of the syllable. It is formed by allowing the
consonant sound. passage of air from the lungs through
the mouth as a resonator without any
obstruction. This passing air causes
1. Bilabial- when the lower lip
the opening of the vocal bands, called
touches the upper lip to produce the
glottis, to vibrate. Vowels are those
consonant sound.
sounds which are produced with the
vibration of air in the oral cavity.
{p}, {b}, {m}, and {w} are
bilabials.

2. Labio-dental-when the lower lip

The Vowel Sound Production
comes in contact with the upper front
teeth. {f} and{v} are labio-dentals.
These are the factors that determine
the formation of a vowel sound (Diaz,
3. Dentals-when the lower teeth
2006). The are:
approach the upper teeth. {θ} and
{ð}, are dentals.
1. Tongue Position or
4. Alveolar- when the tip of the advancement
tongue is raised close to the
This refers to the part of the tongue vowel in contrast to {ԑ} which is a
that is most active in the production of short one.
the vowel sound.
DIPHTHONGS
Front vowels are formed by
placing the front of the tongue higher Diphthong is a complex vowel sound
than other parts of the tongue. that begins with the sound of one
vowel and ends with the sound of
Central vowels are formed by another vowel in the same syllable.
neither raising the front or back of the There are three English diphthongs:
tongue. [aI], [ƆI], and [au]

Back vowels are formed in

which the tongue’s back is higher than
Suprasegmentals: The
other parts of the tongue. Stream of Speech
2. Tongue and Jaw Height In speech, suprasegmental refers to a
phonological property of more than
This refers to the degree of one sound segment. Also called non-
closeness of the lower jaw to the segmental, the term supra-segmental,
upper or the tongue to the palate. which was coined by American
structuralists in the 1940s, is used to
High vowels are formed by offer to function that are “over”
raising which part of the tongue at a vowels and consonants,
relatively high level. Suprasegmental elements are the
secondary components of language. In
Lower-high vowels are the field of phonology, it deals with
formed by raising which part of the stress, intonation, and blending.
tongue at a relatively lower- high
level. Suprasegmentals are important for
marking all kinds of meanings, in
Mid vowels are formed by particular speakers’ attitudes or
raising which part of the tongue at a stances to what they are saying (or
relatively middle level. the person they are saying it to) and in
marking out how one utterance relates
Low vowels are formed by to another (e.g. a continuation or a
keeping low a part of the tongue.
disjunction).

3. Lip Position Stress

When we speak of stress in English,
The third dimension refers to we mean the importance or
the amount of rounding or spreading prominence we give certain syllables.
of the lips. The shape of the lips may Another term for stress is emphasis.
be rounded when their corners are Subordination, on the other hand, is
brought forward defined as the reduced prominence or
or unrounded (spread), when the unstressing we give to other syllables.
corners are pulled back. {ↄ}, {o}, {u}
{a} and {U} are rounded while {i},
[e}, {ɛ}, [ӕ}, and [ə} are unrounded.
Stress is defined as using more
4. Tension muscular energy while articulating the
words. When word or a syllable in
This refers to the degree to word is produced louder, lengthier,
which the muscles of the speech tract with higher pitch or more quality, it
are tense or lax during sound will be perceived as stress. The
production. {i} for example is tense prominence makes some syllables be
while {I} is lax. perceived as stressed. Words including
vowels and diphthongs or ending with
5. Length more than 1 consonant are stronger,
heavier and stressed.
This refers to the duration the
vowel is held in a certain position. It
may be long or short. {e} is a long
Feet or foot is another prominent item hospital
which should be considered when consult operation
stressing is being discussed. Words
are made up of rhythmic units called nursery
feet and these compromise one or digestion guarantee
more syllables. Feet represent the
rhythmic structure of the word. In clinic consultation
every foot, one of the syllables is more
prominent or stronger than the others
and it is called the strong syllable. It is
the head of the syllable. The other Phrase/Clause Stress
syllables in the foot are the weak
syllables. English is a left side
the green bag about
dominant language. It is a property of
the exam inside
English that the left most branch is
the room
always associated with a full vowel.
to go to school under
the table
about the test
English stress is dependent on origin
of words and the rhythmic factors
along the river in a
(heavy-light syllables). Words
blue dress tissue paper
borrowed from Latin and other donor
languages are stressed differently. In
the case of Anglo-Saxon words the
first syllable of the root is stressed.
Sentence Stress

You walk too fast. What a

nice day!
English rhythm requires that
significant or important words or
syllable receive definite She’s so wonderful. Are
prominence. The elements of stress you calling me?
are the following:
I haven’t seen her. Is
it raining?

1. Volume – loudness or intensity Types of Stress

2. Pitch/tone – highness or A. Syllable Stress. Also known

lowness as accent. This is giving importance to
a certain syllable in a word. In English,
the number of syllables varies from
3. Rate/duration – slowness or
one word to another. Some words
fastness
have only one syllable, others have
more than one. The number of
A stressed syllable or word is
syllables in a word can be identified by
therefore:
counting the number of consonants. If
a word has more than syllable, one is
1. Louder in volume given more importance than the
others. This is the syllable stress.
3. Slower or longer in rate/duration
Basic Rules to Follow in Determining
2. Higher in pitch/tone the Stress in a Word

Observe stress on the italicized 1. Words with two syllables usually

syllable of each word/word in each have the stress on the first syllable.
phrase/word in each sentence below:
actor blanket
Word stress river pencil te
acher
doctor
inject education pillow empire v
alley mountain barb
dentist
inform cafeteria
2. Reflexive pronouns are stressed on
the word self or selves.
7. Compound verbs have the primary
myself himself stress on the second verb.
ourselves
understand outdo
itself herself underscore
themselves

3. Numbers ending in teen are

stressed on the word teen. 8. In most two syllable nouns and
adjectives, the first syllable takes on
thirteen the stress.
seventeen fourteen
samples
fifteen rainy purple
nineteen sixteen
carton
China happy

4. Words ending in –tion, sion, -ical, 9. In most two syllable verbs and
and ity have the primary stress on the prepositions, the stress is on the
syllable before the endings. second syllable.

extension administration relax

economical among direct

examination receive
invitation invasion aside between

infection addiction 10. For three-syllable words ending

with the suffixes er or ly, the stress is
5. In some pairs, stress depends on placed on the first syllable.
the use of the word. Stress is on the
first syllable if used as noun. Stress on orderly silently lovingly
the second syllable if used as verb. manager

Nouns Verbs

permit 11. Words ending in “cy,” “ty,”

permit “phy,” “gy” and “al”: The stress is
often on the third to last syllable.
object Similarly, you count syllables
object backwards and put a stress on the
third one from the end.
record
record

present democracy
present photography logical

export commodity
export psychology

suspect
suspect
B. Sentence Syllable. This is giving
6. Compound nouns have the primary importance to a word or words in a
stress on the first noun sentence. The following content words
are usually stressed.
ballroom classroom lif
eguard safehouse

ballpen yellowbe 1. Nouns – name words used to

ll sunlight basketball name persons, places, or things.
 president The cake is inside the box.
palace country Come with us.
adviser students
He is our
chairman. We are
watching a movie.
2. Verbs – action words

compute
determine inspect WORD STRESS EXERCISES
calculate consider
Directions:

A. Pronounce the word by confirming

1. Adjectives – picture words the rules on stress

charming diligent family teacher

interesting handsome brilliant office popcorn

adorable gigantic children students

gorgeous exciting table headache

dinner meeting
building toothache
2. Adverbs – describe or modify
verbs, adjectives, or another verb. kitchen classroom
absent highway
happily terribly
smoothly sadly nicely historic
experimental magnetic
slowly impressively notebook
bravely beautifully
triangular botanical
publicity feedback

3. Demonstratives – are used to vehicular spectacular

point out things. flexibility

this these that exile (N) exile (V)

suspect (N)

suspect (V) protest (N)

4. Interrogatives – are used to ask protest (V)
questions
B.1. Practice saying the
why what how following two-syllabic words with
primary stress on the first

syllable
5. Function words such as articles,
auxiliary verbs, prepositions,
pronouns, and conjunctions are
generally unstressed. There are times teacher
when these function words are gesture woman
stressed to give special meanings to
sentences. regal
beauty sonnet

textile
I received a gift. forum meeting
You are the winner!
banquet
Ana has travelled to Spain. winter autumn
They are here?
proper recompose
sandwich parcel recover
reconvene

B.2. Three-syllable words with

primary stress on the first syllable B.5. Four-syllable words with
primary stress on the first syllable

envelope
symphony embassy ` kindergarten
calculator capillary
calculate
partnership hamburger legendary
stationary architecture
architect
dynasty chocolate commentary
adversary advocate
porcelain
dentistry intimate purgatory
alimony matrimony
orchestra
liberty designate

B.6. Four-syllable words with

primary stress on the second syllable
B.3. Three-syllable words with
primary stress on the second syllable

accessory
nativity civility
volcano
electric antiquity
assassin eventual illiterate

director administer
occasion battalion obnoxious auxiliary

embody conspicuous
finances matriculate maternity
examine

barbaric
infected maternal C. Read following sentences. Please
note the stressed words that are
abandon importance italicized.
perspective

1. The chairman called

B.4. Three-syllable words with for a meeting.
primary stress on the third syllable
2. Uncle Jeff is a
good teacher.

financier 3. The
guarantee engineer audience applauded.

4. Why did you resign?

refugee attaché
recommend 5. Where is you new
office?
 6. Our adviser is The intonation is rising when the tone
very charming and understanding. moves from pitch 2 (normal) to pitch 3
(high).
7. He sang
a haunting song. Blending
Blending is also called linking. It is
8. The the process of joining words smoothly
students happily welcomed the new to each other without additional
principal. sounds or omission of final
consonants. In blending, words flow
9. His mother wrapped along where one word seems to blend
the gift beautifully. into the next. Within a thought group,
words and syllables are not
10. This is a new home. pronounced as separate units. The
breath flow of the speaker is
Intonation continuous. One will not be able to tell
Intonation is the system of levels where a word ended and where the
(rising and falling) and variations in next word began.
pitch sequences within speech.

In blending, words are said as

The way our voice goes up and down if they were only single word. This is
at the end of the sentence constitutes especially observed between two
a meaning signal. When our voice words in a phrase unit where the first
goes up and then down at the end of a word ends with a consonant sound and
sentence, we signal statements of the next word begins with a vowel
fact, command, or special questions sound. In ordinary conversation, there
not answered by yes or no. the first may be a need to blend some words,
way is called rising-falling intonation: phrases or clauses when the thought
the second, rising intonation. units are rather short. A short
sentence can also be linked as though
it were only one word.

Blending consonant to consonant

Rising- falling Intonation
Here are some phrases. The
consonant sound at the end of each
word is the same as the consonant
The intonation is rising- falling when
sound at the beginning of the second
the tone moves from pitch 2 (normal)
word.
to pitch 3 (high) on the stressed
syllable, and then moves to pitch 1
(low). These numbers of pitch are
taken from the basic tones of English.
There are four of them; How many times do you hear the
double consonants pronounced?

1 – low
Example: Do you hear “hot / tea” or
“hotea”?
2 – normal

3 – high

4 – extra high /t/ hot tea /r/

they’re_rea
dy
/p/ /l/
Tones 1, 2 and 3 are the most sharp_pin yell_loudly
commonly used ones. /k/ black /dz/
cat orange juice
Tones 4 is used in expressing strong /d/ bad_day/t∫/
feeling and emotion. beach_chair
/g/ big_girl /∫/
Rising Intonation wash_shoes
/m/ /s/ ●It is a form of transmitting messages
some_mon this_song using word symbols in representing
ey ideas and objects which comes in two
/n/ /v/ forms – oral and written.
phone_num expensive_
ber vase ●It includes a face to face interaction
Rule: when two of the same consonant with another person, speaking to
sounds are between words in a rhythm someone on the phone, participating
group, blend them together like on in meetings, delivering speeches in
consonant. The two programs and giving lectures or
consonants are not pronounced two presentations in conferences.
times.
Factors That Affect Verbal
Note: Be sure to lengthen (make Communication
longer) the consonant sound you
are blending a. Tone of voice

b. Use of descriptive words

Lesson 1: The
Communication c. Emphasis on certain phrases

Process d. Volume of voice

Communication is integrated in all

parts of our lives.
2. Non – Verbal Communication
a. Academics
● It is a form of communication which
 Communication skills are tied to refers to the sending of messages to
academic success. another person using signs, gestures,
facial expressions and means other
 Students who are good at writing and than the spoken and written language.
speaking perform better not only in
the English classroom but also in the
content areas and all other areas of
learning. Two Categories of Non-Verbal
Communication
b. Professional
a. Non-verbal messages produced by
 Desired communication skills vary the body
from one career to another. Being able
to communicate leads to a harmonious b. Non-verbal messages produced by
relationship within the organization. the broad setting such as time, space
and silence
c. Personal
Functions of Non-Verbal
 The skills to talk with fluency and Communication
write with efficiency lead to a person’s
achievement of his aspirations a. It is used to repeat the verbal
message.
d. Civic
Example – Point in an object
 One cannot live alone, so being able while saying it.
to blend with the community is a
satisfying endeavor. This can only be
done when a person can communicate b. It is often used to accent a verbal
his/her ideas with different people message.
coming from different backgrounds in
the community Example – verbal tone indicates
the actual meaning of the words.
A. Types of
Communication c .It often complements the verbal
message but also may contradict.
1. Verbal communication
 Examples – A nod reinforces a
positive message among Americans
and Filipinos

d. It regulates interactions.

Example – Hand gestures may

signal a person to speak or not.

e. It may substitute for the verbal

message, especially if it is blocked by
noise or interruption.

Example – Touch to mean

comfort or encouragement A thumbs-
up gesture indicating approval

Communication is a combination of
the verbal and non- verbal aspects.
Proper blending of the two types of
communication make the message
clearer.