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Файл:Теоретическая фонетика английского языка. Курс лекций и практикум. Учебно-методическое пособие
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Негосударственное частное образовательное учреждение
высшего профессионального образования
Южный институт менеджмента
кафедра лингвистики и перевода
THEORETICAL PHONETICS OF ENGLISH:
A COURSE OF LECTURES AND PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENTS
Краснодар 2013
УДК 811
ББК 81.2 Англ
Ч 90
Рецензенты:
Стетюха Н. В. кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры лингвистики
и перевода Южного института менеджмента
Хохлова Л. Н., доцент кафедры лингвистики и перевода Южного института
менеджмента
Ч 90 Теоретическая фонетика английского языка: курс лекций
и практикум. Учебно-методическое пособие/ Составитель: Чумичева Н. В -
Краснодар: Южный институт менеджмента, 2013. – 80 с.
Учебно-методическое пособие адресовано студентам профилей 035700.62,
035800.62 направления «Лингвистика». Материалы пособия поделены на
2 основных блока: в разделе лекционных конспектов в сжатом виде изложены
основные аспекты фонетической теории в современной лингвистике, приведена
обобщенная информация о компонентах фонетической системы. Практическая
часть способствует формированию умения всесторонне анализировать
фонетическиe явления: тесты и упражнения охватывают широкий круг
дискуссионных теоретических вопросов.
Рекомендовано к печати научно-методическим советом ЮИМ
(протокол № 7 от 05.03.2013)
© Издательство ЮИМ, 2013
CONTENS
INTRODUCTION
РART 1. A COURSE OF LECTURES
Phonetics as a Science: Subject of Study, Methods, Branches
and Objectives.............................................................................................................
Overview of the Human Speech Mechanism..............................................................
Aspects of Speech Sound Phemomena.......................................................................
Units of Phonetic System...........................................................................................
Linguistic Concept of Phoneme. Allophones. Phones...............................................
Principles of Classication of Speech Sounds............................................................
Phonetic Phenomena: Sound Alternations and Modications....................................
The Syllable Construction in English.....................................................................
The Nature of English Word Stress............................................................................
Intonation and Rhythm in English..............................................................................
Social and Territorial Varieties of English Pronunciation...........................................
PART 2. PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENTS
Exercise Block 1.........................................................................................................
Exercise Block 2.........................................................................................................
Exercise Block 3.........................................................................................................
Exercise Block 4.........................................................................................................
General Revision Test 1..............................................................................................
General Revision Test 2..............................................................................................
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES
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INTRODUCTION
This book provides a thorough and precise account of all the major areas of
English phonetics. It is primarily addressed to the students of linguistics to serve as a
background and further reading text for the course of Theoretical Phonetics.
A course of lectures is devoted to the sound system of English. It covers the following
topics: distinctive features of English consonants - place and manner of articulation,
voicing and nasality, the connection between spelling and sound, phonemes as abstract
representations of sounds, vowels and their properties, diphthongs. A course of lectures
also explores various aspects of syllable formation in English, stress tendencies
in modern English, English rhythm and intonation, territorial varieties of English
pronunciation.
The aims of the book are as follows: to provide students with the starting point
for subsequent in-depth analysis of the basic problems of theoretical phonetics of
the language; to give extensive illustration of various points of view on phonetic
phenomena; to summarize and to extend students’ knowledge of theoretical phonetics
received at the lectures; to develop students’ ability to make some practical conclusions
based on the given theoretical facts.
The book offers clear and simple explanations of key theoretical concepts,
supported by numerous step-by-step exercises and tests to help students experience
with language, and thus to enhance their understanding of the subject matter.
All phonetical terms, whether traditional or more recent, are carefully explained in
Glossary. The list of references may be extended if necessary to provide a wider range
of material for analysis and discussion.
4
РART 1. A COURSE OF LECTURES
Phonetics as a science: Subject of Study, Methods, Branches and Objectives.
Phonetics is an independent branch of linguistics like lexicology or grammar. These
linguistic sciences study language from three different points of view. Lexicology deals
with the vocabulary of language, with the origin and development of words, with their
meaning and word building. Grammar denes the rules governing the modication of
words and the combination of words into sentences. Phonetics studies the outer form
of language; its sound matter. Neither linguistic theory nor linguistic practice can exist
without phonetics, because language is a system and its components are inseparably
connected.
The «birthplace» of phonetics is considered to be Ancient India. The idea of
studying sounds was brought about by the need to understand Veda (1500 BC), i.e.
sacred songs (Brahmans) sang during religious ceremonies. The 8 principal question
for the priests was correct reading of Brahmans, as those texts were believed to come
from gods and so could no way be distorted or mispronounced. Ultimately, the interest
to sounds and pronunciation is explained by the fact that in those times speech was
thought to be a magic phenomenon and sounds were ascribed some magic features.
For instance, all ancient sacred songs, spells and incantations were based on special
use of sounds, certain rules of their placing and ordering; those rules not preserved, the
songs or spells were believed to be of no effect. The rst description of a language was
suggested by Panini (Ancient India, 300 or 400 BC). Panini’s grammar was mainly
focused on phonetics and morphology of Sanskrit. It included a most detailed and
accurate description of sound physiology and articulation. Besides, the book touched
upon some principles of versication.
Subject of Study. Phonetics is a special science, which stands apart from other
linguistic disciplines, such as lexicology, grammar, stylistics, etc. as it is concerned
with the oral aspect of the language (contrasted to written speech), studying the material
(physiological and acoustic) and functional features of speech sounds and intonation.
The term «phonetics» is originated from the Greek word «phonetikos», which
means «vocalic», «related to sounds». Consequently, at the early period of its
development the aim of phonetics as a science was to study individual speech sounds.
However, later the scope of phonetic studies widened greatly, and today phonetics is
understood as a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of speech in human
5
communication. It studies not only individual speech sounds
and their behaviour in the ow of speech, but the whole sound matter of a lan-
guage: sounds, syllables, stress and intonation.
The basic scope for phonetic studies is formed by phonetic units: speech sounds,
syllables, word stress, rhythmic groups, phrases and spoken texts. These phonetic units
act according to denite norms and rules of a language system, thus providing success
of communication. They are small segments constituting a bigger entity called Speech.
As a branch of linguistics, phonetics studies sound patterns, their pronunciation,
mutual relations and modications in speech, i.e. the way language functions as a
«code» of communication. The units of the sound system (phonetic units) are realized
in speech, thus making it the subject of phonetic studies.
Methods. Phonetics studies speech, its physiological, acoustic, perceptive and
functional features, i.e. all the aspects of language as a means of communication. As a
eld of science, phonetics takes the middle part between natural and social sciences,
which calls forth various methods to be applied:
- phonetic observation
- instrumental analysis
- statistical analysis
Phonetic observation is understood as auditioning the test material, thus being a
so-called auditory method. The method of observation belongs to the scope of subjec-
tive methods of scientic investigation. As observation abilities of people are different,
the results obtained from different hearers vary as well. However, such variations often
lie in the same sphere and thus have regular character. Auditory phonetic investigation
suggests surveying various groups of informants (test participants who audition the
test material), phoneticians whose ear is «phonetically trained» and native speakers.
The auditory analysis is carried out by the researcher who develops the tasks, assesses,
summarizes and describes the results. The aim of this method is to nd out what features in the speech ow are registered by the Listener’s brain as relevant for understanding meaning («decoding» the message), and which ones are ignored as irrelevant.
Instrumental methods originally applied in physiology and physics were introduced into phonetics in the 2nd half of the 20th century in order to supplement and in
fact to rectify «subjective» data of auditory analysis resulting from «imperfection» of
perceptual facilities of the human brain. Instrumental methods require special equip-
6
ment to register a) physiological and b) acoustic parameters of sounds and their sequences, photograph and measure them. This is the reason for contrasting instrumental
analysis to auditory observation as an objective method of study. The equipment applied for studying physiology of speech included the following devices:
- pnemograph, to study the work of muscles and breath;
- electromiograph, to study bioelectric activity of respiratory apparatus,
articulatory muscles and vocal cords;
- labiograph, to study lip movements.
To study acoustic quality of speech electro-acoustic equipment is required:
- spectrograph, to analyze sound frequency and intensity;
- intonograph, to analyze pitch variations;
- Voice synthesizer, to produce speech. [7]
The branch of phonetics that studies the way in which the air is set in motion,
the movements of the speech organs and the coordination of these movements in the
production of single sounds and trains of sounds is called articulatory phonetics.
Acoustic phonetics studies the way in which the air vibrates between the speaker’s
mouth and the listener’s ear. It presents special interest for research work and applied
linguistics. The branch of phonetics investigating the hearing process is known as au-
ditory phonetics. Its interests lie in the sensation of hearing, which is brain activity
The means by which we discriminate sounds – quality, sensations of pitch, loudness,
length, are relevant here. Instrumental phonetics were introduced into phonetics in
the second half of the last century in order to supplement and to rectify the impressions
deriving from the human senses , since these are affected by the limitations of the perceptual mechanism, and in general are rather subjective. Phoneticians cannot act only
as describers and classiers of the material form of phonetic units. They are also interested in the way in which sound phenomena function in a particular language, how
they are utilized in that language and what part they play in manifesting the meaningful
distinctions of the language The branch of phonetics that studies the linguistic function
of consonant and vowel sounds, syllabic structure, word accent and prosodic features,
such as pitch, stress and tempo is called phonology. The phonetic system of a language
is a set of phonetic units arranged in an orderly way to replace each other in a given
framework. It contains two systems, or levels – segmental and suprasegmental, or prosodic, each of which is a specially organized language system with a certain number of
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its units. Segmental units are elementary sounds, vowels and consonants, which form
the vocalic and consonantal subsystems. Prosodic units are syllables, rhythmic units,
and intonation groups, utterances, which form subsystems of pitch, stress, rhythm,
tempo, and pauses. Segmental and prosodic units serve to form and differentiate units
of other subsystems of language, the lexical and grammatical units.
Overview of the Human Speech Mechanism
Human speech is complex, and lay people are not used to describing it in technical ways. On the other hand, many people have some inkling of how to describe music.
We could describe the rhythm (where are the beats? what is the tempo?), the melodic
structure (what key is it in? what scale does it use? are there recurrent themes?), instrumentation, and so forth. All of these are different aspects of music, and all of them contribute to the totality of what we hear. Describing speech is a similarly complex task.
Speech involves the careful coordination of the lips, tongue, vocal folds, breathing and so on. The signal that we perceive as successive sounds arises from skills that
we learn over years of our lives, even as our bodies grow and age. In producing even
the simplest of speech sounds, we are co-ordinating a large number things. Phonetics
involves something like unpicking the sounds of speech and working out how all the
components work together, what they do, and when. [9]
In accordance with their linguistic function the organs of speech may be grouped
as follows:
The respiratory or power mechanism furnishes the ow of air which is the rst
requisite for the production of speech sounds. This mechanism is formed by the lungs,
the wind-pipe and the bronchi. The air-stream expelled from the lungs provides the
most usual source of energy which is regulated by the power mechanism. Regulating
the force of the air-wave the lungs produce variations in the intensity of speech sounds.
Syllabic pulses and dynamic stress, both typical of English, are directly related to the
behaviour of the muscles which activate this mechanism. From the lungs through the
wind-pipe the air-stream passes to the upper stages of the vocal tract. First of all it
passes to the larynx containing the vocal cords.
The function of the vocal cords consists in their role as a vibrator set in motion
by the air-stream sent by the lungs. At least two actions of the vocal cords as a vibrator
should be mentioned. The opening between the vocal cords is known as the glottis.
8
When the glottis is tightly closed and the air is sent up below it the so-called glottal
stop is produced. It often occurs in English when it reinforces or even replaces [p], [t],
or [k] or even when it precedes the energetic articulation of vowel sounds. The most
important speech function of the vocal cords is their role in the production of voice.
The effect of voice is achieved when the vocal cords are brought together and vibrate
when subjected to the pressure of air passing from the lungs. This vibration is caused
by compressed air forcing an opening of the glottis and the following reduced airpressure permitting the vocal cords to come together again. The height of the speaking
voice depends on the frequency of the vibrations. The more frequently the vocal cords
vibrate the higher the pitch is. The typical speaking voice of a woman is higher than
that of a man because the vocal cords of a woman vibrate more frequently. We are able
to vary the rate of the vibration thus producing modications of the pitch component
of intonation. More than that, we are able to modify the size of the puff of air which
escapes at each vibration of the vocal cords, that is we can alter the amplitude of the
vibration which causes changes of the loudness of the sound heard by the listener.
From the larynx the air-stream passes to supraglottal cavities, that is to the pharynx,
the mouth and the nasal cavities. The shapes of these cavities modify the note produced in the larynx thus giving rise to particular speech sounds. [10]
Fig.1. Simplied speech production model
9
Human speech is the result of a highly complicated series of events that can be divided into 6 stages: psychological, physiological, physical/ acoustic, reception, transmission, linguistic interpretation. They are interconnected and constitute two parts of
the speech act.
I. The rst part of the speech act contains the stages made by the speaker. It
includes the following:
1) the psychological stage concerns the formation of the concept in the brain of a
speaker;
2) when the message is formed, it is transmitted along the nervous system to the
speech organs which produce particular speech sounds within the physiological stage;
3) the movements of the speech apparatus disturb the air and produce sound waves
during the acoustic stage.
II. The second part of the speech act includes the stages made by the listener,
because any communication requires a listener as well as a speaker:
1) the sound waves are percepted by the listener’s ear within the reception stage;
2) the spoken message is transmitted through the nervous system to the listener’s
brain during the transmission stage;
3) the information conveyed gets its linguistic interpretation. [3]
Aspects of Speech Sound Phemomena
All sounds are produced by movement of molecules (typically of air); they move in
a vibrating-like fashion, creating periods of rarefaction (farther apart) and compression
(closer together) between molecules. Together, one rarefaction and one compression
of air molecules make up a cycle. As vibrations move through the air, they create
many cycles that, as a whole, can be referred to as a wave. The speed of the vibrations
(compression + rarefaction) is called the frequency and is a very common measure
of sound. The unit of measurement for frequency is Hertz (Hz) and 1 Hz is equal to
1 cycle/second. Humans are typically able to detect sound waves with frequencies of
20-20,000 Hz traveling through air.
Characteristics of Speech Sounds.
The frequency of a wave refers to the number of times a waveform completes one
full cycle within a second. It is measured in Hertz (Hz), which is equal to the number
of cycles per second. Frequency is the more objective term for pitch, which can some-
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