# Chapter 6 #
9 / 13/ 01
WHAT IS PHONETICS?
The
three descriptors of speech sounds:
1)
Ö Laryngeal state
2)
Ö Place of articulation
3)
Manner of articulation
We have described a number of classes of consonants according to their place of articulation and their laryngeal state, yet we are still unable to distinguish the sounds in each class from each other.
What
distinguishes [t] from [s]? Or [š] from [č]?
Besides
stating whether a sound is voiced or voiceless and giving the sound’s point of
articulation, it is necessary to describe its manner of articulation,
that is, how the airstream is modified by the vocal tract to produce the
sound. The manner of articulation of a sound depends on the degree of
closure of the articulators (how close together or far apart they are).
Manners of Articulation:
-Stops
-> stops are made by
obstructing the airstream completely in the oral cavity. Notice that when you
say [p] and [b] your lips are closed together for a moment, stopping the
airflow.
[Nasals
are also stops in terms of the their oral articualtion]
[p],[b]->
bilabial stops
[d],[t]->alveolar stops
[k],[g]->
velar stops
-Fricatives
->fricatives are made by
forming a nearly complete stoppage of the airstream. The opening through which
the air escapes is so small that friction is produced.
[f],[v],[s],[z],[d],[0],[h],[š],[ž]
-Affricates->
an affricate is made by
briefly stopping the airstream completely and the releasing the articulators
slightly so that friction is produced. Affricates can be thought of as a
combination of stops and fricatives.
[č]
is a combination of [t] and [š], sometimes transcribed as [tš].
[ĵ]
is a combination of [d] and [ž], sometimes transcribed as [dž].
-Nasals->
notice that the velum can be
raised or lowered. If it is lowered, as it is during normal breathing and
during the production of nasal sounds, then the airstream can escape through
the nasal cavity.
[m],[n],[N]
-Liquids->
when a liquid is produced,
there is an obstruction formed by the articulators, but it is not narrow enough
to stop the airflow or cause friction.
[l],[r]
[Nasals and Liquids are classified as consonants. However, they can as vowels in that they can function as syllable nuclei: prism,prison,table,hiker]
-Glides->
are produced with little or
no obstruction of the airstream in the mouth, they are made with only a slight
closure of the articulators. Glides are transition sounds that are sometimes
called semivowels.
[w],[j]
NEXT
WEEK:
-Read up to page 234 (at least) from Chapter 6
in your textbook.
-Do
exercises 1 and 2 from pages 248-9 in your textbook for next Tuesday.
-Bring
your questions to class and start learning the symbols for the English sounds
to be able to transcribe.