library.miit.rulibrary.miit.ru/methodics/04022018...УДК 42 П 26 Первезенцева О.А....
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МИНИСТЕРСТВО ТРАНСПОРТА
РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ
ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ
ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ВЫСШЕГО
ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
«РОССИЙСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ ТРАНСПОРТА
(МИИТ)»
Институт экономики и финансов
Кафедра «Лингвистика»
О.А. Первезенцева
Фонетика современного английского языка.
Теоретический курс
Учебное пособие
МОСКВА - 2017
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МИНИСТЕРСТВО ТРАНСПОРТА
РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ
ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ
ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ВЫСШЕГО
ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
«РОССИЙСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ ТРАНСПОРТА
(МИИТ)»
Институт экономики и финансов
Кафедра «Лингвистика»
О.А. Первезенцева
Фонетика современного английского языка.
Теоретический курс
Учебное пособие
для студентов-бакалавров
направления «Лингвистика»
МОСКВА - 2017
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УДК 42
П 26
Первезенцева О.А. Фонетика современного
английского языка. Теоретический курс: Учебное пособие.
Для студентов-бакалавров направления «Лингвистика». –
М.: РУТ (МИИТ), 2017. - 286 с.
Данное учебное пособие адресовано студентам-
бакалаврам, изучающим курс «Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка». Материалы, представленные в
пособии, предназначены для освоения знаний в области
фонетической науки, а также для формирования умения
работать с научным текстом, обсуждать дискуссионные
теоретические вопросы и анализировать фонетические
явления. Каждый раздел завершается вопросами,
заданиями и упражнениями для самостоятельной работы
студентов.
Рецензенты: доктор филологических наук, профессор
кафедры фонетики и лексики английского языка
Московского педагогического государственного
университета Фрейдина Е.Л.,
кандидат филологических наук, зав. кафедрой
«Языкознание» РУТ (МИИТ) Лалова Т.И.
©РУТ (МИИТ), 2017
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CONTENTS
PREFACE …………………………………………...6
I. PHONETICS AS A BRANCH OF LINGUISTICS.
BRANCHES OF PHONETICS. METHODS OF
INVESTIGATION ………………………………….8
1.1 Introduction ………………………………...8
1.2 Branches and Divisions of Phonetics ……..11
1.3. Phonetics and Social Sciences ……………17
1.4. Methods of Phonetic Investigation ……….20
Questions and Tasks …………………………..22
Recommended Literature ……………………..33
II. THE ARTICULATORY CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS ………….34
2.1. The Anatomo-mechanical Aspect of Sound
Production ……………………………………….35
2.2. The System of English Vowels ………….37
2.3. The System of English Consonants ……...43
Questions and Tasks ………………………….48
Recommended Literature ……………………..50
III. THE ACOUSTIC AND AUDITORY ASPECTS
OF THE ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS …………51
Questions and Tasks ………………………….55
Recommended Literature …………………….55
IV. THE FUNCTIONAL ASPECT OF SPEECH
SOUNDS ………………………………………….56
4.1 Phoneme and Allophones …………………56
4.2. Phonetic Notations ……………………….63
4.3. Methods of Phonological Analysis ………65
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Questions and Tasks …………………………..70
Recommended Literature ……………………..90
V. MODIFICATIONS OF SOUNDS IN
CONNECTED SPEECH …………………………92
5.1. Types of Sound Modifications ………….92
5.2. English consonants in connected speech ..95
5.3. English vowels in connected speech ……..99
5.4. Stylistic modifications of sounds ………..100
Questions and Tasks …………………………103
Recommended Literature ……………………105
VI. SYLLABIC AND ACCENTUAL STRUCTURES
OF ENGLISH WORDS …………………………..106
Tasks and questions …………………………111
Recommended Literature…………………….122
VII. The Accentual Structure of English Words …123
Tasks and questions ………………………….129
Recommended Literature ……………………144
VIII. ENGLISH ITONATNION, ITS STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTIONS ………………………………145
8.1. The Structure of English Intonation …….147
8.2. The Functional Aspect of English
Intonation ……………………………………….156
Questions and Tasks …………………………163
Recommended Literature ……………………182
IX. THE RHYTHMIC STRUCTURE OF THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE …………………………184
Questions and Tasks …………………………188
Recommended Literature ……………………204
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X. PHONOSTYLISTICS AND THE STYLISTIC
USE OF INTONATION ………………………….205
10.1. Problems of Phonostylistics ……………205
10.2. Intonational Styles ……………………212
Questions and Tasks …………………………216
Recommended Literature ……………………226
XI. TERRITORIAL VARIETIES OF ENGLISH
PRONUNCIATION …………………………….228
11.1. British English ………………………...230
11.2. American English ……………………...234
Questions and Tasks …………………………237
Recommended Literature ……………………253
PRESENTING AN ARTICLE……………………254
CHECK YOURSELF …………………………….257
GLOSSARY ……………………………………...262
REFERENCES …………………………………...282
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PREFACE This book is intended for students of linguistics. It
is based on the material of the textbook
«Теоретическая фонетика английского языка»
written by M.A. Sokolova, K.P. Gintovt, I.S.
Tikhonova, R.M. Tikhonova. Theoretical material is
presented here in a simplified way to help students to
revise the course of normative phonetics and acquire
basic knowledge of the theory of English
pronunciation. The aims of the book are as follows:
- to view phonetics as a branch of linguistics and
show some trends in its development;
- to summarize and to extend students’
knowledge of phonetics received during the
course of normative phonetics;
- to outline the functional approach to the English
pronunciation and to provide an understanding
of general principles of phonetics and
phonology;
- to develop students’ ability to make some
practical conclusions based on the given
theoretical facts and instruct them to apply the
theoretical knowledge of phonetics to
communication, language teaching and self-
education.
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The body of the book includes 10 units which cover
the material on segmental and suprasegmental aspects
of phonetics, as well as phonostylistics and territorial
varieties of English pronunciation. Each unit contains
an overview of the core material on English phonetics
and is accompanied by tasks and questions aimed at
application of the unit content to solving some
practical problems and encouraging students to do
further reading on the problem and to discuss major
issues in class. The units end with the list of
Recommended Literature for students’ further
research related to the units content. The list may be
extended if necessary to provide a wider range of
material for analysis and discussion.
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I. PHONETICS AS A BRANCH OF
LINGUISTICS. BRANCHES OF
PHONETICS. METHODS OF
INVESTIGATION
Key words: acoustic/auditory/articulatory
phonetics, descriptive/historical phonetics, direct
observation, general/special phonetics, instrumental
methods, intonograph, laryngoscope, mathematical
linguistics, phonology (functional phonetics),
practical (normative) phonetics,
pragmalinguistics/pragmaphonetics,
psycholinguistics, segmental/suprasegmental
phonetics, sociophonetics, spectrograph, theoretical
phonetics, x–ray photograph /cinematography.
1.1 Introduction
Knowledge of the structure of sound system and its
articulatory and acoustic characteristics is very
important in teaching and learning foreign languages.
The teacher has to know the starting point from which
to begin teaching; he must be able to point out the
differences between the pupil’s mother tongue and the
language to be learnt. He should be able to choose
adequate training exercises. That’s why it is vital to
know, at least, the basic principles of this science.
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The term "phonetics" comes from the Greek words
meaning "sound or matters pertaining to voice". What
does phonetics study? It is concerned with the human
noises by which the thought is actualized (that is the
oral aspect of speech communication). However
phonetics takes the content level into consideration
too. Only meaningful sound sequences are regarded as
speech and phonetics is concerned only with such
sounds which are carriers of organized information of
a language. Phonetics analyses the nature of these
sounds, their combinations and their functions in
relation to the meaning. No kind of linguistic study
can be carried out without constant consideration of
the material on the expression level. Consequently,
phonetics is important in the study of a language. An
understanding of it is a basis for any adequate
understanding of the structure or functioning of a
language.
It follows from this that phonetics is a basic branch
- many would say the most fundamental branch of
linguistics, because it gives a language a definite form.
The vocabulary and grammar of a language can
function only when the language has a phonetic form.
So grammar and vocabulary depend on phonetics,
they cannot exist outside of phonetics, because all
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lexical and grammar phenomena are expressed
phonetically. Neither linguistic theory nor linguistic
description can do without phonetics and is complete
without it.
Phonetics, being a branch of linguistics, occupies a
peculiar position. On the one hand it serves as a means
of expressing grammatical and lexical phenomena. On
the other hand it has laws of its own which are
independent of grammar and vocabulary. Besides it is
closely connected with a number of other sciences,
such as physics, biology, physiology, psychology etc.
The more phonetics develops the more various
branches of science become involved in the field of
phonetic investigation.
Phonetics is not a new science. It was known to the
ancient Greeks and to the ancient Hindus. The
scientists of that time were concerned with speech
sounds only. It may be said that the orthography of all
written languages which use alphabets developed in
the course of a very detailed phonetic analysis.
Nevertheless, phonetics as an independent science
began to develop only in the 19th century, before that
it used to be a part of grammar. There has been
considerable progress and growth in the 20th century.
New concepts, methods of investigation, new theories
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and schools have been developed. Not only has the
sphere of investigation in phonetics become wider, but
several new branches of phonetics have also arisen.
So our further point will be made on the branches
and divisions of phonetics.
1.2. Branches and Divisions of Phonetics
Everyone who starts learning a foreign language
first of all is introduced into practical or normative
phonetics. It studies the material form of phonetic
phenomena in relation to meaning. It teaches how to
pronounce sounds correctly and what intonation to use
to convey this or that meaning or emotion. It is called
normative because we are to teach the "norm" of
English pronunciation.
Theoretical phonetics is mainly concerned with the
functioning of phonetic units in the language. It
discusses the problems of phonetics in academic terms
and gives a scientific approach to the phonetic theory.
Other two important branches of phonetics are
special and general phonetics. Special phonetics may
be subdivided into descriptive and historical. Special
descriptive phonetics is concerned with the study of
the phonetic structure of one language only in its static
form, synchronically and the domain of special
historical phonetics is the phonetic structure of a
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language in its historical development, diachronically.
Historical phonetics is part of the history of a
language. Its aim is to trace and establish the
successive changes in the phonetic system of a given
language at different stages of its historical
development. It is very important for the study of the
modern phonetic system because without a historical
approach it is impossible to understand how this
modern phonetic system has developed and what
further changes it is likely to undergo.
General phonetics studies all the sound-producing
possibilities of the human speech apparatus and the
ways they are used for purposes of human
communication by means of language, it finds out
what types of speech sounds exist in various
languages of the world, how they are produced and
what role they play in forming and expressing
thoughts; it also determines the nature, types and role
of other phonetic means, such as word stress and
intonation. General phonetics is based on the material
which the special phonetics of a great number of
languages provides; it also uses data of other sciences:
physics, biology, psychology, speech pathology, etc.
So it makes a number of general conclusions
concerning the complex nature of speech sounds,
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analyses phonetic phenomena from different points of
view and formulates phonetic theories. On the one
hand general phonetics is based on the data of special
phonetics; on the other hand it provides valuable
theoretical material which enables us to understand
and to interpret correctly different phonetic
phenomena of concrete languages.
Another important division is into phonology and
phonetics. According to the conception of the Prague
Linguistic School phonetics and phonology are two
independent branches of science, phonetics is a
biological science which is concerned with the
physical and physiological characteristics of speech
sounds, and phonology is a linguistic science which is
concerned with the social functions of different
phonetic phenomena. Another term for this branch is
functional phonetics.
The father of Phonology is Prince Nicholas
Trubetskoi. His work "Fundementals of Phonology"
separates phonetics and phonology, saying that they
are not related and that phonetics is not part of
linguistics, but a biological science that deals only
with the physiological aspect of speech sounds.
Nevertheless it doesn't seem logical to separate
function from phonetic forms, thus excluding
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phonetics from the linguistic sciences. So nowadays
most phoneticians consider both phonetics and
phonology part of linguistics.
Phonetics itself is subdivided into 3 sub branches,
each dealing with special aspects of sounds, their
production by a speaker and perception by a listener.
Phonetic processing starts on a neurophonetic level,
in the brain of a speaker, where the formation of the
concept takes place. The human brain controls the
behaviour of the articulatory (or speech) organs and
makes them move in a particular way. The branch of
phonetics which is concerned with the study of speech
sounds as regards their production by the human
speech organs is called articulatory (physiological)
phonetics. In other words it deals with the way human
organs join to produce sounds. Articulatory basis of a
language is a set of articulation tendencies
characteristic for a particular language community, so
articulatory gesturing is culturally specific and not
universal.
Different articulations produce different acoustic
effects, or different speech sounds. Consequently,
speech sounds have a second aspect, a physical or,
more exactly, an acoustic one, which constitutes the
domain of acoustic phonetics. Acoustic phonetics
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involves knowledge of physics as it deals with the
physical property of sounds. Any sound is a pressure
disturbance transmitted through an elastic medium.
When articulatory gesturing starts it causes
disturbance (a sound wave) in the medium, which is
transmitted from one particle of the medium to
another and is reproduced as a sound wave travels
from the source to the listener.
Perceptual or auditory phonetics is concerned with
the way our auditory mechanism works to process
speech information. There is a boundary line between
reception (which doesn't involve understanding) and
perception (which involves decoding and
understanding). Phonetic perception is a product of
sensation and interpretation of speech elements which
take place in a human brain.
Phonetics is also divided into two major
components: segmental phonetics, which is concerned
with individual sounds ("segments" of speech) and
suprasegmental phonetics whose domain is larger
units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases
and texts.
There are a number of other divisions of phonetics.
We may speak about comparative phonetics whose
aims are to study the correlation between the phonetic
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systems of two or more languages and find out the
correspondences between speech sounds and
intonation structures. Its data are extremely useful in
teaching and learning a foreign language as they show
differences and similarities of the phonetic systems of
two or more languages and predict possible difficulties
for the learners. It should be mentioned that the most
difficult phonetic phenomena are those absent in the
mother tongue. For example, the sounds [ð-θ] cause a
lot of difficulties for the Russian students of English,
as there are no sounds with similar articulations in the
Russian language. On the other hand the most stable
and persistent pronunciation mistakes are made in
those phenomena which are similar in the two
languages but not exactly the same. For example,
falling intonation. In English it goes to the very
bottom of the voice, while in Russian it is not so steep
and it does not reach the same low note as in English.
The data of applied phonetics are essential for
practical purposes in speech therapy and logopedia. It
helps to correct speech defects and to teach deaf-
mutes (or people who do not speak as a result of an
accident or some disease) to speak.
Experimental phonetics deals with research work
which is carried out with the help of different
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technical devices, machines for measurements and for
instrumental analysis.
Phonetics as a whole and all of its branches have
not come into being all at once: they developed
gradually, and their development was closely
connected with and determined by the development of
other branches of linguistics and other sciences.
1.3. Phonetics and Social Sciences
So our further point should be made in connection
with the relationship between phonetics and social
sciences. Language is not an isolated phenomenon; it
is a part of society. No branch of linguistics can be
studied without taking into consideration at least the
study of other aspects of society. In the past two
decades we have seen the development of quite
distinct interdisciplinary subjects, such as
sociolinguistics (and sociophonetics correspondingly),
psycholinguistics, mathematical linguistics and others.
As their titles suggest, they are studied from two
points of view and thus require knowledge of both.
Sociophonetics studies the ways in which
pronunciation functions in society. It is interested in
the ways in which phonetic structures vary in response
to different social functions. Society here is used in its
broadest sense, it includes such phenomena as
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nationality, regional and social groups, age, gender,
different situations of speaking - talking to equals,
superiors, on the “job”, when we are trying to
persuade, inform, agree and so on. The aim of
sociophonetics is to correlate phonetic variations with
situational factors. It’s obvious that these data are vital
for language learners who are to observe social norms
and to accommodate to different situations they find
themselves in.
One more example of interdisciplinary overlap is
the relation of linguistics to psychology.
Psycholinguistics covers an extremely broad area,
from acoustic phonetics to language pathology, and
includes such problems as acquisition of language by
children, memory, attention, speech perception,
second-language acquisition and so on.
Phonosemantics studies the relations between the
sound structure of a word and its meaning. There is
some data proving that the sounds that constitute a
word have their own “inner” meaning, which causes
certain associations in the listener’s mind. For
example, close vowels produce the effect of
“smallness”, and voiceless consonants sound more
“unpleasant” and “rude” than their voiced
counterparts, etc. Some sounds are associated with
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19
certain colours. These data may be helpful in teaching,
for example, “tying” together the sound structure of a
word and its meaning, thus facilitating the process of
memorising new words.
Scientists have always been interested how children
acquire their own language without being taught. They
hope that these data might be useful in teaching
grown-up people a foreign language, too.
Pragmalinguistics is a comparatively new science,
which studies what linguistic means and ways of
influence on a hearer to choose in order to bring about
certain effects in the process of communication.
Correspondently the domain of pragmaphonetics is to
analyse the functioning and speech effects of the
sound system of a language.
Phonetics is closely connected with a number of
other sciences such as physics (or rather acoustics),
mathematics, biology, physiology and others. The
more phonetics develops the more various branches of
science become involved in the field of phonetic
investigation. Phonetics has become important in a
number of technological fields connected with
communication.
Phoneticians work alongside the communication
engineers in devising and perfecting machines that can
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20
understand, that is respond to human speech, or
machines for reading aloud the printed page and vice
versa, converting speech directly into printed words
on paper. Although scientists are still dissatisfied with
the quality of synthesized speech, these data are
applied in security systems, answering machines and
for other technical purposes.
1.4. Methods of Phonetic Investigation
Methods applied in investigating the sound matter
of the language have changed greatly with the
development of technology and computer science.
From the beginning of phonetics the phonetician has
relied mainly on what he could feel of his own speech
and on what he could hear both of his own and the
informant’s speech. Such methods are called direct
and consist in observing the movements and positions
of one's own or other people's organs of speech in
pronouncing various speech sounds, as well as in
analysing one's own kinaesthetic sensations (muscle
tense) during the articulation of speech sounds and in
comparing them with the resultant auditory
impressions. Investigation by means of this method
can be effective only if the persons employing it have
been specially trained and have acquired considerable
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skills in associating the qualities of the perceived
sound with the nature of the articulations producing it.
Instrumental methods were introduced into
phonetics in the last century to supplement the
impressions deriving from the human senses. These
methods are based upon registering or computing
machines and technical devices, such as spectrograph,
intonograph, x-ray photography and cinematography,
laryngoscope and some others. The introduction of
machines for measurements and for instrumental
analysis into phonetics has resulted in their use for
detailed study of many of the phenomena which are
present in the sound wave or in the articulatory
process at any given moment. These techniques can be
very useful both for discovering in detail how English
speakers produce their speech sounds, and for
demonstrating to learners of English their
pronunciation. Computers can provide additional
pronunciation training, displaying useful information
on the screen and being a powerful visual aid for
effective phonetic practice. One more advantage of the
modern experimental study of speech is the enormous
amount of varied spoken speech data stored on
computers. It facilitates the process of looking for
cross-language differences and similarities. The data
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obtained from instrumental analysis supplement and
verify those obtained by means of direct observation,
thus making the research results more detailed and
precise.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS:
I. Read the following abstracts from original
works, answer the questions and comment on one of
the problems:
By phonetics is meant the science of speech
sounds, their production by means of lips, tongue,
palate, and vocal chords, their acoustic qualities, their
combination into syllables and other sound groups,
and finally quantity, stress and intonation. Phonetics
thus may be called that part of linguistic science which
deals with the outward aspect of language as opposed
to the inner or psychological side of language, or it
may be looked upon as that part of physics and of
physiology which deals specially with sounds as used
by human beings to communicate thoughts and
feelings to one another. Among those who have
contributed to the development of phonetic science we
find physicists like Helmholtz, physiologists like
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Brücke, and philologists like Sievers, Storm and
Sweet.
This lecture was given in September, 1909, at
Columbia University as the first of a series on
practical and theoretical phonetics.
Jespersen, Otto. What is the use of phonetics? //
Educational Review, February, 1910. –
http://interlanguages.net/phonetics.html.
1. What is phonetics?
I therefore pass on to another field where
advantages are likely to accrue from a more extended
knowledge of phonetics. The question of spelling
reform is a burning one in all civilized countries. Not
only in English, but also in French, in German, in
Danish, in Swedish, in Russian, and to a much lesser
degree in Italian and Spanish, do we find numerous
instances of words spelt otherwise than pronounced,
of mute and superfluous or ambiguous letters <...>
The present situation is one of a clumsy and difficult
system of spelling that causes a miserable loss of time
in all schools (and out of schools, too); much valuable
time which might be used profitably in many other
ways, is spent upon learning that this word has to be
spelt in this absurd manner, and that word in another
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24
equally absurd way, and why? For no other apparent
reason than that such has been the custom of a couple
of centuries or more <...> Now I know very well that
it is not every phonetician who is a spelling reformer
though a great many are; but what I do maintain is, in
the first place, that only a good phonetician can show
what is to be reformed and what is to be the direction
of change, because he alone knows what sounds to
represent and how best to represent them.
<...> But in the second place I maintain that a
thorough reform of the spelling of any civilized nation
does not only presuppose a small set of energetic
phoneticians who have investigated all the odds and
ends of the subject, but will not be possible till the day
when the general public have given up what I should
call their all–pervading superstition in these matters,
their irrational belief that the spelling of words had
been settled once for all, as if by some divine
command, and that any deviation from the traditional
spelling is either ridiculous or else an infallible
symptom of low breeding. Much of that superstition
will break down when people get accustomed to
seeing old authors spelt in the orthography of their
own times; I think it is a great pity that Shakespeare is
now nearly always reprinted in and read in the spelling
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of the nineteenth century instead of in that of the old
editions. Much would also be achieved if scholars of
renown, philologists, students of literature, and writers
of books in general, would indulge in some individual
spellings, one in this class of words, and another in
some other class. These individual spellings need not
be very numerous, nor should they be necessarily
consistent, and the author need not give any other
reason for his special heterodoxies than that they just
suit his fancy. This would educate readers by showing
them that different spellings need not always be marks
of illiteracy, and that there may exist difference of
opinions in this as well as in other respects without
any fear of human society falling at once to pieces on
that account.
This lecture was given in September, 1909, at
Columbia University as the first of a series on
practical and theoretical phonetics.
Jespersen, Otto. What is the use of phonetics? //
Educational Review, February, 1910. –
http://interlanguages.net/phonetics.html.
1. What arguments does the author give to prove the
necessity of a spelling reform in English?
2. Why do most educated people object to the spelling
reform?
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26
Languages can basically be thought of as
systems – highly complicated ones – which enable us
to express our thoughts by means of “vocal noises”,
and to extract meaning from the “noises” (speech
sounds from now on) that are made by other people.
Linguistics is the study of the nature and properties of
these systems, and its various branches focus on
different aspects of the communication process.
Phonetics is the branch concerned with human
speech sounds, and itself has three different aspects:
• Articulatory Phonetics (the most anatomical and
physiological division) describes how vowels and
consonants are produced or “articulated” in various
parts of the mouth and throat.
• Acoustic Phonetics (the branch that has the closest
affinities with physics) studies the sound waves that
transmit the vowels and consonants through the air
from the speaker to the hearer.
• Auditory Phonetics (the branch of most interest to
psychologists) looks at the way in which the hearer’s
brain decodes the sound waves back into the vowels
and consonants originally intended by the speaker.
Closely associated with Phonetics is another
branch of linguistics known as Phonology. This
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focuses on the way languages use differences between
sounds in order to convey differences of meaning
between words, each language having its own unique
sound pattern. Phonology is really the link between
Phonetics and the rest of Linguistics.
Dr. Rodney Ball. Introduction to Phonetics for
Students of English, French, German and Spanish. –
University of Southampton, 2002. – P. 5.
1. What is Phonetics and what do its various branches
study?
Experimental phonetics has been an important
part of phonetics for most of the twentieth century,
and experimental work in phonetics laboratories has
produced many important discoveries about how
speech is produced and perceived. Too often,
however, this area of the subject is regarded as a
mysterious world where incomprehensible things are
done with expensive equipment. This situation is
changing rapidly, and one consequence of the earlier
availability of instrumental speech analysis techniques
is that the field of descriptive phonetics, pronunciation
teaching and experimental phonetics have become
much more closely linked <...>
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In explaining the subject matter of experimental
phonetics it is helpful to start by looking at the speech
chain, which may be diagrammed in simplified form
like this:
speaker’
s brain
speaker’s
vocal
tract
transmissio
n of sound
through air
listener’
s ear
listener’
s brain
1 2 3 4 5
articulator
y
phonetic
level
acoustic
phonetic
level
auditor
y
phoneti
c level
With currently available technology we are not
able to discover what goes on in detail in the brain
when someone is speaking (Stage 1), although we can
make informed guesses based on evidence such as
speech error (“slips of the tongue”), the effects on
speech production of different sorts of brain damage
and the evidence of brain scanning.
Much more is known about Stage 2, the
articulatory aspect of speech production. Many special
instruments have been developed to help us to find out
about such things as the pressure of air in the lungs
and the vocal tract, the flow of air out of the mouth
and nose, the opening and closing of the vocal folds
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29
and of the soft palate, and the movement of
articulators like the lips and the lower jaw. X–ray
techniques were used extensively for examining the
movements of articulators until the 1970s, and
produced very important discoveries, but it later
became clear that there were serious health risks in
using normal radiographic and cineradiographic
technology <...> Contact between the tongue and the
palate can be measured electrically by means of
electropalatography (EPG), where a piece of moulded
plastic is fitted to the hard palate <...> Additionally, it
is possible to detect the electrical activity that is
produced when muscles contract, through
electromyography (EMG), and we can thus observe
the complex co–ordination of activity in the muscles
controlling speech production <...>
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 1987. – PP. 204-
205.
1. What are the constituents of the speech chain?
2. What helps us to guess what is happening on Stage
1?
3. What instruments are used to study the articulatory
aspect of speech production?
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30
<...> the transmission of sound waves through
the air, is studied by acoustic analysis <...> We can
discover the physical events that produce the
perceptual characteristics of speech sounds, including
the duration of sounds or syllables (we often refer to
duration as “length”), the intensity of different sounds
(which is closely related to loudness that we perceive),
and the fundamental frequency of voiced sounds
(which is closely related to pitch). <...> Software for
acoustic analysis and spectrographic displays of
speech is available at little or no cost via internet, and
it is now possible to get a computer to produce a
simple phonetic transcription of what is said to it.
Finally, it is of great importance to discover
more about how the listener’s brain identifies what it
receives from the ear <...>. Many experiments have
shown how sensitive human beings are to very slight
differences and how flexible they are in being able to
adjust to very different speakers. We are also very
strongly influenced by our expectations: if we have
heard and understood half a sentence, it seems that our
brain is already guessing at what the rest of it will be
before it is heard, and is certainly not acting in a
passive way like a simple machine <...> Experimental
phonetics has made much use of speech produced
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31
through the technique of speech synthesis. The best
speech synthesis is capable of producing speech of
such high quality that only an expert can distinguish it
from a recording of a human being’s speech <...>
One of the major problems in the experimental
study of speech is the enormous amount of variability
found both within the speech of an individual and
among different speakers. This means that if we study
only one or two speakers, it is likely that our results
will not be typical of other speakers. Much modern
speech research makes use of collections of very large
amounts of spoken data stored in digital form on
computers in a form which allows the computer to
search and process examples of particular types of
phonetic data. Such collections are known as speech
databases <...>
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 1987. – PP. 206-
207.
1. What can we discover with the help of acoustic
analysis?
2. What are the results of the speech perception
analysis?
3. What is a speech database and why is it valuable in
experimental phonetics?
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32
II. Questions for revision:
1. Why is phonetics important in teaching and
studying a foreign language?
2. What does phonetics study?
3. What are general and special phonetics concerned
with?
4. What are the sub–branches of special phonetics?
5. What are the domains of segmental and
suprasegmental phonetics?
6. Describe the stages of speech production.
7. What branches of phonetics are connected with
each stage of speech production?
8. What does phonology study?
9. What linguists were the first to introduce and
develop the functional aspect of phonetic phenomena?
10. Into what two large groups can methods of
phonetic investigation be divided?
11. In what branches of phonetics do these methods
come useful?
12. What does sociophonetics study?
13. How are linguistics and psychology interrelated?
14. What is kinesics concerned with?
15. What are the spheres of practical application of
phonetics?
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III. Make a report on one of the topics:
1. Phonetics as a branch of linguistics.
2. Main branches of Phonetics.
3. Phonetics and other sciences.
4. Main methods of phonetic investigation.
5. Practical applications of Phonetics.
Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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II. THE ARTICULATORY
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENGLISH
SPEECH SOUNDS
Key words: affricate, back-advanced, bilingual,
bronchi, consonant, constrictive, diphthong,
diphthongoid, glottal, glottis, front-retracted, labial,
larynx, lingual, lungs, monophthong,
mouth/nasal/supraglottal cavities, occlusive, palate,
pharynx, resonator/ vibrator/power mechanisms,
sonorant, teeth ridge, tongue, vocal cords, vowel,
uvula, windpipe.
2.1. The Anatomo-mechanical Aspect of Sound
Production
Speech is impossible without the speech
mechanism. So now our attention will be focused on
the articulatory aspect of speech sounds.
Speech sounds are acoustic effects of the
articulatory movements and positions of the human
speech organs. The immediate source of speech
sounds is the human speech mechanism developed and
perfected in the process of the historical development
of man. The organs of speech are the object of
linguistic investigation mainly from the point of view
of the functions they perform in speech production. So
before analysing the linguistic function of phonetic
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units we need to know how the speech mechanism
acts in producing oral speech.
According to their main sound-producing functions
the speech organs can be roughly divided into the
following four groups: the power mechanism (lungs,
diaphragm, windpipe, bronchi), the vibrator
mechanism (larynx, vocal cords, glottis), the resonator
mechanism (nasal and mouth cavities) and the
obstructer mechanism (tongue, lips, hard and soft
palate, teeth).
From the lungs through the wind-pipe the air-
stream passes to the larynx, containing the vocal
cords. The opening between the vocal cords, through
which the air passes, is called the glottis. The
linguistic function of the vocal cords consists in
providing the source of energy necessary for speech
production. When the vocal cords are kept wide apart
(i.e. the glottis is open) the air passes between the
cords and the result is non-phonic breath. Then the
vocal cords may be drawn together tightly, so that air
cannot pass between them. The sudden opening of the
glottis produces an explosion resembling a short
cough; this sound is called the glottal stop. It often
occurs in English when it reinforces or even replaces
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36
the sounds [p], [t], [k] or even when it precedes the
energetic articulation of vowel sounds.
The most important role of the vocal cords is their
participation in the production of voice. The effect of
voice is achieved when the vocal cords are brought
loosely together, creating an obstacle to the air stream;
when the air pressure becomes very strong the air
forces its way between the vocal cords thus making
the, vibrate. When, as is usual, these vibrations are
regular, they produce vocal tone, or voice, whose pitch
depends on the frequency of vibrations. We are able to
vary the speed of vibration of our vocal cords and thus
to change the pitch. Conscious variations of pitch are
responsible for intonation. We are also able to modify
the size of the puff of the air which escapes at each
vibration, thus changing the amplitude of the
vibration, which corresponds to the loudness of the
sound heard by a listener.
The air-stream, having passed through the vocal
cords, is now subject to further modification,
according to the shape of the pharynx, mouth and
nasal cavities.
The direction in which the air-stream will follow
from the pharynx depends on the position of the soft
palate. When it is lowered, the pharynx opens into the
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37
nasal cavity. When it is risen, the air-stream comes to
the mouth cavity. As in the mouth cavity a lot of
movable speech organs are situated it can easily
change its shape, thus forming the majority of speech
sounds.
The movable (or active) speech organs, situated in
the mouth cavity are: the tongue, the soft palate with
the uvula, the lips and the lower jaw. Of all the
movable organs within the mouth cavity the tongue is
the most flexible and active. For convenience, the
surface of the tongue or divided into several parts: the
most flexible part of the tongue, which normally lies
opposite the teeth ridge, is called the blade, the tip of
the tongue being its extreme point. The part of the
tongue next to the blade is called the front of the
tongue. Then come the back and the root of the
tongue.
The tongue being the most active speech organ in
the mouth cavity, the main principles of the majority
of articulatory classifications of vowels are based on
the movements and positions of the tongue.
2.2. The System of English Vowels
The movements of the body of the tongue provide a
convenient articulatory basis for classifying vowels
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according to two principles: 1) horizontal and 2)
vertical movements of the tongue.
According to the horizontal movement five classes
of English vowels are distinguished. They are:
1) front [i:], [e], [eɪ], [ɛə], [æ]
2) front-retracted [ɪ], [ɪə]
3) central [ʌ], [ɜ:], [ə], [ɜʊ], [aʊ], [aɪ]
4) back [ɒ], [ɔ:], [u:], [a:], [ɔɪ]
5) back-advanced [ʊ], [ʊə]
Not all phoneticians single out the classes of front-
retracted and back-advanced vowels. So both [i:] and
[ɪ] vowels are classed as front, and both [u:] and [ʊ] -
as back. The point is that the vowels in these two pairs
differ in quality which is partially due to the raised
part of the tongue. So in this case a more detailed
classification seems to be a more precise one, since it
adequately reflects the articulatory distinctions
actually present in the language.
Now let's view another articulatory characteristic of
vowels, which is based on the vertical movement of
the tongue. The way phoneticians of different schools
approach this aspect is also slightly different. Some
scholars distinguish three classes of vowels: high (or
close), mid and low (or open) vowels. But to mark all
significant changes in vowel quality it is not enough to
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39
single out these three groups of vowels. For instance,
both English vowels [i:] and [ɪ] belong to the group of
close vowels, but when the vowel [ɪ] is articulated the
front of the tongue is not so high in the mouth as it is
in the case of the vowel [i:]. Russian phoneticians
made the classification more detailed distinguishing
two subclasses in each class: broad and narrow
variations of the 3 vertical positions of the tongue.
Thus the following 6 groups of vowels are
distinguished:
1) close a) narrow [i:], [u:]
b) broad [ɪ], [ʊ], [ɪə], [ʊə]
2) mid a) narrow [e], [ɜ:], [ə], [eɪ], [ɜʊ]
b) broad [ə], [ʌ]
3) open a) narrow [ɛə], [ɔ:], [ɔɪ]
b) broad [æ], [aɪ], [aʊ], [ɒ], [a:].
In addition to the above-mentioned principle of the
classification of vowels phoneticians suggest five
other criteria:
1) stability of articulation
2) lip position
3) character of the vowel end
4) length
5) tenseness
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40
The stability of articulation specifies the actual
position of the articulating organ in the process of the
articulation. There are two possible variants: a) the
tongue position is stable, in this case the articulated
vowel is pure, it consists of one element and is called
a monophthong; and b) the tongue position changes,
in this case a vowel consists of two elements, the first
one is strong, it is a nucleus, the second element is
very weak – it is a glide. Such vowels are called
diphthongs. There exists a third variety, when the
change in the tongue position is fairly weak, in this
case the articulated vowel is not pure, but it still
consists of one element, such vowels are called
diphthongoids. So according to this principle the
English vowels are subdivided into:
a) monophthongs [ɪ], [ʊ], [e], [ɜ:], [ə], [ʌ], [ɔ:], [æ],
[ɒ], [a:]
b) diphthongs [ɪə], [ʊə], [eɪ], [ɜʊ], [ɔɪ], [aɪ], [aʊ],
[ɛə]
c) diphthongoids [i:], [u:]
Some phoneticians, however, do not share this way
of thinking and do not distinguish diphthongoids. But
for the learners of English it is important to know this
differentiation as it is useful for teaching purposes.
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41
Besides in modern English the tendency for
diphthongization is becoming gradually stronger.
Another feature of English vowels is lip rounding.
Traditionally three lip positions are distinguished:
spread, neutral and rounded. In English lip rounding is
not relevant phonologically (it means that no two
words can be distinguished on its basis).
Our next point should be made about another
characteristic of English vowels. It's checkness. The
quality of all English monophthongs in the stressed
position is strongly affected by the following
consonant. If a stressed vowel is followed by a strong
(fortis) voiceless consonant it is cut off by it. In this
case the end of the vowel is strong and the vowel is
called checked. If a vowel is followed by a weak
(lenis) voiced consonant or by no consonant at all the
end of it is weak. In this case the vowel is called free.
Now it should be useful to consider another
articulatory characteristic of English vowels, that is
their length or quantity. The English monophthongs
are traditionally divided into short [ɪ], [e], [æ], [ɒ], [ʊ],
[ʌ], [ə] and long ones [i:], [a:], [ɔ:], [ɜ:], [u:].
It should be noted that vowel length or quantity has
for a long time been the point of disagreement among
phoneticians. The problem is whether variations in
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42
quantity are meaningful (relevant) or not. Let's look at
the pairs of words: [bɪd - bi:d], [sɪt - si:t]. Are they
distinguished from one another by the opposition of
different length (that's the approach of D. Jones, an
outstanding British phonetician) or is the difference in
quality (or in other words the position of the active
organ of speech) decisive here? Most Russian
phoneticians are in favour of the second conception.
They state that a feature can be systemic if it does not
depend on the context. As to the length of English
vowels, it varies and depends on a lot of factors, the
first being phonetic context. The shortest are vowels
followed by voiceless consonants and the longest are
in free position.
For example in "meat" [i:] is half as long as the [i:]
in "me", but may approximately have the same
duration as the [ɪ] in "mid". But still these words
"mid" and "meat" are perceived as different words
because the vowels are different in quality. So no
matter what time is required for the articulation of
these vowels, the main distinctive feature is quality,
not quantity.
As for tenseness we shall only mention that special
instrumental analysis shows that historically long
vowels are tense, and historically short ones are lax.
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43
To sum it up we may conclude that among all the
articulatory features of English vowels only two are
relevant: the stability of articulation and tongue
position.
2.3. The System of English Consonants
Before passing on to the classification of English
consonants the difference between consonants and
vowels should be considered. Acoustically consonants
are noises, not musical tones like vowels. From the
articulatory point of view the difference is due to the
work of speech organs. In case of consonants various
obstructions are made.
As to the classification of English consonants there
are few ways of seeing the situation. One of them is
the classification according to the type of obstacle. On
this ground two large classes of consonants are
distinguished:
1) occlusive, which are produced when a complete
obstruction is formed: [t, d, p, b, k, g], [m, n, ŋ];
2) constrictive, which are produced when an
incomplete obstruction is formed: [s, z, f, v, Ɵ, ð, ʃ, ʒ,
h], [w, r, l, j].
Each of the 2 classes is subdivided into noise
consonants (these are those in the production of which
noise prevails over tone) and sonorants (in the
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44
production of which tone component prevails). Noise
occlusive consonants are called stops because the air
stream is completely stopped at some point of
articulation and then released with an explosion, that
is why they are also called plosives: [t, d, p, b, k, g].
Constrictive noise consonants are called fricatives,
because the air escapes through the narrowing with
friction: [s, z, f, v, Ɵ, ð, ʃ, ʒ, h].
Occlusive-constrictive consonants or affricates are
noise consonants produced with a complete
obstruction which is slowly released and the air stream
escapes from the mouth with some friction. There are
only two affricates in English: [ʧ,ʤ].
Other phoneticians suggest that the first and basic
principle of classification should be the degree of
noise. So consonants are divided first into noise
consonants and sonorants and then each group is
divided into smaller groups.
Another very important principle is the place of
articulation. According to this principle English
consonants are classed into labial, lingual and glottal.
I. Labial consonants in their turn are subdivided
into a) bilabial (produced when both lips are active)
[w, m, p, b]; b) labio-dental (articulated with the lower
lip against the edge of the upper teeth) [f, v].
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45
II. Among the class of lingual consonants three
subclasses are distinguished: a) forelingual; b) medio-
lingual; c) back-lingual. Forelingual consonants are
also of three kinds:
1) apical (articulated with the tip of the tongue) [t,
d, s, z, Ɵ, ð, ʃ, ʒ, ʤ, ʧ, n, l].
2) dorsal (produced when the blade of the tongue is
active). There are no dorsal consonants in English. In
Russian these are the sounds [т, д, с, з, ш, ж, н, л].
3) cacuminal (articulated with the tip of the tongue
curled back). There is only one cacuminal consonant
in English - [r].
According to the place of obstruction forelingual
consonants may be:
- interdental, articulated with the tip of the tongue
projected between the teeth: [Ɵ, ð];
- dental, produced with the blade of the tongue
against the upper teeth: the Russian [т, д, с, з, ц, л];
- alveolar, produced with the tip of the tongue
against the upper teeth ridge: [t, d, s, z, n, l];
- post-alveolar, articulated with the tip or the blade
of the tongue against the back part of the teeth ridge:
[r];
- palato-alveolar, made with the tip or the blade of
the tongue against the teeth ridge and the front part of
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46
the tongue raised towards the hard palate, thus having
two places of articulation (two foci): [ʧ, ʤ, ʃ, ʒ].
b) mediolingual consonants are produced with the
front part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate,
so they are always palatal: [j].
c) backlingual consonants are also called velar,
because they are produced with the back part of the
tongue raised towards the soft palate: [k, g, ŋ].
III. The glottal consonant [h] is articulated in the
glottis. There are no glottal consonants in Russian.
One more articulatory characteristic which should
be mentioned is the position of the soft palate.
According to this principle consonants may be oral
and nasal. There are only three nasal consonants in
English, which require the lowered position of the soft
palate: [m, n, ]. The rest of the consonants are oral
because in their production the soft palate is raised and
the air escapes through the mouth.
Our next point will be made in connection with
another sound property, that is voice-voiceless
characteristic. When the vocal cords are brought
together and vibrate we hear voice and the consonants
are voiced: [b, d, g, v, z, ð, ʒ, ʤ]. When the vocal
cords are apart and do not vibrate we hear only noise
and the consonants are voiceless: [p, t, k, f, s, Ɵ, ʃ, ʧ].
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47
It should be noted that the difference between such
pairs as [p, b], [t, d] and so on is based not only on the
absence or presence of the voice component, as voiced
consonants are not fully voiced in all word positions,
in word final position, for example, they are partially
devoiced. There's also energy difference. All voiced
consonants are weak or lenis and all voiceless
consonants are strong or fortis.
Summing it up, it should be mentioned that the
most important articulatory features, which could
serve as a criterion for grouping consonants into
functionally similar classes, are: type of obstruction;
place of articulation and the active organ of speech;
force of articulation.
The rest of the characteristics are considered to be
irrelevant, as they are of no importance from the
phonological point of view, but they provide
necessary and useful information for teaching
purposes. It is for this reason that they are normally
included into the classification.
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48
Questions for revision:
1. Describe the
direction of the air
stream released
from the lings.
2. Into what
groups are the
speech organs
divided and what
is their role in
sound formation?
3. How do the
power, vibrator, resonator and obstructer mechanisms
work?
4. What is the role of the vocal cords in the production
of vowels and consonants?
5. Look at the diagram and label all active and passive
speech organs you can remember and identify.
6. What principles of the classification of English
vowels are relevant? Irrelevant? Find examples to
prove it.
7. What principles of the classification of English
consonants are relevant? Irrelevant? Find examples to
prove it.
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49
8. What are articulatory differences between vowels,
consonants and sonorants?
9. For which sound(s) are the lips rounded?
10. For which sound(s) do we need to use teeth?
11. For which sound(s) is the mouth most open? Most
closed?
12. For which sound(s) can you feel your Adam’s
Apple vibrate?
13. Compare the places of articulation of the following
pairs of consonants: [p – b], [t – d], k – g], [t - ʧ], [d -
ʤ], [n - ŋ], [v - w], [j –h].
14. Compare the places of articulation of the English
[h] and the Russian [х].
15. Compare the classifications of vowels given by
different phoneticians. Whose point of view do you
support?
16. Compare the articulations of the following pairs of
vowels from the viewpoint of their quality and
quantity: [i: - ɪ], [ɒ - ɔ:], [ʌ - a:], [ʊ - u:].
17. Compare the articulations of the following pairs of
vowels from the viewpoint of the vertical movements
of the tongue: [ɪ - e], [ɪ- ʊ], [e - ə], [ʌ - ɒ], [u: - ɔ:].
18. Compare the articulations of the following pairs of
vowels from the viewpoint of the horizontal
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50
movements of the tongue: [ɪ - ʊ], [ɜ: - ɔ:], [ɒ - ʌ], [æ -
ɒ], [ɛə - ɪə].
19. In what word will the vowel be the shortest? The
longest? Why?
me – mean – meat
duty – do – doom
log – lock – lolly
Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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III. THE ACOUSTIC AND AUDITORY
ASPECTS OF THE ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS
Key words: decibels, duration/length, frequency,
intensity, loudness, millisecond, periodical/non-
periodical, pitch, sound wave, timbre/voice quality.
The auditory aspect of any sound is inseparable
from its acoustic aspect and acoustic phonetics is
closely connected with auditory phonetics and both
may, therefore, be considered together.
Objectively sound is a physical phenomenon, a
kind of moving energy generated by some vibrating
body. Subjectively sound is our perception of the
vibrations of the air next to our ear-drum. People can
perceive not all vibrations of the air but only when
they occur at the rate of sixteen to twenty thousand
times per second.
Sounds may be periodical and non-periodical. If
the vibrations of a physical body (vocal cords in our
case) are rhythmical, the sound waves are periodical.
The auditory impression of such periodical waves is a
musical tone or a speech tone. If the wave is non-
periodical, it is perceived as noise.
Sound has a number of physical properties
which all exist and manifest themselves
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52
simultaneously. They can be singled out from the
others only for purposes of analysis.
The first of these properties is frequency which
is a number of vibrations per second. Our perception
of the frequency is the pitch of the sound. The greater
the frequency, the higher the pitch and vice versa. The
frequency depends on certain physical properties of
the vibrator, such as its mass, length and tension. The
greater the mass of the vibrator, the slower its
vibrations and the lower the pitch. The longer the
vibrator, the slower the vibrations and the lower the
frequency and the pitch. Here the difference between
men and women and adults and children voices lies.
Men's and adults' voices are lower than women's and
children's are, because their vocal cords are thicker
and longer. Tension depends on the elasticity of the
vocal cords. The vocal cords of elderly people are not
as elastic as the vocal cords of younger people,
children especially, so their voices sound rather low.
As the tension increases - the frequency increases and
the pitch rises.
The second physical property of sound is
intensity, changes in which are perceived as variations
in the loudness of sound. The intensity of sound is
produced by the amplitude of vibrations (that is by the
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53
distance to which the air particles are displaced from
their position of rest by the application of some
external force). Intensity is measured in decibels. The
intensity and frequency of sound are closely
interdependent. The same amount of energy will
produce either greater amplitude with a lower
frequency or a higher frequency with smaller
amplitude. Therefore if you increase the frequency
without increasing the amount of energy you will
shorten the amplitude and therefore reduce the
intensity, that is produce a less loud sound.
People are able to produce vowel sounds of
various qualities or timbres. This is achieved through
the action of the resonator mechanism. So the
production and differentiation of vowels is based on
the acoustic phenomenon that is called resonance.
Sounds coming from different resonators travel
different lengths (distances) or have different carrying
power. The distance is proportional to the volume of
the resonator and the size of its orifice.
Any sound has a certain duration or length. In
other words it can exist and move only in time. The
duration or length of a sound is the quantity of time
during which the same vibratory motion, the same
patterns of vibration are maintained. For this reason,
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54
the duration of a sound is often referred to as is
quantity. The duration is measured in millisecond. We
perceive the variations in duration as tempo or speed
of utterance. In speech there are not definite
boundaries between different speech sounds. So it’s
very difficult to measure the length of separate sounds.
In addition it should be mentioned that along
with various articulatory classifications of speech
sounds, there exist acoustic descriptions and
classifications.
The chief drawback of articulatory
classifications is that they don’t describe and define all
shades of typologically identical speech sounds,
especially vowels. Besides, one and the same speech
sound can be pronounced by different people with
slightly different positions and movements of their
speech organs. Acoustic classifications seem to
overcome these difficulties as they are more detailed
and accurate. The first acoustic classification was
based on spectrographic analysis. It was worked out
by Roman Jakobson, C. G. M. Fant and M. Halle.
However, acoustic classification, though more
precise, are not practically applied in teaching. The
acoustic features of speech sounds can not be seen
directly or felt. But there are some other fields of the
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55
application of acoustic phonetics: speech synthesis,
health service, security systems, etc.
Questions for revision:
1. What is the acoustic correlate of pitch?
Loudness? Speed of utterance?
2. What is the auditory impression of a
periodical sound wave? Non-periodical?
3. How can you explain the difference between
men’s, women’s and children’s voice
qualities (timbres)?
Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
3. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
4. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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IV. THE FUNCTIONAL ASPECT OF SPEECH
SOUNDS
Key words: allophone, allophonic (narrow) /
phonemic (broad) transcription, commutation test,
complementary / contrastive/parallel distribution,
distinctive (relative) / non–distinctive (irrelevant,
redundant) features, free variations, formally
distributional method, invariant, minimal pairs,
morphonology, neutralization, phone, phoneme,
phonetic / phonological mistakes, a principal /
subsidiary (secondary) allophone, semantically
distributional method, set of oppositions, sound.
4.1 Phoneme and Allophones
Phoneticians not only describe and classify the
material form of phonetic units. They are also
interested in the way in which sound phenomena
function in a particular language and what part they
play in communication. The branch of phonetics that
studies the linguistic function of consonant and vowel
sounds, syllabic structures, word accent and prosodic
features is called phonology. Unlike phonetics itself,
whose domain is articulatory and acoustic features,
phonology investigates the social aspect of sounds,
syllables, phrases and so on.
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Let’s first look at the linguistic function of
individual sounds. When we speak we produce a
continuous stream of sounds. In studying speech we
divide this stream into small segments, but how do we
decide how to divide it and how many different
sounds there are in English? As we see the term
“sound” can be interpreted in two rather different
ways. In the first place, we can say that [t] and [d] are
two different sounds in English. They contrast with
each other and differentiate the meaning of words.
Take, for example, [tu: - du:], [tɪk - dɪk], etc. But on
the other hand, if we listen carefully to the [t] in
“take” and compare it with the [t] in “at the”, we can
hear that the two sounds are also not the same, the [t]
of “take” is alveolar, while the [t] of “at the” is dental.
In both examples the sounds differ in one articulatory
feature only (t/d - voiceless/voiced; t/tð -
alveolar/dental). But in the second case the difference
between the sounds doesn’t change the meaning of the
words. It is perfectly clear, that the sense of the word
“sound” in these two cases is different. To avoid this
ambiguity, linguists use two separate terms:
“phoneme” is used to mean “sound” in its contrastive
sense, and “allophone” is used for sounds which are
variants of a phoneme: they usually occur in different
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positions in the word, cannot contrast with each other,
so they are not used to differentiate the meaning.
The Phoneme Theory came into being in Russia. Its
originator was Prof. Baudouin de Courteney, the
founder of the Kazan Linguistic School. There are a
great number of views on the Phoneme Theory, but
we shall not go deep into detail and so we’ll speak
about the view, which is accepted in our University
and which seems to embrace all the aspects of the
phoneme and thus is the most suitable for the purpose
of teaching.
The linguists have not yet created the definition of
the phoneme acceptable to all. There are several
conceptions of the phoneme. One of them was
suggested by L. V. Scherba, who seemed to reflect all
the aspects and functions of the phoneme. He
described it as a functional, material and abstract unit.
Another phonetician, V. A. Vassilyev, developed this
concept and defined the phoneme like this: "The
segmental phoneme is the smallest (i.e. further
indivisible into smaller consecutive segments)
language unit (sound type) that exists in the speech of
all the members of a given language community as
such speech sounds which are capable of
distinguishing one word of the same language or one
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grammatical form of a word from another grammatical
form of the same word" [V. A. Vassilyev, p. 136].
Let us consider the phoneme from the point of view
of its three aspects. Firstly, the phoneme is a
functional unit. It means that the opposition of
phonemes in the same phonetic environment
differentiates the meaning of words, grammatical
forms and even the whole phrases: [slɜʊ - blɜʊ], [tu:θ -
ti:θ] (slow - blow; tooth - teeth); [hi: wəz ˈhɜ:d ˎbædlɪ
- hi: wəz ˈhɜ:t ˎbædlɪ] (He was heard badly - He was
hurt badly). Phonemes are in parallel distribution; they
appear in the same phonetic context and form a
semantic contrast.
Secondly, the phoneme is material, real and
objective. That means that it is realised in speech in
the form of speech sounds, its allophones (or actually
pronounced speech sounds).
Allophones of the same phoneme must meet the
following requirements:
- though they possess similar features, they
frequently show considerable phonetic difference;
- they never occur in the same phonetic context, so
they can’t be opposed to each other and can’t
differentiate the meaning. In this case allophones are
said to be in complementary distribution.
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Those allophones which do not undergo any
significant changes in the chain of speech (for
example, when they occur in an isolated position) are
called principal. At the same time there are
predictable changes, which sounds undergo in
different phonetic context (especially under the
influence of the neighbouring sounds, intonation, etc.).
Such allophones are called subsidiary or secondary.
The examples below illustrate the articulatory
modifications of the phoneme [t] in various phonetic
contexts:
[t] in "tea" is a bit palatalized; in "not there" it is
dental; in "not quite" it loses its plosion; in "little" it is
pronounced with the lateral plosion; in "not many" -
with the nasal plosion; in "try" it becomes post-
alveolar; in "stare" - non-aspirated. In spite of the
differences in the pronunciation of [t] in different
positions it can be easily noticed that all its allophones
possess some common features, all of them are
forelingual, fortis stops.
It goes without saying that in teaching English
pronunciation the difference between the allophones
of the same phoneme should be considered. The
starting point is, of course, the articulation of the
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principal allophone, but special training of the
subsidiary allophones should be provided too.
But in fact, no speech sounds are absolutely alike.
Apart from predictable changes there are stylistic,
dialectal, individual, occasional modifications. In fact,
we pronounce phones. Most of social information (the
locality he/she lives in, age, sex, occupation,
emotional state, etc.) about the speaker comes not
from phonemic distinctions, but from phonetic ones.
Not let's consider the third aspect of the phoneme.
As we have already said it is an abstract linguistic
unit. Native speakers may not realise the difference
between allophones, though they are quite aware of
the phonemes of their language. It happens because
this difference doesn’t affect the meaning. Sounds
which have similar functions in the language (in other
words they cannot differentiate the meaning) tend to
be considered the "same" by the community using that
language, while those which have different functions
tend to be classed as "different". So native speakers
abstract themselves from the difference between the
allophones of the same phoneme because it has no
functional value. At the same time they understand
that they can’t change any of the articulatory features
which are common to all the allophones of the same
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phoneme without destroying the meaning. This
functionally relevant bundle of articulatory features is
called the invariant of the phoneme. Neither of the
articulatory features that form the invariant of the
phoneme can be changed without affecting the
meaning.
For example, the invariant of [t] consists of the
following articulatory features: occlusive, forelingual
and fortis. How can we prove it? If we change the
occlusive articulation for constrictive, [t] will be
replaced by [s] (tea-sea; tick-sick); if we change the
forelingual articulation for backlingual [t] will be
replaced by [k] (bat-back; tick-kick); if the fortis
articulation is changed for lenis [t] will be replaced by
[d] (bet-bed; tear-bear). That is why it is possible to
state that occlusive, forelingual and fortis
characteristics of the phoneme [t] are generalized in
the mind of the speaker into the invariant of this
phoneme.
The articulatory features which form the invariant
of the phoneme are called distinctive or relevant. The
articulatory features which do not serve to distinguish
the meaning are called non-distinctive or irrelevant.
The distribution of distinctive and non-distinctive
features is language specific; it is different in different
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languages. For example, aspiration is a non-distinctive
feature in the English language, but in Hindi or
Korean it is relevant as aspirated and non-aspirated
sounds may appear in the same phonetic context and
contrast the meaning of words.
As it has been mentioned above any change in the
invariant of the phoneme affects the meaning.
Naturally, anyone who studies a foreign language
makes mistakes in the articulation of some sounds.
L.V. Scherba classifies the pronunciation mistakes as
phonological and phonetic.
If any allophone of some phoneme is replaced by an
allophone of a different phoneme, the mistake is called
phonological, because the meaning of the word is
affected. For example: [det – ded], [bi:t - bɪt], [bed -
bæd] (debt-dead; beat-bit, bed-bad).
If an allophone of the phoneme is replaced by
another allophone of the same phoneme the mistake is
called phonetic. The meaning of the word does not
change. Nevertheless, language learners are advised
not to let phonetic mistakes into their pronunciation,
as they cause their foreign accent.
4.2. Phonetic notations
Anyone who wants to represent speech sounds in
writing has to use the system of phonetic notations,
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which is generally termed as “transcription”. There are
two general types of transcription - broad and narrow.
The first one, broad or phonemic transcription,
provides special symbols for all the phonemes of a
language. There are various systems of phonetic
transcription in use for English, among which the best-
known one is that of the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA). The difference among present-day
sets of broad transcription of British English is mainly
due to the varying significance which is attached to
vowel quality and quantity. The transcription
introduced by D. Jones aims at reducing the number of
symbols to a minimum, so this type does not reflect
the difference in vowel quality, but states only the
difference in vowel quantity and gives the same
symbols for the following pairs of vowels: [i: - i], [u: -
u], [ɔ: - ɔ], [ə: - ə]. This type of notation ignores the
qualitative difference between these vowels, though
most phoneticians nowadays agree that the vowel
length is not a distinctive feature of the vowel. The
other type of broad transcription is most frequently
used in English publishing. It provides special
symbols for all the English vowel phonemes: [i: - ɪ],
[u: - ʊ], [ɔ: - ɒ], [ɜ: - ə]. Besides this type of notation
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is a good visual aid and is especially useful in teaching
the pronunciation of English.
Narrow (or phonetic) transcription is mainly applied
in research work. It provides special symbols for all
the allophones of the same phoneme, so it is much
more accurate in phonetic detail and contains much
more information than a phonemic transcription. For
example: [ł] indicates the hard variant of [l]; [kh]
shows that [k] is aspirated; [dr] means post-alveolar
[d], etc.
4.3. Methods of Phonological Analysis
To study the sounds of a language we should know
what sounds a language uses and how they are
grouped into phonemes that are capable of
differentiating the meaning. The aim of the
phonological analysis is to determine which
differences of sounds are phonemic/non-phonemic
(that is distinctive or irrelevant for differentiating the
meaning) and secondly, to find the inventory of the
phonemes of this or that language.
One of the methods which is applied is the
semantically distributional method. It is accepted by
most foreign and Russian linguists. The method is
based on phonological oppositions. The phonological
rule says that phonemes can distinguish meanings
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when they are opposed to one another in the same
phonetic context. So if we substitute a sound for
another sound in the same phonetic environment we
shall be able to find out whether such substitution
affects the meaning or not. This procedure is called
commutation test. In fact it consists in establishing the
so-called minimal pairs of words and their
grammatical forms.
A minimal pair is a pair of words or morphemes
which are differentiated by one sound only in the same
position. For example, if we substitute [t] for [s] in
[ti:] it will result in the change of meaning: [ti: - si:]
(tea – sea), so we conclude that [t] and [s] are
allophones of two different phonemes. If we continue
to substitute [t] for [b], [p], [k], [n], etc. we get
minimal pairs of words with different meanings. So,
all these sounds are allophones of different phonemes.
But when we substitute [t] for [th] the pronunciation of
the word will be wrong from the point of view of
English pronunciation norm, but the word will still
retain its meaning, so we may conclude that [t] and [th]
are allophones of one phoneme. When we come to a
meaningless word as in the example when we
substitute [g] for [k] in the sound sequences [gʌn] and
[kʌn], we can’t state the phonemic status of the
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contrasted sounds, so we should look for some other
minimal pairs in which these two sounds are
contrasted.
The phonemes of a language form a certain system
of oppositions. To establish the phonemic system of a
language is to establish all possible oppositions. All
the sounds should be opposed in initial, medial and
final word positions. There are three kinds of
oppositions: single, double and multiple. The
opposition is single if the members of the opposition
differ in one feature. Let’s look at the pair [dɪg] -
[dɪk]. Both [g] and [k] are occlusive and backlingual,
but [g] is lenis and [k] is fortis. The opposition is
double if its members differ in two features, as in [dɪk]
- [dɪd]. Both [k] and [d] are occlusive, but [k] is
backlingual, fortis and [d] is forelingual, lenis. If three
or more distinctive features are marked in the
opposition it is called multiple. For example [dɪk] -
[dɪm]: [k] and [m] are both occlusive, but [k] is
backlingual, noise, oral, and [m] is bilabial, sonorant,
nasal.
The use of the commutation test has its problems.
Firstly certain sounds do not occur in certain
positions. For example, [h] in English never occurs
word finally, while [] never occurs word initially. So
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we cannot oppose these sounds as they never occur in
the same phonetic context. In such cases the method
of distribution is modified by addition of the criterion
of phonetic similarity. We refer these sounds to
different phonemes as their articulatory features are
different. Besides we take into account native
speaker's knowledge as far as the meaning of the word
is concerned as the aim of linguistic analysis is to
explain and to consider native speaker's feelings about
his language as far as this is possible.
The second difficulty is that there are cases when
both sounds occur in a language but the speakers are
inconsistent in the way they use them, as for example
in the case of the Russian words "галоши/ калоши".
In such cases we take them as free variants of a single
phoneme.
Besides this method does not take into account the
modifications of sounds which they undergo in real
speech. For example, in such sequences as [ækt] and
[æpt] the realizations of the allophones of [k] and [p]
are alike: acoustically it is silence of the same
duration. It is the character of transition from [æ] to
[k] and [p] that differentiates the meaning, in other
words the differentiation of meaning is provided not
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by the phonemes themselves, but indirectly by the
adjacent sound.
There are some other problems connected with the
phonemic analysis of the English sounds, for example,
the problem of defining the phonemic status of the
English affricates [ʧ - ʤ]. It is possible to treat each of
the pair as a single consonant phoneme, or we may say
that they are composed of two phonemes each – [t+ʃ]
and [d+ʒ]. There is also no agreement between
phoneticians concerning the phonemic status of the
neutral vowel [ə]. Some scientists have suggested that
it is an allophone of several other vowels in unstressed
positions. On the other hand, in numerous cases [ə] is
phonologically opposed to other phonemes and is
capable of differentiating the meaning, for example,
accept [əkˈsept] – except [ɪkˈsept], so it may be
viewed as an independent phoneme.
Nevertheless, despite these difficulties the semantic
method of phonological analysis is now widely used
and is considered to be the best in fulfilling the task of
systematizing the sounds of a language.
The application of this method has proved that the
English language has 24 consonant and 20 vowel
phonemes. As we have mentioned sounds are grouped
into classes according to the features which are
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distinctive (or phonemic) for the particular language.
In English the following features are distinctive for
consonants:
- place of articulation (labial, lingual, glottal)
- type of obstruction and manner of the production
of noise (constrictive, occlusive, affricate)
- force of articulation (fortis, lenis)
The phonemic features of English vowels are:
- quality (which depends on the height and front-
back position of the tongue)
- stability of articulation.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS:
I. Read the following abstracts from original
works, answer the questions and comment on one of
the problems:
<...> phonetics study <...> may be applied
impartially to the sounds of any and every language,
and may be used to describe and classify, in one all–
embracing scheme, the sound features of all known
languages, from Arabic to Zulu. But the phonetician is
by no means content to act only as taxonomist, a
describer and classifier of sounds. He is interested,
finally, in the way in which sounds function in a
particular language, how many or how few of all the
sounds of language are utilized in that language, and
what part they play in manifesting the meaningful
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distinctions of the language. Because one knows what
a sound is – how it is produced, what its physical
characteristics are and what effect it has on the ear –
one does not therefore know what it does, and the
same sound may have quite different tasks to perform
in different languages. That is to say, the difference in
sound between d and th is used in English to
differentiate between one word and another: then /
den, lather / ladder, breathe / breed. In Spanish this is
not so; the difference between d and th can never be
used to differentiate one word from another because d
only occurs between vowels, as in todo (‘all’), and at
the end of the word, as in verdad (‘truth’), whereas the
sound th never occurs in these positions. So in Spanish
the two sounds can never be ‘opposed’ to each other
in the same place in a word, and therefore they can
never be ‘distinctive’.
O’Connor J.D. Phonetics. – Penguin, 1991. – PP. 17–
18.
1. What does Phonetics study?
2. What does the example from Spanish in this text
illustrate?
3. The examples in the text are given in spelling, not
in phonetic symbols. What symbols do you think
would be appropriate for these examples?
Two types of meaning are associated with the
terms ‘vowel’ and ‘consonant’. Traditionally,
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consonants are those segments which in a particular
language, occur at the edges of syllables, while vowels
are those which occur at the centre of syllables. So, in
red, wed, dead, lead, said, the sounds represented by
<r, w, d, l, s> are consonants, while in beat, bit, bet,
but, bought, the sounds represented by < ea, i, e, u,
ough> are vowels. This reference to the functioning of
sounds in syllables in a particular language is a
phonological definition. But once any attempt is made
to define what sorts of sounds generally occur in these
different syllable–positions, then we are moving to a
phonetic definition. This type of definition might
define vowels as medial (air must escape over the
middle of the tongue, thus excluding sounds like [l]),
oral (air must escape through the mouth, thus
excluding nasals like [n]), frictionless (thus excluding
fricatives like [s]), and continuant (thus excluding
plosives like [p]); all sounds excluded from this
definition would be consonants. But difficulties arise
in English with this definition (and with others of this
sort) because English /j,w,r/, which are consonants
phonologically (functioning at the edges of syllables),
are vowels phonetically.
<...> The reverse type of difficulty is
encountered in words like sudden and little, where the
final consonants /n/ and /l/ form syllables on their own
and hence must be the centre of such syllables even
though they are phonetically consonants, and even
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though /n/ and /l/ more frequently occur at the edges
of syllables, as in net and let <...>
<...> consonants can be voiced or voiceless,
and are most easily described wholly in articulatory
terms, since we can generally feel the consonants and
movements involved. Vowels, on the other hand, are
voiced, and, depending as they do on subtle
adjustments of the body of the tongue, are more easily
described in terms of auditory relationships.
Gimson A.C., revised by A. Cruttenden: Gimson’s
Pronunciation of English (5th ed.). – Edward Arnold,
1994. – PP. 27–28.
1. What is the difference between the phonological
definition of vowels and consonants and the phonetic
one?
<...> Furthermore, if we take, say, the stops [t]
and [tʰ] in the English data, it is clear that they are
phonetically similar: both are stops, both are voiceless,
both are alveolar. And yet, for most speakers of
English, the alveolar stops in, say, still and till sound
the same, despite the fact that the former is
unaspirated and the latter aspirated. For the English
speaker, these two phonetically distinct sounds ‘count
as the same thing’. We cannot say, without
contradiction, that they are simultaneously ‘the same
sound’ and ‘not the same sound’. What we will say is
that, while they are phonetically distinct, they are
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74
phonologically equivalent. That is, the two types of
stop correspond to, are interpreted as belonging to, a
single mental category. We will refer to such a
category as a phoneme. The English speaker interprets
the six phonetic segments [p], [ph], [t], [th], [k] and
[kh] in terms of only three phonemes: /p/, /t/ and /k/.
<...> The relationship between phonemes and
their associated phonetic segments is one of
realization, so that the phoneme /p/, for instance, is
realized as [p] after a voiceless alveolar fricative, and
as [ph] elsewhere. The most important point is that, on
the data we have seen thus far, aspiration or the lack
of it is entirely predictable in English: there is a
generalization, expressible as a general rule, as to the
contexts in which voiceless stops will and will not be
aspirated <...> The generalization forms part of what
native speakers know in knowing their native
language, even if that knowledge is largely
unconscious knowledge. Realizations of a phoneme
which are entirely predictable from context are called
its allophones. We therefore say that [p] and [ph] are
allophones of the /p/ phoneme in most accents of
English. We are claiming that native speakers of
English possess phonemes (which are mental
categories) and phonological generalizations or rules
as part of their (largely unconscious) knowledge of
their native language, and that native speakers
perceive the allophones they hear in terms of those
categories and generalizations.
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75
Carr, Philip. English Phonetics and Phonology: An
Introduction. – Blackwell Publishers, 1999. – PP. 37–
42.
1. What is the author’s definition of the phoneme? The
allophone?
It is possible to establish the phonemes of a
language by means of a process of commutation or the
discovery of minimal pairs, i.e. pairs of words which
are different in respect of only one sound segment.
The series of words pin, bin, tin, din, kin, chin, gin,
fin, thin, sin, shin, win supplies us with 12 words
which are distinguished simply by a change in the first
(consonantal) element of the sound sequence. These
elements, or phonemes, are said to be in contrast or
opposition; we may symbolize them as /p, b, t, d, k, ʧ,
ʤ, f, Ɵ, s, ʃ, w/. But other sound sequences will
show other consonantal oppositions, e.g.
(1) tame, dame, game, lame, maim, name, adding /g, l,
m, n/ to our inventory;
(2) pot, tot, cot, lot, yacht, hot, rot, adding /j, h, r/;
(3) pie, tie, buy, thigh, thy, vie, adding /ð, v/;
(4) two, do, who, woo, zoo, adding /z/.
Such comparative procedures reveal 22
consonantal phonemes capable of contrastive function
initially in a word.
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76
It is not sufficient, however, to consider merely
one position in the word. Possibilities of phonemic
opposition have to be investigated in medial and final
positions as well as in the initial. If this is done in
English, we discover in medial positions another
consonantal phoneme, /ʒ/, cf. the word oppositions
letter, leather, leisure or seater, seeker, Caesar,
seizure. This phoneme /ʒ/ is rare in initial and final
positions (e.g. in rouge). Moreover, in final positions,
we do not find /h/ or /r/, and it is questionable whether
we should consider /w, j/ as separate, final contrastive
units. We do, however, find one more phoneme that is
common in medial and final positions but unknown
initially, viz. /ŋ/ cf. simmer, sinner, singer or some,
son, sung.
Such an analysis of the consonantal phonemes
of English will give us a total of 24 phonemes, of
which four (/h, r, ʒ, ŋ/) are of restricted occurrence–or
six, if /w, j/ are not admitted finally. Similar
procedures may be used to establish the vowel
phonemes of English.
The final inventories of vowel and consonant
phonemes will constitute a statement of the total
oppositions in all positions in the word or syllable
<...>
Cruttenden, Allan. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’ Edition,
2001. – PP. 42–43.
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77
1. What are the principles of establishing the
inventories of vowel and consonant phonemes?
No two realizations of the phoneme are the
same. This is true even if the same word is repeated;
thus, when the word cat is said twice, there are likely
to be slight phonetic variations in the two realizations
of the phoneme sequence /k+æ+t/. Nevertheless, the
phonetic similarities between the utterances will
probably be more striking than the differences. But
variants of the same phoneme will frequently show
consistent phonetic differences; such consistent
variants are referred to as allophones. <...> the [k]
sounds which occur initially in the words key and car
are phonetically clearly different: the first can be felt
to be a forward articulation, near the hard palate,
whereas the second is made further back on the soft
palate. This difference of articulation is brought about
by the nature of the following vowel, [i:], having a
more advanced articulation than [a:]; the allophonic
variation is in this case conditioned by the context. In
some varieties of English the two [l] sounds of lull
[1ʌɫ] show a variation of a different kind. The first
[1], the so–called 'clear' [1] with a front vowel
resonance, has a quality very different from that of the
final 'dark' [ɫ] with a back vowel resonance. Here the
difference of quality is related to the position of the
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78
phoneme in the word or syllable and depends on
whether a vowel or a consonant or a pause follows. It
is possible, therefore, to predict in a given language
which allophones of a phoneme will occur in any
particular context or situation: they are said to be in
conditioned variation or complementary distribution.
Statements of complementary distribution can refer to
preceding or following sounds (e.g. fronted [k ] before
front vowels like /i:/ in key but retracted [k ] before
back vowels like /a:/ in car); to positions in syllables
(plosives are strongly aspirated when initial in
accented syllables); or to positions in any grammatical
unit, e.g. words (vowels may optionally be preceded
by a glottal stop when word–initial) or morphemes
(Cockney has a different allophone of /ɔː/ in
morpheme–medial and morpheme–final positions (cf.
board [bɔʊd] vs. bored [bɔwəd])). Cruttenden, Allan. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’ Edition,
2001. – PP. 44–46.
1. Explain what sounds can be considered as
allophones of the same phoneme. Give your examples.
<...> There are problems of different types. In
some cases, we have difficulty in deciding on the
overall phonemic system of the accent we are
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79
studying, while in others we are concerned about how
a particular sound fits into this system.
<...> The affricates ʧ and ʤ are, phonetically,
composed of a plosive followed by a fricative <...> It
is possible to treat each of the pair ʧ, ʤ as a single
consonant phoneme; we will call this the one–
phoneme analysis of ʧ, ʤ. It is also possible to say
that they are composed of two phonemes each – t plus
ʃ and d plus ʒ respectively – all of which are already
established as independent phonemes of English; this
will be called the two–phoneme analysis of ʧ and ʤ.
<...>But how can we decide which analysis is
preferable? The two–phoneme analysis has one main
advantage: if there are no separate ʧ and ʤ
phonemes, then out total set of English consonants is
smaller. Many phonologists have claimed that one
should prefer the analysis which is the most
“economical” in the number of phonemes it results in
<...> However it is the one–phoneme analysis that is
generally chosen by phonologists. <...> There are
several arguments; no single one of them is
conclusive, but added together they are felt to make
the one–phoneme analysis seem preferable. We will
look briefly at some of these arguments.
i) One argument could be called “phonemic” or
“allophonic”: if it could be shown that the phonetic
quality of the t and ʃ (or d and ʒ) in ʧ, ʤ is clearly
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80
different from realizations of t, ʃ, d, ʒ found
elsewhere in similar contexts, this would support the
analysis of ʧ, ʤ as separate phonemes. <...> This
argument is weak one: there is no clear evidence that
such phonetic differences exist <...>
ii) It could be argued that the proposed
phonemes ʧ and ʤ <...> have distributions similar to
other consonants, while other combinations of
plosives plus fricative do not <...>
<...> this argument, although supporting the
one–phoneme analysis, does not actually prove that ʧ,
ʤ must be classed with other single consonant
phonemes.
iii) If ʧ, ʤ were able to combine freely with other
consonants to form consonant clusters, this would
support the one–phoneme analysis. <...> It could not
<...> be said that ʧ and ʤ combine freely with other
consonants in forming consonant clusters; this is
particularly noticeable in initial position.
This rather long discussion of the phoneme
status of ʧ and ʤ shows how difficult it can be to
reach a conclusion in phonemic analysis.
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 1987. – PP. 121-
124.
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81
1. What point of view concerning the phonemic status
of the English affricates do you support?
2. Find examples to support the arguments in favour
of the one–phoneme analysis.
Statements concerning phonemic categories and
allophonic variants can be made in respect of only one
variety of one language. It does not follow that,
because [1] and [ɫ] are not contrastive in English and
belong to the same phoneme, this is so in other
languages–in some kinds of Polish [1] and [ɫ]
constitute separate phonemes. Or again, although /ŋ/ is
a phoneme in English, in Italian the velar nasal [ŋ] is
an allophone of /n/ which occurs between /k/ and /g/.
Indeed, in English, too, /ŋ/ has not always had
phonemic status. Nowadays, [ŋ] might be considered
an allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /g/, as in sink and
finger, were it not for the fact that /g/ in words such as
sing was lost about 400 years ago; once this situation
had arisen, a phonemic opposition existed between sin
and sing. In some parts of north–west England, the
situation is still the same as it was 400 years ago, e.g.
not only is sink pronounced [sɪŋk] but sing is
pronounced [sɪŋg], and in such dialects [ŋ] can be considered an allophone of /n/.
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82
Thus the number of phonemes may differ as
between various types of the same language. In
present–day southern British English, the words cat,
half, cart contain the phonemes /æ/, /a:/, and /a:/
respectively. But one type of Scottish English has only
one vowel phoneme for all three words, the words
being phonemically /kat, haf, kart/ (the pre–
consonantal /r/ being pronounced). Such a dialect of
English has one phoneme less than southern British
English, since the opposition Sam/psalm is lost. On
the other hand, this smaller number of phonemes is
sometimes counterballanced by the regular opposition
of the first elements of a pair such as witch/which,
which establishes a phonemic contrast between /w/
and /ʍ/.
Cruttenden, Allan. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’ Edition,
2001. – PP. 44–46.
1. How does the author explain the coexistence of
different phonemic systems?
2. Prove that distribution of phonemes and allophones
and their distinctive features are different in different
languages.
A connected text represented in terms of
phonemes is known as a ‘phonemic transcription’, or,
almost equivalently, ‘a broad transcription’. The term
‘broad’ sometimes carries the extra implication that,
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83
as far as possible, unmodified letters of the Roman
alphabet have been used. This restriction may
facilitate printing, and might be considered
particularly if a phonemic transcription is to form the
basis of a writing system. Under this definition a
transcription of English hideout as /haidaut/ would be
broad, while /haɪdaʊt/ would not be because it
introduces letters shapes to the symbol for the
phoneme /aɪ/ and the phoneme /aʊ/ which are not
absolutely necessary for the unambiguous
representation of the phonemes of English, but which
may be desirable to remind the reader of the phonetic
realization of these phonemes. Frequently, though,
‘broad’ is used merely as a way of referring to
transcriptions which are phonemic, regardless of the
letter shapes used to represent the phonemes.
Phonemic transcriptions are one type of ‘systematic’
transcription, meaning they require the phonological
patterns or ‘system’ of a language to be known before
they can be made.
The term narrow transcription most commonly
implies a transcription which contains details of the
realization of phonemes. There are two ways in which
such a transcription may come about. If a transcription
is made in circumstances where nothing can be
assumed about the phonological system, it is
necessary to include all phonetic details because it is
not clear which phonetic properties will turn out to be
important. The transcription would be made taking
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84
into account only the phonetic properties of speech.
This type of narrow transcription, as might be made in
the first stages of field work, or when transcribing
disordered speech, is sometimes called an
impressionistic transcription or a general phonetic
transcription. <...>
The other kind of narrow transcription
containing realizational information is termed
allophonic. If the relevant phonological system is
known, a transcription can be devised which includes
any number of additional symbols to indicate the
phonetic realizations of the phonemes, i.e. their
allophones. An allophonic transcription is also known
as a systematic narrow transcription.
The Handbook of the International Phonetic
Association. – Cambridge University Press 1999. –
PP. 28-29.
1. Many dictionaries give information about
pronunciation by giving the words in transcription.
Which sort of transcription is used?
2. Speech therapists sometimes find that they are
dealing with someone who produces particular
phonemes in an unusual way. What sort of
transcription should they use to represent what they
hear?
3. Field–workers discover a language that has not been
met before, and want to write down what they hear.
What type of transcription is suitable?
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85
The transcription of an utterance (analysed in
terms of a linear sequence of sounds) will naturally
differ according to whether the aim is to indicate
detailed sound values – an allophonic (or narrow)
transcription – or the sequence of significant
functional elements – a phonemic (or broad)
transcription.
In the former, allophonic type of transcription, an
attempt is made to include a considerable amount of
information concerning our knowledge of articulatory
activity or our auditory perception of allophonic
features. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
provides numerous diacritics for a purpose such as
this; e.g. the word titles might be transcribed as
['tshä·ëtɫ ɫẓ]. Such a notation would show the
affrication and aspiration of the initial [t], the fact that
the first element of the diphthong is centralized from
Cardinal 4 and is long compared with the second
element, which is a centralized Cardinal 2, that the [ɫ]
has a back vowel resonance and is partly devoiced in
its first stage, and that the final [ẓ] is completely
devoiced. Such a notation is relatively explicit and
detailed, but gives no more than an impression of the
complexity of the utterance as revealed by the various
methods of physiological and acoustic investigation.
This type of transcription is useful when the focus is
on particular details of pronunciation.
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86
Cruttenden, Allan. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’ Edition,
2001. – PP. 48–49.
1. What does the allophonic transcription reflect?
II. Questions for revision:
1. Give the definition of the phoneme.
2. What sounds are called allophones?
3. Prove that the phoneme is a unity of three
aspects: material, abstract and functional.
4. What is the correlation between the phoneme
and the allophone?
5. What sounds can be regarded as allophones of
the same phoneme?
6. What types of allophones are distinguished? Is
it important to distinguish between these types
in terms of teaching pronunciation?
7. Why is it impossible to pronounce the
phoneme? What do we actually pronounce?
8. What kind of information about the speaker is
conveyed by the phonetic distinctions of speech
sounds?
9. What is the relationship between the phoneme
and the phone?
10. Why are native speakers unaware of the
differences between the allophones of the same
phoneme?
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87
11. What features are called distinctive or relevant?
What relevant features can you name for
consonants and for vowels?
12. What features are called non–distinctive or
irrelevant? Give examples of irrelevant features
in English.
13. How is the invariant of the phoneme formed?
What happens if there is a change in the
invariant?
14. State the difference between phonological and
phonetic mistakes. Who introduced this
classification of mistakes?
15. What is transcription?
16. What types of transcription are distinguished?
What spheres are they applied in?
17. What types of broad transcription do you know?
Which type do you prefer for teaching and
learning purposes?
18. What is the aim of the phonological analysis?
19. How is the semantically distributional method
applied?
20. How does the commutation test work? Give
your own examples of the procedure of the
commutation test.
21. What types of oppositions can be distinguished?
Illustrate them with your own examples.
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88
III. Do the following tasks:
1. Prove that palatalisation is a non-distinctive
feature in English and distinctive in Russian.
2. Prove that lip rounding is a non-distinctive
feature in both English and Russian.
3. State the differences between the allophones in
the following pairs of work
4. Give your own examples of different
allophones of the phonemes [p, d, k].
5. Are the following mistakes phonetic or
phonological? What should be done to correct
the mistakes?
beat – [bi:t]
meat – [mɪt]
star – [stʰa:]
work – [wɔ:k]
days – [deɪs]
bad – [bed]
bar – [baʳ]
car – [ka:]
little – [ˈłɪtl]
tease – [tˈi:z]
6. Sort out the oppositions according to the
following features: bilabial/labio-dental, fore-
lingual/backlingual, alveolar/inter-dental
pat – pit in the desk – in a desk
scare – care stop Mary – stop Peter
trick – tick glow – go
cradle – trade garden - guide
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89
ni:z – ði:z
sɔ:t - kɔ:t
bu:ð- bu:t
Ɵɪk - dɪk
fɔ:m -
wɔ:m
traɪ - kraɪ
mɔ: - fɔ:
gru: - tru:
wi:k – vi:l
7. Sort out the oppositions according to the
following features: constrictive/occlusive,
noise/sonorant, occlusive/affricate
fi:t – bi:t tɔ:ʧ - tɔ:k sɪk - sɪŋ
rɪd - sɪd slɜʊ - blɜʊ tɔ:t – Ɵɔ:t
ʤʌʤ - bʌʤ ʧɛə - pɛə bɜʊt - nɜʊt
8. Sort out the oppositions according to the
following features: front/central, mid/open,
diphthong/monophthong
mæn – men
pɔ:k - pɜʊk
li:k - lʌk
bed - bɜ:d
stɛə - stɜ:
sɔ:t – set
mæd - mʌd
bɜʊt - baʊ
nɒt - naɪt
9. Are the following oppositions singular,
double, multiple?
lʌk - lʌb
pen - peɪn
pu:l - pʊl
fɜʊn - kɜʊn
sta: - stɔ:
dɔ:n - tɔ:n
fi:l – mi:l
stɪk - stɪl
wet – met
ðeɪ- seɪ
bɪl - tɪl
ðæt - kæt
waɪf - laɪf
ri:d – ni:d
wɪŋ - wɪn
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90
IV. Make a report on one of the topics:
1. The Phoneme Theory in our country and abroad.
2. Methods of phonological analysis: advantages
and drawback.
3. Problems of Morphonology.
4. The Problem of neutralisation.
5. International Phonetic Alphabet: history and
development.
Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
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91
5. Cruttenden, A. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’
Edition, 2001.
6. Crystal D. How Language Works. London:
Penguin Books, 2007
7. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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V. MODIFICATIONS OF SOUNDS IN
CONNECTED SPEECH
Key words: accommodation, assimilation, elision,
qualitative/quantitative reduction, stylistic
modifications.
5.1. Types of Sound Modifications
When a phoneme is articulated separately it
displays all its characteristic features. But phonemes
are seldom articulated in isolation. In speaking they
are generally used in sentences consisting of a number
of words, and, consequently, are pronounced in
sequences of sounds, interrupted by pauses. When
phonemes are pronounced in sequences, we observe
the phenomenon of adaptation - speech organs adjust
themselves to make a more convenient transition from
one articulation to another. They display a certain
“economy” of effort. Of course, this “economy” may
vary in different languages, depending on the
articulation basis and phonetic laws in every language.
Sound modifications are observed not only across
word boundaries, but also across morpheme and
syllable boundaries, as well as within morphemes.
Such changes in the articulation of sounds in speech
are mostly quite regular and predictable and can be
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93
grouped in the following way: assimilation,
accommodation, vowel reduction and elision.
The modification of a consonant by a neighbouring
consonant in the speech chain is known as
assimilation. The term accommodation is used to
denote the modification of consonants under the
influence of the neighbouring vowels and vice versa.
One of the most wide-spread sound changes is vowel
reduction, that is weakening (either qualitative or
quantitative) of vowels in unstressed positions. Elision
or complete loss of sounds, both vowels and
consonants, is also often observed in English.
In the adaptation of articulations to each other one
of the two principles is generally involved:
1) speech organs are prepared beforehand for the
articulation of a sound that follows and the phoneme
that comes first is affected by the one that comes after
it, then this assimilation is called regressive (for
example in right now [t] is affected by the following
nasal [n] and is pronounced with the nasal plosion);
2) the activity of speech organs continues after the
sound for which they are prepared has been articulated
and the phoneme that comes first affects the one that
follows it, in this case the assimilation is progressive
(for example, the verb and noun suffix -s and is
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94
voiceless when it is preceded by a voiceless phoneme,
and it is voiced when it is preceded by a voiced
phoneme – [si:ts – si:dz]; [sets – selz]).
Assimilation can also be historical and “living” or
functioning. Classical examples of historical
assimilation can be found in the words borrowed from
Norman-French: permission, measure, etc. Here we
see the adaptation of the articulation of [s] and [z] to
the articulation of the [j]-phoneme: [pəˈmɪʃ(ə)n],
[ˈmeʒə].
It is important to distinguish between “obligatory”
(or fixed) and “non-obligatory” assimilation.
Obligatory assimilation occurs in the speech of all
people who speak a certain language, no matter what
style of speech is used. It has become fixed as part of
the phonological structure and is included in the
articulation basis, so it has to be mastered in learning
the pronunciation of a certain language. Non-
obligatory assimilation appears in rapid, casual speech
and its degree may vary, depending on speaking rate,
style and individual peculiarities of speech.
Depending on the degree to which articulations are
adapted complete and partial assimilation is
distinguished. When one or more features of the
phoneme are affected, we have partial assimilation as
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95
in tree, for example, [t] becomes post-alveolar under
the influence of the following [r], but it retains its
distinctive features and is still occlusive, forelingual
and fortis. When all the features of the phoneme are
adapted, we have a case of complete assimilation, for
example, in rapid casual speech [t] will become [p]
before a bilabial consonant, as in that person:
[ðæpˈpɜ:sn].
Such cases of assimilation create something of a
problem for the phoneme theory, as it’s not clear
whether one phoneme has been substituted for another
phoneme or one of its allophones. Traditionally, if a
phoneme loses one of its distinctive features it is said
to be a different phoneme, phonemes are supposed not
to overlap in their allophones. Nowadays some
phoneticians don’t consider this restriction important
any more and regard these sounds as allophones of
one phoneme.
5.2. English consonants in connected speech
Cases of consonant modifications in a speech chain
are described more often than those of vowel
modifications. Phoneticians usually identify
assimilation of place, manner and voicing in
consonants.
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96
Now let us see what qualitative features of
consonant sounds may be changed in the process of
their interrelation.
The most common sounds which undergo
assimilation of place are plosives and nasals:
the alveolar [t – d - n] followed by the
interdental [θ - ð] become dental as in at the, in
the, seventh, said that;
the alveolar [t - d] become post-alveolar under
the influence of the post-alveolar [r] as in tree,
dry, get rid of;
the alveolar [t - d] become affricates if followed
by the palatal [j] (as in fortune [ˈfɔ:ʧu(:)n], did
you [ˈdɪʤu(:)];
the alveolar [t - d] are bilabial before a bilabial
consonant (in rapid casual speech) as in meat
pie [ˈmi:p-paɪ];
the bilabial [m] is actually labio-dental followed
by the labio-dental [f-v] as in some fruit;
the alveolar [n] assimilates to the velar
consonants, becoming velar [η] as in donkey
[ˈdɒηkɪ];
the alveolar [n] is palato-alveolar followed by
[ʧ-ʤ] (bunch, change);
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97
the alveolar [s-z] are post-alveolar before [] as
in does she [ˈdʌʃʃi], horse-shoe [ˈhɔ:ʃʃu:].
The manner of articulation also changes as a result
of assimilation. We observe:
loss of plosion as in glad to see you, great
trouble
lateral plosion as in settle, at last
nasal plosion as in not now, at night
Assimilation of voice is also found in English but in
a very limited way compared to the Russian language.
Only regressive assimilation of voice is found across
word boundaries and then only of one type: if the
following consonant is voiceless fortis it influences
the preceding voiced lenis consonant and makes it
devoiced (as in of course [əfˈkɔ:s], but the voiceless
fortis consonant will never become voiced and lenis
(as in I like this [aɪ ˈlaɪk ðɪs]). It should be noted that it
is typical of many foreign students of English to allow
regressive assimilation of voicing, thus creating a very
strong impression of a foreign accent, and this is
something that should obviously be avoided.
The pronunciation of the suffixes “-ed” of regular
verbs, “-s” of plural nouns and possessives is based on
progressive assimilation. It is pronounced as [t] after
voiceless consonants (except t) and [d] after vowels
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98
and voiced consonants (except d), for example,
described [dɪsˈkraɪbd] – passed [pa:st], cats [kæts] -
dogs [dɒgz], Pit’s [pɪts] - David’s [ˈdeɪvɪdz].
Lip position may be affected by the
accommodation: consonants become labialized under
the influence of the neighbouring back vowels, as in
boot, moon, etc.
The position of the soft palate is also involved in the
process of accommodation. Slight nasalization is
sometimes heard in vowels under the influence of the
neighbouring nasal sonorants [m][n] as in meaning,
end, some interesting men.
Elision or complete loss of sounds is characteristic
of rapid, casual speech. Here are some typical
examples of consonant elision:
in clusters of three plosives or two plosives plus
a fricative, the middle plosive may disappear as
in next day [neksˈdeɪ], acts [æks];
[l] tends to be lost when preceded by [ɔ:] as in
all right [ɔ:ˈraɪt], always [ˈɔ:wɪz];
final –f is often lost in of before consonants as
in waste of time [ˈweɪst əˈtaɪm];
the initial h- may be lost in the pronouns and
auxiliary verbs in casual speech as in What has
he said? [ˈwɒt əz i ˈsed];
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examples of historical elision are quite
numerous in English: know [nɜʊ], castle [ka:sl],
listen [ˈlɪsn].
It is important for foreign students of English to be
aware of the fact that when native speakers of English
talk to each other, quite a number of phonemes that
the foreigner might expect to hear are not actually
pronounced or their pronunciation is changed.
Selective, analytic listening will help to recognize
what is being said and will bring more confidence to
students.
5.3. English vowels in connected speech
The articulation of English vowels is adapted to that
of consonants only to a very slight extent. To a
Russian, they do not seem to change at all in
connected speech compared with Russian vowels,
which are strongly modified by consonants.
In English we can speak about the quantitative and
qualitative modification of vowels. The quantitative
modification is the shortening of the vowel length
when it occurs in an unstressed position (as in
ˈwindow, ˈphoneme, etc) or before a voiceless
consonant (as in heat, past, etc.).
Qualitative modification of most vowels occurs in
unstressed positions. In these cases the quality of the
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vowel is reduced to the neutral sound as in statesman
[ˈsteɪtsmən], economic [ˌi:kəˈnɒmɪk].
In rapid colloquial speech elision or complete
omission of the unstressed vowel can take place as in
perhaps [pʰˈhæps], today [tʰˈdeɪ], correct [kˈrekt].
5.4. Stylistic modifications of sounds
We have viewed the sound modifications mostly
within the norm of English sound system, but without
any special attention to their stylistic distinctions.
However the number and degree of sound
modifications depend not only on linguistic factors
(such as the neighbouring sounds and distribution of
sounds in connected speech) but on extra linguistic
ones as well.
Stylistic oppositions are usually observed in the two
large marginal types of pronunciation - formal and
informal. Formal speech suggests unemotional
information on the part of the speaker. It is
characterised by careful articulation and relatively
slow speed. Informal speech implies everyday
conversation; it is relaxed and rather rapid and is
characterized by the use of simplified sound forms.
The character of sound modifications in relation to
situational factors of speech communication is only
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beginning to be the object of thorough instrumental
analysis.
One of the most important factors that results in the
increased number of sound modifications is the
character of relationship between the speaker and the
listener and the degree of formality in their discourse.
The other extra linguistic factors that determine the
degree of sound modifications are the degree of
preparedness, the form of communication (a
monologue or a dialogue), the number of participants,
etc. Native speakers usually don’t have any difficulties
in understanding rapid casual speech though sounds
simplifications are not registered in the listener’s mind
and he/she is not usually aware of the changes since
they do not affect the meaning.
Here are some examples of sound simplifications
typical of relaxed casual speech:
most vowels in unstressed positions are
neutralized, especially in grammatical words:
because [bɪkəz], according to [əˈkədɪη], have
[əv];
the diphthongoids [i:] and [u:] become
diphthongs and then monophthongs: believe
[bəˈlɪv], few [fiʊ];
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diphthongs are monophthongized and then
might undergo qualitative reduction as well:
where [wɛ], really [ˈrɛlɪ], now they [ˈna ðe] –
[ˈnʌ ðə];
vowel elision is very frequent: it’s [ts],
different [ˈdɪfr(ə)nt], phonetics [ˈfnetɪks];
the degree of voicing or devoicing of
consonants increases and ends with the
elision of the sound: must be [mʌst bi - mʌst
bpi -
mʌst pi - mʌs pi];
the glottal stop is often observed before the
modified plosive consonant: Great Britain
[ˈgreɪʔ ˈpbrɪtn], couldn’t come [ˈkʊdηʔ
ˈkʌm];
the palatal [j] affects the manner of
articulation of the preceding [t-d] and [s-z]:
as you like [əʒ u ˈlaɪk], last year [ˈla:sʧˈjɪə],
student [ˈsʧu:dnt];
there is a strong tendency for elision of
consonants: and the [ən ðə], a box of matches
[əˈbɒks əˈmæʧəz].
It is clear that there is a great variety in the way
sounds are pronounced in a speech chain. Most
phoneticians agree that it would not be practical or
useful to teach all learners of English to produce these
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extreme cases of sound modifications, but it is
important that learners of English are made aware of
the problems that they will meet in listening to
colloquial casual speech.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
I. Do the following tasks:
1. Classify these words and word combinations
according to the type of assimilation
(complete/partial, progressive/regressive):
symphony, just think, will you come, next time,
often, tell the teacher, glad to see, right shoe,
Ryan’s coat, treat, clean the board, cycle, stubborn,
eagle, hot pie, plum pudding, opened, that’s the
thing, open the book.
2. State the type of sound modifications in the
following words and word combinations:
drive, pool, blackboard, could you, thanks, mean,
set three, give me, tune, ˈrecord, obˈject, locks,
pools, is she, lounge, inch, dark garden, little,
Ann’s, named, hotel, written, Kate’s, don’t go,
sportsman, ˈobject, London, literature, schedule,
museum.
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3. Give your own examples of assimilation,
accommodation, vowel reduction, vowel and
consonant elision.
4. Find all the cases of sound modifications in the
sentences which can be observed a) in formal
careful speech; b) in rapid casual speech:
- Would you like to join me?
- Why don’t you put your bag down?
- I saw him writing something at the table in his
father’s study.
- Don’t go there at night, it might be dangerous.
- Of course, she does her morning exercises every
day!
II. Questions for revision:
1. What kind of modification do sounds undergo in
connected speech?
2. What are the reasons for these modifications of
sounds in connected speech?
3. Dwell upon qualitative consonantal changes in
English. Give your own examples.
4. What phonetic process affects vowels in
connected speech?
5. Dwell upon quantitative and qualitative changes
of vowels both in English and in Russian. Give
your own examples.
6. How does the situation of speaking affect the
sound articulations?
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7. Is it necessary to teach all the sound
modifications to foreign learners?
Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Cruttenden, A. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’
Edition, 2001.
6. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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VI. THE SYLLABIC STRUCTURE OF
ENGLISH WORDS
Key words: ambisyllabic/monosyllabic/polysyllabic,
closed/covered/open/ uncovered syllable, coda,
constitutive/distinctive function, intervocalic
consonant, loudness theory, onset, phonotactics,
sonority theory, syllabic vowel, syllable, theory of
muscular tension.
Phonemes usually occur in sequences. Sound
sequences are pronounced in such a way, that not all
the sounds are uttered with the same degree of force,
the energy with which we articulate alternately
increases and diminishes. Certain sounds are
pronounced louder than the other ones. When we
listen to the word even we’ll hear a distinct rise of
prominence and loudness in pronouncing the [i:]
sound. Several theories have been created to explain
the mechanism of syllabic formation. Some explained
the phenomenon of syllable formation by muscular
tension impulses (L.V. Shcherba), some proclaimed a
“loudness theory” (N.I. Zhinkin), others describe it as
“sonority theory” (O.Jesperson).
This phenomenon can be analyzed on phonetic (the
way we produce them) and phonological (the way
phonemes are combined) levels. Phonetically a
syllable is a sound sequence, consisting of a centre
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which has little or no obstruction to airflow and which
sounds comparatively loud; before and after this
centre there will be greater obstruction to airflow and
less loud sound. In pronouncing a syllable the energy
of articulation increases until it reaches its climax - the
most energetically articulated sound - the syllabic
phoneme (or the nucleus), one or more phonemes that
follow it (the coda) are pronounced with less energy,
the weakest articulation marks the boundary between
two syllables. Some syllables have an onset – sounds
that precede the nucleus, as in bar, key, law. There is
no syllable without the nucleus, the presence of the
onset and coda is optional. Usually the nucleus is a
vowel, though in some languages this function can be
performed by a consonant. In English, for example,
the sonorants [l-m-n] can become syllabic if they
occur in an unstressed final position preceded by a
noise consonant, as in ˈgarden, ˈsettle, ˈtable.
A syllable may consist of one phoneme or a number
of phonemes. Four types of syllables are distinguished
in English according to the number and the
arrangement of sounds:
1) open – no, he, be (CV)
2) closed – odd, it, is (VC)
3) covered – coat, mark, sat CV(C)
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4) uncovered – are, or, err V(C)1
is called phonotactics. There are some universal and
language-specific rules of phonotactics. In English the
syllable can begin with a vowel, one, two or three
consonants. No syllable begins with more than three
consonants. The syllable may end with a vowel, or
with one, two, three or four consonants. No word ends
with more than four consonants. The consonant [ŋ]
never begins and [w] never terminates the syllable. If
there is a long vowel or a diphthong, or more than one
consonant in the rhyme (nucleus + coda), the syllable
is called heavy or long, for example, ˈbeauty, aˈttempt,
aˈnnoy. Heavy syllables attract stress in English. The
syllables with a short vowel without a consonant are
called light or short, and they are normally unstressed.
The basic difference between Russian and English
syllables is that the closed syllable is the fundamental
one for the English language, while in Russian the
most common type of syllable is the open one. This
fact is proved by experimental data. In the Russian
language there is a close contact between the onset
consonant and the nucleus, in English the contact is
closer between the nucleus and the following coda
consonants. This difference is the source of mistakes
1 C – consonant; V - vowel
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109
of Russian learners in pronouncing English words, as
in English short vowels should be checked (compare
funny, city [ˈfʌn-ɪ, ˈsɪt-ɪ] \ Си-ти, Фа-ня). Besides
such clusters of consonants at the end of a word as in
“text, seventh” are unfamiliar to Russians as well.
Here care should be taken not to insert a vowel
between these consonants in learning English
pronunciation.
There are still problems with the phonetic
description of the syllable, and one of the most urgent
is syllable division or rather its place. Let’s look at the
word extra. There are 5 possible ways of dividing it
into syllables:
[e-kstrə]
[ek-strə]
[eks-trə]
[ekst-rə]
[ekstr-ə]
In such cases the maximum onsets principle is
applied. This principle states that where two syllables
are to be divided, any consonants between them
should be attached to the right-hand syllable as far as
possible. In our case according to the rules of
phonotactics in English (the syllables can’t begin with
four consonants) it is [ek-strə].
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110
In dividing an English word into syllables one
should also remember that syllables with a short
vowel and no coda do not occur in English (unless the
vowel is [ə]). So the syllable division in such words
as sorry, pressure, letter will be [ˈsɒr-ɪ], [ˈpreʃ-ə],
[ˈlet-ə].
Now let’s consider the functions of the syllable.
The most important are two functions – constitutive
and distinctive.
1. Constitutive function. The syllable is either a part
of a word or a word itself. It forms language larger
units - morphemes, words and utterances. It is also a
minimal prosodic unit in which prosodic features of
pitch, length and loudness are realised. It is a specific
minimal structure of both segmental and
suprasegmental phonetics: on the one hand within a
syllable the distinctive features of the phonemes and
their acoustic correlates are revealed. On the other
hand within a syllable prosodic characteristics of
speech are realised, which form the stress-pattern of a
word and the rhythmic and intonation structures of an
utterance.
2. The other function of the syllable is its distinctive
function. The syllable has the ability of differentiating
words and word-forms. Depending on the syllabic
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111
boundary we can distinguish between the minimal
pairs: an aim - a name; I scream – ice-cream, might
rain – my train. As it has been mentioned already, the
realization of the phoneme in different positions in a
syllable results in different allophones, which makes it
possible to differentiate the meaning of words, word
combinations and utterances.
Russian learners of English should be well aware of
these regularities and peculiarities of English
syllables, as the wrong syllable division can lead to
inadequate perception of phrases and
misunderstanding.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
I. Read the following abstracts from original
works, answer the questions and comment on one of
the problems:
In any utterance some sounds stand as more
prominent or sonorous than others, i.e. they are felt by
listeners to stand out from their neighbours. Another
way of judging the sonority of a sound is to imagine
its 'carrying power'. A vowel like [a] clearly has more
carrying power than a consonant like [z] which in turn
has more carrying power than a [b]. Indeed the last
sound, a plosive, has virtually no sonority at all unless
followed by a vowel. A sonority scale or hierarchy can
be set up which represents the relative sonority of
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112
various classes of sound; although there is some
argument over some of the details of such a hierarchy,
the main elements are not disputed. One version of the
hierarchy is as follows (the most sonorous classes are
at the top of the scale):
open vowels
close vowels
laterals
nasals
approximants
trills
fricatives
affricates
plosives and flaps
<...> The number of syllables in an utterance
equates with the number of peaks of sonority <...>
This accords with native speakers' intuition. However,
there are some cases where contours plotted with the
sonority hierarchy do not produce results which
accord with our intuition. Many such cases in English
involve /s/ in clusters <...>
Cruttenden, Allan. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’ Edition,
2001. – PP. 49-50.
1. According to the article, which of the following
sounds will be the most sonorous? The least?
[b], [a:], [g], [n], [h], [r], [ɪ], [ŋ], [æ], [ð], [ɒ], [ɜ:], [ʊ],
[w]
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Phonetically (that is in relation to the way we
produce them and the way they sound), syllables are
usually described as consisting of a centre which has
little or no obstruction to airflow and which sounds
comparatively loud; before and after this centre (that
is, at the beginning and end of the syllable), there will
be greater obstruction to airflow and/or less loud
sound. We will now look at some examples:
i) What we might call a minimum syllable
would be a single vowel in isolation, e.g. the words
“are” a:, “or” ɔ:, “err” ɜ:. These are preceded and
followed by silence. Isolated sounds sush as m, which
we sometimes produce to indicate agreement, or ʃ, to
ask for silence, must also be regarded as syllables.
ii) Some syllables have an onset (that is have
more than just silence preceding the centre of the
syllable):
“bar” ba:, “key” ki:, “more” mɔ:
iii) Syllables may have no onset but have a
coda:
“am” æm, “ought” ɔ:t, “ease” i:z
iv) Some syllables have onset and coda:
“run” rʌn, “sat” sæt, “fill” fɪl
This is one way of looking at syllables. Looking
at them from the phonological point of view is quite
different. What this involves is looking at the possible
combinations of English phonemes; the study of the
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possible phoneme combinations of a language is
called phonotactics. It is simplest to start by looking at
what is called initial position – in other words, what
can occur at the beginning of the first word when we
begin to speak after a pause. We find that the word
can begin with a vowel, or with one, two or three
consonants. No word begins with more than three
consonant. In the same way, we can look at how a
word ends when it is the last word spoken before a
pause; it can end with a vowel, or with one, two, three
or (in a small number if cases) four consonants. No
word ends with more than four consonants.
<...> There are still problems with this phonetic
description of the syllable: an unanswered question is
how we decide on the division between syllables when
we find a connected sequence of them as we usually
do in normal speech <...>
One of the most widely accepted guidelines is
what known as the maximum onsets principle. This
principle states that where two syllables are to be
divided, any consonants between them should be
attached to the right–hand syllable, not the left, as far
as possible <...> within the restrictions governing
syllable onsets and codas. <...> However there are
many problems still remaining. For example, in
looking at isolated syllables, we never find one ending
with one of the vowels ɪ, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, or ʊ, so we must
conclude that syllables with a short vowel and no coda
do not occur in English (unless the vowel is ə <...>).
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<...> One further possibility should be
mentioned: when one consonant stands between
vowels and it is difficult to assign the consonant to
one syllable or the other – as in “better” and “carry” –
we could say that the consonant belongs to both
syllables. The term used by phonologists for a
consonant in this situation is ambisyllabic.
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 1987. – PP. 70-78.
1. What are the two ways of describing a syllable?
2. State the differences and similarities in the views of
P. Roach and A. Gimson (A. Cruttenden) concerning
syllable boundaries.
Although the onsets and codas of syllables are
obviously clearly identifiable at the beginnings and
ends of words, dividing word–medial sequences of
consonants between coda and onset can be
problematical. In many languages such dividing of
words into syllables is a relatively straightforward
process (e.g. in Bantu languages, in Japanese, and in
French). In other languages, like English, it is not. The
sonority hierarchy tells us how many syllables there
are in an utterance by showing us a number of peaks
of sonority. Such peaks represent the centres of
syllables (usually vowels). Conversely it would seem
reasonable for the troughs of sonority to represent the
boundaries between syllables. Sounds following the
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116
trough would then be in ascending sonority up to the
peak and sounds following the peak would be in
descending sonority up to the trough. But problems
arise because the hierarchy does not tell us whether to
place the trough consonant itself with the preceding or
the following syllable; an additional problem is caused
by the downgraded [s] mentioned in the previous
sections. So, for example, syllable division is
problematical in words like funny, bluer, mattress,
extra /'ekstrə/.
Various principles can be applied to decide
between alternatives: align syllable boundaries with
morpheme boundaries where present (the morphemic
principle); align syllable boundaries to parallel
syllable codas and onsets at the ends and beginnings
of words (the phonotactic principle); align syllabic
boundaries to best predict allophonic variation, e.g.
the devoicing of /r/ following [t]. Unfortunately, such
principles often conflict with one another. A further
principle is often invoked in such cases, the maximal
onset principle, which assigns consonants to onsets
wherever possible and is said to be a universal in
languages; but this itself often conflicts with one or
more of the principles above.
Cruttenden, Allan. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’ Edition,
2001. – PP. 51-52.
1. State the possible ways of finding syllable
boundaries.
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It is also true that in all languages there are
constraints on the way in which <...> phonemes can
be arranged to form syllables. These constraints are
sometimes known as phonotactic or phoneme
sequence constraints and they severely limit the
number of syllables that would be theoretically
possible if phonemes could be combined in an
unconstrained way. Some simple examples of
phonotactic constraints in English include: all three–
consonant clusters at the beginning of a word start
with /s/ ('sprint', 'squire', 'stew' etc); nasal consonants
cannot occur as the second consonant in word–initial
consonant clusters unless the first consonant is /s/ (e.g.
there are no words in English than begin with /bm dn/
etc), although this is certainly possible in other
languages (e.g. German which allows /kn/ in words
like 'Knoten', meaning 'knot' – we can see from the
spelling that English used to allow this sequence as
well). Another important point about phonotactic
constraints is that they vary from language to
language, as this example of English and German has
just shown.
<...> One of the main reasons, then, why
languages have phonotactic constraints is because
their sequential arrangement is itself a cue to the
number of syllables in a word. When we produce an
English word like 'print' for example, we want to
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convey to the listener not only that this word is
composed of a certain number and type of phonemes,
but also that the word happens to be monosyllabic:
and the listeners' perception of how many syllables
there are in a word depends to a certain extent on the
arrangement of phonemes in sequence <...>
Harrington, Jonathan and Cox, Felicity. Phonotactic
Constraints. –
http://clas.mq.edu.au/phonetics/phonology/syllable/syl
l_phonotactic.html.
1. What are the reasons for phonotactic constrains in
languages? Are they universal for all languages?
Phonotactic constraints: Combinatory and
Distributional
Some Combinatory Constraints in English:
/ŋ/ cannot be preceded by long vowels or diphthongs;
/tʃ, dʒ, ð, z/ do not cluster;
/r, w, l/ only occur alone or as non initial elements in
clusters;
/r, h, w, j/ do not occur in final position in British
English, but /r/ can occur in final position in rhotic
dialects such as American English;
in final position only /l/ can occur before non–syllabic
/m/ and /n/.
Some Distributional Constraints in English:
/ŋ/ cannot occur word initially;
/e, æ, ɒ, ʊ, ɔ/ cannot occur word finally;
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119
/ʊ/ cannot occur initially;
/ʒ/ only occurs initially before /ɪ, iː, æ, ɔ/ in foreign
words such as genre.
Harrington, Jonathan and Cox, Felicity. Phonotactic
Constraints. –
http://clas.mq.edu.au/phonetics/phonology/syllable/syl
l_phonotactic.html.
1. What types of phonotactic constraints exist in
English? Find some examples of phonotactic
constraints in Russian.
II. Questions for revision:
1. What is the syllable?
2. What are the two aspects of the syllable?
3. What theories of syllable formation do you
know? Comments on each of them.
4. What features of the syllable can be singled out
on the functional level?
5. What is syllable formation in English based on?
6. What types of syllables are distinguished in
English? Give your own examples.
7. What types of syllables are the most widely
spread in English? in Russian?
8. What is the linguistic importance of syllable
division in different languages?
9. What does phonotactics study?
10. Comment on the problem of syllable division in
English. Give your own examples.
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11. Comment on the two important functions of the
syllable.
12. What are the peculiarities of the English
syllabic structure which are relevant for learners
of English?
III. Do the following tasks:
1. Characterize the following syllables according
to the distribution of vowels and consonants
(open, closed, covered, uncovered):
do, took, tree, rhythm, lit, eight, this, or, blue, stay,
dog, add, pie, stamp, out, put, eye, act.
2. Group the following words according to the
number of syllables (1/2/3/4/5):
military, politics, problematic, machine, come, poll,
millet, communal, probing, problem, coming,
mechanical, miller, mechanistic, communist,
militia, politician, militaristic, mechanize, probe,
commune.
3. Divide the following words into syllables:
cottage, family, pity, table, tablet, fishing, exam,
mister, pantry, bedroom, sixty, January, dinner,
parents, education, downstairs, occur, mimics,
memory, introduce, bathroom, alone, over.
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4. Apply your knowledge of phonotactics and define
which words are impossible in English?
prill mgla
lsig rmut
skrikt dnom
tosp thole
blaft flitch
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Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Crystal D. How Language Works. London:
Penguin Books, 2007.
6. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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VII. THE ACCENTUAL STRUCTURE OF
ENGLISH WORDS
Key words: accent,
constitutive/distinctive/identificatory (recognitive)
function, dynamic/musical (tonic) stress, duration,
fixed/free/shifting stress, fundamental frequency,
intensity, vowel length, loudness, muscular effort,
pitch, primary (strong, main, principal)/secondary
(half–strong, half–stressed)/tertiary/weak (unstressed)
syllable, prominence, recessive/retentive/rhythmical
tendency, sonority, stress, stress attracting, stress
pattern, stress–fixing, stress–neutral, syllable weight.
Not all the syllables in a word are pronounced with
the same degree of force. Usually one syllable is made
more prominent than the others, and it is said to be
stressed or accented. Stress is usually studied from
two points of view: its production and its perception.
The production of stress is generally believed to
depend on the speaker using more muscular energy
than is used for unstressed syllables. From the
perceptual point of view, all stressed syllables have
one characteristic in common, and that is prominence.
At least four factors contribute to a greater
prominence of a syllable:
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loudness (a louder syllable is perceived as
more prominent)
pitch (especially the change of pitch level)
the length of a syllable (a longer syllable is
perceived as stressed)
the vowel quality (long vowels and
diphthongs are generally more prominent
than short vowels, while among short vowels
themselves open ones are more prominent,
and [ɪ-ʊ-ə] are the least prominent)
Generally, these four factors work together in
combination, although syllables may sometimes be
made prominent by means of only one or two of them.
Languages differ according to the type of stress.
European languages such as English, German, French,
Russian, etc. are said to have the dynamic stress which
implies greater force (greater muscular energy) with
which the syllable is pronounced. The musical (tonic)
word stress is observed in Chinese, Japanese,
Vietnamese, etc. The meaning of words in these
languages depends on the variations of voice pitch in
relation to neighbouring syllables. For example, in
Chinese the sound sequence ma pronounced with the
level tone means mother, with the rising tone –
“material”, with the falling-rising tone – “a horse”
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and pronounced with the abrupt fall it means “an
insult”. In Scandinavian languages the word stress is
considered to be both dynamic and musical.
The nature of word stress in Russian seems to differ
from that in English. The quantitative component of
stress plays a greater role in Russian word stress. In
the Russian language we never pronounce vowels of
full formation and length in unstressed positions, they
are always reduced. In English nonreduced vowels
occur sometimes in the unstressed syllables as in
transport [ˈtræspɔ:t], museum [mju:ˈzi:əm], hotel
[hɜʊˈtel].
Now a brief word on the degree of stress. Phonetic
prominence of a syllable in a word is relative, i.e.
compared with the preceding one. In fact there are as
many degrees of prominence as there are syllables in
the word. Phonologically, there are only three degrees:
primary - the strongest, secondary and weak (or
unstressed): eˌxamiˈnation, ˌorganiˈsation. Some
linguists also distinguish tertiary stress, which is as
weak as secondary but has a different distribution: it
follows the primary stress, while the secondary stress
precedes it. Tertiary stress is usually found in
American English: ˈsecreˌtary, ˈdictioˌnary.
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Languages are also differentiated according to the
placement of word stress. It can be fixed (or limited to
a particular syllable - the last in French, the last but
one in Polish, the first in Czech) or free (or variable).
English word-stress has many peculiarities, which
make it very complicated. These peculiarities are due
to the fact, that in English there are many borrowed
words from different languages with various rules of
syllable formation. Though stress placement in
English words is free it follows certain rules. As we
have already mentioned, phoneticians divide syllables
into strong (heavy) and weak (light). A strong syllable
contains a long vowel or a diphthong or a short vowel
plus two consonants; syllables with a short vowel and
no coda are weak ones. Only strong syllables can be
stressed (although not all of them), but weak syllables
are never stressed. Other factors that may determine
the placement of stress are: the morphological
structure of the word (whether it is simple, complex or
compound), its grammatical category (noun, verb,
adjective, etc.) and the number of syllables in the
word.
The word stress in English as well as in Russian is
not only free, but it may also be shifting, thus
differentiating lexical units, parts of speech and
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grammatical forms: ˈcontrast - conˈtrast, ˈtransport -
transˈport, ˈзамок - заˈмок, ˈмука - муˈка.
Besides the stress pattern of English words can vary
under the influence of some factors. First of all in the
present day English stress can shift under the
influence of rhythm to avoid a succession of weak
syllables (stress shifts to the second syllable, or the
third one from the end) as in ˈhospitable - hosˈpitable,
disˈtribute - ˈdistribute, ˈaristocrat - aˈristocrat, etc.
In compounds the stress on a final-stressed compound
tends to move to a preceding syllable if the following
word begins with a strongly stressed syllable:
afterˈnoon - ˈafternoon ˈtea.
The stress pattern can change under the influence of
tempo as well; in this case secondary stresses are
dropped. It sometimes happens that a word’s stress
pattern is influenced not only by rhythm, but also by
the stress structure of a derivative: preˈfer -
preˈferable (instead of the regular ˈpreferable;
ˌdistriˈbution - ˈdistribute (instead of the regular
diˈstribute.
Word stress is closely interrelated with sentence
stress, which usually falls on the syllable marked by
word stress. So the arrangement of stresses in an
utterance depends on the stress patterns of words.
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Besides, the alternation of stressed and unstressed
syllables is common to both sentence and word stress.
At the same time they are different in application
(word\utterance) and secondly, the word stress may be
omitted in a phrase: ˈLet’s buy an ˈice-cream. Word
and sentence stress perform different functions as
well. The three functions of word stress are the
following:
constitutive
identificatory
distinctive
First of all word stress builds up a word by making
one (or more) syllables more prominent than the
others, it organizes the syllables of a word into a
language unit. Thus the word stress performs the
constitutive function. Sound sequences become a
phrase when they are divided into units organized by
word stress into words. The recurrent stress pattern of
the word helps the listener to recognize (identify) it in
the flow of speech. Correct accentuation facilitates the
process of communication and prevents
misunderstanding. This function is called
identificatory (or recognitive). Word stress is capable
of differentiating the meaning of words or their forms,
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129
thus performing its distinctive function: ˈcontent –
conˈtent; ˈinsult – inˈsult; ˈconcrete – conˈcrete.
The complicated system of the stress structure of
English words is a major cause of intelligibility
problems for foreign learners, and should be treated
very attentively. The possible mistakes are: the
placement of stress in a word; words with secondary
stresses; and words with the full vowel in the
unstressed syllable.
The stress structure of English words in speech is
inseparably connected with the rhythmic organisation
of speech chain, which will be discussed in the
following units.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
I. Read the following abstracts from original
works, answer the questions and comment on one of
the problems:
What are the characteristics of stressed syllables
that enable us to identify them? It is important to
understand that there are two different ways of
approaching this question, one being to consider what
speaker does in producing stressed syllables and the
other being to consider what characteristics of sound
make a syllable seem to a listener to be stressed. In
other words we can study stress from the point of view
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130
of production and perception; the two are obviously
closely related, but are not identical. The production
of stress is generally believed to depend on the
speaker using more muscular energy than used for
unstressed syllables. Measuring muscular effort is
difficult, but it seems possible, according to
experimental studies, that when we produce stressed
syllables, the muscles that we use to expel air from the
lungs are more active, producing higher subglottal
pressure. It seems possible that similar things happen
with muscles in other pats of our speech apparatus.
Many experiments have been carried out on the
perception of stress, and it is clear that many different
sound characteristics are important in making a
syllable recognizably stressed. From the perceptual
point of view, all stressed syllables have one
characteristic in common, and that is prominence;
stressed syllables are recognized as stressed because
they are more prominent than unstressed syllables.
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 1987. – PP. 85–86.
1. What are the possible approaches to identifying
syllables as stressed?
In contrast to the nature of syllables, the nature
of stress is fairly well understood. Stressed sounds are
those on which the speaker expends more muscular
energy. This involves pushing out more air from the
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131
lungs by extra contraction of the muscles of the rib
cage, and by extra activity of the laryngeal muscles, so
that there is an additional increase in pitch. There may
also be increases in the muscular activity involved in
the articulatory movements.
When there is an increase in the amount of air
being pushed out of the lungs, there is an increase in
the loudness of the sound produced. Some books
define stress simply in terms of loudness, but this is
not a very useful definition if loudness is considered to
be simply a matter of the amount of the acoustic
energy involved. We have already noted that some
sounds have more acoustic energy than others because
of factors such as the degree of mouth opening.
A much more important indication of stress is
the rise in pitch that usually occurs. You can check for
yourself that an increase in the flow of air out of the
lungs causes a rise in pitch even without an increase in
the activity of the laryngeal muscles. Ask a friend to
press against the lower part of your chest while you
stand against a wall with your eyes shut. Now say a
long vowel on a steady pitch and have your friend
push against your chest at an unexpected moment.
You will find that at the same time as there is an
increase in the flow of air out of your lungs (as a result
of your friends push), there will also be an increase in
the pitch of the vowel.
Ladefoged P. A Course in Phonetics. 5th
ed. – Boston:
Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005. – P. 225.
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1. How does the author view the phenomenon of stress
in terms of speech production?
Stressed syllables tend to be more prominent.
What contributes to prominence? Prominence of
sounds is relative. There is no absolute measure of
prominence. Sounds are only prominent in relation to
another sound. Length, loudness, pitch and quality all
contribute to a speaker’s perception of a syllable as
prominent.
Length The length of a vowel contributes to
prominence. Syllables containing long vowels tend to
be more prominent than those which contain short
vowels, even when they are unstressed.
Loudness Hearers often perceive stressed
syllables as louder than unstressed ones. This is a
direct result of speech production factors such as
greater muscular effort in forcing air between the
vocal cords, which in turn vibrate more vigorously.
This increased activity is ultimately perceived as an
increase in loudness. Some linguists refer to loudness
as intensity.
Pitch This term is applied to the rate of
vibration of the vocal cords. If the pitch changes on a
syllable then that syllable will be perceived as
prominent. This is often called ‘pitch prominence’. It
does not matter whether the pitch moves up or down,
what counts is that it moves.
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Quality The quality of a sound also contributes
to its prominence. In general vowels are more
prominent than consonants, but within each group
there is a hierarchy. The more open a vowel is, the
more prominent it is. /a:/ is more prominent than
either /i:/ or /u:/. Approximants and nasals are more
prominent than fricatives, which are more prominent
than stops.
While all of these factors contribute to the
prominence of syllables, some are more important
than others in determining stress. It would seem
logical that loudness is a major contributor to
prominence, but this is not the case. As we discussed
above, some sounds are more prominent, that is they
sound louder, than others by virtue of their quality.
While it is true that stressed syllables tend to be louder
(or more intense) than unstressed ones, pitch
movement is the most obvious cue to prominence for
the hearer.
Of the remaining three factors, length
contributes quite strongly to prominence. Quality also
plays a role but to a lesser extent than either pitch
movement or length. Although stressed syllables tend
to be louder than unstressed ones, loudness by itself as
a marker of prominence is the least effective of four
contributory factors. In general, a stressed syllable will
tend to be marked by a change of pitch and, in
comparison with unstressed ones, to be longer and
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louder. Stress is the result of the cumulation of two or
more of these properties on a single syllable.
Kuiper, Koenraad, Allan W.Scott. An Introduction to
English Language. Sound, Word and Sentence. –
Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. – PP. 109–110.
1. What is the authors’ idea of the phenomenon of
prominence?
2. Comment on the contribution of different
components to the perception of syllables as stressed?
English speakers can tell which syllable in a
word receives most stress in the absence of any
conscious knowledge of exactly what “stress” might
be. While the native speaker may not know
consciously what stress is, it seems clear that, the
more stressed a syllable is, the more salient it is,
perceptually. For instance, most native speakers of
English will agree that, in the word photography, it is
the second of four syllables which is most stressed,
that, in kangaroo, it is the last of the three syllables,
which receives most stress, and so on. It is equally
striking that the native speaker can judge that, while
the final syllable in kangaroo receives more stress
than either of the others, the first syllable in turn
receives more stress than the second. The first, third
and fourth syllables of photography are unstressed and
are less salient than the second syllable. The second
syllable of kangaroo is unstressed and is the least
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salient syllable in that word. Let us say that the
syllables in a word which receives most stress has
primary stress, and that syllables such as the first
syllable in kangaroo have secondary stress; while
syllables which have neither primary nor secondary
stress are unstressed syllables. We could therefore say
that a given word will have a kind of stress pattern: in
the case of kangaroo, a syllable with secondary stress,
followed by an unstressed syllable, followed by a
syllable with primary stress.
Carr, Philip. English Phonetics and Phonology: An
Introduction. – Blackwell Publishers, 1999. – PP. 87–
88.
1. How does the author describe the degrees of stress?
2. What is the stress pattern of a word?
We now come to a question that causes a great
deal of difficulty, particularly to foreign learners (who
cannot simply dismiss it as an academic question):
how can one select the correct syllable or syllables to
stress in an English word? As is well known, English
is not one of those languages where word stress can be
decided simply in relation to the syllables of the word,
as can be done in French (where the last syllable is
usually stressed), Polish (where the syllable before the
last – the penultimate syllable – is stressed) or Czech
(where the first syllable is stressed). Many writers
have said that English word stress is so difficult to
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predict that it is best to treat stress placement as a
property of the individual word, to be learned when
the word itself is learned. Certainly, anyone who tries
to analyse English stress placement has to recognize
that it is a highly complex matter. However, it must
also be recognized that in most cases when English
speakers come across an unfamiliar word, they can
pronounce it with the correct stress (there are
exceptions to this, of course); in principle, it should be
possible to discover what it is that the English speaker
knows and to write in the form of rules. Nevertheless,
practically all the rules have exceptions and readers
may feel that the rules are so complex that it would be
easier to go back to the idea of learning the stress for
each word individually.
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 1987. – P. 88.
1. What causes difficulties in the placement of word
stress in English?
Compound words are, simply, words which can
be analysed as consisting of two words, rather than a
base and an affix. For instance, while second–class is
a compound, boldness is not (– ness is a suffix, not a
word).
The question arises of where the stress goes in a
compound: on the first or second element? Both types
of case occur in English, but there is a general rule
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which determines where the stress goes. If the first
part of compound is adjectival in its meaning, the
stress goes on the second element, as in second class
and three–wheeler, whereas, if the first element is a
noun, the stress goes on that element, as in fruitcake,
sunrise, etc. Note that the first kind of case mirrors the
stress pattern in syntactic phrases consisting of an
adjective and a noun, as in second man, whereas the
second kind of case does not.
Carr, Philip. English Phonetics and Phonology: An
Introduction. – Blackwell Publishers, 1999. – P. 95.
1. How does the author explain the placement of stress
in compound words?
Most compounds in English are single–stressed,
that is the main lexical stress goes on the first element.
(Alternative terms for ‘single–stressed’ are ‘front–
stressed’ and ‘early–stressed’.)
bedtime, grassland, wheelbarrow, newsgroup,
keyboard, highlight
If a compound is to bear the nucleus, then – just
as with simple words – the accent is located on the
lexically stressed syllable:
It’s well past your bedtime.
Put the grass in the wheelbarrow.
Don’t look at the keyboard.
Where’s your grandmother?
Here’s another highlight.
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Many English compounds are written as two
separate words, even though the main stress is still on
the first element of the compound. These are called
open compounds (or two–word compounds).
library book, credit card, bus, running shoe, high
school
It does not matter whether a single–stressed
compound is written as one word, or hyphenated, or as
two words. As far as intonation is concerned, it makes
no difference: all single– stressed compounds behave
as if they were single words. If we place the nucleus
on one, it goes on the stressed syllable of the first
element:
Is that my library book?
I’ve lost my credit cards.
They were playing video games.
I need some new running shoes.
Are you still at high school.
At ten we have physics class
<...> Open compounds can be misleading for the
student of EFL because superficially a compound may
look like a phrase consisting of adjective plus noun.
Compare running shoes and running water. The first
is an open compound, single–stressed; running is a
gerund (a verbal noun). The second is a phrase in
which each word has its own lexical stress; running is
a participle (a verbal adjective):
(i) I need some new running shoes.
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(ii) They made the outhouse into a bathroom| and
installed running water.
The last lexical item in (i) is running shoes, a single–
stressed compound. The last lexical item in (ii) is
water.
Unlike compounds, phrases consist of two or
more lexical items. They have one lexical stress for
each. The nucleus normally goes on the last of them:
It was a bitter disappointment. (bitter disappointment
is a phrase)
Phrases such as bitter disappointment are
‘double–stressed’, as opposed to the single lexical
stress of compounds.
Wells J.C. English Intonation. An Introduction. –
Cambridge University press, 2006. – PP. 100–102.
1. What kind of compounds does the author call
“open”?
2. What is the difference in the placement of nuclear
tone in open compounds and phrases?
Advice to Foreign Learners
Many learners come from language
backgrounds where word accent is regular, on the first
syllable in Finnish and German, on the penultimate
syllable in Polish and Spanish, and on the final
syllable in French and Turkish. But in English there is
no such regular pattern and the differing accentual
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patterns of words are as important to their recognition
as is the sequence of phonemes.
Although the accentual patterns are not as
regular as in many other languages, there are
nevertheless tendencies and the foreign learner can
definitely be helped by learning some of these
tendencies. In particular, he should pay attention to the
influence of suffixes on the placement of primary
stress, noting whether the suffix leaves the accent on
the stem unchanged (as with the inflexional suffixes,
with adjectival –y, with adverbial –ly and with –er,
and –ish), whether it takes the accent itself (as with –
ation) or whether it moves the accent on he stem ( as
with –ate and –ity).
Learners should also pay particular attention to
the role of accentual contrast in those cases where
word classes are distinguished by a shift of accent, at
the same time making appropriate reduction of
unaccented vowels. They should not, however, extend
such variation of accentual patterns indiscriminately to
all disyllables, e.g. report, delay, select, reserve,
account etc., have the same pattern in both verb and
noun/adjective functions.
Gimson A.C., revised by A. Cruttenden: Gimson’s
Pronunciation of English (5th ed.). – Edward Arnold,
1994. – P. 235.
1. What recommendations does the author give to
foreign learners of English?
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II. Questions for revision:
1. Which syllables are called stressed?
2. What is the stress pattern of the word?
3. Comment on the terms “stress” and “accent”. 4. Describe the phenomenon of word stress from
the point of view of production and perception.
5. What is dynamic word stress? What languages
are characterized by dynamic stress?
6. What parameters of English word stress are
singled out by British scholars?
7. Speak on the role of loudness, pitch, length and
vowel quality in creating the effect of
prominence?
8. How many degrees of stress are distinguished in
English?
9. Speak about the classification of languages into
those with free word stress and those with fixed
stress.
10. Characterize the placement of word stress in
English.
11. What factors should be taken into account to
define the position of word stress in a particular
word?
12. How does the type of suffix influence the
location of word stress?
13. What are the typical tendencies in the
placement of word stress in compound words?
14. Speak on the correlation of word stress location
and the position of the word in the sentence.
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15. What tendencies affect the position of word
stress in English?
16. Describe the recessive tendency, give examples
to illustrate it.
17. Describe the rhythmical tendency, give
examples to illustrate it.
18. Describe the retentive tendency, give examples
to illustrate it.
19. What are the functions of word stress?
20. Comment on the accentual structure of
compound words with regard for the semantic
value of their components.
21. Which aspects of English word stress present
difficulties to Russian learners of English?
III. Do the following tasks:
1. Put the stress mark in the following words:
apple-tree, good-looking, examination, secretary,
museum, police, introduction, fourteen, housewife,
dining-room, ninety, somebody.
2. Translate the following words and word
combinations into Russian, mind the semantic
importance of word stress:
ˈtall ˈboy – ˈtall boy
ˈblack ˈbird – ˈblack
bird
ˈyellow ˈcup – ˈyellow
ˈafter ˈnoon –
ˈafternoon
ˈsome ˈthing –
ˈsomething
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cup
ˈblack ˈboard -
ˈblackboard
ˈgreen ˈhouse – ˈgreen
house
ˈdark ˈroom – ˈdark
room
3. Translate the following words and word
combinations into Russian, mind the semantic
importance of word stress:
ˈcontent – conˈtent
ˈcontest – conˈtest
ˈrecord – reˈcord
ˈdesert – deˈsert
ˈimport – imˈport
ˈinsult – inˈsult
ˈtransport – transˈport
ˈcontract – conˈtract
ˈprocess – proˈcess
ˈextract - exˈtract
4. Find your own examples to prove the semantic
importance of word stress in English and in
Russian.
5. Make reports about the rules of word stress
placement in English (in grammatical classes of
words, in compounds, etc.). Illustrate your reports
with examples.
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Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Cruttenden, A. Gimson’s Pronunciation of
English. – Arnold International Students’
Edition, 2001.
6. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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VIII. ENGLISH INTONATION, ITS
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
Key words: complex/compound/simple nuclear tones,
emphatic/hesitation/ syntactic pause, fundamental
frequency, head, intensity, intonation pattern,
loudness, nucleus, pausation, pitch, pitch level (key,
register), pitch range, pre–head, prosody, syntagm,
tail, tempo, timbre (tamber), time (duration), tune
(melody), tone (intonation) group.
attitudinal/distinctive (phonological)/organizing/
pragmatic/rhetorical/social (indexical)/stylistic
function, delimitation (segmentation)/integration,
discourse, information content, information focus,
marked/unmarked position, phonopassage, phrase,
rheme/theme, syntactic types of sentences.
Another part of suprasegmental phonology is
intonation. Intonation is a language universal. There
are no languages which are spoken as a monotone,
without any change of prosodic parameters. But
intonation functions in various languages in a different
way. So our attention will be turned to the role of
intonation in the language and its contribution to the
communicative value of the act of speech.
Intonation hasn’t been thoroughly investigated yet,
as such research involves the use of both special skills
and particular technical devices and equipment. From
the very beginning of phonetics as a science
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phoneticians preferred to study segmental phonemes
rather than intonation, so now we have a far more
detailed analysis of English sounds than of its
intonation patterns. Teachers of phonetics also prefer
to concentrate their attention on sounds, as the
recognition of intonation variations requires a special
skill, the so-called musical ear, which is difficult to
acquire and develop. Native speakers use intonation
unconsciously. Intonational differences in the native
language seem to be the first to be perceived and
acquired by children, so they are rooted so deeply in
their minds that when they come to studying a foreign
language, interference (influence) of the native
intonation is the strongest and the most difficult to get
rid of. More than that. Very often the misuses of
intonation patterns in a foreign language are perceived
by native speakers not as mistakes, but as an
intentional act, so such situations may cause
misunderstanding and even offence.
The study of intonation went through many stages:
as individual sounds, intonation can be examined on
different levels – auditory, acoustic and functional.
We shall start with the description of intonation on the
auditory and acoustic levels, and then pass on to its
linguistic function.
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8.1. The Structure of English Intonation
Most linguists agree that on perception level
intonation is a complex unity formed by significant
variations of pitch, tempo, loudness and timbre.
Nowadays there is another term – prosody – which is
used in linguistics, sometimes meaning “intonation”.
According to the British School intonation refers to
pitch (or melody) variations, and prosody embraces
pitch, loudness, tempo and voice quality (or timbre).
Intonation starts with a phrase, an utterance, while
prosody has a wider domain: from a syllable to the
whole text. But for convenience in our textbook we
shall not discriminate between prosody and intonation
and use the terms interchangeably.
There hasn’t been created a suitable definition of
either intonation or prosody, but we can see that pitch
comes first as the most important and most
“linguistic” component. Timbre or voice quality has
been recently added to the definition of intonation, as
it serves to give additional or emotional colouring to
the speech. Some scientists consider it the least
linguistic component and refer it to paralinguistics.
On acoustic level pitch correlates with the
fundamental frequency (the rate of vibrations of the
vocal cords), loudness correlates with intensity (the
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amplitude of vibrations), tempo is the correlate of
duration (or time), voice quality correlates with
spectral characteristics.
The linguistic level is concerned with the meanings
expressed by the components of intonation or the
function of intonation in the process of
communication.
As we’ve mentioned already among the four
components of intonation pitch and pitch movements
seem to have some priority, though the other three
parts can’t be ignored either. Each syllable of the
speech chain has a special pitch colouring and bears a
definite amount of loudness. Pitch movements are
connected with loudness; together with the tempo of
speech they form an intonation pattern, which is the
basic unit of intonation.
Intonation patterns serve to actualize syntagms in
oral speech. A syntagm is a group of words which is
semantically and syntactically complete. In phonetics
actualized syntagms are called intonation groups. A
phrase may contain more than one intonation group.
The number of intonation groups depends on the
length of the phrase and the degree of semantic
importance or emphasis given to various parts, etc.:
ˋThis boy │ was not a ˈmodel ˋpupil||
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This boy was ˈnot a ˈmodel ˋpupil||
Now let’s see how each of the constituents of
intonation actualizes such language units as syntagms,
sentences, phrases. Among the pitch parameters we
shall concentrate on the variations in the direction of
pitch, pitch level and pitch range. Pitch changes can’t
be separated from loudness, so we shall discuss pitch-
and-stress structure of the intonation pattern.
Not all stressed syllables in a phrase are of equal
importance. One of the syllables has the greater
prominence than the others and forms the nucleus of
an intonation pattern. The nucleus is normally the last
strongly accented syllable in an intonation pattern,
which marks a significant change of pitch direction
(where it goes up or down). The nuclear tone is the
most important part of the intonation pattern without
which the latter cannot exist at all. On the other hand
an intonation pattern may consist of only one syllable
which is its nucleus.
In general nuclear tones may be falling, rising and
level or a combination of these movements. Each
movement may begin on a lower or higher level, thus
producing a variety of nuclear tones. For teaching
purposes the following most important and frequently
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used nuclear tones are chosen: Low Fall, ˋ igh ( id)
Fall, Low Rise, ˊHigh (Mid) Rise, ˬFall-Rise, Rise-
Fall, >Level. Speakers are said to select from a choice
of tones according to how they want the utterance to
be heard. During the development of modern
phonetics in the twentieth century it was hoped that
scientific study of intonation would make it possible
to state what the function of each different aspect of
intonation was, and that foreign learners could then be
taught rules to enable them to use intonation in the
way that native speakers use it. However these rules
are not quite adequate as a complete practical guide to
how to use English intonation.
The meanings of the nuclear tones are difficult to
specify even in general terms. Roughly speaking,
falling tone is usually regarded as more or less
“neutral”, it gives an impression of “finality,
completeness and certainty”:
I’ll come in an hour.
Rising tone conveys an impression that something
more is to follow, it has the general meaning of
“incompleteness, uncertainty, dependence”:
→ Have you seen Ann? - No.
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Some not very important parenthetical information
is often spoken with a rising tone to show that it’s
incomplete and depends on the main sentence:
…and then, on the left, you’ll see my house.
The fall-rise is used a lot in English, it combines the
meaning of falling tone’s certainty and the rising
tone’s meaning of dependence, so it often conveys a
feeling of reservation:
- Do you smoke - Sometimes. (not in general)
- I’ve heard it’s a good film. - Yes. (but I don’t
completely agree)
The rise-fall is used to convey rather strong feelings
of approval, disapproval or surprise:
- Isn’t the view lovely - Yes.
The level nuclear tone is usually used to express a
feeling of something routine, uninteresting or boring.
I’m afraid I can’t >manage it…
Mid-level tone is common in spontaneous speech
and low-level tone is characteristic of reading poetry:
And >then │ my >heart │with ˋpleasure
feels…
And dances │with the daffodils│
An intonation pattern contains one nucleus and may
contain other stressed or unstressed syllables, which
normally precede or follow the nucleus. The part that
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extends from the first stressed syllable up to (but not
including) the nucleus is called the head. The
unstressed syllables which precede the first stressed
syllable of the head are called the pre-head, and any
syllables between the nucleus and the end of the
utterance are the tail.
The tone of a nucleus determines the pitch of the
rest of the intonation pattern (that is the tail), thus after
a falling tone the rest of the intonation pattern is at a
low pitch. After a rising tone the rest moves in an
upward direction:
No ˌMary. \ Well Mary.
The nucleus and the tail form what is called the
terminal tone.
Variations within the pre-nuclear part do not
usually affect the grammatical meaning of the
utterance, though they often reflect speaker’s attitude
and phonetic styles. There are three common types of
pre-nucleus - a descending type, in which the pitch
gradually descends (smoothly or in steps); an
ascending type in which syllables form an ascending
sequence; and a →level type, when all the syllables
stay more or less on the same level.
All parts of the intonation pattern can be combined
in various ways, thus manifesting changes in meaning.
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The number of combinations is more than a hundred,
but not all of them are really important, so in teaching
we deal only with a very limited number of intonation
patterns.
Two more pitch parameters are pitch range and
pitch level. Each speaker has his or her own normal
pitch range: a top level which is the highest pitch
normally used by the speaker, and a bottom level that
the speaker’s pitch normally doesn’t go below. In
ordinary speech the intonation tends to take place
within the lower part of the speaker’s pitch range, but
in situations where strong feelings are to be expressed
it is usual to make use of extra pitch height. For
example, if we represent the pitch range by drawing
two parallel lines showing the highest and lowest
limits of the range, then a normal unemphatic “yes”
could be diagrammed like this:
but a strong emphatic “yes” – like this:
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So pitch range can be normal, wide and narrow.
Narrow pitch range is associated with dull
monotonous speech.
Another component of intonation is tempo. It
implies the rate of the utterance and pausation. The
rate can be normal, slow and fast. The parts of the
utterance which are particularly important sound
slower and those which bear additional, not significant
information are pronounced at a faster rate. Utterances
are split into smaller portions by means of pauses. By
pause is meant a complete stop of phonation. Pauses
differ according to their length. Usually three kinds of
pauses are distinguished for teaching purposes:
Short pauses which separate intonation
groups within a phrase;
Longer pauses which manifest the end of
the phrase;
Very long pauses (twice as long as the
first type) are used to separate paragraphs.
Functionally pauses may be syntactic, emphatic and
hesitation. Syntactic pauses separate phonopassages,
phrases and intonation groups. Emphatic pauses serve
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to make prominent certain parts of the utterance. They
are used to draw the listeners’ attention to what the
speaker is going to say. Hesitation pauses are mainly
used in spontaneous speech to gain time to think over
what to say next. They may be silent or filled.
Sometimes we can perceive a pause, when there is
no stop of phonation at all. It may happen when pitch
changes its direction; variations in the rate of the
utterance, aspiration, etc. can also produce this effect.
Timbre or voice quality has not been thoroughly
investigated yet. Phoneticians describe three types of
voice quality settings which depend on the position of
speech organs, the characteristics of the vocal cords
and muscular tension. For the moment it is known that
voice quality differences do contribute to a foreign
accent and that they stem from both linguistic and
sociolinguistic factors, but further research is needed
on this phenomenon for more accurate information.
The changes of pitch, loudness and tempo are
highly organized in any particular language. No matter
how different the individual variations of these
prosodic components are they are standard, so that all
speakers of the language use them in similar ways
under similar circumstances. These characteristics of
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intonation structure form the prosodic system of
English.
8.2. The Functional Aspect of English Intonation
Our further point will be the description of
intonation on the functional level. Intonation is a
powerful means of human intercommunication. One
of the aims of communication is the exchange of
information between people. The meaning of an
English utterance derives not only from the
grammatical structure, the lexical composition and the
sound pattern. It also derives from variations of
intonation or its prosodic parameters. We can see that
intonation makes it easier for a listener to understand
what a speaker is trying to convey. The ways in which
intonation does this are very complex, and there exist
various points of view on the number and aims of
intonation functions in a language.
P.Roach, for example, singles out the following
intonation functions:
grammatical
accentual
attitudinal
discourse
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Let’s have a closer look at them. First of all
intonation serves to mark boundaries between phrases,
clauses or sentences to indicate the grammatical
subordination and to show the difference between
questions, statements, commands, etc., so this function
is called grammatical. The placement of the
intonation-group boundary is important for
differentiating the meaning of some ambiguous
sentences, as in the example:
Those who ˬsold │ˌ uickly ˌmade a profit║
ˈThose who ˈsold ˬ uickly │made a profit║
The intonation-group boundary can occur not only
between words, but other grammatical units such as
phrases and clauses, thus showing what is subordinate
to what, as in the example:
The boys │ who weren’t punished │ were
happy║
The boys who weren’t punished │ were happy║
(only some boys)
Some skilful speakers use this ability of intonation
as a special rhetorical device to attract the listeners’
attention or to hold the floor a bit longer.
The choice of nuclear tones also has grammatical
significance, as it makes clear whether the person is
telling something, asking or commanding. Basic tones
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are generally associated with certain communicative
types of sentences. The falling tone is most common
in statements, special questions, commands and
exclamations. The rising tone is characteristic of non-
final parts of statements, general questions, requests
and warnings. The grammatical function here seems to
overlap with the pragmatic function and depends on
the speaker’s pragmatic aim. The choice of the nuclear
tone can turn the command into a polite request:
→Close the door │ will you║
→Close the door │ will you║
a question into an exclamation:
Isn’t she beautiful║
Isn’t she ˋbeautiful║
an apology into a request to repeat:
I’m sorry║
I’m sorry║
a statement into a question (mostly in colloquial
speech):
You ˋ did it║
You did it║
As we’ve said already intonation helps to produce
the effect of prominence, the placing of nucleus on a
particular syllable marks out the word to which it
belongs as the most important in the intonation group.
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It highlights the focus of information in the utterance
indicating that it’s new (it’s called rheme) while the
rest of the given information is called theme as it’s
either known to the listener or can be easily
understood from the context. Thus intonation can
structure the information content of an intonation
group or a phrase. This function is called accentual.
The location of the nucleus is of considerable
linguistic importance. The most common position for
it is on the last lexical word. In this case sentence
stress is normal. But there are cases when a speaker
may shift the nucleus to an earlier part of the
intonation group for contrastive or emphatic purposes.
In this position the stress is logical.
I’m going to ˈleave soon║ (normal)
I’m →going to leave soon║ (contrastive,
meaning I’m going not to stay)
I ˋam going to leave soon║ (emphatic)
The position of the nucleus can also differentiate
the actual meaning of the sentences, as in the example:
I have →plans to leave║ (=I’m planning to
leave)
I have plans to leave║ (=I have some plans that
I have to leave)
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By putting the stress on one particular word, the
speaker shows that he is treating the word as the
carrier of new information, and that the information of
the other words is not new and can be easily
understood from the situation.
The next function of intonation is the attitudinal
one. Intonation enables us to express emotions and
attitudes and this adds a kind of special meaning to
spoken language. The ability of intonation to express
attitudes is associated with tones and pitch range
features accompanied by voice quality and tempo and
loudness changes. Some phoneticians make a
distinction between the attitude towards what the
speaker is saying and his/her emotional state.
Then there are also culture-specific norms of
demonstrating emotions and attitudes. This makes it
difficult for a foreign learner to interpret what he/she
has heard and to use an appropriate intonation pattern
in a certain situation. For example, Russian falling
tone when used in English parting remarks may seem
offensive or even insulting to native speakers of
English, who usually use rising tone in saying good-
bye. On the other hand English emotional High Falls
or a wide pitch range may sound unnatural and
pretentious to Russian speakers.
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This function of intonation is closely connected
with paralinguistics which includes facial expressions,
gestures and body movements.
In the last few years the attention of phoneticians
has been focused on a larger context in which
sentences occur – that is discourse, in the structuring
of which intonation plays a significant role. Generally
intonation helps to focus the listeners’ attention on
aspects of the message that are most important and to
regulate the conversational behaviour of the
participants.
As we’ve said already the placing of the nucleus on
a certain syllable of one particular word signals that
the information conveyed by it is most important and
new. It’s clear that the placement of the nuclear tone is
at least partly determined by the larger context. The
chosen other parameters of the intonation group can
also indicate whether they are used to present new
information or refer to that which is already possessed
by the listener, is common knowledge or part of the
cultural background. Foreign learners of English,
having in general less common ground or shared
knowledge with the native speaker, might also have
some difficulty in deciphering the message.
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Another area of intonational discourse function is
the regulation of conversational behaviour. Speakers
use various intonation components to indicate to
others that they have finished speaking, that another
person is expected to speak, that a particular type of
response is required, etc.
Some phoneticians also distinguish a semantic
function of intonation (other terms are distinctive or
phonological). Some parameters of the intonation
pattern are capable of differentiating the actual
meaning of a phrase or utterance of the same
grammatical structure and the same lexical
composition:
I don’t like to read anything║ (=вообще не
люблю читать)
I don’t like to read ˬ anything ║(=не люблю
читать все подряд)
Intonation can also be in contradiction with the
syntactic structure and lexical content of the utterance,
thus neutralizing them:
- Do you know what I’m here for - No
(=question)
- I’ve broken your vase. - →How nice of you
(=sarcasm, reprimand)
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One more important function of intonation, singled
out by some phoneticians, is a stylistic one, as
intonation is used to characterize a particular style or a
variety of oral speech. As it’s rather a wide topic it
will be discussed in a separate units later.
To sum it up we can say that all the functions of
intonation overlap and can be viewed as different
aspects of discourse function.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
I. Read the following abstracts from original
works, answer the questions and comment on
one of the problems:
Any stretch of continuous conversation will
consist of a number of tone groups. There are some
criteria which would allow us to place boundaries
between adjacent tone groups. We may use
grammatical, semantic and phonetic criteria to delimit
tone groups.
Tone group boundaries tend to occur at major
grammatical boundaries, for example those between
phrases.
There are two tone groups in each of the
following examples. In the first example the boundary
falls between the two clauses, while in the second it
falls between phrases but not in the middle of them.
The tone groups coincide with grammatical
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164
constituents, and also have meaning. If the boundary
were to fall between alligator and eyed, then the tone
group would cut across grammatical constituents, and
produce a tone group which was semantically
anomalous. This tendency for tone group boundaries
to coincide with major grammatical boundaries gives
tone groups both grammatical and semantic
coherence.
It was only yesterday | that I decided not to go.
The large evil alligator | eyed the spectators.
Kuiper, Koenraad, Allan W.Scott. An Introduction to
English Language. Sound, Word and Sentence. –
Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. – PP. 106-107.
1. What is a tone group and what are the criteria for
their delimitation? Give your own examples for each
criterion.
A major source of difference among the ways
intonation has been described has been disagreement
about how its meaning can best be represented. Some
note that a change in intonation seemingly alters the
grammatical organisation of a sentence. Others see a
relationship between the intonation of certain
utterances and the supposed attitude or emotional state
of the speaker. A problem with observations like these
is that they seem only to apply on particular occasions.
The task of pairing different kinds of utterance with
different intonation patterns seems like an enormous,
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165
and perhaps even an open–ended, one. Having
explained how intonation affects one sentence, you
move on and find that a quite different kind of
explanation is needed for the next.
To describe the meaning of any intonation
feature, we have to think of the tone unit as being part
of some interactive event: that is to say, the speaker is
to be thought of as addressing a known listener, or
listeners, at a particular moment in time. Each feature
then reflects the speaker's view of what state of
background understanding exists at that moment
between speaker and listener. This means, of course,
that discussion of the intonation of isolated sentences
must be avoided: the context must always be taken
into account.
Brazil, David. Pronunciation for Advanced Learner’s
of English. – Cambridge University Press, 1994. – PP.
15-17.
1. Why is there much disagreement in describing
meanings of intonation?
A spoken utterance consists of words put
together in a grammatical construction; this part is
verbal and vocal. While people are producing such
utterances, they are also communicating something,
intentionally or not, by elements that are not part of
language, neither vocal nor verbal, such as gestures,
appearance, stance, and proximity to the addressees –
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166
popularly called body language, labelled kinesics by
those who study such things systematically. Some of
the elements may be considered vocal gestures that
accompany speech: laughing, giggling, whispering,
falsetto, a quavering or 'breaking' voice. Some are
individual ways of speaking: some people are louder
than others, or louder at certain times; some have
higher–pitched voices than others; some speak in a
near monotone while others have a broad pitch range;
some clip syllables short by comparison with others
who drawl. These and other such phenomena are part
of speech but not part of language.
Intonation is vocal, non–verbal, and part of
language. It is the use of (relative) pitch changes in
patterns used and recognized by all speakers of a
language (allowing for dialect differences analogous
to other phonological and semantic differences) and
which can impart different meanings to otherwise
identical utterances.
Kreidler, Charles W. Describing Spoken English. An
Introduction. – Hartnolls Limited, Bodmin, Cornwall,
1997. – PP. 192-193.
1. Comment on the ways of communication.
The final topic within the general subject of
prosody is voice quality, defined as the long–term and
stable characteristics of a given voice which span
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stretches of speech. Voice quality is the term used to
describe the auditory impression made by a certain
mechanical setting of the speech organs over stretches
of speech. The term voice setting is sometimes used in
the same way as voice quality but can also mean the
physical postures of the articulators which produce a
particular voice quality <...> Different individuals and
groups of speakers have different ways of setting their
tongue, jaw opening, lip shape and vocal cords to
achieve a characteristic voice quality.
<...> intonation and stress, as well as the
articulation of vowels and consonants, are produced
within the limits of the voice quality set by the
articulators and the breath stream coming up from the
lungs. For example, if the setting of the vocal cords is
very tense, it is not possible to produce as full a range
of pitch as when they are set at a more moderate level
of tension. As a second example, if the voice is set at
low volume – i.e. soft voice – the possibilities for
producing stress contrasts are thereby reduced <...>
Pennington, Martha C. Phonology in English
Language Teaching: an International Approach. –
Longman: London and New York, 1996. – P. 156.
1. Give the definition of voice quality.
2. State the difference between voice quality and voice
setting (if any).
3. Prove that voice quality is an aspect of prosody
(intonation).
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Because different voices have different natural
and symbolic associations, they are often exploited in
acting, pretending or playing various roles. In English
and some other languages, labialized articulation can
signify baby talk <...> A combination of retroflex and
labialized articulation made the American actor,
Jimmy Stewart, seem ingenuous – a combination of
childlike and rural. A palatalized articulatory setting,
sometimes with nasalization, is used in English for
baby talk as well as for mocking. The combination of
nasal voice and a spread lip setting in the speech of the
American actor, Jack Nicholson, gives a sinister
impression – a man who mocks and smiles at the same
time.
By raising the larynx – e.g. by raising the chin
and leaning the head backward – an adult voice can be
made to sound more like that as a child, as this
stretches the vocal cords and raises the pitch as a
consequence. This is a setting that might be used for
the voice of a cartoon character (e.g. Mickey Mouse),
a doll or an adult playing a child <...> In contrast,
producing a voice with a lowered larynx creates a
deeper, more adult voice and so might be the voice
adopted by a child attempting to imitate an adult,
especially a male adult. An army drill sergeant might
“bark out” orders in a harsh shout while also placing
his chin on his chest, thereby lowering the larynx and
making the voice lower and more “commanding” <...>
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Pennington, Martha C. Phonology in English
Language Teaching: an International Approach. –
Longman: London and New York, 1996. – PP. 160-
161.
1. What effects can be achieved by changing voice
quality?
Functions of English
We will move on to look more closely at its
functions. Perhaps the best way to start is to ask
ourselves what would be lost if we were to speak
without intonation: you should try to imagine speech
in which every syllable was said on the same level
pitch, with no pauses and no changes in speed or
loudness. This is the sort of speech that would be
produced by a "mechanical speech" device that made
sentences by putting together recordings of isolated
words. To put it in the broadest possible terms, we can
see that intonation makes it easier for a listener to
understand what a speaker is trying to convey. The
ways in which intonation does this are very complex,
and many suggestions have been made for ways of
isolating different functions. Among the most often
proposed are the following:
i) Intonation enables us to express emotions and
attitudes as we speak, and this adds a special kind of
"meaning" to spoken language. This is often called the
attitudinal function of intonation.
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ii) Intonation helps to produce the effect of
prominence on syllables that need to be perceived as
stressed, and in particular the placing of tonic stress on
a particular syllable marks out the word to which it
belongs as the most important in the tone–unit. This
has been called the accentual function of intonation.
iii) The listener is better able to recognise the
grammar and syntactic structure of what is being said
by using the information contained in the intonation;
for example, such things as the placement of
boundaries between phrases, clauses or sentences, the
difference between questions and statements and the
use of grammatical subordination may be indicated.
This has been called the grammatical function of
intonation.
iv) Looking at the act of speaking in a broader
way, we can see that intonation can signal to the
listener what is to be taken as "new" information and
what is already "given", can suggest when the speaker
is indicating some sort of contrast or link with material
in another tone–unit and, in conversation, can convey
to the listener what kind of response is expected. Such
functions are examples of intonation's discourse
function.
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 2000. – PP. 183-
184.
1. Why is intonation important?
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171
2. Comment on the most often proposed functions of
intonation.
The attitudinal function has been given <...>
much importance in past work on intonation <...>,
although it should eventually become clear that it
overlaps considerably with the discourse function. In
the case of the other three functions, it will be argued
that it is difficult to see how they could be treated as
separate; for example, the placement of tonic stress is
closely linked to the presentation of "new"
information, while the question/statement distinction
and the indication of contrast seem to be equally
important in grammar and discourse. What seems to
be common to accentual, grammatical and discourse
functions is the indication, by means of intonation, of
the relationship between some linguistic element and
the context in which it occurs. The fact that they
overlap with each other to a large degree is not so
important if one does not insist on defining watertight
boundaries between them.
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 2000. – P. 184.
1. Prove that all functions of intonation are
interrelated.
2. What is your idea of the discourse function of
intonation? Which function does it overlap with?
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172
Speaker meaning, in so far as it deviates from
the surface meaning of an utterance, is generated in a
systematic way, usually when there is a perceived
mismatch between the content of an utterance and the
context in which it is conveyed. I assume that at least
some intonationally conveyed attitudes are also
conveyed by some kind of mismatch, for example
between the intonation and the message, or between
the intonation and the context. Some attitudes, of
course, are not conveyed by mismatch. Sometimes we
say what we mean. The response wonderful! with a
smile and a high fall to a friend's announcement that
he is to become a father needs little explanation. The
wide pitch range is a typical expression of strong
feeling (here, given the meaning of 'wonderful', it
conveys pleasure – the same pitch contour on no!
might express a very different emotion); the
expression of pleasure can be interpreted as a positive
attitude towards the proposition contained in the
message, and this in turn is likely to be inferred by the
receiver as implying a positive attitude, such as
'friendly' or 'supportive', towards himself.
Many intonationally conveyed attitudes,
however, in particular negative ones, are the result of
some kind of mismatch. In the situation I just
described, the response wonderful! with a narrow
pitch range and no smile would indicate that the
speaker meant something else, although any implied
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or inferred meaning would depend on the situation.
Clearly, if we are to investigate mismatches we must
first have a clear idea of what constitutes a 'match'. It
must be possible to assign to a particular intonation
pattern, or some aspect of intonational behaviour, a
'normal' or 'expected' meaning which then has the
potential to be exploited in an unexpected way, either
intentionally, generating a prosodic implicature, or
unintentionally, generating an inference on the part of
the receiver. These implied or inferred meanings are in
my view the key to many cases of perceived 'tone of
voice' or attitude. However, until we are in a position
to identify a 'normal' association between intonation,
text and context we are not in a position to identify
any deviation from that norm.
<...> different people may make very different
inferences from the same interaction, depending on
their beliefs about the nature of the context.
Wichmann, Anne. Intonation in Text and Discourse. –
Pearson Education Limited, 2000. – PP. 145-146.
1. Do we always say what we mean? What helps
listeners to understand speaker meaning?
2. Give your own examples of mismatches between
the intonation and the message, or between the
intonation and the context.
3. Compare Anne Wichman’s approach to the
attitudinal function of intonation with Peter Roach’s
point of view.
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The discourse function of intonation
Intonation is also important in the
conversational interaction of two or more speakers.
Most of the research on this has been on
conversational interaction of a rather restricted kind –
such as between doctor and patient, teacher and pupil
or between the various speakers in court cases. In such
material it is comparatively easy to identify what each
speaker is actually doing in speaking – for example,
questioning, challenging, advising, encouraging,
disapproving, etc. It is likely that other forms of
conversation can be analysed in the same way,
although this is considerably more difficult. In a more
general way, it can be seen that speakers use various
prosodic components to indicate to others that they
have finished speaking, that another person is
expected to speak, that a particular type of response is
required and so on. The difference between falling and
rising intonation on question–tags is supposed to
indicate to the listener what sort of response is
expected. It seems that key (the part of the pitch range
used) is important in signalling information about
conversational interaction. We can observe many
examples in non–linguistic behaviour of the use of
signals to regulate turn–taking: in many sports, for
example, it is necessary to do this – footballers can
indicate that they are looking for someone to pass the
ball to, or that they are ready to receive the ball, and
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doubles partners in tennis can indicate to each other
who is to play a shot. Intonation, in conjunction with
"body language" such as eye contact, facial
expression, gestures and head–turning, is used for
similar purposes in speech, as well as for establishing
or confirming the status of the participants in a
conversation.
Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology. –
Cambridge: Cambr. Univ. Press, 2000. – PP. 200-
201.
1. How can intonation regulate conversational
behaviour?
2. Could all the separate functions of intonation be
seen as different aspects of discourse function?
Intonation in conversation: structure and meaning
Some contributions to a conversation are not
intended as an independent contribution but to
encourage the current speaker to continue. Such
'backchannels' can include nods, and verbal responses
such as mmmhh, yes, right, oh, oh yes etc, or verbal
echoes, repetition and reformulation of current
utterances.
<...> One assumption we make about
conversation is that in principle participants co–
operate. Of course this is not always the case –
questions are not answered, summonses are not
responded to, and backchannel feedback is withheld if
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a participant so chooses. This is, of course,
independent of intonation, but intonation can play a
subtle role in indicating non–compliant behaviour.
An obvious example is the competitive
interruption, the attempt to take a turn before the
current speaker has ceded the floor. <...> competitive
interruptions are 'markedly raised in pitch and
loudness' When both raised pitch and loudness are
present in an interruption, the current speaker modifies
his or her speech prosodically, indicating a willingness
to relinquish the floor or, presumably by further
raising pitch and loudness, the intention to continue.
There are times when verbal responses are
realised in a way which constitutes not so much
encouragement or support for the current speaker's
talk but a challenge to it. Backchannelling, for
example, is essential to the maintaining of interaction,
but speakers may choose to do apparently conflicting
things: provide the required 'yes, I'm listening'
responses but at the same time discourage the other
speaker in some way (signalling disaffiliation while
observing interactional rules). This distinction can be
crucial to the understanding of the discourse processes
but is one which cannot always be made on the basis
of the orthographic transcription alone. Sometimes its
identification lies in the prosody and not in the words.
Wichmann, Anne. Intonation in Text and Discourse. –
Pearson Education Limited, 2000. – PP. 138-140.
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1. Comment on the term “backchannels”. Is
backchanneling important in the interaction?
2. What is meant by non–compliant behaviour?
3. What is the difference between turn–competitive
and non–competitive interruptions?
II. Questions for revision:
1. What branch of Phonetics studies intonation?
2. What is intonation on the perception level?
3. Comment on the British, American and Russian
approaches to intonation.
4. What is prosody?
5. What are the acoustic correlates of pitch,
loudness and tempo?
6. What types of pauses are distinguished
according to their length and function?
7. Give the definition of the intonation pattern.
What are its constituents?
8. What is the intonation group?
9. Is it possible to specify the meanings of nuclear
tones? Illustrate your answer with your own
examples.
10. Comment on the other components of the
intonation pattern, their structure, types and
function.
11. What is the meaning of the intonation group
derived from? Illustrate your answer with your
own examples.
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12. Comment on different types of representing
intonation in the text.
13. Which method of intonation notation do you
prefer? Justify your choice.
14. View intonation on the functional level. Prove
that intonation is a powerful means of human
communication.
15. Which are the functions of intonation described
(distinguished) by phoneticians?
16. Which function of intonation is considered the
main one?
17. What is meant by distinctive function of
intonation?
18. How do prosodic means contribute to
organizing the text?
19. What is meant by marked and unmarked
position of the nucleus?
20. How can the shift of the nuclear tone affect the
information focus?
III. Do the following tasks:
1. Mark the components of intonation patterns and
state their types:
elen’s eyes were not very good║
My mother-in- law is coming toˋmorrow║
→What are you going to do║
→Would you like me to drive║
I can’t ˋstand it anymore║
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179
This book is not really ˬmine║
2. Divide the text into intonation groups by means
of pauses:
The national character of the English has been very
differently described, most of commentators agree
of a one quality, which they describe as fatuous
self-satisfaction, serene sense of superiority or
insular pride. English patriotism is based on the
deep sense of security. Englishmen as individuals
may have been insecure, threatened with the loss of
a job, unsure of themselves or unhappy in many
ways. But as a nation they have been for centuries
secure, serene in their national successes. They
have not lived in a state of hatred of their
neighbours as Frenchmen and Germans have often
lived. This national sense of security hardly
threatened by the Armada or by Napoleon or by the
First World War has been greatly weakened by the
Second World War and by the invention of the
atomic bomb.
3. Define the meanings and attitudes expressed in
the following phrases (according to their
intonation patterns):
He ˋread the book║
- →Lovely ˋweather│ - Yes║
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She is ill║
The sell shoes gloves bags║
The sell shoes gloves bags║
- Let’s go there together│ – I’m sorry║
- Let’s go there together│ – I’m ˬsorry║
I’m not going to in vite anybody║
I’m not going to in vite ˬanybody║
y sister │who is forty now │is going to get
married║
My sister who is forty now │is going to get
married║
- Do you ever go to the night clubs? - Sometimes║
How ˋdare you speak like that║
4. Locate the nucleus in each intonation group.
I’ve got a small cake | but I want a large cake.
I can see the beginning of the sentence | but where’s
the end of the sentence?
He can finish this translation tomorrow | but not today.
She’ll have done her homework by nine o’clock | but
not by seven o’clock.
I can recognize the woman in the red dress | but who’s
in the black dress?
I met their eldest son | but didn’t meet their youngest
son.
She wasn’t at the club yesterday | she was at the
exhibition.
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I wouldn’t like chicken and pasta | I would like beef
and pasta.
Do you want a medium cola | or a large cola?
My husband’s a doctor | and I want my son to be a
doctor too.
5. Suggest a question to which each sentence might
be a response with a) marked nucleus (focus) and b)
unmarked nucleus.
I can’t drive a car.
She’s doing her English course at Cambridge.
It was an early morning.
I’ve cooked some Italian dishes.
e’s coming to visit us soon.
They’re out next-door neighbours.
6. Shift the nucleus in the following phrases and
state what differences in the meaning it’s caused:
The exercise has to be done in writing.
I’ll do the flat as soon as I can.
You can translate the article tomorrow.
Why have you told him about it?
Did you enjoy the meal?
7. Make the following phrases sound 1) serious, 2)
relieved, 3) boring, 4) sarcastic, 5) irritated, 6) with
a feeling of reservation:
I’m tired.
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The door is open.
This thing was mine.
Thank you very much.
Why not phone him.
IV. Make a report on one of the topics:
1. Intonation on the perception level
2. Various approaches to the description of
intonation
3. British, American and Russian approaches to
intonation.
4. Different points of views on the classifications of
nuclear tones
5. The communicative function of intonation
6. The role of intonation in structuring the discourse
7. The pragmatics of discourse and the choice of
prosodic means
8. The rhetorical function of intonation
9. The social and indexical function of intonation
10. Non-verbal means of communication
Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
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183
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Блох М.Я., Фрейдина Е.Л. Публичная
речь и ее просодический строй. –
М.:Прометей, 2011.
6. Crystal D. How Language Works. London:
Penguin Books, 2007.
7. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
8. Wells J.C. English Intonation. An
introduction. Cambridge University Press,
2006.
9. Wichmann A. Intonation in Text and
Discourse. Harlow: Pearson Education
Limited, 2000.
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IX. THE RHYTHMIC STRUCTURE OF THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Key words: aesthetic / pragmatic function,
alliteration, arhythmicality / rhythmicality, assonance,
delimitation / integration, enclitics / proclitics,
intonation group, isochrony, phonopassage, phrase,
repetition, rhyme, rhythm, rhythmic unit, speech
rhythm, stress–timed / syllable–timed, syntactic
parallelism, foot (the rhythmic group), line, stanza.
English intonation can’t be described without
reference to speech rhythm. Prosodic components
(pitch, loudness, tempo) and speech rhythm work
interdependently and some linguists even consider
rhythm to be one of the components of intonation.
In general rhythm involves some event happening
at regular intervals of time. Properties of speech
rhythm are common with and conditioned by our
biological rhythms, such as heartbeat and breathing.
Speech rhythm is traditionally defined as recurrence of
stressed syllables at more or less equal intervals of
time in speech.
English as well as Russian, German, Arabic and
other languages is considered to be a stress-timed
language. It means that stressed syllables tend to occur
at relatively regular intervals irrespectively of the
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185
number of unstressed syllables separating them.
Though the amount of time given on each syllable
varies, the total time of uttering each rhythmical unit
is practically unchanged. To the Russian learners
English seems to sound very rhythmical while Russian
rhythm is more smooth and flexible. It is due to the
fact that English is an analytical language with a lot of
monosyllabic words, which are unstressed. French,
Spanish, Japanese and some other languages have
syllable-timed rhythm: in these languages all syllables,
whether stressed or unstressed, tend to occur at regular
time-intervals and the time between stressed syllables
will be shorter or longer depending on the number of
unstressed syllables separating them.
The basic rhythmic unit in both groups of languages
is a speech segment which contains a stressed syllable
and a number of unstressed ones. The most frequent
type of an English rhythmic group includes 2-4
syllables, one of which is stressed. The division into
rhythmic groups greatly depends on the language
group. In most Germanic languages (English, German,
Danish, etc.) the enclitic tendency prevails: in a stress
group unstressed syllables are grouped with a
preceding stressed syllable, so the rhythmic group
starts with a stressed syllable and includes all
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following unstressed syllables up to (but not
including) the following stressed syllable:
Take me to the │ seaside re│ sort║
In slow formal speech the semantic tendency may
prevail: the unstressed syllables are drawn to the
stressed syllable of the same word or the lexical unit
according to their semantic connection:
Take me│ to the seaside │re sort║
In Roman languages (French, Italian, Spanish, etc.)
the proclitic tendency is more obvious: unstressed
syllables are grouped with a following stressed
syllable.
In speech the rhythmic effect is obtained by all the
prosodic parameters (pitch, loudness and tempo). The
beginning of the rhythmic unit is usually marked by
maximal pitch level and loudness and relatively slow
rate, while the end is accompanied by a relative drop
of pitch and loudness and the increase of the rate; but
each time these parameters come on a different level,
on a larger scale and in a new variety of
interrelationship.
The more organized the speech is, the more
rhythmical it appears. Poetry is the most extreme
example of this. Prose read aloud or delivered in the
form of a public speech or a lecture is more
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rhythmical than colloquial speech. On the other hand
rhythm is also individual. Absolutely regular rhythmic
speech produces the effect of monotony, so people
usually vary the degree of rhythmicality of their
speech: sometimes they speak very rhythmically (this
is typical of some styles of public speaking or in
reading poetry) while at other times they may speak
arrhythmically (without any rhythm) if they are
nervous or hesitant.
So we can see that rhythm is an important speech
phenomenon which has a functional value. First of all
rhythm serves to organize elements in speech: it unites
smaller units (intonation groups, phrases) into larger
ones and at the same time it separates large units into
smaller ones. This function is called integrative and
delimitative. Rhythmically organized speech is easily
perceived and has a definite effect on a person. Thus
rhythm performs its aesthetic function. On the
linguistic level the pragmatic value of speech rhythm
is realized in its volitional function. Rhythm is also
capable of expressing different degrees of emotional
effect on the listener.
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188
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
I. Read the following abstracts from original
works, answer the questions and comment on
one of the problems:
Imagine yourself at public auditions in which
four conductors are competing for the top job in an
orchestra. Each competitor has to conduct the same
piece of music, and each to the same metronome. As
he waves his baton, the first conductor begins with the
words, “One, two, three, four.” The second says “One
and two and three and four.” The next says “One and a
two and a three and a four.” And the last aspirant says
“One and then a two and then a three and then a four.”
Which of these conductors will miscue the orchestra?
The answer is “None.” Each of these four sentences
takes exactly the same amount of time to say. This
illustrates a key and yet peculiar feature of our
language. It is called the stress–timed rhythm of
English.
Stress–timing: We can illustrate with almost
any word of two or more syllables – for example,
“syllable.” We stress this word using the pattern Ooo,
placing primary emphasis on the first segment of the
word. In English every long word has its own stress
pattern. Think of the words “import” and “record,” for
example. Both words can be pronounced using either
the pattern Oo or the pattern oO. Which pattern you
use fundamentally changes the meaning of the word.
Something else happens after you choose which
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syllable to stress. The pronunciation of the main vowel
in the unstressed syllable changes, often to the sound
‘uh’ which is the single most common sound in the
English language. This sound has its own special
name, schwa, and about 30 per cent of the sounds we
make when we speak English are the sound schwa. In
English, schwa can be represented by any vowel.
<...> This practice of replacing unstressed
vowels with schwa also occurs in connected speech –
English as we use it in our daily lives. If I ask “Where
are you from?” I will stress the word “from,”
pronouncing the short ‘o’ sound quite clearly. If you
answer “I’m from Sydney,” you will most likely
reduce the ‘o’ to schwa. The reason is that you are
likely to stress the word “Sydney” instead. This
reduction of vowel is the key to the stress–timing of
most forms of English.
<...> Native English speakers <...> frequently
use schwa in unstressed syllables. This is why it takes
the same amount of time to say “One, two, three, four”
as it does to say “One and then a two and then a three
and then a four.” Reducing vowels enables us to speed
through unstressed syllables. This is how we achieve
the particular rhythm of English, in which stressed
syllables are roughly equidistant in time, no matter
how many syllables come in between.
Most of the world's other major languages have quite
a different pattern. They are known as ‘syllable–
timed’ languages. Each syllable receives
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190
approximately the same amount of stress as the others
in a word or a sentence. These languages thus have
quite a different rhythm from that of English.
McKenzie–Brown, Peter. The Stress–timed Rhythm of
English. –
http://languageinstinct.blogspot.com/2006/10/stress-
timed-rhythm-of-english.html, 2006.
1. What is typical of English rhythm? Give your
definition of stress pattern.
2. What is the key to the stress–timing?
3. Comment on the difference between syllable–timed
and stress–timed languages.
Stress in many languages is what defines the
rhythm of speech. Rhythm can be defined as the
pattern of occurrence in time of relatively ‘strong’ and
relatively ‘weak’ events. In a language like English,
the strong events are stressed syllables and the weak
events are the unstressed ones. There is a tendency
<...> for stressed syllables to occur at roughly equal
intervals in time in English and in other languages. If
we listen to a sentence like: John can’t have forgotten
Sally’s birthday, the strong beats that fall on the
stressed syllables appear to be roughly equally spaced
in time, although as we can see, the number of
unstressed syllables between each pair of beats varies:
0 between the first pair, 2 between the second pair,
and 1 between the third and fourth pairs. In table 1 are
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some very rough measurements in milliseconds of the
durations of each stressed syllable and any following
unstressed ones, taken from a recording of the
sentence.
Table1. Foot duration measurements
Foot Syllable count Duration (ms)
John 1 406
can’t have for– 3 542
gotten 2 427
Sally’s 2 500
birthday 2 675
Each stressed syllable and any following
syllables constitute a unit known as a foot. Compare
the duration of the first and second feet. Certainly the
second is longer than the first, but it is nowhere near
three times as long, although there are three times as
many syllables. This means that the syllable rate in the
second foot must be faster than that of the first foot.
The constant alteration of syllable rate to maintain a
roughly equal foot duration is characteristic of many
accents of English and also of other languages. These
languages are sometimes called stress–timed. Not all
languages, and not even all accents of English, are like
this. French, for example, tends to have, or at least to
sound as if it has, most syllables equal in duration.
Languages like this are called syllable–timed.
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This distinction between stress–timed and
syllable–timed languages is very probably an
oversimplification. It is probably more accurate to say
that some languages make greater use of one kind of
rhythm, but both types can be found in most
languages. It is also true that different accents of the
same language may have different rhythmic
characteristics.
Ashby M. and Maidment J. Introducing Phonetic
Science. – Cambridge University Press, 2007. – PP.
161–162.
1. What defines rhythm in English?
2. What languages are called syllable–timed and
stress–times?
We all make judgements about how quickly
someone is speaking, but it is not at all easy to work
out what we base these judgements on <...> Can we
establish scientifically that there really are
characteristic differences in speaking speed? There
are, it seems to me, three possibilities:
(1) some languages really are spoken more rapidly,
and some more slowly, than others as a natural result
of the way their sounds are produced.
(2) we get the impression that some languages are
spoken more quickly than others because of some sort
of illusion.
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(3) in some societies it is socially acceptable or
approved to speak rapidly, and in others slow speaking
is preferred.
We need to look for appropriate ways to
measure how quickly someone is talking. We are used
to measuring the speed at which someone can type,
write or take shorthand dictation in terms of how
many words per minute are taken down. In measuring
speech, we can do the same thing – we can give
someone a passage to read, or a speaking task such as
describing what they did on their last holiday, and
count how many words they speak in a given time.
However, in speech it makes a big difference whether
or not we include pauses. Most studies of speaking
have found it necessary to make two different
measurements of the rate at which we produce units of
speech: the rate including pauses and hesitations, and
the rate excluding such things. The terms usually used
are speaking rate and articulation rate <...> It is quite
possible that some languages make more use of pauses
and hesitations than others, and our perception of
speed of speaking could be influenced by this. In
comparing different languages, however, there is a
more serious problem: some languages (e.g. German,
Hungarian) have some very long words while others
(e.g. Chinese) have very few words of more than one
or two syllables. It has been found that Finnish was
faster than English if syllables per second are
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measured, but slower if words are counted, since
Finnish words tend to be longer than English words.
Many investigators have chosen instead to
measure the number of syllables spoken in a given
amount of time. This usually results in a syllables–
per–second measurement, and at this more detailed
level of measurement it is usual to exclude pauses.
However, we should bear in mind that different
languages have very different syllable structures.
any of the world’s languages do not use syllables
with more than three or four sounds, while others
allow syllables of many more sounds. So if a language
with a relatively simple syllable structure like
Japanese is able to fit more syllables into a second
than a language with a complex syllable structure such
as English or Polish, it will probably sound faster as a
result. It seems, then, that we should compare
languages’ speaking rate by measuring the number of
sounds produced per second, rather than the number of
syllables. Within a particular language, it is clear that
speech rate as measured in sounds per second does
vary quite widely: In theory, then, it could happen that
in speaking quickly I might produce no more sounds
per second than when speaking slowly. In order to get
a meaningful measure, it would be necessary to count
not the sounds actually observable in the physical
signal, but the “underlying phonemes” that I would
have produced in careful speech.
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'Language Myths', eds. Bauer L. and Trudgill P. –
Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1998. – PP. 150–158.
1. Are there any characteristic differences in speaking
speed?
2. How could we measure the speed of speech?
Social factors influence the speakers of a
language in different ways: in some societies it is
regarded as acceptable or approved to speak rapidly,
while in others slow speech is preferred. There is
almost certainly an interaction with gender here, with
slow speech usually being preferred for males. This
would mean that, while at normal speaking speed the
sounds–per–second rate for all languages may be
effectively the same, some languages are
characteristically using higher and lower speaking
rates than other languages in particular social
situations. In a carefully controlled study, Kowal et al
(1983) looked at two very different types of speech
(storytelling and taking part in interviews) in English,
Finnish, French, German and Spanish. They found
significant differences between the two styles of
speech (both in terms of the amount of pausing and of
the speaking rate) but no significant difference
between the languages. They concluded that the
influence of the language is negligible compared with
the influence of the style of speech <...>
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Certainly we are all capable of speaking faster
and slower when we want to. There are variations in
speed associated with the situation in which the
speech is being produced – we speak more rapidly if
we are in a hurry, or saying something urgent, or
trying not to be interrupted in a conversation. We tend
to speak more slowly when we are tired or bored. The
emotional state of the speaker at the time of speaking
is clearly influential. There seems also to be a personal
factor – some people are naturally fast talkers, while
others habitually speak slowly, within the same
language and dialect and in the same situation.
Research has shown that our opinion of speakers is
influenced by their speaking rate: Giles (1992) reports
that “a positive linear relationship has repeatedly been
found between speech rate and perceived
competence”, and Stephen Cowley (personal
communication) says that in Zulu society, slow speech
tempo is a sign of respect and sincerity. Yet another
social factor is the amount of temporal variability,
where the alternation between speaking rapidly and
speaking slowly may itself have considerable
communicative value <...>
'Language Myths', eds. Bauer L. and Trudgill P. –
Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1998. – PP. 150–158.
1. What factors influence the speaking rate?
2. Comment on the differences between male and
female speech rate.
3. How does tempo influence our opinion of speakers?
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<...> It is widely claimed that English speech
tends towards a regular alternation between stronger
and weaker, and tends to adjust stress levels to bring
this about. The effect is particularly noticeable in
cases such as the following, which all show the effect
of what is called stress–shift:
compact (adjective) [kəmˈpækt] but compact disc
[ˈkɒmpæktˈdɪsk]
thirteen [θɜ:ˈti:n] but thirteenth
place [ˈθɜ:ti:nθˈpleɪs]
Westminster [westˈmɪnstə] but Westminster
Abbey [ˈwestmɪnstərˈæbɪ]
In brief, it seems that stresses are altered
according to context <...>
An additional factor is that in speaking English
we vary in how rhythmically we speak: sometimes we
speak very rhythmically (this is typical of some style
of public speaking) while at other times we may speak
arhythmically (that is without rhythm) if we are
hesitant or nervous. Stress–timed rhythm is thus
perhaps characteristic of one style of speaking, not of
English speech as a whole; one always speaks with
some degree of rhythmicality, but the degree varies
between a minimum value (arythmical) and a
maximum value (completely stress–timed rhythm).
Peter Roach. English Phonetics and Phonology. A
Practical Course. – Cambridge University Press.
2000. – P. 137.
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1. What are the factors that influence rhythmicality of
our speech?
<...> Many foreign learners of English are
made to practice speaking English with a regular
rhythm, often with the teacher beating time or
clapping hands on the stressed syllables. It must be
pointed out, however, that the evidence for the
existence of truly stress–timed rhythm is not strong.
There are many laboratory techniques for measuring
time in speech, and measurement of the time intervals
between stressed syllables in connected English
speech has not shown the expected regularity;
moreover, using the same measuring techniques on
different languages, it has not been possible to show a
real difference between “stress–timed” and “syllable–
timed” languages. Experiments have shown that we
tend to hear speech as more rhythmical than it actually
is, and one suspects that this is what the proponents of
the stress–timed rhythm theory have been led to do in
their auditory analysis of English rhythm. However
one ought to keep an open mind on the subject,
remembering that the large scale, objective study of
suprasegmental aspects of real speech is difficult to
carry out, ad much research remains to be done.
What, then, is the practical value of the
traditional “rhythm exercise” for foreign learners? The
argument about rhythm should not make us forget the
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very important difference in English between strong
and weak syllables. Some languages do not have such
a noticeable difference (which may, perhaps, explain
the subjective impression of “syllable–timing”), and
for native speakers of such languages who are learning
English it can be helpful to practice repeating strongly
rhythmical utterances since this forces the speaker to
concentrate on making unstressed syllables weak.
Speakers of languages like Japanese, Hungarian and
Spanish – which do not have weak syllables to
anything like the same extent as English does – may
well find such exercises of some value <...>
Peter Roach. English Phonetics and Phonology. A
Practical Course. – Cambridge University Press.
2000. – PP. 137–138.
1. What is the practical value of the traditional
“rhythm exercises”?
2. Are such exercises useful of Russian learners of
English? Why?
II. Questions for revision:
1. What is understood by rhythm in a broad sense?
2. What does the notion of speech rhythm imply?
3. Into what groups are languages divided
depending on their type of rhythm?
4. What languages are called syllable–timed?
5. What languages are called stress–timed?
6. What phenomena create the spiky effect of
English rhythm?
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7. Give the definition of the rhythmic group.
8. Comment on the tendencies of grouping of
stressed and unstressed syllables in a rhythmic
group. Which tendency is more typical of
English?
9. What are the constituents of rhythmicality?
10. What factors regulate speech rhythm?
11. What is the most rhythmical style of speech?
12. What are the basic rhythmic units in poetry?
13. What other devices contribute to the effect of
rhythmicality in poetry? Illustrate your
answer with your own examples.
14. Comment on the hierarchy of rhythmic
structures in prose. Illustrate your answer with
your own examples.
15. Speak about the rhythmical organization of
spontaneous speech.
16. Comment on the functions of rhythm.
17. What recommendations would you give to
Russian learners of English concerning the
acquisition of English rhythm?
III. Do the following tasks:
1. Divide the phrases into rhythmic groups.
Observe a) enclitic tendency, b) semantic
tendency:
What’s your idea of a really good holiday?
Try some of this fruit pie.
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Perhaps she wants to go somewhere this evening.
It became the largest seaside resort.
An old lady came up to a train conductor.
2. Read the poems and find examples of
phonetic, syntactical and semantic devices
which contribute to the impression of
rhythmicality:
With rue my heart is laiden,
For golden friends I had,
For many a rose-lipped maiden,
For many a light-foot lad.
By brooks too broad for leaping
The light-foot boys are laid.
The rose-lipped girls are sleeping
In fields where roses fade. (A.E.HOUSMAN)
Down by the Sally Gardens my love and I did meet,
She passed the Sally Gardens with little snow-white
feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on
the tree,
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But I being young and foolish with her would not
agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-
white hand.
She bid me take life easy as the grass grows on the
weirs,
But I was young and foolish and now am full of
tears. (W.B.YEATS)
Some say the world will end in fire
Some say - in ice.
From what I tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And will suffice. (ROBERT FROST)
When I was one and twenty
I heard a wise man say:
Give crowns and pounds and guineas,
But not your heart away.
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Give pearls away and rubies,
But keep your fancy free,
But I was one and twenty -
No use to talk to me.
When I was one and twenty
I heard him say again:
The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain.
'Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.
And I'm two and twenty
And Oh, 'tis true, 'tis true. (A.E.HOUSMAN)
IV. Make a report on one of the topics:
1. Rhythm in poetry
2. Rhythmic organisation of prose.
3. Rhythm of spontaneous speech.
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Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Crystal D. How Language Works. London:
Penguin Books, 2007.
6. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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X. PHONOSTYLISTICS AND THE
STYLISTIC USE OF INTONATION
Key words: academic (scientific) / conversational
(familiar) / declamatory (artistic) / informational /
publicistic (oratorial) style, aim (purpose) of
communication, functional style, degree of formality,
degree of spontaneity, dialogue / monologue /
polylogue, extralinguistic, formal / informal, forms of
communication, gender, general activity types,
participants, phonostylistics, setting, social status,
speaker’s attitude, specific subject matter, speech
behaviour, style forming / modifying factors, tenor of
discourse.
accommodation, assimilation, coarticulation,
colloquial (casual) speech, consonant cluster, elision,
formal speech, monophthongization, reduction
(qualitative / quantitative), simplification.
10.1. Problems of Phonostylistics
A speaker uses a great number of varieties of the
language according to the situations he finds himself
in. As he/she moves through the day, so the variety of
the language he/she uses is moving. It is changed
instinctively or consciously at home, with friends, at
work, so on. An educated speaker is multilingual.
Functional stylistics studies certain aspects of
language variations. The aim of it is to analyze
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language habits and identify the linguistic features
which are restricted to certain social contexts, to
explain them and to classify them.
It is important to realize what kind of English is
used in the process of teaching. We all agree that we
are to teach the norm of English. But there isn't much
agreement as far as the term "norm" is concerned.
This term is interpreted in different ways. Some
scholars associate “norm” with the so-called "neutral"
style. According to this conception all stylistically
marked parameters do not belong to the norm. More
suitable, however, seems to be the conception which
considers the norm as a complex of all functional
styles.
There are 3 so called levels of functional stylistics:
lexical, syntactic and phonetic. We shall deal only
with phonetic stylistics or phonostylistics.
Phonostylistics studies the way phonetic means of
the language function in various oral realizations of
the language. The choice of the phonetic means
suitable to this or that situation depends on a number
of factors, among which extra-linguistics ones are
very important as they result in phonostylistic
varieties.
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The most important extra-linguistic factor is the aim
of utterance, which is a sort of strategy for the
language user. People speak in order to inform,
persuade, instruct, narrate, etc. In each particular case
speakers select a number of intonational means that
serve his/her purpose and make his/her speech more
effective. That is why the aim of utterance is
considered to be a style-forming factor, whereas the
rest are style-modifying ones.
The nature of intercourse or the form of speech can
also influence the choice of a phonetic style. It
suggests listening, speaking, or exchanging remarks
and may be a lecture, a discussion, a conversation, etc.
Depending on the number of participants it may be a
monologue, a dialogue or a polilogue. The last factor
sets the degree of speech spontaneity or preparedness.
An utterance can be qualified as fully spontaneous,
when the verbal realization of speech is simultaneous
to reproduction of the idea in the mind of the speaker.
Speech is half-prepared when the speaker has thought
over what he/she is going to say (for example, a
teacher giving explanations at a lesson). Speech is
fully prepared when the speaker prepares the reading
of a piece of prose (or poetry) or when he/she quotes.
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In this case the speech is prepared in advance, is
written on paper and is generally read.
Other style-modifying factors include social and
psychological situations. The occupations of the
speaker and the listener, the social status, age and
gender determine the degree of formality of speech
and the attitudes expressed (it may be a friendly talk, a
formal conversation, public or non-public speech,
etc.). If the situation is formal the speaker will tend to
articulate more slowly and carefully. Individual
sounds will be given their full forms, none will be
omitted. In a very informal situation, on the other
hand, he/she will be more likely to speak quickly, less
carefully, and some sounds will either change their
form or be omitted entirely.
All these factors are interconnected and
interdependent in everyday life situations and it’s
normally the combination of several of them that
characterizes the phonetic style.
The task of phonostylistics is firstly, to identify the
set of phonetic expressive means, which are
stylistically significant; secondly, it must outline a
method of analysis, which would allow to arrange
these features in such a way as to facilitate the
comparison of the use of one language with any other;
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thirdly it must decide on the function of these features
by classifying them into categories, based on the
extra-linguistic purpose they have.
One of the most urgent problems of phonostylistics
is the classification of phonetic styles. Different
scholars name different styles according to the
principle the classification is based on. We give
preference to the classification suggested by the
phoneticians of our faculty. Taking the aim of
utterance as the main principle of their classification
they distinguish the following phonetic styles:
Informational
Scientific or academic
Publicistic
Declamatory
Familiar or conversational
Any of these styles has a great many varieties in
accordance with style-modifying factors. Besides any
of these styles may be realized either in the form of
reading or in the form of speaking.
Speaking and reading are two different psychic
processes in which the sounding utterance is generated
in different ways. When a person reads a text, he/she
has a ready piece of information, written on paper. So
he/she doesn't have to think what to say. The only
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thing he/she has to think of is how to say, how to
make it sound proper, according to the norm of the
language, suitable for the situation. As a result the
usage of phonetic means is characterized by a high
degree of regularity.
When a person produces a spontaneous text, that
has not been written or prepared beforehand, he has to
think of both: what and how to say. When such a
person starts speaking he/she has only an intention to
make an utterance. In most cases he/she doesn't even
know how long the utterance is going to continue. The
speaker has to decide spontaneously how to express
what he intends using proper lexical, phonetic and
grammatical means. The main thing that differs
reading and speaking is the segmentation (or
delimitation) of speech into phrases and intonation
groups. In reading a phrase corresponds to a written
sentence. The end of the phrase is marked by a pause
with a complete stop of phonation and by the falling
nuclear tone. Intonation groups in the text which is
read coincide with syntagms. Each intonation group
has a semantic centre.
Intonation groups of a spontaneous text may be
syntactically complete or incomplete (they may lack a
semantic centre). The end of the intonation group is
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characterized by the absence of any pause and often is
pronounces with the mid-level or even rising nuclear
tone. While reading a person makes mainly syntactic
pauses, those which mark the end of a phase or an
intonation group. Sometimes a reader makes emphatic
pauses too, to emphasize the following part of
utterance. While speaking a person makes three kinds
of pauses - syntactic, emphatic and hesitational,
among which hesitations prevail. Hesitation pauses are
characteristic of spontaneous speech belonging to any
style.
In spontaneous speech semantic centres are more
prominent, they are much louder, pronounced at a
much higher pitch and are much slower compared to
the rest of the utterance. We can say that rhythm in
spontaneous texts is often non-systematic, variable
and unpredictable.
Normally, each act of communication is addressed
at a listener, so it’s important to understand what
perceptional characteristics of an oral text have a
style-differentiating value for him/her. The most
important ones are considered to be delimitation (or
segmentation), the accentuation of semantic centres
and the speaker’s timbre.
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10.2. Intonational Styles
Now we are going to discuss the main intonational
features of each style. It should be born in mind that
each style exists in a number of varieties which
depend on the style-modifying factors.
1) Informational Style
It seems to be the most neutral as its main purpose
is to convey information without expressing any
emotions or attitudes. It is the least marked kind of
situationally influenced English. This kind of style is
used mostly in broadcasting, press reporting, oral
representation of any information or a written text, in
formal business conversations and classroom teaching.
Among the prosodic features characteristic of this
style we should mention the following:
Low Fall/Rise with Descending Heads and
High Level Head;
stable and normal loudness;
normal or relatively slow speed;
mostly syntactic pauses;
systematic and properly organised rhythm.
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2) Academic Style
It is used in lectures, scientific discussions,
conferences, etc. Its purpose is to inform, to win the
attention and interest of the public, to establish a
contact with the audience. As it is an intellectual and
volitional type of speech (the speaker appeals to the
intellect and will of the listener) it requires some
emotional colouring. It is achieved by varying
prosodic features, by the alternation of pauses, types
of heads and terminal tones, by using tempo contrasts:
High/Low Falls and Fall-Rises with Stepping
Head;
rather high loudness;
a large proportion of pauses that serve to
bring out semantic centres;
normal or relatively slow speed
systematic and properly organized rhythm.
3) Publicistic Style
This is the style of public discussions on political,
judicial or economic topics, sermons, parliamentary
debates. Its aim is to persuade, to influence, to
involve the audience into the talk and to make the
listeners take the speaker’s point of view. It is never
spontaneous and is often even rehearsed. This style is
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extremely emotional, mimics and gestures are widely
applied.
The prosodic features are the following:
a lot of High Falls and Fall-Rises with
Descending and Ascending Heads;
changes of loudness from fortissimo to
whispering;
rather slow speed;
intonation groups are not short, separated
with rather long mostly syntactical and
emphatic pauses;
properly organized rhythm.
4) Declamatory Style
It is used on stage, TV screen or in class in reading
aloud prose or poetry. Its aim is to appeal
simultaneously to the mind and emotions of the
listener, so this style is highly emotional and
expressive. It requires special training. On the prosodic
level the following features are the most common:
falling, level nuclear tones with Low/High
Level or Stepping Head;
varied loudness;
rather slow speed;
properly organized and stable rhythm.
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5) Conversational Style
This is the style of every-day communication
between friends, relatives, well-acquainted people. It is
relaxed, characterized by the lack of planning, so it is
unpredictable, there are a lot of errors, slips,
hesitations, elliptical constructions:
falling or rising tones with Level or Falling
Heads;
normal loudness;
varied speed;
intonation groups are rather short separated by
pauses, mostly hesitations, which can be both
silent and filled;
irregular rhythm.
As we have mentioned already, each style has some
varieties depending on the extra-linguistic factors.
Each can be realized in different forms: monologue,
dialogue, polilogue, in speaking and reading, etc. It’s
also important to note that any style is seldom realized
in its pure form, each oral text usually includes
phonetic characteristics of different styles, so there’s
overlapping (or fusion) of styles. But the knowledge
of peculiarities of the usage of different phonetic
styles improves the effectiveness of speech,
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facilitates understanding and communication, so it
shouldn't be ignored in both teaching and learning a
foreign language.
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
I. Read the following abstracts from original
works, answer the questions and comment on
one of the problems:
‘Style’ refers to a way of doing something.
Think of architectural styles and the striking rustic
style of house–building in rural Sweden. That
particular style – what allows us to call it a style – is
an assemblage of design choices. It involves the use of
timber frames, a particular type of roofline and so on.
We can place this style. It belongs somewhere, even if
this style is lifted out of its home territory and used
somewhere else. It has social meaning. The same is
true for styles in all other life–domains. Cultural
resonances of time, place and people attach to styles
of dress and personal appearance in general, to styles
in the making of material goods, to styles of social and
institutional practice, perhaps even to styles of
thinking. The world is full of social styles.
This general account of style can of course be
applied to linguistic forms and processes too. We are
all familiar with the idea of linguistic style, and most
people will think first of language in literary style.
Literary style relates to the crafting of linguistic text in
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literary genres and to an aesthetic interpretation of
text. This book is about style in speech and about ways
of speaking, not about literary style, although it would
be wrong to force these areas of study too far apart.
Coupland N. Style. Language Variation and Identity. –
Cambridge University Press, 2007. – PP. 1–2.
1. How does the author view style in cultural and
social context?
2. ow does he describe the concepts of “literary
style” and “linguistic style”?
The discipline label ‘stylistics’ was popularized
in the 1950s, and it came to be thought of a discrete
field of linguistics or applied linguistics. ‘General
stylistics’ was interested in all forms of language text,
spoken and written, distinguished from the sub–field
of literary stylistics. Early stylistics was dominated by
linguistic structuralism, which emphasized the
structural properties of texts at different levels of
linguistic organization (phonological, grammatical,
lexical, prosodic). It gloried in the technical
sophistication of linguistic description, at a time when
linguistics was still developing momentum. Stylistics
was largely based on taxonomies – lists of language
features, levels and functions. For example, a very
simple hierarchical analysis of English style was
offered by Martin Joos in his strangely titled book
“The Five Clocks” (1962). The ‘clocks’ were levels of
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formality in spoken and written English, which Joos
labelled ‘frozen’, ‘formal’, ‘consultative’, ‘casual’,
‘intimate’. It was based on an intuition about degrees
of familiarity/intimacy between people which, Joos
argued, impacted on communicative style. The detail
of how Joos meant these terms to be applied is not
particularly important here, but the ‘clocks’ idea
endorses a linear scale of ‘formality’. Formality or
communicative ‘carefulness’ is assumed to dictate a
speaker’s stylistic choices or designs.
Coupland N. Style. Language Variation and Identity. –
Cambridge University Press, 2007. – PP. 10.
1. What were early stylistic studies focused on?
Now it is also observable language events do
not occur in isolation from other aspects of human
behaviour; rather, we know that they operate within
the manifold complex of human social behaviour and
are mutually related to it. They take place in
situations, and situation is the third aspect of the
language event: ‘the environment in which text comes
to life’ ( alliday, 1975b). For the moment, situation
can be thought of as the relevant extra–textual
circumstances, linguistic and non–linguistic, of the
language event/text in question.
These, therefore, are the three essential aspects
of the language event: substance, which is either
phonic (audible sound waves) or graphic (visible, or in
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the case of Braille, tactile, marks on a surface); form,
its meaningful internal pattering; and situation, its
relevant extra–textual circumstances, linguistic and
non–linguistic. These aspects of the language event
are relatable to the levels or strata of language and
linguistic description. The lexico–grammatical level
(syntax, morphology and vocabulary) is concerned
with form; semantic statements correlate the
contextual relations between situation and form; and
phonology links form and substance, attempting to be
explicit about how sounds and features of sound are
utilized in a given language in order to realize the
meaningful contrasts of grammar and lexis.
A framework for understanding and describing
language varieties has to deal with the constant
features of the situational circumstances of language
events that can be consistently related to variety in the
language texts.
Gregory M., Carroll S. Language and Situation. –
London: Rontledge and Kegen Paul Ltd, 1978. – P. 4.
1. Comment on “situation” as a component of language event.
2. How does the author view the role of phonetic
means in communication?
The mode of discourse is the linguistic
reflection of the relationship the language user has to
the medium of transmission. Initially, this relationship
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may be seen as a simple one: which medium is being
used, speech or writing. However, as soon as
relationships such as those between conversation in
real life and dialogue in novels and plays, or between
a speech and an article, are considered, then more
delicate distinctions are necessary, and differences
between spontaneous and non–spontaneous speech,
and between what is written to be spoken and what is
written “to be read with the eye”, become relevant.
Categories such as user’s individuality,
temporal provenance, geographical provenance, social
provenance, range of intelligibility, purposive role,
medium relationships and personal and functional
addressee relationship are, then, general situational
categories for the description of language events. They
pattern with idiolect, temporal, geographical, social,
standard and non–standard dialects, field, mode, and
personal and functional tenors of discourse, which are
general contextual categories when they are applied to
a particular language.
The relationship the user has with his audience,
his addressee(s), is the situational factor that is
involved in tenor of discourse. Tenors of discourse
result from the mutual relations between the language
used and the relationships among the participants in
language events. When the relationship is considered
on the personal axis, variation ranging from extreme
degrees of formality through norms to extreme
degrees of informality is relevant, and the user’s
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personal addressee relationship and personal tenor of
discourse are appropriate general categories. However,
there are also variations related to what the user is
trying to do with language (in a sense that is different
from the purposive–role/field–of discourse factors)
for, or to, his addressee(s) – whether he is teaching,
persuading, advertising, amusing, controlling, etc.
Functional addressee relationship and functional tenor
of discourse are the categories to cope with this
constant source of significant situational and linguistic
variation.
Gregory M., Carroll S. Language and Situation. –
London: Rontledge and Kegen Paul Ltd, 1978. – P. 8–
9.
1. How does the author define the “mode of
discourse”?
2. What is meant by the “tenor of discourse”?
3. Name general situational categories for the
description of language events.
If we compare a piece of written English with a
piece of spoken English, regarding them simply as
physical objects or events and forgetting for the
moment the fact that they convey meaning to us, it is
apparent at once that they bear no resemblance to each
other whatever. The piece of written English consists
of groups of small black marks arranged on a white
surface, while the piece of spoken English consists of
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a succession of constantly varying noises. It would
hardly be possible for two things to be more different.
However, we have only to recall the fact that both of
them convey meaning, to be in no doubt that, utterly
dissimilar as they may be, they are both equally
English. As soon as we make explicit this identify
lying behind the complete difference, we have in fact
drawn the distinction in question: we have recognized,
in effect, that the piece of spoken English and the
piece of written English are the same language
embodied in different mediums, one medium
consisting of shapes, the other of noises.
Abercrombie D. Elements of General Phonetics. –
Edinburgh University Press, 1967. – PP. 1–2.
1. What observations are made by the author when
he compares written and spoken English?
One assumption we work on here, of course, is
that on the whole people want to be friendly; they
want to get on well with others, which involves telling
jokes, making pleasantries, and the like. And the point
is that a good deal of everyday humour, as well as
much of the informality of domestic conversation,
relies on deviance from accepted norms of one kind or
another. Person A may adopt a ‘posh’ tone of voice in
making a point to B; he may deliberately speak in an
archaic, or religious, or journalistic way to get a
particular effect; or he may extend a structural pattern
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223
in the language further than it is normally permitted to
go – as when, on analogy with ‘three hours ago’. All
this might be referred to as ‘stylistic’ variation (using
a rather restricted sense of ‘stylistic’ here).
Crystal, David and Davy, Derek, Advanced
Conversational English. – Longman Group Limited
1979. – P. 10.
1. Comment on “stylistic variation” as seen by the authors.
We can also distinguish between public and
private speech. Interactional behaviour exhibited in
private may be constrained by the conventions of a
public arena. Media interviewers are trained, for
example, not to give too much back–channel
feedback. An interviewee, aware of wanting to sound
as articulate as possible, may consciously suppress
filled pauses (ums and ers). A politician wishing to
avoid the interruption of an aggressive journalist may
develop techniques of dispensing with any end–of–
sentence pauses that might offer an opportunity to
interrupt, pausing only mid–phrase where an
interruption is less likely.
As we have seen, there are many different kinds
of speech, or speaking styles, varying according to a
number of contextual parameters. I have discussed
here only a subset of these parameters, summarized
below:
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speech event: monologue vs. dialogue
public vs. private
goal–oriented vs. unconstrained
mode : scripted vs. unscripted
rehearsed vs. spontaneous
There are many other contextual factors, such as
speaker–hearer relationships (including power
relationships) which may also be crucially important.
Future research in discourse prosody will have to
consider very many more dimensions of variation than
is currently the case.
Wichmann, Anne. Intonation in Text and Discourse. –
Pearson Education Limited, 2000. – PP. 22.
1. What are the differences between public and private
speech?
2. What contextual factors determine the style of
speech?
3. What other contextual parameters can be added to
the list given by the author?
II. Questions for revision:
1. What factors are called extra-linguistic?
2. What does phonostylistics study?
3. What is “the style”? Explain the difference
between phonetic and functional style. What
criterion is used for singling out phonetic and
functional styles?
4. What is the extralinguistic situation?
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225
5. Enumerate the components of the
extralinguistic situation.
6. Speak about the purpose of communication. In
what way does it direct the activities of the
participants throughout the situation?
7. Enumerate the factors that determine the
variation of phonetic means.
8. Why is the aim of communication called the
most important “style forming factor”? What
aims of communication can be distinguished?
Give your own examples.
9. Comment on the formality of the situation.
What are social relations reflected in?
10. What are the most important characteristics of a
spoken spontaneous text?
11. Why is the speaker’s attitude included into the
set of style forming factors?
12. Enumerate the forms of communication. In
what way do they determine the choice of
phonetic means?
13. Which extralinguistic factor determines the
stylistic modifications of speech sounds?
14. Which extralinguistic factor determines the
variations of intonation?
15. What factor in the given classification based
on?
16. Which phonetic styles are singled out according
to this classification?
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17. Speak about each phonetic style: the sphere of
discourse, extralinguistic and prosodic
characteristics:
- Informational style;
- Academic style;
- Publicistic style;
- Declamatory style;
- Conversational style.
Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Crystal D. How Language Works. London:
Penguin Books, 2007
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6. Wichmann A. Intonation in Text and
Discourse. Harlow: Pearson Education
Limited, 2000.
7. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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XI. TERRITORIAL VARIETIES OF
ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
Key words: accent, advanced / conservative / general
/near– / refined / regional RP, BEPS, bilingualism /
monolingualism, Brummie, Cockney, dialect,
dialectology, diglossia, Estuary English,
ethnolinguistics, General American pronunciation
(GA), idiolect, literary pronunciation, national
pronunciation standard, national variant, orthoepic
norm, Received Pronunciation (RP), Scouse,
sociolinguistics.
The English language is spoken in a variety of
ways. It’s the official language of the UK, the USA,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and in a number of
former British colonies. English spoken in these
countries differs in vocabulary, grammar and
pronunciation. The varieties of the language are
conditioned by language communities. Speaking
about the nations we refer to the national variants of
the language, that is the language of a nation, the
standard of its form, the language of its nation’s
literature.
It’s important to distinguish between dialect and
accent. Dialect refers to variations in vocabulary,
grammar and pronunciation, while accent means a
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type of pronunciation, that is the way sounds, stress,
rhythm and intonation are used in the given language
community. Today all the English-speaking nations
have their own national variants of pronunciation (and
national pronunciation standards) and their own
peculiar features that distinguish them from other
varieties of English. National pronunciation standards
are associated with radio and TV newsreaders and
public figures. It is generally accepted that for the
"English English" the national standard is "Received
Pronunciation" (RP), for the "American English" -
"General American", for the "Australian English" -
"Educated Australian".
National standards are not fixed; they undergo
constant changes due to various internal and
external factors.
Within a national language there are a number of
territorial or regional standards. Regional standards
are used by most educated people in the region, and
show a certain degree of deviation from the national
standard. In Britain several groups of regional
accents are recognized: Southern, Northern, Welsh,
Scottish and Northern Irish. In the United States
there are three major groups: Southern, Western
and Eastern. Less educated people use numerous
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local accents which can be either urban or rural. For
certain economic, political and cultural reasons one
of the dialects becomes the standard language of the
nation. This was the case of London dialect whose
accent became RP.
An individual may speak RP in one situation
(with teachers, at work, etc.) and then use a native
local accent in other situations. This phenomenon
is called diglossia. It shouldn't be mixed up with
bilingualism which is the command of 2 different
languages.
Correspondingly every social community has
its own social dialect and social accent
(professional, educational, according to one's age,
gender, e t c . ) .
It is evident that language means are chosen
consciously and unconsciously by a speaker
according to his perception of the situation.
Individual speech of members of the same language
community is known as idiolect.
11.1. British English
RP is believed to be a social marker, a prestige
accent of an Englishman, often referred to as the
“Queen’s English” or “BBC English”. It’s estimated
that only 3-5% of the population of Great Britain
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speak RP and some phoneticians even say that there
are more foreign speakers of English who use RP
that native English speakers themselves. Nowadays
RP is not homogeneous. Three types are
distinguished within it: the conservative RP (the
language of the royal family, aristocracy and court),
the general RP (spoken by most educated people and
BBC announcers) and the advanced RP (used by
young people). This last type of RP is believed to
reflect the tendencies typical of changes in
pronunciation. Some of its features may be results of
temporary fashion; some are adopted as a norm.
The status of RP has changed in the last years. It
used to be associated with high-class society,
aristocracy, authority and competence. Nowadays,
however, RP speakers may be disliked because they
sound “posh”. Though most BBC announcers still
speak RP, other national TV and radio channels have
become tolerant of broadcasters’ local accents.
As we’ve mentioned already, pronunciation is
subject to all kinds of innovations. Considerable
changes are observed in the sound system of the
present-day English:
- there is a tendency for all short vowels to be
made nearer the centre of the mouth;
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- the vowels [i:] and [u:] become more
diphthongized (and more fronted);
- [eɪ] is becoming shorter or more like a
pure sound [e]: said [sed], again [əˈgen];
- the diphthong [ʊə] tends to be [ɔ:]: sure [ʃɔ:],
poor [pɔ:];
- [æ] is often replaced by [a]: have [hav], and
[and];
- in rapid speech [h] is lost in the pronouns and
the auxiliary “have”: her [ɜ:], he [i:], had
[æd];
- palatalized final [k] is often heard: weak
[wi:k’], Dick [dɪk’];
- the sound [t] in the intervocalic position is
made voiced: better [ˈbedə], letter [ˈledə];
- the dark [ł] is used instead of [l]: believe
[bɪˈłi:v];
- [j] is lost following [l, s, z, n]: suit [su:t],
illuminate [ɪˈlu:mɪneɪt], exuberant
[ɪgˈzu:b(ə)r(ə)nt], neutral [ˈnu:tr(ə)l];
- [t+j, d+j] become affricates: fortune
[ˈfɔ:ʧu:n], duty [ˈʤu:tɪ];
- pre-consonantal [t] becomes a glottal stop:
don’t come [dɜʊnʔˈkʌm].
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There is also a strong tendency for elision,
reduction and assimilation.
There has appeared a new classification of RP
types: general, refined and regional. Refined RP is
defined as an upper-class accent; the number of
people speaking it is declining. Regional RP
represents, in fact, Regional Standards, among which
one has become very popular and is said to be
substituting RP in general. This is the so-called
“Estuary English”. It is a variety of modified regional
speech, a mixture of non-regional and local south-
eastern English pronunciation and intonation. Estuary
English speakers place themselves “between Cockney
and the Queen”.
The phonetic features of Estuary English include:
- the use of [w] where RP uses [l] in the final
positions or in a final consonant cluster:
faulty = fawty; all full = awful;
- glottal stop for [t] and [d]: Scoʔland,
neʔwork;
- elision of [j] after “n, l, t, s”: news [nu:z],
tune [ʧu:n], absolute [ˈæbsəlu:t], assume
[əˈsu:m];
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- [ɪ] is prolonged in the final position and may
tend towards the quality of a diphthong: very
[ˈveri:], city [ˈsɪti:];
- triphthongs [aʊə] and [aɪə] smooth into one
long [a:]: hour [a:], tired [ta:d].
Estuary English intonation is characterized by
frequent prominence given to prepositions and
auxiliary verbs, in some cases the nuclear tone can fall
on prepositions:
Let’s get to the point.
The pitch of intonation patterns in Estuary English
appears to be narrower than that of RP.
Estuary English nowadays is believed to describe
the speech of a far larger and currently more
linguistically influential group than advanced RP
speakers. The popularity of Estuary English among
the young is significant for the future. The RP
speakers may be aware that RP (Conservative and
Advanced) can arouse hostility and general RP is no
longer perceived as a neutral accent. So Estuary
English is attractive to many, as it obscures
sociolinguistic origins.
11.2. American English
The formation of the American English underwent
under the influence of minorities' languages, but its
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starting point was the English language of the 17th
century. The American language has fewer dialects as
Standard English had already existed when first
English settlers came to America. Still three main
types of cultivated speech are recognized in the USA:
the Eastern type, the Southern type and Western or
General American. The following phonetic features
of GA are distinguished:
- length is not differentiated in [i:] - [ɪ] and [u:]
- [ʊ];
- [e] is more open;
- [æ] is used in the words in which RP has
[a:], often before a combination of [s] with
another consonant, but when there is no letter
“r” in spelling: dance [dæns], can’t [kænt];
- there is no vowel [ɒ], which is replaced by
[ɑ:]: god [gɑd:], clock [klɑ:k];
- there are no diphthongs, ending in [ə], all
vowels occurring before “r” within a syllable
become “r-coloured”: more [mɔ:r], heard
[hɜ:rd], letter [ˈletɚ];
- [r] is retroflex (pronounced with the tip of
the tongue curled back) and is used in all the
positions where there is an “r” in spelling;
- [1] is hard: relieve [rɪˈłi:v];
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- [t] between vowels is voiced: better [ˈbedə],
letter [ˈledə];
- when [t] follows [n], it is omitted and the
vowel becomes nasalized: twenty [ˈtwenɪ],
winter [ˈwɪnə];
- in [ju:] [j] is not pronounced in all positions:
mute [mu:t], super [ˈsu:pɚ], nuclear
[ˈnu:klɪɚ];
- in "where", "when", etc. [w] is pronounced as
[hw];
- the suffixes -ory, -ary, -mony have an
additional secondary stress
(sometimes called tertiary): ˈdictioˌnary,ˈ testiˌmony,
laˈbora.tory.
Intonation is smoother and seems rather dull and
monotonous due to the narrower pitch range and Mid-
level Head. Level-rising tones in special questions and
statements are also common in American English:
- What’s your name - ˏSixbie.
So as we can see the norms of GA and RP
pronunciations are highly variable and are subject to
further changes.
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QUESTIONS AND TASKS
I. Read the following abstracts from original
works, answer the questions and comment on
one of the problems:
The British are well–known for being extremely
sensitive about how they and others speak the English
language. Accent differences seem to receive more
attention here than is general anywhere in the world,
including other English–speaking countries. It may be
for this reason that native and non–native teachers of
English view the matter with considerable interest.
Additionally, their own pronunciation is important
because it is the model for their students to imitate.
The teacher of British English as a foreign language
typically chooses Received Pronunciation as the
model (or BBC English, Standard English, Queen's
English or Oxford English as it is sometimes called).
RP (for short) is the most widely understood
pronunciation of those in the world who use British
English as their reference accent. It is also the type of
British English pronunciation that Americans find
easiest to understand.
Rosewarne David. Estuary English: Tomorrow’s RP
// English Today 37, Vol. 10, No. 1, January 1994. –
P. 1.
1. Why is RP typically chosen as a model in teaching
pronunciation?
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<...> It seems, however, that the pronunciation
of British English is changing quite rapidly. What I
have chosen to term Estuary English may now and for
the foreseeable future, be the strongest native
influence upon RP.
"Estuary English" is a variety of modified
regional speech. It is a mixture of non–regional and
local south–eastern English pronunciation and
intonation <...>
The heartland of this variety lies by the banks of
the Thames and its estuary, but it seems to be the most
influential accent in the south–east of England. It is to
be heard on the front and back benches of the House
of Commons and is used by some members of the
Lords, whether life or hereditary peers. It is well
established in the City, business circles, the Civil
Service, local government, the media, advertising as
well as the medical and teaching professions in the
south–east. "Estuary English" is in a strong position to
exert influence on the pronunciation of the future <...>
<...>In the circles of those privileged young
people who are likeliest to be influential in the future,
the accepted pattern is very often set by the children of
the upwardly mobile socially. For these groups the
standard pronunciation is often "Estuary English". My
contention is that "Estuary English" describes the
speech of a far larger and currently more linguistically
influential group than "Advanced" RP speakers. The
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popularity of "Estuary English" among the young is
significant for the future.
Rosewarne David. Estuary English: Tomorrow’s RP
// English Today 37, Vol. 10, No. 1, January 1994. –
PP. 1-2, 7.
1. What is the circle of Estuary English usage?
The intonation of "Estuary English" is
characterized by frequent prominence being given to
prepositions and auxiliary verbs which are not
normally stressed in General RP. This prominence is
often marked to the extent that the nuclear tone (the
syllable highlighted by pitch movement) can fall on
prepositions. An example of this would be: "Let us get
TO the point". There is a rise fall intonation which is
characteristic of 'Estuary English" as is a greater use
of question tags such is "isn't it?" and "don't I?" than
in RP. The pitch of intonation patterns in "Estuary
English" appears to be in a narrower frequency band
than RP. In particular, rises often do not reach as high
a pitch as they would in RP. The overall effect might
be interpreted as one of deliberateness and even an
apparent lack of enthusiasm.
Rosewarne David. Estuary English: Tomorrow’s RP
// English Today 37, Vol. 10, No. 1, January 1994. –
P. 6.
1. State the difference in intonation between RP
and Estuary English.
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<...> What is unusual about RP <...> is that it is
the accent of English English with the highest status
and that it is totally non–regional. It is a defining
characteristic of the RP accent that, while it is clearly
a variety that is associated with England, and to a
certain extent also with the rest of the United
Kingdom, it otherwise contains no regional features
whatsoever. Of course, typologically it has its origins
in the southeast of England <...> The point is,
however, that it is not possible to ascribe any
geographical origins to a genuine native RP speaker
other than that they are almost certainly British, and
probably English. This peculiar lack of regionality
must be due to a peculiar set of sociolinguistic
preconditions, and has in fact often been ascribed to
its origin in British residential, and therefore also non–
regional, schools for the children of the upper–classes,
the so–called Public Schools.
Trudgill, Peter. Sociolinguistic Variation and Change.
– Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2001. –
PP. 172-173.
1. What is the origin of RP – geographical or
sociolinguistic one?
<...> Discrimination on the grounds of accent
still, unfortunately, occurs in British society. But this
discrimination is no longer against all regional accents
but only against those from, as it were, lower down
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the triangle. And it is also no longer permitted in
British society to be seen to discriminate against
someone on the basis of their accent – it has to
masquerade as something else. This hypocrisy is a
sign of progress, of an increase in democratic and
egalitarian ideals. This has also, probably, though
again we lack the research, had the consequence that
an RP accent can be even more of a disadvantage in
certain social situations than was formerly the case. In
many sections of British society, some of the strongest
sanctions are exercised against people who are
perceived as being 'posh' and 'snobbish'. These factors
also mean that many fewer people than before are now
speakers of what Wells <...> has called adoptive RP:
that is, many fewer people than before who are not
native speakers of RP attempt, as adolescents or
adults, to acquire and use this accent. Even
Conservative Party politicians no longer have to strive
for RP accents, as a recent Conservative Prime
Minister once did.
<...>As far as RP is concerned, the ongoing
work of Fabricius (2000) shows that the younger
generations of those sections of the community one
would expect to be RP speakers still are RP speakers.
Pupils at Eton, and undergraduates at Cambridge
University who are former pupils at the big Public
Schools, are still for the most part RP speakers. Their
RP has some new features, but these features are all,
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including /t/–glottaling, non–regional features and
therefore must still be considered as being RP.
Trudgill, Peter. Sociolinguistic Variation and Change.
– Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2001. –
PP. 176.
1. Is RP still spoken in Great Britain?
2. Is an RP accent considered to be of an advantage or
a disadvantage in modern British society? Prove it.
<...> This leads me again to raise the topic of
which model to employ for teaching so–called 'British
English', in reality English English, to non–native
learners. It has been suggested that it would now make
more sense to teach learners 'Estuary English' rather
than RP. Of course, it must be true that there are more
speakers of 'Estuary English' in England than there are
of RP. And of course it is a good idea if 24–year–old
Poles, say, sound as much as possible like 24–year–
old, rather than 94–year–old, English people. I would
therefore advocate rather strongly teaching intrusive
/r/ and some forms of /t/–glottaling at least to
advanced students. But I would not advocate the
teaching of 'Estuary English' or of features associated
solely with it, such as diphthong–shifted vowels or /l/–
vocalisation, since these are specifically regional
features.
<...> I am a non–RP speaker, but I believe that
it is convenient that students learning English English
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still have a non–regional model available to them. The
fact is that in spite of the developments just outlined,
the triangle model remains an accurate one for a
description of social and regional patterns of accent
variation in Britain. The development of a network of
regional varieties in Britain is taking place, as it were,
underneath a non–regional, nationwide layer provided
by RP. This layer is thinner than it was – the minority
is probably even smaller than it was – but it is likely to
remain intact until British society undergoes even
more radical changes in its social structure than it has
already undergone in the last twenty years.
Trudgill, Peter. Sociolinguistic Variation and Change.
– Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2001. –
PP. 179-180.
1. Do you agree with the author’s reasons for teaching
RP to non–native speakers?
"Our analysis reveals that the Queen's
pronunciation of some vowels has been influenced by
the standard southern British [SSB] accent of the
1980s, which is more typically associated with
speakers younger and lower in the social hierarchy,"
said Jonathan Harrington and three colleagues at
Macquarie University in Sydney. "We conclude that
the Queen no longer speaks the Queen's English of the
1950s, although the vowels of the 1980s Christmas
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message are still clearly set apart from those of an
SSB accent."
The researchers report in Nature today that they
see the gentle shift from cut–glass to cockney as part
of the blurring of class distinctions in Britain. Modern
Received Pronunciation, for instance, resists the
dropped "h" of those born within the sound of Bow
bells, but there is a cockney–influenced tendency to
pronounce the "l" in milk as if it were a vowel. Some
of these changes have been led by younger people
who reject establishment pronunciation, the
researchers say. Could the older generation have
resisted the influence of the young?
So Dr Harrington and his colleagues went
straight to the older generation at the pinnacle of the
British establishment. "The Queen's Christmas
broadcasts were ideal for addressing this issue. Firstly
they have been annual for a long period of time;
secondly the Queen's accent is obviously not going to
be influenced by geographical changes; thirdly any
changes we observe are not going to be influenced by
changes to style and content of the messages, because
these have been quite consistent throughout."
With the blessing of Buckingham Palace and
help from the BBC archives, the team compared the
royal vowels of the 1950s and 1980s with the vowels
of other female broadcasters. They found that in each
case the Queen's accent had drifted towards the
vowels of the younger generation.
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"We are all familiar with the change that has
taken place in the vowels of words like 'that man'
where, in the 1930s, we still had something like 'thet
men,' " said Jonathan Wells, professor of linguistics at
University College London. "She is only following
along trends that exist in any case. She still remains
well behind them, shall we say, and of course she still
sounds upper–class, the way she always did."
The Queen's English of today: My 'usband and I ...
Special report: the future of the monarchy, science
editor Radford, Tim // Guardian Unlimited (C)
Guardian News and Media Limited, Thursday
December 21, 2000. –
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/queen.htm.
1. What are the changes in the Queen’s
pronunciation? Do they reflect the tendencies in
modern British English pronunciation?
In a Brompton Road bar sit three expensively
dressed girls, surrounded by shopping bags. They are
decked out from head to toe in well–cut finery, but
this year's most fashionable accessory is worn on the
tongue. "E's go' a tewwibuw 'abit", they say, in
deepest Estuary, as they discuss a friend with a
cocaine habit.
Ten years ago they would have been sharing dorms
and speaking like royalty. Today they are footloose
and consonant–free.
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Tamara Beckwith despairs of them. "I would
certainly never pretend that I was brought up in
Hackney," she has said, and complains that some of
her friends from "equally grand families" are prone to
such outbursts as – she mimics – "Aawight, Tam,
know worra mean, innit?"
Relax, Tamara – when the girls go home normal
service will be resumed. They are simply following
the new rule: Never say "brown" in town, it's always
"bran". These days you don't just change your clothes
to suit the occasion, you change your accent too. Sir
Roy Strong may have complained long ago about
Princess Diana's "common" accent, but now it is the
Knightsbridge norm for modish young Sloanes. OK
yah–ing is so Eighties.
There is, of course, a long tradition of rich girls
slumming it. However, even at the height of
proletarian chic, there were limits. Posh punks kept up
standards in the Seventies: their artfully ripped bin–
liners were worn with a cut–glass accent. The
difference today is that Tamara's pals are not making a
statement – they're just going with the flow. Speech
codes, like dress codes, have been relaxed. And if
London's the place to be, London's the accent to
speak.
Times have changed since John Wyndham
famously observed that the English were "branded on
the tongue". But accent does still matter. It's just that
today it is more to do with etiquette than origins.
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Serious "downgrading" began in the Eighties,
among the students who colonised the inner cities,
squatting in council flats and opening galleries and
vegetarian cafés. And if you walked the walk (in black
jeans and Dr Martens), you had to talk the talk too. A
new lingo evolved: let's call it Hackney Down. Since
then it has become the lingua franca of the low–paid,
low–prestige liberal professions, such as teaching and
social work. And its influence can be detected in all
those now swimming in the modern mainstream, from
young actresses to New Labour's new women.
<...> Sometimes people upgrade out of
necessity. The big publishing houses, television news
and current affairs departments, and the "quality
press", are largely staffed by RP–speakers. RP
remains the voice of authority. Former citadels of RP
such as the City have fallen, but accents remain
segregated: the public schoolboys are brokers and the
"barrow boys" are traders.
Generally speaking, flexibility is the name of
the game <...> This flexibility may be effective, but it
signals a big change in the outlook of the upper–
middle classes. In the past they wouldn't have had to
worry about fitting in with their social inferiors. Now
middle class men embrace "working class" male
culture because they want to fit in and not draw
attention to themselves.
All accents are in a constant state of flux,
geographically as well as socially <...> While Estuary
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sweeps all before it in the South, prejudice about
regional accent is alive and well. "Let's face it," said a
Home Counties recruitment consultant quoted in a
recent report, "people with Scouse accents sound
whiny and people with Brummie accents sound
stupid." In a survey of British attitudes, Received
Pronunciation came out on top, with the industrial
accents: Glaswegian, Scouse, Brum and Cockney at
the bottom.
Sellars, Kirsten. We wanna talk like common people. –
Telegraph Group Limited, 1997. –
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/sellars.htm.
1. Why do people pick up a certain accent?
2. Enumerate all the accents mentioned in the
extract and comment on their peculiarities.
The Institute of Personnel and Development
found that accents were seen as crucially important by
many employers. A London consultant said: "They
communicate background, education and birthplace
and, frankly, some backgrounds are more marketable
than others. I would advise anyone with a 'redbrick' or
industrial accent to upgrade. Politicians and lawyers
do it, so why shouldn't others?" A majority of
recruiters agreed that people with strong regional or
working class accents were most likely to suffer
discrimination.
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Public figures with recognisable provincial accents
had mixed feelings about the findings.
The Liverpudlian poet Roger McGough, who
was awarded an OBE in the New Year's honours list,
said he thought that prejudice against regional accents
had died out. He was sad that it seemed to be
returning. He said: "I have lived in London for about
20 years and my accent has definitely softened, but I
love regional accents. I think everybody should have
one. As long as your grammar is good and you can
speak properly then no one should take any notice of
your accent."
The former Arsenal and England footballer
Allan Smith now writes on soccer for The Telegraph,
but said he feared that his Birmingham accent would
obstruct a move into broadcasting. "I have done some
radio, but I don't think that my accent would help if I
wanted to make it a permanent job," he said. "Scottish
accents work really well on the radio, but you don't
hear many Brummies. I don't think it's discrimination
– just that my nasal tones don't come over that well."
Edwina Currie, Tory MP for Derbyshire South and
originally from Liverpool, admitted to adapting her
accent to the nature of her audience. She said: "I used
to have a really strong Scouse accent and in the 1960s
it would open all sorts of doors, but it has softened a
bit now. When I am in the Midlands I have a much
stronger accent and if I am having an argument in a
pub then I can do a Midlands voice as well as the rest
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of them. Nowadays I would say the biggest
discrimination is against 'Oxford posh'."
Clare Short, the Labour frontbencher, said she
believed that there was resistance to the Birmingham
accent. "I have never tried to change mine and no one
has ever been rude about it," she said. "But I think
people have tended to look down their noses at the
Brummie voice. We should hang on to regional
accents and not try to iron them all out. That would be
so dull."
The Midland Bank said that it had carried out
extensive research before making the decision to base
its telephone bank, First Direct, in Leeds. "Our
research showed that people found a northern accent
more acceptable," a spokesman said.
Watson–Smyth, Kate. How you say it puts the accent
on success // The Daily Telegraph, 2 January 1997. –
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/smyth.htm.
1. Do “negative” accents really exist in your opinion?
2. Do you agree that accents create a certain image of
a person?
II. Questions for revision:
1. What is the connection between sociolinguistics
and other branches of linguistics?
2. What is the national variant of the language?
3. ow do you understand the term “national pronunciation standard”? What is another term
for it?
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4. What are national pronunciation standards for
Great Britain, the USA, Australia?
5. Prove that national pronunciation standards are
not fixed.
6. Comment on the phenomena of bilingualism
and monolingualism.
7. What are the reasons for one of the dialects
becoming the standard language of the nation?
8. What regional dialect of Great Britain has
become the national standard of the English
language? Is it homogeneous?
9. What is diglossia and how does it differ from
bilingualism?
10. What are social dialects and social accents?
11. ow can you define the term “idiolect”?
12. In what countries is English spoken as the
native language?
13. What are British English pronunciation
standards and accents?
14. Why can we say that RP is a regionless accent
within Britain?
15. What groups are distinguished within RP?
Comment on each of them.
16. What changes are observed in the sound system
of the present–day English?
17. What aspects of vowel quality are subject to
changes?
18. Comment on the changes in RP consonants.
19. Is English intonation subject to changes?
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20. Do you agree that American English is the
national variant of English, or is it a different
language?
21. How can you explain the fact that there are
fewer dialects in American English that in
British English?
22. What three main types of cultivated speech are
recognized in the USA?
23. Comment on the peculiarities of General
American.
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Recommended Literature:
1. Соколова М.А., Тихонова И.С., Тихонова
Р.М., Фрейдина Е.Л. Теоретическая
фонетика английского языка. - Дубна:
Феникс+, 2010.
2. Соколова М.А. и др. Практическая
фонетика английского языка. – М.:
Владос, 2008.
3. Бурая Е.А., Галочкина И.Е., Шевченко
Т.И. Фонетика современного
английского языка. М.:ACADEMIA,
2006.
4. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика
английского языка.- М.: Высшая школа,
2006.
5. Roach P. English Phonetics and Phonology:
A Practical Course. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
6. Trudgill P. Sociolinguistic Variation and
Change. – Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press, 2001.
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PRESENTING AN ARTICLE
Useful Phrases
The article is devoted to, illustrates, contains an
overview of, introduces
The author gives an overview of
The author highlights, point out, outlines,
specifies, claims, argues, proves
Special focus (attention) is given to
In terms of
As regards
It is highly relevant
Respectively
In a broad sense, in a general sense
The established approach is
It is generally acknowledged
It is implied
The idea is supported by
The crucial factor (question) is
The explanation is based upon
The most obvious conclusion to draw here is
An influential linguist
To maintain, to claim, to assume, to convey
Reliable criterion
To tend
To be bound to
It follows from this that
To be faced with
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As contrasted with
Indication of
To state a problem
Connectives
Therefore
Moreover
Firstly, secondly, lastly
Similarly
On the whole
On the contrary
As it is
In other words
In addition
Finally
Commenting
The article was designed to establish (identify,
describe)
The key concept is
The basic assumption is
The author’s primary concern is I’d like to give an overview
It’s a very crucial area
If we look at
Now a quick word on
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What needs to be stressed here
It is clearly evident
It is perfectly clear
We can note that
It is most marked in
All this shows conclusively that
To sum up
Finally I’ll try to outline the relevant
conclusions
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CHECK YOURSELF
Questions and tasks for revision:
1. Who was the originator of the Phoneme
Theory?
2. What branch of Phonetics studies the functional
aspect of speech sounds?
3. What science is not connected with Phonetics?
A – Psychology B – Physics C –
Chemistry
4. What are articulatory differences between
vowels, consonants and sonorants?
5. For which sound(s) are the lips rounded?
6. For which sound(s) do we need to use teeth?
7. For which sound(s) can you feel your Adam’s Apple vibrate?
8. Compare the places of articulation of the
English [h] and the Russian [х].
9. In what word will the vowel be the shortest?
The longest? Why?
duty – do – doom
10. What principles of the classification of English
vowels are relevant? Irrelevant? Find examples
to prove it.
11. What principles of the classification of English
consonants are relevant? Irrelevant? Find
examples to prove it.
12. [p – b] and [f – v] pairs differ by the feature:
A – The degree of noise B – The manner of
articulation C – The place of articulation
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13. Is the following opposition singular, double,
multiple?
wet – met
14. Is palatalization a distinctive feature in
English? In Russian?
15. Is force of articulation a distinctive feature in
English? In Russian?
16. Where is commutation test used?
17. The phonemes in the [b–m] pair differ by:
A – one feature B – two features C – three
features
18. There exists a triple distinction between:
A – [p], [ð] B – [p], [Ɵ] C – [b], [ð]
19. The phonemes [w], [j], [r] possess one common
property. They are all
A – back consonants B – lingual consonants
C – sonorants
20. What type of modifications of sounds does not
refer to consonants?
A – Assimilation B – Reduction C –
Elision
21. Which principle of the consonant classification
is relevant?
A – Presence of voice B – Place of
obstruction C – Aspiration
22. Which principle of the vowel classification is
irrelevant?
A – Length B – Stability of articulation C
– Tongue position
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23. What is the phone?
24. Is lip position a relevant feature?
25. What is a diphthong?
26. What does the invariant of the phoneme consist
of?
27. Is vowel length relevant?
28. Can you pronounce an allophone?
29. What is a vowel?
30. What is a subsidiary allophone?
31. Can you pronounce a phoneme?
32. What is a consonant?
33. What are minimal pairs?
34. Why do we need International Phonetic
Alphabet?
35. How many syllables are there in the word
“tablet”?
A – One B – Two C – Three
36. The English language is
A – stress–timed B – syllable–timed
37. How many syllables are there in the word
“tablet”?
A – One B – Two C – Three
38. The English stress is
A – fixed B – shifting
39. How is stress achieved?
40. How can you explain the difference between
men’s, women’s and children’s voice qualities
(timbres)?
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41. What is the acoustic correlate of pitch?
Loudness? Speed of utterance?
42. What is the auditory impression of a periodical
sound wave? Non–periodical?
43. Without which part can’t the intonation pattern
exist?
44. Intonation is a complex of
A – pitch, tempo, loudness B – pitch
variations C – prosodic variations
45. Functionally pauses may be:
A – short B – long C – hesitational
46. What does the number of intonation groups in a
sentence depend on?
47. What is a nucleus?
48. What is the general meaning of Fall–Rise?
49. How can intonation mark the communicative
centre?
50. What is the role of pitch?
51. What is the intonation pattern?
52. What is the difference between prosody and
intonation according to British Scholars?
53. What is the general meaning of Low Fall?
54. What is the syntagm?
55. What is the function of a tail?
56. What is the structure of intonation?
57. What is pitch range and its function/role?
58. Divide the phrases into rhythmic groups.
Observe a) enclitic tendency, b) semantic
tendency:
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It became the largest seaside resort.
59. What extra-linguistic factor is a style forming
one?
60. What style is a hesitation pause typical of?
61. What is our classification of phonetic styles
based on?
62. Which style is considered to be neutral?
A – Conversational B – Informational C –
Scientific
63. Which style requires special training?
64. What is assimilation?
65. State the type of sound modifications in the
following word combinations: don’t go.
66. State the type of sound modifications in the
following word:
blackboard
67. What type of assimilation is observed in just
think (complete/partial,
progressive/regressive)?
68. What is reduction?
69. What is the difference between an accent and a
dialect?
70. What is Received Pronunciation?
71. What is diglossia?
72. What is Estuary English?
73. What do we call the Standard English
Pronunciation?
A – General English B – Educated English
C – Received Pronunciation
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GLOSSARY
Academic style – also scientific style, a style of
speech used in lectures, scientific discussions,
conferences, etc.
Accent – 1) type of pronunciation, that is the way
sounds, stress, rhythm and
intonation are used in the given language community.
2) see stress.
Accommodation - modifications of consonants
under the influence of the neighbouring vowels and
vice versa.
Acoustic Phonetics – science which deals with the
physical property of sounds.
Affricates - noise consonants produced with a
complete obstruction which is slowly released and the
air stream escapes from the mouth with some friction.
Allophones – variants of a phoneme, usually occur
in different positions in the word, cannot contrast with
each other and are not used to differentiate the
meaning.
Alveolar – sounds produced with the tip of the
tongue against the upper teeth (alveolar) ridge.
American English – the national variant of the
English language spoken in the USA.
Amplitude - the distance to which the air particles
are displaced from their position of rest by the
application of some external force.
Apical – sounds articulated with the tip of the
tongue.
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Applied Phonetics – a branch of phonetics used for
practical purposes in speech therapy and logopedia.
Articulatory Phonetics – also Physiological
Phonetics, a branch of phonetics which is concerned
with the study of speech sounds as regards their
production by the human speech organs.
Ascending head – a type of head in which syllables
form an ascending sequence.
Assimilation - The modification of a consonant by
a neighbouring consonant in the speech chain.
Auditory Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which
is concerned with the way our auditory mechanism
works to process speech information, also Perceptual
Phonetics.
Back vowels – vowels formed with the tongue in
the back part of the mouth.
Back-advanced vowels - vowels formed with the
tongue in the back-advanced position in the mouth.
Back-lingual – see velar.
BBC English – the accent used on BBC radio and
TV channels, is considered a standard English spoken
in Great Britain, also Received Pronunciation.
Bilabial – sounds produced when both lips are
active.
Bilingualism - the command of 2 different
languages by a person.
British English - the national variant of the
English language spoken in Great Britain.
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Broad transcription – also phonemic
transcription, provides special symbols for all the
phonemes of a language.
Broad variations – a subclass of the vertical
positions of the tongue which in this case is placed
slightly lower in the mouth cavity.
Cacuminal – sounds articulated with the tip of the
tongue curled back.
Central vowels – sounds articulated when the front
part of the tongue is raised towards the back part of
the hard palate.
Checked vowels – short stressed vowels followed
by strong voiceless consonants.
Checkness – a vowel property which depends on
the character of articulatory transition from a vowel to
a consonant
Close vowels – sounds articulated when the tongue
is raised high towards the hard palate.
Closed syllable – a syllable which ends in a
consonant.
Coda - one or more phonemes that follow the
syllabic phoneme.
Communicative centre – a word or a group of
words which conveys the most important point of
communication in the sentence or the utterance.
Commutation test – the procedure of substituting a
sound for another sound in the same phonetic
environment with the aim of establishing the
phonemic system of a language
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Comparative Phonetics – a branch of phonetics
which studies the correlation between the phonetic
systems of two or more languages
Consonant – a sound made with air stream that
meets an obstruction in the mouth or nasal cavities.
Conversational style – also conversational style, a
style of speech used in everyday communication.
Declamatory style - a style of speech used in stage
speech, recitations, etc.
Delimitation - segmentation of speech into phrases
and intonation groups.
Dental - sounds produced with the blade of the
tongue against the upper teeth
Descending head - a type of head in which
syllables form an descending sequence
Descriptive Phonetics – a branch of phonetics that
studies the phonetic structure of one language only in
its static form, synchronically.
Devoicing – a process that results in a voiced
consonant being pronounced as voiceless.
Dialect – a variety of language which differs from
others in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
Diglossia – a phenomenon when an individual
may speak RP in one situation a native local accent
in other situations.
Dynamic stress – force accent based mainly on
the expiratory effect.
Diphthong - a vowel which consists of two
elements, strong (a nucleus) and weak – (a glide).
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Diphthongoid – a vowel articulated when the
change in the tongue position is fairly weak, in this
case the articulated vowel is not pure, but it still
consists of one element.
Direct methods – methods of phonetic
investigation which consist in observing the
movements and positions of one's own or other
people's organs of speech in pronouncing various
speech sounds, as well as in analysing one's own
kinaesthetic sensations during the articulation of
speech sounds and in comparing them with the
resultant auditory impressions.
Discourse - a larger context in which sentences
occur.
Dorsal – sounds produced when the blade of the
tongue is active.
Duration - the quantity of time during which the
same vibratory motion, the same patterns of vibration
are maintained.
Elision - complete loss of sounds, both vowels and
consonants, often observed in spoken English.
Enclitic – unstressed words or syllables which refer
to the preceding stressed word or syllable.
Estuary English - a variety of modified regional
speech, a mixture of non-regional and local south-
eastern English pronunciation and intonation. Estuary
English speakers place themselves “between Cockney
and the Queen”.
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Experimental Phonetics – a branch of phonetics
which deals with research work carried out with the
help of different technical devices for measurements
and for instrumental analysis
Extra-linguistic factors – non-linguistic factors,
such as the purpose of utterance, participants and
setting or scene of speaking, which result in
phonostylistic varieties.
Familiar style – see conversational style.
Forelingual – sounds articulated with the front part
of the tongue
Fortis consonants – voiceless consonants
pronounced with strong muscular tension and strong
expiratory effect.
Free variants - variants of a single phoneme which
occur in a language but the speakers are inconsistent
in the way they use them, as for example in the case of
the Russian words "галоши/ калоши".
Free vowel - a weak vowel followed by a weak
(lenis) voiced consonant or by no consonant at all.
Frequency - a number of vibrations per second.
Fricative - constrictive noise consonants articulated
when the air escapes with friction through the
narrowing formed by speech organs.
Front vowels – vowels in the production of which
the body of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth
cavity and the front of the tongue is raised.
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Front-retracted vowels - vowels produced with the
body of the tongue in the front but retracted position
in the mouth cavity.
Functional Phonetics – see phonology.
General American - the national standard of the
English language spoken in the USA.
General Phonetics - a branch of phonetics that
studies all the sound-producing possibilities of the
human speech apparatus and the ways they are used
for purposes of human communication by means of
language.
Glide – the second weak element of English
diphthongs.
Glottal - sounds articulated in the glottis.
Glottal stop – a sound heard when the glottis opens
suddenly and produces an explosion resembling a
short cough.
Glottis - the opening between the vocal cords,
through which the air passes.
Hard palate – the roof of the mouth.
Head – part of the intonation group, contains
stressed syllables preceding the nucleus with the
intervening unstressed syllables.
Hesitation pause - silent or filled pause mainly
used in spontaneous speech to gain time to think over
what to say next.
Historical Phonetics - a branch of phonetics that
studies the phonetic structure of a language in its
historical development, diachronically.
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Idiolect - individual speech of members of the
same language community
Informational style - a style of speech used by
radio and television announcers conveying
information or in various official situations.
Instrumental methods - methods of phonetic
investigation based upon registering or computing
machines and technical devices
Intensity - a property of a sound produced by the
amplitude of vibrations.
Interdental – sounds articulated with the tip of the
tongue projected between the teeth.
International Phonetic Alphabet – a set of
symbols adopted by the International Phonetic
Association as a universal system for the transcription
of speech sounds.
Intonation - pitch (or melody) variations used to
convey meaning. See also prosody
Intonation group – an actualized syntagm.
Intonation pattern - pitch movements together
with loudness and the tempo of speech extending over
an intonation group.
Intonation style – a complex of interrelated
intonational means which is used in a social situation
and serves a definite aim of communication.
Intonogramme – the picture of the sound wave of
a syllable, word or an utterance received with the help
of intonograph.
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Intonograph – a technical device which gives
pictures of sound waves of syllables, words and
utterances.
Kinetic – relating to motion.
Labial – sounds articulated by the lips.
Labiodental – sounds articulated with the lower lip
against the edge of the upper teeth
Laryngoscope – a special device which helps to
observe the vocal cords, epiglottis and the glottis.
Larynx – part of the vocal tract containing the
vocal cords.
Lateral – sounds produced when the sides of the
tongue are active.
Lateral plosion – sudden release of air which
escapes along the sides of the tongue.
Lax – historically short vowels in the articulation of
which muscular tension of speech organs is weak.
Lenis consonants – voiced consonants pronounced
with weak muscular tension.
Lip rounding – a position of the lips when their
corners are brought toward one another so that the
mouth opening is reduced.
Loudness – the intensity of sound is produced by
the amplitude of vibrations.
Manner of articulation – one of the principles of
consonant classifications which is connected with the
type of obstruction to the air stream.
Maximum onsets principle – this principle states
that where two syllables are to be divided, any
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consonants between them should be attached to the
right–hand syllable, not the left, as far as possible
within the restrictions governing syllable onsets and
codas.
Medio-lingual – sounds produced with the front
part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate
Minimal pair – a pair of words or morphemes
which are differentiated by one sound only in the same
position.
Modifications of sounds – positional and
combinatory changes of sounds in connected speech.
Monophthong – a vowel articulated when the
tongue position is stable, in this case the articulated
vowel is pure, it consists of one element.
Mouth cavity – the cavity between the teeth and
the pharynx.
Narrow transcription – also phonetic
transcription, provides special symbols for all the
allophones of the same phoneme
Narrow variations - a subclass of the vertical
positions of the tongue which in this case is raised
slightly higher in the mouth cavity
Nasal consonants – sounds articulated when the
soft palate is lowered and the air stream goes out
through the nose.
Nasal Cavity – the cavity inside the nose which is
separated from the mouth cavity with the soft palate
and the uvula.
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Nasal plosion – sudden release of air by lowering
the soft palate so that the air escapes through the
nose.
National variants - the language of a nation, the
standard of its form, the language of its nation’s
literature.
Neutral vowel – a mid central vowel, also schwa.
Neutralisation – the loss of qualitative and
quantitative characteristics of vowels in unstressed
positions.
Noise consonants – consonants in the production of
which noise prevails over voice, the air stream passes
through a narrowing and produces audible friction
(compare with sonorants).
Normative Phonetics – see Practical Phonetics.
Notation – another term for transcription.
Nuclear tone - a significant change of pitch
direction on the last strongly accented syllable in an
intonation pattern. In general nuclear tones may be
falling, rising and level or a combination of these
movements.
Nucleus – 1) the last strongly accented syllable in
an intonation pattern;
2) the most prominent part of a diphthong;
3) the centre of a syllable, usually a vowel.
Obstructer mechanism – a group of speech organs
which form obstructions during articulation of
consonants, it includes tongue, lips, hard and soft
palate and teeth.
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Occlusive – sounds produced when a complete
obstruction to the air stream is formed.
Onset - sounds that precede the nucleus of a
syllable.
Open syllable - a syllable which ends in a vowel.
Open vowels – vowels produced when the tongue
is in the low part of the mouth cavity.
Opposition – see phonetic oppositions.
Oral consonants - sounds articulated when the soft
palate is raised and the air stream goes out through the
mouth.
Organs of speech – the human organs which
together with biological functions take part in sound
production.
Palatal – sounds produced with the front part of the
tongue raised high to the hard palate.
Palatalisation – softening of consonants due to the
raised position of the middle part of the tongue
towards the hard palate.
Palato-alveolar - sounds made with the tip or the
blade of the tongue against the teeth ridge and the
front part of the tongue raised towards the hard palate,
thus having two places of articulation (two foci).
Paralinguistics – a branch of linguistics which is
concerned with non-verbal means of communication.
Perceptual Phonetics – see Auditory Phonetics.
Pharynx – the part of the throat which connects the
larynx to the upper part of the vocal tract.
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Phonation – voicing, the vibration of the vocal
cords.
Phone – a sound realised in speech and which bears
some individual, stylistic and social characteristics of
the speaker.
Phoneme - the smallest further indivisible language
unit that exists in the speech of all the members of a
given language community as such speech sounds
which are capable of distinguishing one word of the
same language or one grammatical form of a word
from another grammatical form of the same word.
Phonemic transcription – see broad
transcription.
Phonetic mistakes – pronunciation mistakes made
when an allophone of some phoneme is replaced by an
allophone of a different phoneme.
Phonetic oppositions - comparison of sounds,
words and morphemes in order to single out their
minimal distinctive features.
Phonetic transcription – see narrow
transcription.
Phonetics – a branch of linguistics which is
concerned with the human noises by which the
thought is actualized. Phonetics analyses the nature of
these sounds, their combinations and their functions in
relation to the meaning.
Phonological analysis – analysis whose aim is to
determine which differences of sounds are
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phonemic/non-phonemic and to find the inventory of
the phonemes of this or that language
Phonological mistakes - pronunciation mistakes
made when an allophone of the phoneme is replaced
by another allophone of the same phoneme; in this
case the meaning of the word is affected.
Phonology - also Functional Phonetics, a branch
of phonetics that is concerned with the social
functions of different phonetic phenomena.
Phonosemantics – a branch of psycholinguistics
that studies the relations between the sound structure
of a word and its meaning.
Phonostylistics – a branch of phonetics that
studies the way phonetic means of the language
function in various oral realizations of the language.
Phonotactics - the study of the possible phoneme
combinations of a language.
Physiological Phonetics – see Articulatory
Phonetics.
Pitch – the auditory characteristic of a sound, it
corresponds to the fundamental frequency (the rate of
vibrations of the vocal cords).
Pitch level – a particular height of pitch.
Pitch range – the interval between two pitch levels
or two differently pitched syllables or parts of a
syllable.
Place of articulation – the place in the vocal tract
where the air stream is obstructed.
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Plosives – consonants produced when the air stream
is completely stopped for a short time, also stops.
Post-alveolar - sounds articulated with the tip or
the blade of the tongue against the back part of the
teeth ridge
Power mechanism - a group of speech organs
which supplies energy for sound production, it
includes lungs, diaphragm, windpipe, bronchi.
Practical Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which
teaches how to pronounce sounds correctly and what
intonation to use to convey this or that meaning or
emotion. It is called Normative Phonetics because
teaches the "norm" of English pronunciation.
Pragmalinguistics – a branch of linguistics that
studies what linguistic means and ways of influence
on a hearer to choose in order to bring about certain
effects in the process of communication.
Pragmaphonetics – a branch of Pragmalinguistics
whose domain is to analyse the functioning and
speech effects of the sound system of a language.
Pre-head - the unstressed syllables which precede
the first stressed syllable of the head.
Primary stress – the strongest stress compared
with the other stresses in a word.
Principal allophone - allophones which do not
undergo any significant changes in the chain of
speech.
Proclitic - unstressed words or syllables which
refer to the following stressed word or syllable
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Prosody - a complex unity formed by significant
variations of pitch, tempo, loudness and timbre.
Psycholinguistics – a branch of linguistics which
covers an extremely broad area, from acoustic
phonetics to language pathology, and includes such
problems as acquisition of language by children,
memory, attention, speech perception, second-
language acquisition and so on.
Publicistic style - a style of speech used in public
discussions on political, judicial or economic topics,
sermons, parliamentary debates
Qualitative – connected with the spectral
characteristics of a sound.
Quantitative – referring to the length of a sound.
Received Pronunciation (RP) – the national
standard of the English language spoken in Great
Britain.
Reduced vowel – a weakened vowel.
Reduction - weakening (either qualitative or
quantitative) of vowels in unstressed positions.
Resonator mechanism - a group of speech organs
which can change their shape and volume, thus
forming the spectral component of the sound, it
includes nasal and mouth cavities. Rhyme
Rhythm - recurrence of stressed syllables at more
or less equal intervals of time in speech.
Rhythmic group - a speech segment which
contains a stressed syllable and a number of
unstressed ones. The most frequent type of an English
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rhythmic group includes 2-4 syllables, one of which is
stressed.
Rounded – a sound articulated with added lip
rounding.
Schwa – see neutral vowel.
Scientific style – see academic style.
Secondary allophones - allophones which undergo
some predictable changes in different phonetic
context.
Secondary stress – a less strong stress than the
primary one, usually precedes the primary stress in a
word.
Segmental Phonetics – a division of phonetics
which is concerned with individual sounds
("segments" of speech)
Segmentation – division of speech into phrases and
intonation groups.
Semantic centre – see communicative centre.
Sentence stress – the greater degree of prominence
given to certain words in an utterance.
Sociolinguistics – a branch of linguistics that
studies the way the language interacts with society.
Soft palate – the back, soft part of the hard palate.
Sonorants - consonants in the production of which
noise prevails over voice, the air stream passes
through a narrowing and produces audible friction
(compare with sonorants).
Sonority – a degree of loudness relative to that of
other sounds with the same length, stress and pitch.
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Special Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which is
concerned with the study of the phonetic structure of
one language only.
Spectrogram – a picture of the spectrum of sounds,
their frequency, intensity and time.
Spectrograph – a device which carries out the
spectral analysis of speech.
Stops – see plosives
Stress – a greater degree of prominence which is
caused by loudness, pitch, the length of a syllable and
the vowel quality.
Stress-timed languages – in these languages
stressed syllables tend to occur at relatively regular
intervals irrespectively of the number of unstressed
syllables separating them.
Strong vowel – the full form of a vowel in the
stressed position.
Stylistic modifications - sound changes which
happen under the influence of extra-linguistics
factors.
Subsidiary allophone – see secondary allophone.
Suprasegmental Phonetics – a division of
phonetics whose domain is larger units of connected
speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts
Syllable - a sound sequence, consisting of a centre
which has little or no obstruction to airflow and which
sounds comparatively loud; before and after this
centre there will be greater obstruction to airflow and
less loud sound.
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Syllable-timed languages - in these languages all
syllables, whether stressed or unstressed, tend to occur
at regular time-intervals and the time between stressed
syllables will be shorter or longer depending on the
number of unstressed syllables separating them.
Syntagm - a group of words which is semantically
and syntactically complete.
Tail - any syllables between the nucleus and the
end of the utterance.
Tempo - the rate of the utterance and pausation.
Tense - historically long vowels in the articulation
of which muscular tension of speech organs is great.
Terminal tone - the nucleus and the tail of the
utterance.
Tertiary stress – a less strong stress than the
primary one, usually follows the primary stress in a
word.
Theoretical Phonetics – a branch of phonetics
which is mainly concerned with the functioning of
phonetic units in the language. It discusses the
problems of phonetics in academic terms and gives a
scientific approach to the phonetic theory.
Timbre - voice quality.
Tone languages - the meaning of words in these
languages depends on the variations of voice pitch in
relation to neighbouring syllables.
Tongue – the most movable and flexible speech
organ.
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Transcription – the system of symbols to represent
speech in written form.
Unstressed – bearing no stress.
Utterance – a spoken sentence or a phrase.
Uvula – the end of the soft palate.
Velar – consonants produced with the back part of
the tongue raised towards the soft palate
Vibrator mechanism - a group of speech organs
which vibrate while the air passes through, thus
producing voice, it includes larynx, vocal cords,
glottis.
Vocal cords – two soft folds in the larynx which
can be brought together and apart, thus producing
voice.
Voice quality – timbre.
Voiced consonants – sounds produced when the
vocal cords are brought together and vibrate.
Voiceless consonants - sounds produced when the
vocal cords are brought together and vibrate.
Vowel – a sound in the production of which no
obstructions are made.
Weak form – the unstressed form of a sound or a
word.
Windpipe – trachea or air passage.
Word stress - a greater degree of prominence on
one of the syllables in a word.
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Св.план 2016 г., поз. 207
Первезенцева Оксана Анатольевна
Фонетика современного английского языка.
Теоретический курс
Учебное пособие
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