3. Differences in the Articulation Bases of English and Russian Consonants and their Peculiarities

The differences in the articulation bases between the two languages are in the general tendencies their native speakers have in the way they move and hold their lips and the tongue both in speech and in silence, in the way they coordinate the work of the obstructor and vibrator mechanisms (lenis and fortis articulation).

The peculiarities of the articulation bases which give rise to the differences in the system of consonants in English and in Russian are the following:

1. In the articulation of the English consonants the tongue is near the teeth-ridge (apical position), while in Russian it tends to move to the upper front teeth (dorsal position).

Thus the number of positions of the tip of the tongue in the production of the English forelingual consonants is more varied, but the work of the tip of the tongue in the articulation of the Russian [p] is more elaborate.

2. The bulk of the tongue in the articulation of the English consonants has the tendency to occupy more retracted, flat and lower positions than in the articulation of the Russian consonants, which provides the basis for the pharyngeal [h] and the backlingual velar [ŋ].

In the production of [h] the air passes through the larynx and glottis, the back wall of the pharynx contacts simultaneously with the slight movement of the root of the tongue in the direction of the pharyngeal cavity. In the articulation of the Russian [x] the back part of the tongue is raised in the direction of the soft palate. Since the Russian articulation basis does not provide any conditions which might result in the articulation of the pharyngeal or glottal [h], Russian learners often use [x] instead of the English [h].

In the production of the English [n] the soft palate makes a complete obstruction with the back part of the tongue, and the flow of air goes out of the nasal cavity whereas the Russian articulation basis does not provide the conditions for similar articulation. The Russian learners often substitute the Russian forelingual [н] for the English backlingual [ŋ].

Rather flat and low position of the bulk of the tongue limits the system of the English "soft" consonants and provides the basis for "dark" articulation. The English "soft" consonants are pronounced with the front secondary focus.

The most typical mistakes that may result from the differences in the articulation bases of the English and Russian languages are the following:

- dorsal articulation of the English forelingual apical [t, d],

-the use of the Russian rolled [p] instead of the English post-alveolar constrictive [r],

• mispronunciation of the English interdental [θ], [ð]: the use of [s], [f] for [θ] and [d],[z]for[ð],

• the use of the Russian dark [ш], [ж] instead of the soft [ʃ], [ʒ],

• the use of the labio-dental [v] instead of the bilabial [w],

the use of the Russian [x] instead of [h].

Questions for self-control:

1. What are the main principles of classification of English consonants?

2 What consonants are called unicentral and what are called bicentral?.

3. Are the systems of English and Russian consonants similar or

different?

4. What are the differences in the articulation bases of English and

Russian consonants?

Lecture 6.

ENGLISH VOWELS AS THE UNITS OF THE

PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM.

1. The English vowel system. Cardinal vowels.

2. Classification of English vowels.

3. Stability of articulation. English diphthongs.

4. The system of English vowel phonemes as compared with the

system of Ukrainian and Russian vowel phoneme.

5. Differences in the articulatory bases of English and Russian

Vowels.

The English vowel system. Cardinal vowels.

The English vowel system is less controversial than the system of consonants. The typology of the system of vowels, the most general phonic and phonological categories upon which it is based can be found only among the lines of modeling the system of vowels.

The problem of modeling is not infrequently reduced to the problem of choosing among several possible descriptions: the one that represents the given phonemes and their variants in a more symmetrical way than the others. But what actually should be done to uncover the symmetry which really exists in a given language?

The importance of modeling in phonology cannot be overestimated especially if we take into account the fact that one of the most urged problems in modern linguistics is the problem of the so-called “overall linguistic system” (a uniform description of the structure of a language which would include all its variants, social and territorial dialects). Until quite recently the phoneticians aiming at the description of the phonetic system of a language described, took as a rule, only one of the existing social or territorial dialects of a given language. But to give an overall system of English vowels one must create a hypothetical-deductive model, taking into consideration all the concrete realization and grouping them around a limited number of “prop” elements.

One of the suggested models of this kind is the chart which represents the points where the cardinal vowels are positioned. What is a cardinal vowel?