13. The articulatory aspect of Eng. Vowels

Vowels are speech sounds produced without obstructing the flow of air from the lungs, so that the breath stream passes freely through the mouth.

On the articulatory level there are several classifications, according to

1. THE STABILITY OF ARTICULATION

Vowel sounds are divided into monophthongs, diphthongs, and triphthongs.

A monophthong consists of only one vowel sound that does not change during its articulation (i, e, 96, u)

A diphthong is a complex vowel sound that consists of two components (ei, ai, oi, au)

A triphthong is a complex vowel sound that consists of three components (our, fire, player)

2. THE TONGUE POSITION

- When the tongue moves forward and backward

front – when the tongue is in the front part of the mouth and the front part of it is raised to the hard palate – i:, e, 96

front-retracted - the tongue is in the front part of the mouth but slightly retracted (втянут) and the part of the tongue nearer to centre than to front is raised – i

central – the front of the tongue is raised towards the back part of the hard palate – v, з:, з

back – the tongue is in the back part of the mouth and the back of it is raised towards the soft palate – a:, o, o:, u:

back-advanced – the tongue is in the back part of the mouth but is slightly advanced - u

- When the tongue moves up and down

close – the front or the back of the tongue is raised high towards the palate – i:, i, u, u:

open – the front or the back of the tongue is as low as possible in the mouth – 96, a:, o. o:

mid – the highest part of the tongue occupies the position intermediate between the close and the open one – e, v, з:, з

3. LIP POSITION

unrounded – i:, i, e, 96, a:, v, з:, з

rounded – o, o:, u, u:

4. CHARACTER OF VOWEL END

checked – if a vowel is followed by a strong voiceless cons-t – ex, better, cart

free – if a vowel is followed by a weak voiced cons-t – before, begger

5. Vowel length

long – i:, a:, o:, u:, з:

short – i, e, o, u, v, з

14. Classification of Eng. Cons-s

Cons-s are made with air stream that meets an obstruction in the mouth or nasal cavities (полость). That’s why in the production of cons-t sounds there is a certain degree of noise.

There are 20 consonant letters in the English alphabet. They represent 24 consonant sounds. They are distinguished from one another by

1. the degree of noise

2. the manner of articulation

3. the place of articulation

1. DEGREE OF NOISE

- noise cons-s – in its production there is a noise component characteristic. Noise cons-s sounds vary:

1. in the work of the vocal cords (voiced – b,d,g,v,6,z;ж,дж; voiceless – p,t,k,f,0,s,ш,ч)

2. in the degree of force of articulation (strong (or fortis) – p,t,k,f,0,s,ш,ч,h; weak (or lenis) – b,d,g,v,6,z,ж,дж)

- sonorants are made with tone prevailing over noise because of a rather wide air passage – m,n,n,,w,l,r,ж

2. THE MANNER OF ARTICULATION

1. Occlusive - are sounds in the production which the air stream meets a complete obstruction in mouth (they are also called plosives). According to the work of the vocal cords stops may be voiced and voiceless. Occlusive voiced: b, d, g. Occlusive voiceless: the English [p, t, k]. Occlusive sonorants: [m, n, n,].

2. Constrictive - the air stream meets an incomplete obstruction in the resonator, so the air passage is constricted (сжато). Constrictive noise are called friсatives - f, v, 0, 6, s, z, ш, ж, h. Constrictive sonorants - w, r, l, j

3. Occlusive-constrictive (affricates) are noise consonant sounds produced with a complete obstruction which is slowly released and the air escapes from the mouth with some friction. There are only two occlusive-constrictives in English: [ч, дж]

4. Rolled are sounds pronounced with periodical momentary obstructions when the tip of the tongue taps quickly several times against the teeth ridge and vibrates in the air stream. They are the Russian [p, p'].

3. THE PLACE OF ARTICULATION

1. Labial - are made by the lips. They may be bilabial (when both lips are active - p, b, m, w) and labio-dental are articulated with the lower lip against the edge of the upper teeth - f, v

2. Lingual - are classified into forelingual, mediolingual (j) and backlingual (k,g,n,)

According to the place of obstruction forelingual consonants may be: Interdental (g,d), Dental (т,т’, д, д’ с,с', з,з', ц, л,л'], Alveolar (t,d,s,z,n,l), Post-alveolar (r), Palato-alveolar (ч,дж,ш,з).

3. Glottal - h