The sounds of language

1. Thesoundsoflanguage Phoneticsandphonology

2. Preview: Phonetics How are speechsoundsmade? Howdoessoundtravelthroughthe air? How is it registeredbytheears? Howcanwemeasurespeech?

3. Preview: Phonology How do languagesorganizesounds to distinguishdifferentwords? How do languagesrestrict, or constrain, sequencesofsounds? Whatsortsofchanges (alterations) do soundsundergoifsequences arise that don’t obeytherestrictions? How are soundsorganizedintolargerconstituents (syllables, words, phrases)?

4. Goals To describethebasicanatomyofthevocaltract To explain how thestructuresinthevocaltract are controlled to makespeechsounds To show how to transcribeEnglishwordsusing IPA transcription To describethebasicpropertiesofsuprasegmentalaspectsofspeech To explainphonemicandallophonicdistributions To describethe most commonphonologicalalternations To introduce major phonologicaltheories

5. Articulatoryphonetics One ofthelargestobstaclesphoneticians face – theycannotseetheobjectsthey are studying: youcan’t seethetongue as it’s movinginsidesomeone’s mouth; youcan’tseethesoundwavestravellingthroughthe air, youcan’t seethevibrationofthe fluid intheinnerear Recently, sophisticateddevicesdeveloped: MagneticResonanceImaging, sonography, digitalacousticanalysis

6. Thevocaltract Thesound: vibrating air Speakingmeansusingyourvocaltract (lungs, trachea, larynx, mouthand nose) to get air movingandvibrating Most speechsoundsmadewith air exitingthelungs: speechbeginswithbreath

7. Thevocaltract To begintospeak, youpulldownyourdiaphragm, the big musclethatseparatesyourchestcavityfromyourstomach Thisenlargesthelungs, whichdraw air in Thenthediaphragmrelaxesandthemusclesaroundtheribscontract, slowlysqueezingthelungsandforcingthe air outandupthewindpipe, or trachea

8. Thevocaltract At the top ofthetrachea is larynx (Adam’s apple) Insidethelarynxthere are twofoldsof soft tissue – vocalchords Ifthevocalchords are heldinthecorrectpositionwiththecorrecttension, the air flowingoutofthetracheacausesthem to flapopenandclosedveryquickly (200 timespersecond)

9. Thevocaltract Findyourlarynxand hum a tune: musclesattached to thecartilagesofthelarynxallowyoutoadjustthetensionofvocalchords, adjustingthe rate ofvibrationandraising or loweringthepitch Thefasterthevibration, thehigherthepitchofthevoice Othermusclesallowyou to drawthefoldsapartsothat no vibrationoccurs

10. Thevocaltract Justabovethelarynx, at the base ofthetongue, is theepiglottis – a muscularstructurethatfoldsdownoverthelarynxwhenyouswallow to preventfoodfromgoingdownintothelungs Thepayoff for theriskof a larynxlocatedlowinthethroat is anopenarea at thebackofthemouth, thepharynx Thepharynxallowsthetonguefrontandbackmovement

11. Thevocaltract Othermammals, includingnonhumanprimates, havethelarynxhighup at thebackofthemouth, connected to thenasalpassages Becausetheyhave no pharynx, chimpscouldneverlearn to talk Insidethemouth: activearticulatorsandpassivearticulators

12. Thevocaltract Activearticulatorsmovetowardthepassivearticulators to constrictandshapethe air that is movingoutfromthelungs Activearticulators: lipsandthetongue Passivearticulatorsliealongthe top ofthevocaltract: alveolarridge, thepostalveolarregionarchestowardthehardpalate, theroofofthemouth; ifyoucurlyourtonguevery far backinyourmouth, youcanfeelthatthebonystructureofthehardpalategivesway to softertissue – soft palate, or velum

13. Thevocaltract Whenthevelum is lowered, as it is for breathingandsoundssuch as /m/ and /n/, theport is openand air flowsfreelybetweenthe nose andlungs Whenthevelum is raised, as it is for most speechsounds, theopening to the nose is closedoffand all theairstream is directedthroughthemouth At theendofthevelum is the uvula

14. Vocaltract

15. Articulation Speaking – usingthestructuresofthevocaltractindifferentways to controlandshapemoving air Thespeakermakes “choices” aboutwhichactiveandpassivearticulators to use andabout how differentconstrictionswillbemade These “choices” – notconscious Themovementsofspeech – goal-directedgestures Eachsound – comprisedof a set ofarticulatorygoalsthatwillgetthevocaltractintherightposition to produce a sound

16. Articulation Howwillthespeakergetthe air moving? Pulmoniceggressive– the air movingfromthelungs Soundsproducedwithvocalfoldvibration– voiced, thoseproducedwithoutvibration – voiceless (Place yourfinger on yourlarynxandproduceprolonged [z], thenproduce [s])

17. Articulation For some sounds, thevocalfolds are heldapart far enoughandlongenough to produceanextra “puffof air” to exitthemouth (pop, pill) – aspiration – (holdyourfingertipsinfrontofyourlips) Ifthevelum is open, sothat air flowsintothe nose, thesound is nasal: [m]; ifthevelum is closed, thesoundisoral

18. Articulation Finally, thespeaker must decidewhichactivearticulatorswillbeused to make a constriction, wheretheconstrictionwillbemade (place ofarticulation)andwhatsortofconstrictionwillbemade (mannerofarticulation)

19. Mannerofarticulation Stop Fricative Affricate Approximant Vowel

20. Mannerofarticulation: stop (plosives) Iftheactiveandpassivearticulators are broughttogether to make a completeclosure, sothatairflowoutofthemouth is completelycutoff – a stop In English, the sounds [p], [t], and [k] are voiceless stops (also called plosives). The sounds [b], [d], and [g] are voiced stops. [m] – nasal stop

21. Mannerofarticulation: fricative Ifthearticulators are brought close together but notclosedcompletelysothatthestreamof air becomesturbulentandnoisy – fricative [s], [z], [f], [v]

22. Mannerofarticulation: affricates Affricatescombine a sequenceof stop + fricative: ch, dz (chip, jungle)

23. Mannerofarticulation: approximants Iftheactivearticulatormoves to narrowthevocaltract, but notsomuchthatfricative is formed: approximant Semivowels (glides) (yell, well), [l], [r] L-sounds: laterals – the air flowsoverthesidesofthetongue R-sounds: rhotics

24. Mannerofarticulation: vowels The most openmannerofarticulation Thevocaltract is open Stops, fricative, affricates: obstruents – obstructtheairflowinthevocaltract Nasalstops, approximantsandvowels – sonorants– makesoundsbylettingthe air resonate

25. Transcription In 1888 theInternationalPhoneticAssociationtackledthe problem of how to preciselydescribeanysoundthemembersmightencounterintheireffortstodescribe all languagesofthe world Theypublishedsymbols for the new alphabet – InternationalPhoneticAlphabet (IPA) based on twoprinciples: Thealphabetwouldbeuniversal Thealphabetwouldbeunambiguous (1 sound 1 symbol)

27. IPA Chart (English)

28. Place ofarticulation: Consonants Ifthelowerandupper lip cometogether, thesound is bilabial: [p], [b], [m] Ifthelower lip makescontactwiththeupperteeth, thesound is labiodental: [f], [v] Ifthetonguemoves to theupperteeth: dental fricatives: [ð], [θ]

29. Place ofarticulation: Consonants TheEnglishsounds [t], [d], [n], [l]– madewiththetongue tip at thealveolarridge: alveolar place ofarticulation Thefricatives [s], [z] – alsoalveolar: thetongueforms a narrowgrooveunderthealveolarridge Thefricatives [∫] and [з] are madefurtherback, withthebladeofthetonguemaking a constriction at thepalatoalveolar place ofarticulation; Affricates as church, judge– alsopalatoalveolar

30. Place ofarticulation: Consonants You, yacht– a palatal glide – thewholemiddlesectionofthetongue is pushed to narrowthespacebetweenthetongueandthehardpalate Ifthetonguebodymovesup to make a constrictionagainstthevelum – velararticulation: [k], [g] – velar stops [ŋ] – velar nasal(ring, song) [h] – laryngealfricative: thenoiseof air rushingthroughtheopenfolds

31. Place ofarticulation: Consonants [w] – labiovelarglide– combines a narrowingofthevocaltract at the velar place ofarticulationwithroundingofthelips – doublearticulation

32. Place ofarticulation (consonants) :summary 11 commonplacesofarticulation (no singlelanguageuses all theplacesofarticulation)): Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Alveopalatal Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal laryngeal

33. Place ofarticulation: Vowels Vowels – anopenvocaltract, sothetonguedoesnottouchtheuppersurfaceofthevocaltract at anyparticular place Vowels – describedintermsofthewaysinwhichthetonguebodyandlipsmove Classifiedbytheheightofthetonguebody, whether it is bunchedtowardthefront or backofthemouth, andwhetherthelips are rounded

34. Englishvowels

35. Englishvowels Thevowelspace – larger at the top than at thebottom, becausethere is more room for tonguemovementcloser to thepalate Thetonguebodymovesup for thehighvowels [i, ı, u, Ʋ], down for thelowvowels [æ, a], andstaysinthemiddle for midvowels [e, Ɛ, o, ɔ, ə,ʌ]. Thetonguemovesforward for thefrontvowels i, ı, з, æ] andbackward for thebackvowels [u, Ʋ, o, Ɔ, a] Thevowels [ ə,∧] - central

36. EnglishVowels Vowelsalsodifferwithrespect to lip rounding Backvowels [u, Ʋ, o, Ɔ] round; all theothers are unround Mid-central [ə], calledschwa (about) Tenseandlax Tensevowels: [i, e, o] – longer, slightlyhigher, producedwithgreaterstiffeningofthetongue Lax v. [ı, Ɛ, Ɔ, Ʋ] Thetense/laxdistinctiondoesnotapply to lowvowels

37. Diphtongs Diphtongs – combinetwodifferentpositionsinsequence [aı]: high– movesfrom a low central position to highfront [aƲ]: how – movesfromlow central to highback [Ɔı] movesfrommidback to highfront

38. Sounds Everysound – composedofsmallercomponentsthatcanbecombinedindifferentways to makeothersounds, andeachcomponentoffers a typicallybinaryopposition: voiced or voiceless, nasal or oral, open or closed, front or backetc.

39. Sounds Related to eachother: some setsofsoundsdifferonlybychanging one parametar, othersinseveralparameters Theseparameters – distinctivefeatures – importantindescribingsoundpatternswithin a linguisticsystem

40. Suprasegmentals Speakinginvolvesstringingsoundstogetherintolargerunits Aspectsofspeechthat influence stretchesofsoundlargerthan a single segment - suprasegmentals

41. Suprasegmentals Length, tone, intonation, syllablestructure stress

42. Length Thelongsegmentsmaybewritten as [aa] or as [a:] Japanese: [bi:ru] ‘beer’, [biru] ‘building’ Longconsonants: geminates; inEnglishwhendoubleconsonants are written (supper) theytell us aboutthequalityofthevowel, notthelengthoftheconsonant

43. Tone andintonation Thepitchofthevoicecarries a lotofinformation: whetherthespeaker is male or female, old or young Highpitch – a person is frightened; lowpitch – s/he is angry Tonerefers to the use ofpitch to conveymeaning at the word level; intonationrefers to the use ofpitch to conveymeaning at the sentence or discourselevel

44. Intonation Distinguishesdifferentkindsofsentences or focusesattention on a particular word

45. Intonation: example Tryreadingthefollowingoutloud (anddramatically) “That’s a cat?” “Yup. That’s a cat.” “A cat? I thought it was a mountain lion!”

46. Intonation: example Thepitchdifferencesindicatethe role thatthe reference to a cat is playingintheconversation: asking for information, providing it, expressingdisbeliefregardingtheinfromationoffered

47. Tone The use ofpitch to distinguishdifferentwords - tone A largenumberoflanguages – tonal Major Europeanlanguages – exceptionalinnothaving tone

48. Syllablestructure Howmanysyllables are there is Massachusetts? Syllable – a vowelanditssurroundingconsonants (pin, print, sprint); however, defining a syllableinthiswaydoesn’t explainwhycertainsequencesofconsonants are allowedandothersarenot (e.g. print; rptin*)

49. Sonority A relativeopennessofthevocaltract, whichcorrespondsdirectly to therelativeloudnessof a sound The most sonoroussounds: lowvowels: themouth is wide open, thesoundflowsfreelyout Theleastsonorous: voicelessstops: themouth is completelyshut, and no sound is made; othersounds – betweenthetwoextremes

50. Sonority Thespeechstring – organizedintopeaksandvalleysofsonority Languagesgenerally do notchooselongstringsofconsonants nor longstringsofvowels Wealternatesoundsthat are more sonorousandlesssonorous A syllable: awayoforganizingsoundsarounda peak ofsonority