11 4 THE CONSONANTAL SYSTEM OF RP: THE So NORANTS

of lateral + plosive Ilg/. Firstly, the tip and blade of the tongue make contact with thealveolar ridge forming a closure along the median line of the tongue. The rims of thetongue are lowered so that the air can escape laterally for the production of II/.Secondly, while the tip, blade and sides of the tongue retain this configuration, theback of the tongue moves towards the soft palate (approach phase for Igl). Thirdly,the rims of the tongue move towards the side teeth ready for the hold phase of theplosive. Fourthly, the tip and blade of the tongue drop while the plosive closure isfirmly held (hold phase of plosive). Then the tongue drops and the air that has beencompressing behind the closure is now released (release phase of plosive). Thetongue and lips then assume the configuration necessary for the articulation of thefollowing vowel l el . The vocal folds vibrate throughout the word and the velum israised throughout too.

5.2.1.2. Clear and dark /1/In many accents of English (and certainly in RP), there is a perceptible difference inthe way III is pronounced depending on whether it is (i) initial, (ii) before vowels orconsonants and (iii) before Ijl or Iw/. Two distinct pronunciations are perceived. Eventhough both of these allophones of III are produced as described in 5.2.1.1, the dif-ference between them is one of quality (or timbre, resonance or colour) and is dueto the particular configuration assumed by the body of the tongue in each of these twocases ( Figure 46 and Figure 47).

Figure 46 Sagittal cross-section ofthe vocal organs during themedian obstruction phase of theproduction of clear /1/

Figure 47 Sagittal cross-section ofthe vocal organs during themedian obstruction phase of theproduction of dark /1/

Specifically, III has an e-kind of quality (hence the term clear Ill, [I]) when it occurs

THE CONSONANTAL SYSTEM OF RP: THE SONO RANTS 11 5

(i) before vowels (i.e. in word-initial position, as in lamp [leernp], and in word-medialposition as in mellow ['melau]) and (ii) before the semi-vowel Ijl (again word-initiallyas in lure [Ijua] and word-medially as in allure [a'ljua]). In contrast, III has an o-kindof quality (hence the term dark I, [t]) when it occurs (i) before consonants (e.g. altar[ri+taj), excluding the semi-vowel Ijl but including Iwl (e.g. always ['::dwaz]) and (ii)before a pause or major syntactic boundary (e.g. Not at all! ['not at 'or+j). Note thatwhen III occurs in word-final position closely followed by a vowel-initial word, theword-final III will be pronounced as clear (e.g. all of you ['~:I av ju], * [I~:t av ju]).

Athenian Modern Greek has clear III in all positions, as do most southernWelsh accents. In contrast, some Northern Greek accents have dark It I in allpositions, and so do a number of Scottish, American and northern Welshaccents.

Finally, III has a devoiced allophone produced with friction if it occurs after a stronglyaspirated voiceless plosive, as in plot [8,lot"].

5.2.1.3. Sound - spelling correspondences(i) The letter I is silent in a number of words such as the ones in Table 18:

half Iha:flcalf Ika:flbehalf Iba'ha:fl

calm Ika:ml~palm Ipa:mlsalmon I'sremanl

chalk !tS~:k/walk Iw~:klfolk Ifaukl

could Ikudlshould IJudlwould Iwudl

Table 18Words with silent spelling I

(ii) The word colonel is pronounced as 1'k3:n,11in RP.

(iii) The sound II1 is usually spelt I or 11as in little, full.

Summary The RP lateral sound is III (alveolar). Lateral articulation involves a complete median closure in the mouth while one or

both sides of the tongue are in a lowered position so that the air can escapelaterally without causing friction.

When a lateral precedes a plosive, we talk of lateral approach to the plosive.When a lateral follows a plosive, we talk of lateral release of the plosive. If boththe lateral and the plosive are produced at the same place of articulation, they

11 6 THE CONSONANTAL SYSTEM OF RP: THE SONORANTS

are homorganic. In RP, clear [I] appears before vowels and Ij/. Dark [+] appears in all other

environments.

References and further reading~ Cruttenden, A. (ed.) 1994: Chapter 9~ Jones, D. [1918]1983: Chapter 20~ Ladefoged, P. [1975]2001: Chapter 3~ Laver, J. 1994: Chapters 5 and 10~ O'Connor, J. D. [1967]1977: Chapters 3 and 4~ O'Connor, J. D. [1973]1991: Chapter 5~ Roach, P. [1983]2000: Chapter 7~ Trask, R. L. 1996~ Wells, J. C. and Colson, G. [1971]1986: Chapters 17 and 19

Practice1. Draw a sagittal cross-section of the vocal organs during the hold phase of the

production of the RP lateral phoneme. Explain how this is produced.2. Describe the articulatory movements involved in the production of the words

fellow, Nellyand pulley.3. Describe the articulatory movements involved in the production of the words

Elton and older.4. Describe the articulatory movements involved in the production of the words

madly and handler.5. Describe the articulatory movements involved in the production of the word

coldly.6. Describe the articulatory movements involved in the production of the words

ablaze, snugly and vaguely.7. Describe the articulatory movements involved in the production of the words

Elgar and album.8. Produce a clear and a dark Ill. Discuss their distribution and provide examples

for each environment in which they may appear.

Extension Practice1. The following text consists of 6 to 8 word groups. It is the continuation of those

used for plosive, fricative and affricate practice and it is useful for transcriptionand lateral theory application.

Please notify this office when the restoration of the dam has been completed sothat our staff may schedule a follow up site inspection. Failure to comply withthis request may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement ac-tion.

THE CONSONANTAL SYSTEM OF RP: THE SONORANTS 117

When you transcribe the text, pay particular attention to weak forms and un-stressed syllables in stressed words. Notice that about 20 syllables carry primarystress. You may also need to check the stress patterns of notify, restoration andelevated which tend to be mis-stressed. You could finally check your transcriptionof notify, staff, schedule, failure, request and action, as these words are oftenmis-transcribed.

If you wish to revise the lateral allophones you can identify the 7 instances of thelateral phoneme in the text and provide a full phonetic characterization for eachinstance, e.g. III in please: alveolar lateral, clear (before a vowel), devoiced andfricative (as it follows a strongly aspirated /p/).

2. Draw diagrams showing the action of the articulators (show the rims of the tongueseparately), the vocal folds and the soft palate during the production of the fol-lowing words and sequences:

alive la'larvl all or nothing I'~:I o: InASrl)1

all I~:II collateral /ka'leetrel/language I'Irel)gwrd31 glazed surface I'glerzd 'sstfas/litter I'lrtal madly in love I'mredli rn 'IAVIlittle I'lrt,ll triple nine I'trrp,l 'nam/

5.2.2. The !rI-sounds of RP

5.2.2.1. General characteristicsThe Irl phoneme of English is quite unique, as not only its voicing state and place ofarticulation but also its, manner of articulation change quite substantially, dependingon the phonetic environment in which it appears. As we shall see in the next fewparagraphs, the English Irl has three allophones in RP alone: a voiced post-alveolarfriction less continuant (as in write [rartj), a voiceless post alveolar fricative (as increme [k~i:m]) and a post-alveolar affricate (as in try [trar] and drive [diarvl).

The voiced alveolar roll [r] is used in some Scottish accents for special pur-poses, such as greater clarity. Most Scottish accents use the voiced post-al-veolar fricative [J], while some English people use the voiced labiodental ap-proximant [u]. This latter sound is often used by cartoon characters, such asElmer Fudd. The voiced alveolar trill is also used in Spanish and Welsh.

Let us look at each of the RP Irl allophones in turn, beginning with the voiced post-alveolar frictionless continuant [ ;I ], the most common allophone of RP Irl (Figure