1. Тф 1. Phonetics as a science

Phonetics is one of the oldest and most essential branches of Linguistics. It studies the spoken aspect of languages and its Subject is a scientific analysis of the entire system of oral means expressing thoughts and of oral means expressing thoughts and emotions of the speaker. The term “phonetics” comes from the Greek word “phone” translated as “sounds”.

Branches of Phonetics

1. Phonology is 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.

2. Articulatory phonetics is

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 pronunciation of single sounds and trains of sounds.

3. Acoustic phonetics studies the way in which the air vibrates between the speaker’s mouth and the listener’s ear.

4. Auditory phonetics is

the branch of phonetics investigating the hearing process.

Phonetics is in itself divided into two major components: segmental phonetics, which is concerned with individual sounds and suprasegmental phonetics whose domain is the larger units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts.

Another subdivision of phonetics: 1) general phonetics – studies general laws, formulates general theories 2) special phonetics – based on general phonetics, it deals with phonetical peculiarities of a certain language; 3) historical phonetics – it traces the development of the phonetic system in the course of time finding out the basic laws of the system.

Knowledge of the structure of sound systems, and of the articulatory and acoustic properties of the production of speech is necessary in teaching foreign languages.

13. Ия 4. T great vowel shift

The transition from Middle English to Modern English was marked by a major change in the pronunciation of vowels during the 15th and 16th centuries.

This change, termed the Great Vowel Shift by the Danish linguist Otto

Jespersen, consisted of a shift in the articulation of vowels with respect to the positions assumed by the tongue and the lips. The Great Vowel Shift changed the pronunciation vowels and diphthongs of Middle English. Spelling, however, remained unchanged and was preserved.

All long vowels, with the exception of /i:/ (pronounced in Middle English somewhat like ee in need) and /u:/ (pronounced in Middle English like oo in food), came to be pronounced with the jaw position one degree higher.

The Great Vowel Shift, which is still in progress, caused the pronunciation in English of the letters a, e, i, o, and u to differ from that used in most other languages of Western Europe.

2. Тф 2. System of English vowels

Vowels are made by opening the mouth and letting air come out freely.

The following 20 vowel phonemes are distinguished in BBC English (RP): [i:, a:, o:, u:, з:, i, e, æ, σ, υ, л, ə; ei, ai, oi, аυ, eυ, υə, iə].

Eng vowel phonemes are classified according to the following principles:

1.accod to the position of the bulk of the tongue.

2.ac to the hight of the raised part of the tongue.

3.ac to the lip position

4.ac to the length of the vowel

5.ac to the stability of articulation

1.1.front vowels. Are produced when t bulk of t tongue is in t front part of t mouth. [i:] [e] [æ]

1.2.front-retracted v. [i]

1.3.central v. [^] [ɜ:] [ǝ]

1.4.back v. [a] [ǝ:] [u:]

1.5.back-advanced v. [a:]

2.1.close(high) v. (высокого подъема)when tongue comes close to t roof of t mouth [i:] [u:]

2.2.open(low) v. The tongue is very low in t mouth. [æ] [a:]

2.3.mid-open v. tongue is between high and low position. [ǝ] [ɜ:]

3.1.unrounded v.(нелабиализован) the lips are neutral [i] [e] [æ]

3.2.rounded. the lips are drawn together so that t opening between them is round [u:] [o:]

4.1.shot

4.2.long

5.1.monophthong is a "pure" vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed.10. [I, e, æ, o, u, ^, ǝ, ǝ:, ɜ:, o:]

5.2.Diphthong is a vowel sound that a person has to move his or her mouth into two different positions to make. T articulation is not stable. 8. [ei, ai, oi, ɜu, au, iǝ,uǝ]

5.3.triphthong is a monosyllabic (односложный) vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement of the articulator from one vowel quality to another that passes over a third.

5.4.diphthongoids [u:], [i:]. T organs of speech change their positijn but very slightly.2.