7. The system of English consonants.

1) Classification of consonants: 3 articulatory parameters.

• Place of articulation – the point at which the air stream is most restricted.

• Manner of articulation – what happens to the moving column of air.

• Voicing – vibration or lack of it of the local folds.

2) Classification according to place of articulation:

• Bilabial /p, b, m, w/ - using both lips;

• Labio-dental /f, v/ - lower lip and upper teeth;

• Dental /θ, ð/ - the tongue tip between the teeth or close to the upper teeth;

• Alveolar /t, d, s, z, l, n/ - the blade of the tongue close to the alveolar ridge;

• Post-alveolar /ʃ, ʒ, ʤ, ʧ, r/ - the tongue tip close to just behind the alveolar ridge;

• Palatal /j/

• Velar /k, g, ŋ/ -

• Glottal /h/- space between the vocal cords making audible friction.

3) Classification according to manner of articulation:

• Total closure: • plosives /p, b, t, d, k, g/

• Structure causing friction •fricatives /f, v, s, z, h, ʃ, ʒ, θ, ð/ •affricatives /ʤ, ʧ/ Opposition between fortis and lenis types.

• Nasal/ partial closure/ an unimpeded oral escape of the air •nasal /m, n, ŋ/ •lateral /l/

• Approximants (frictionless continuant or glide) /w, r, j/

4) Classification according to voicing:

• Voiced

• Voiceless

5) Russian and English systems of consonants – differences:

• Vocal cords activity: •Russian – voiced/voiceless; final position – devoicing. •English – fortis/lenis.

• Place of articulation: •Russian – more dental sounds, fewer alveolar; opposition of palatalised- velarised sounds is more relevant. •English – glottal; fewer dental sounds, more alveolar; opposition of palatalised- velarised sounds is positional.

• Manner of articulation: •Russian – thrilled (дрожащие) p, p’; /й/. •English – non thrilled; approximants of different places of articulation /w/, /r/, /j/.

Difference between “similar” sounds (/t, d, n, l, r, s, z/ - /т, д, н, л, р, с, з/) •Russian – dental, blade of the tongue is active (р, р’, л, л’- apical) •English velar and post alveolar, apical – tip of the tongue is active.

8. RP&GA.

1) Rhoticity as the distinctive feature of GA:

• Rhoticity – is the pronouncing of the phoneme – is one of the most distinctive of feature of GA sound system.

• RP is non-rhotic as the phoneme /r/ is only pronounced when it’s immediately followed by a vowel sound. Has schwa.

• GA pronounces /r/ before a consonant and at the end of utterance. No schwa sound.

• Where GA has r-colored vowel (as in cupboard or bird), RP has plain vowels: /ə/ or /ə:/

2) Vowels:

• RP – “long” and “short” vowels, diphthongs.

• GA – contrast between degree of length of vowels is much less and les important; depends on environment in which vowel occur.

• RP pure monophthongs are /l/, /e/, /u/, /ʌ/ - they don’t change in quality. BUT! In GA these vowels tend to be diphthongized – slightly change their quality, some of them lengthened.

• In GA: long vowels are tense, short vowels are lax.

• GA’s vowels are r-colored. (/ka:/ - RP = /ka:r/ - GA).

• Diphthongs: •BBC pronunciation – 3 diphthongs ending in /ə/. •no separate phonemic diphthongs in /ə/. It has i+r, e+r, u+r.

• RP – clear/ dark /l/, BUT! GA – dark /l/( it is very similar).

• Suffixes: • - ile - /ail/ in RP; /əl/ in GA (mobile, hostile) • -ary, -ory, -mony – in RP are unstressed; in GA – secondary stressed(dictionary, e.g.) • -ate – stressed in RP, on the fist syllable in GA(donate).

• There’s a number of words which can’ be transformed from RP to GA by means of simple systematic rules: advertisement, depot, vase.