PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION

Phonetics is the study of the sounds of language. These sounds are called phonemes. There are literally hundreds of them used in different languages. Even a single language like English requires us to distinguish about 40! The key word here is distinguish. We actually make much finer discriminations among sounds, but English only requires 40. The other discriminations are what lets us detect the differences in accents and dialects, identify individuals, and differentiate tiny nuances of speech that indicate things beyond the obvious meanings of the words.

THE SOUND PRODUCING SYSTEM

Sound is produced when air is set in motion. The speech production mechanism consists of:- an air supply provided by the lungs

- a sound source that sets the air in motion in ways specifically relevant to speech productionthe larynx where a set of muscles called the vocal folds (or vocal cords) are located

- a set of filters that modifies the sound in various ways organs above the larynx:the pharynx (the tube of the throat between the oral cavity and the larynx)the oral cavitythe nasal cavity.

The Sound Producing System

The lungs:

In order to produce the majority of sounds in the world’s languages, air is taken into the lings and expelled during speech (A small number of sounds are made with air as it flows into the vocal tract). A certain level of air pressure is needed keep the speech mechanism functioning steadily which is maintained by the action of various sets of muscles The muscles are:- the intercostals (the muscles between the ribs)- the diaphragm (the large sheet of muscles that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen).

The larynx:

Air flowing out of the lungs up the trachea (windpipe) passes through a box-like structure made of cartilage and muscle – the larynx (commonly known as the voice box or Adam’s apple). The main portion of the larynx is formed by the thyroid cartilage, which rests on the ring-shaped cricoid cartilage. Fine sheets of muscle flare from the inner sides of the larynx, forming the paired vocal folds (vocal cords). The vocal folds are each attached to the thyroid cartilage at the front and to the arytenoids cartilage at the back. The vocal cords can be pulled apart or drawn closer together, especially at their back or posterior ends, where each is attached to one of two small cartilages, the arytenoids. As the air passes through the spaces between the vocal folds, which is called the glottis, different glottal states are produced.

Glottal states

1. Voicelessness

Any sound made with the vocal folds in this positions is said too be voiceless. You can confirm the sound is voceless by touching your fingers to the larynx as ou produce it. You will not feel an fibration from the vocal folds being transmitted to your fingertips. The initial sound of fish, sing, and house are all voiceless.

2. Voicing

When the vocalfolds are brought close together, but not tightly closed,air passing between them causes them to fibrate, producing sounds that are said to be voiced.

3. Whisper

Whispering is voiceless, but the vocal folds are adjusted so that the anterior (front) positions are pulled close together, while posterior(back) portions are apprat.

4. Murmur

Murmu is also known as whspery voice. Sound produced with this glottal configuration are voiced, but the vocal folds are relaxed at allow enaugh air to escape to produce a simultaneous whispery effect.

The Articulators or Organs of Speech

1. Lips2. Teeth3. Alveolar Ridge4. Hard Palate5. Soft Palate (velum)6. Uvula7. Tip of the tongue8. Blade of the tongue9. Front of the tongue10. Back of the tongue11. Nasal cavity12. Oral cavity13. Pharynx14. LarynxThe lower surface of the vocal tract consists primarily of the different parts of the tongue and the lower lips.

The principal parts of the lower surface of the vocal tract

The tip and blade of the tongue are the most mobile parts. Behind the blade is what is known technically as the front of the tongue ( actually the forward part of the tongue that lies underneath the hard palate when the tongue is at rest). The centre of the tongue is the part of it that lies partly beneath the hard palate and partly beneath the soft palate when it is at rest. The back of the tongue is beneath the soft palate, and the root which is opposite the back wall of the pharynx. The epiglottis is attached to the lower part of the root of the tongue.

SOUND CLASSES

1. VOWELS

There are about 14 vowels in English. They are the ones found in these words: beet, bit, bait, bet, bat, car, pot (in British English), bought, boat, book, boot, bird, but, and the a in ago. There are also three diphthongs or double vowels: bite, cow, and boy. Diphthongs involve off-glides.: You can hear the y in bite and boy, and the w in cow. Actually, the sounds in bait and boat are also diphthongs (with y and w off-glides, respectively), but the first parts of the diphthongs are different from the nearby sounds in bet and bought.

Vowels are classified in three dimensions:

1. The height of the tongue in the mouth -- low, mid, or high

high are beet, bit, boot, and bookmid are bait, bet, but, boat, bought, bird and a in agolow are bat, car, and british pot

2. How far forward or backward in the mouth the tongue rises -- front, center, or back

front are beet, bit, bait, bet, and batcenter are but, bird, and a in agoback are boot, book, boat, bought, and british pot

3.  How rounded or unrounded

The lips are the front vowels are unrounded the center and back vowels are rounded

2. CONSONANT

Consonants are sounds which involve full or partial blocking of airflow. In English, the consonants are p, b, t, d, ch, j, k, g, f, v, th, dh, s, z, sh, zh, m, n, ng, l, r, w, and y. They are classified in a number of different ways, depending on the vocal tract details we just discussed.

Consonant Articulation

Places of articulation (for English)

1. Bilabial both lips are close together e.g. [p], [m] 2. Labiodental the lower lip touches the upper front teeth e.g. [f], [v] 3. Dental the tip of the tongue is between the front teeth e.g. [T] 4. Alveolar the tip of the tongue is near or at the alveolar ridge e.g. [t], [n], [l] 5. Palato-alveolar pronounced between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate e.g. [S],

[dZ] 6. Velar the tongue touches the roof of the mouth at the velum e.g. [k], [g], [N] 7. Glottal pronounced at the glottis, the space between the vocal cords e.g. [h], [?]

Manners of Articulation

1. StopsStops are made with a complete and momentary clossure airflow through the vocal tract, thus preventing the escape of air via the mouth.

Bilabial Alveolar Velar Glottal

Voiceless [p] [t] [k] [?]

Voiced [b] [d] [g]

Nassal [m] [n] [ƞ]

2. FricativesFricatives are consonants produced with a continuous airflow through the mouth.

3. AffricatesWhen a stop articulation is released, the tongue moves rapidly away from the place of articulation.

4. Voice lag and aspiration Lag : brief delay before the voicing of a following vowel Transcribed with a small raised ‘h’ after the aspirated consonant

5. LiquidsAmong the sounds commonly found in the world’s languages are l and r, they form a special class of consonants kown as Liquids

Laterals are consonants formed by allowing the air to escape around the sides of the tongue. Present-Day English has only one lateral, which is voiced (vocal cords vibrating during the articulation of the lateral).

Aspirated Unaspirated

[phæt] Pat [spæt] Spat

[thɅb] Tub [stɅb] Stub

[khɪd] kid [skɪd] Skid

R Sounds- R in reed and raw : [ɹ]- R in ride and car :[ɻ]- R in bitter and butter : [r]

Alveolar Post-alveolar Retoflex

Voiced Voiceless

Voiced Voiceless Voiced

Laterals z [l]

R sounds :

- Approximant [ɹ] [] [ɻ]

- Flap [r]

VOWELS

The meaning

Vowels are sonorous, syllabic sounds made with the vocal tract more open than it is for consonant and glide articulations. The vowels are produce by varying the placement of the body of the tongue and shaping the lips. Parameters that is used are :

Tongue position : high / mid / low front / back Lip rounding : rounded / unrounded

Vowels types

English Vowels are divided into two major types :

Simple Vowels / pure vowels / monophthongs Diphthongs

a. Simple Vowel / monophthongsSimple vowels do not show a noticeable change in quality.

Full vowels are those that appear in stressed syllables.

MonophthongsShort Long

Front Back Front Central BackClose  Mid  

Open  

/ /: bid / /: good / /: bed (sometimes transcribed

/e/) / /: bud / /: bat (sometimes

transcribed /a/) / /: pot

/ /: bead / /: booed / /: bird (sometimes transcribed /

/) / /: bought, board / /: father, bard

b. Diphthongs

Diphthongs are vowels that exhibit a change in quality within a single syllable.

English diphthongs show changes in quality that are due to tongue movement away from the initial articulation towards another vowel position.

DiphthongsClosing

Centringto / / to / /

Starting close       Starting mid   Starting open  

/ /: bay / /: beer

/ /: boy / /: toe / /: buy (sometimes

transcribed /ʌɪ/) / /: cow

/ /: boor (falling out of use in British English; often replaced by /ɔː/)

/ /: bear (sometimes transcribed /ɛː/)

Vowels Chart

Basic Parameters for Describing Vowels

Vowel articulations are not as easy to feel as consonant articulations at first, since the vocal tract is not narrowed as much.

The range of positions which the tongue can occupy within the oral cavity while remaining in a constriction of open approximation is quite large.

Position of the tonguea. Front

b. Back

Cardinal Vowels

Cardinal vowel number: 1Articulation: Lips are unrounded, tongue located as high and as front as possible, without causing friction, in the vowel space

IPA symbol: Description: high front unrounded vowel

Cardinal vowel number: 2Articulation: Lips unrounded, tongue as far front as possible, in the vowel space, tongue at high-mid position

IPA symbol: Description: high-mid front unrounded vowel

Cardinal vowel number: 3Articulation: Lips unrounded, tongue as far front as possible, in the vowel space, tongue at low-mid position

IPA symbol: Description: low-mid Front unrounded vowel

Cardinal vowel number: 4Articulation: Lips unrounded, tongue as far front as possible, in the vowel space, tongue as low as possible in the vowel space

IPA symbol: Description: Low front unrounded vowel

Cardinal vowel number: 5Articulation: Lips unrounded, tongue as far back as possible, in the vowel space, tongue as low as possible in the vowel space

IPA symbol: Description: Low back unrounded vowel

Cardinal vowel number: 6Articulation: Lips rounded, tongue as far back as possible, in the vowel space, tongue at low-mid position

IPA symbol: Description: low-mid rounded back vowel

Cardinal vowel number: 7Articulation: Lips rounded, tongue as far back as possible, in the vowel space, tongue at high-mid position

IPA symbol: Description: high-mid rounded back vowel

Cardinal vowel number: 8Articulation: Lips rounded, tongue as far back and as high as possible, in the vowel space, without causing friction

IPA symbol: Description: High back rounded vowel

Tense and Lax Vowels

Tense vowels

• Tense vowels are also called as long vowels.

• the tense vowels have variable length; they can be much longer than the lax vowels, but under certain conditions they become clipped, or shortened to roughly lax vowel length.

• Tense vowels can be unchecked; that is, they can occur at the end of a word.

Lax Vowels

• Lax vowels are also called short vowels.

• The characteristic is when stressed,they are always checked: that is, they do not occur alone atthe ends of words, but always need a following consonant.

• lax vowels are lower, shorter and more centralized.

• lax vowels do not occur in stressed open syllables.

Suprasegmentals

• Suprasegmental is a vocal effect that extends over more than one sound segment in an utterance, such as pitch, stress, or juncture pattern, loudness, length.

• Suprasegmental is often used for :

Tone

vowel length, and

features like nasalization and aspiration.

The properties are :

Pitch Loudness Length

Pitch : the auditory property of a sound that enables us to place it on a scale that ranges from low to high.

It is noticeable in sonorous sounds like vowels, glides, liquids and nasals. Pitch : tone and intonation Tone : Tone usually refers to the emotion that is conveyed in the voice. Intonation : Intonation refers to the music of a language; that is how it rises

and falls over a chunk of speech (sentence, phrase, group of sentences).

Transcribing English vowels