Phonetics and Phonology - Macquarie Universityclas.mq.edu.au/speech/units/ling110_phonetics/lecture3.pdf · Phonetics and Phonology Dr Felicity Cox Lecture 3 ... When we produce vowels,
Post on 17-Apr-2018
220 Views
Preview:
Transcript
Dr Felicity Cox 2
Aims
Reinforce the notion that vowels and consonants function differently in languageExplain the articulatory basis for vowel classificationDiscuss important vowel featuresOutline the transcription of English vowelsDescribe the two main classes of vowels: monophthongs and diphthongs
Dr Felicity Cox 3
Consonants Vowels
-constricted vocal tract - more open vocal tract-low amplitude - much louder-short, change rapidly - longer, slowly changing-mark edge of syllables - mark the syllable’s centre
multilayered information:- accent differences- personal attributes- intonation / emphasis
Dr Felicity Cox 4
Phonetic Features for Vowel Classification
Initiation of Airflow - vowels are pulmonic
Voicing - vowels are voiced
Direction of airflow - all vowels are central
- can be oral or nasal
Oral Constriction -Degree = Vowel Height
-Position = Vowel Backness
Dr Felicity Cox 5
Additional Vowel Features
Round - vowels can be produced with rounded or unrounded lips
Length - vowels can be long or short
Dr Felicity Cox 6
Vowel Space
Height and backness are used to define the vowel space.
When we produce vowels, the tongue forms an arch.
The apex of the arch is the Highest Point of the Tongue (HPT).
Dr Felicity Cox 8
Backnessrefers to the horizontal position of HPT.
front vowels - HPT is below the hard palate /i,ɪ,e/ e.g. “bead, bid, bed”
back vowels - HPT is in the velar/pharyngeal region
/ʊ,ɔ,ɒ/ e.g. “good, board, pod”
central vowels - HPT is between frontand back /ə,ɜ,a/ e.g. “above, bird, guard”
Dr Felicity Cox 9
Height
refers to vertical movement of the HPT
high vowels - the HPT is high but does not cause an obstruction to the flow of air
/i, u, ʊ/ e.g. “bead, rude, good”low vowels - the HPT is low -- the mouth is open the jaw is lowered
• /a, ʌ/ e.g. “card, cud”mid vowels - between high and low
/e, ɒ/ e.g. “pet, pot”
Dr Felicity Cox 10
Vowel Space (Height x Backness Space)
The space is typically quadrilateral in shape.
It is also (and primarily) an auditory space.
We hear vowels as similar or different from each other depending on their proximity in this space.
Dr Felicity Cox 13
Vowel Dispersion
Languages prefer vowels to be maximally dispersed in the vowel space.
This assists intelligibility.
When vowels of an accent change, they often remain dispersed in this space.
Dr Felicity Cox 14
Round
In most English accents, back vowels and [u] are produced with rounded lips.
/u, ʊ, ɒ, ɔ/ e.g. “cooed, could, cod, cord”
Languages tend to prefer back vowels to be rounded and front vowels to be unrounded but there are exceptions
e.g. French: front rounded vowels [y]Japanese back unrounded vowels [ɯ]
Dr Felicity Cox 15
Length
long heed, who’d, heard, hoard, hardshort hid, hood, head, hod, had, hub
English short vowels don’t occur in open syllables (syllables that end in a vowel).
Dr Felicity Cox 16
Schwa /ǝ/by far the most common vowel in the English
language
typically found in function words (unless they are said in isolation): for, the, but, should, can etc.
the schwa vowel is typically very short in duration and not very loud
occurs in the large majority of English polysyllabic words e.g. “photographer” /fətɒgrəfə/
“abominable” /əbɒmənəbl/
Dr Felicity Cox 18
Vowel Classes
Vowels can be classified according to whether they are static or dynamic.
Static vowels are called monophthongs.e.g. /a/ as in “are”
Dynamic vowels are called diphthongs.e.g. /aɪ/ as in “eye”
Dr Felicity Cox 21
Describing Diphthongs
Diphthongs are described with referenceto the HPT at the beginning and the end of the diphthongal glide.
They are transcribed using two vowel symbols. e.g. /eɪ/ as in “day”
These two symbols represent a single vowel.
Dr Felicity Cox 22
Rising and Falling Diphthongs
Diphthongs can be further classified as rising or falling.
Rising diphthongs: the end of the glide has a higher tongue position than the beginning.
Falling diphthongs: the end of the glide has a lower tongue position than the beginning.
Dr Felicity Cox 23
• Front rising diphthongs have glides that move up and to the front. e.g. /eɪ/ “day”
• Back rising diphthongs have glides that move up and to the back. e.g. /aʊ/ “how”
• Falling diphthongs have glides where the end of the glide is lower than the start.
e.g. /ɪə/ “hear”
Dr Felicity Cox 25
Monophthongs
front central backhigh / i,ɪ/ /u/ /ʊ/mid high /e/ /ɜ,ə/ /ɔ/mid low /æ/ /ɒ/low /a,ʌ/
Dr Felicity Cox 27
Diphthongs
Front rising diphthongs/eɪ/ “bay”, /aɪ/ “by”, /ɔɪ/ “boy”Back rising diphthongs/oʊ/ “beau”, /aʊ/ “bough”Falling diphthong/ɪə/ “ear” (sometimes /eə/ “air” is also a
falling diphthong for some speakers)
Dr Felicity Cox 28
Summary
Reinforced the notion that vowels and consonants function differently in languageExplained the articulatory basis for vowel classificationDiscussed important vowel features: height, fronting, rounding, lengthOutlined the transcription of English vowelsDescribed the two main classes of vowels: monophthongs and diphthongs
top related