Phonetics… Sound Principles
Chapter 3
By the End of this Unit…
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You will be able to transcribe this:
(Jeff Foxworthy’s “Words in the South”
You won’t not be able to hear it at home)
If You Were in Charge…
…would you implement a spelling system
with a “one for one” correspondence
between spoken & written words?
Why or Why Not?
Audio Ambiguity
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I scream
~
Ice Cream
Grade A
The sun’s rays meet
It’s hard to recognize speech
Sound Safari – I
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Find ‘audio-ambiguity’ in the lyrics of a
song.
Email me with:
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the title
the lyrics with the ambiguity highlighted
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what the words sound like to you
what the words really are
a sound file (if possible)
Choose I or II, or both for 1.5 total points…
Identical, but distinct
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Write
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Boiling Springs
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‘rite’
‘rait’
Bowlin’ Spraings
Others?
Speech vs. Orthography
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Did he believe Caesar could see the people
seize the seas?
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Red
Green
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Blue
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You Tell Me:
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The silly amoeba stole the key to the machine
(identify the [i]’s)
Why so Many Discrepancies?
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Developmental influences
Old system
Global language
Phonological changes (next chapter)
Variation in speech & writing
Phonetics Defined
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The branch of linguistics that studies
the inventory and structure of the
sounds of speech
Phonetic Disciplines
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Acoustic Phonetics
Articulatory Phonetics
Name One (at least) of…
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The 4 ways [f] is spelled…
The 6 ways “a” is pronounced
Multiple letters making only one sound
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<gh> in “enough”
Find another…
IPA
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Familiarize yourself
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Charts inside the covers of the textbook
front (vowels) & back (consonants)
Focus on American English sounds…
Be able to:
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Produce each sound
Identify sounds from description
Provide description of sounds
Transcribe words
For your Transcription
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Use the Charts
See also:
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http://www.paulmeier.com/ipa/charts.html
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/%7Edanhall/
phonetics/sammy.html
(this one helps you visualize how sounds are made… But
beware, Sammy offers lots of symbols we don’t need…)
Vocal Tract (for SAE sounds):
A
B
K
J
I
H
G
F
E
C
D
A. Nasal Cavity
(nasal)
B. Soft Palate (Velum)
(velar)
C. Epiglottis
(glottal)
D. Vocal cords
(voicing)
E. Tongue – Back
F. Tongue – Front
G. Tongue – Tip
H. Teeth
(dental)
I. Lips
(labio)
J. Alveolar Ridge
(alveolar)
K. Hard Palate
(palatal)
Be ready to identify these areas and
talk about what sounds they produce.
Voiced or Voiceless?
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Put your hands over your ears
OR on your larynx:
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[s]
[z]
bus
buzz
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thin
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these
sip
zip
tooth
bathe
Except for ‘Approximates’, on the chart
the 1st line = voiceless, 2nd line = voiced
Consonants
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(inside the back cover)
Manners of Articulation
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Places of Articulation
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Chart follows the mouth – front to back…
Approximates
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What’s the difference?
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Pronounce each of the following
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[p] & [t]
[t] & [k]
[k] & [g]
[f]&[h]
[r]&[l]
Manner of Articulation?
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Stop
Nasal
Fricative
Affricate
Approximate
(stops air flow)
(air  into nasal cavity)
(air barely escapes)
(stop + fricative)
(almost a vowel…)
What are these?
(try it without the chart first…)
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Find words for each…
Place of Articulation?
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Bilabial
Labiodental
Interdental
Alveolar
Alveolarpalatal
Velar
Glotttal
What are these?
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(two lips together)
(teeth meet lips)
(tongue between teeth)
(tongue on Alv. Ridge)
(tongue btn A.R. & palate)
(back of tongue on velum)
(epiglottis stops air flow)
(try it without the chart first…)
Get Some Exercise
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Find Place & Manner for
What’re the IPA symbols for these sounds:
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Voiced interdental fricative
Glottal fricative
Voiceless alveopalatal affricate
High front tense vowel
How can the following sounds be categorized?
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Any Questions…
…before we move on?
Position Matters
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Try it yourself:
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Say “key” then “caw”
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Try not to move your tongue…
Does it sound normal?
Vowels
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Tongue
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Lips
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Nasalization
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Diphthongs
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Get Some Exercise
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Transcribe the vowels in the following
words. Which have the same vowel?
back
sat
[
]
cot
caught
[
]
ooze
deuce
[
]
mouse
cow
[
]
hide
height
[
]
Suprasegmentals
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Length
Pitch
Loudness
Stress
Tone
(prosodic features)
Ooooouuuuch!
“e” … vs. Eeeek!
‘Hi’ vs. HI!
She said what?
Mom vs. (aww) Môm
Representing Sounds
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Transcription
Syllables
Segments
Features
Get Some Exercise
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Transcription:
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Segments
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How many in “I scream for ice cream”?
Syllables
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“I scream for ice cream”
How many in “I scream for ice cream”?
Features
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What are the features of [s], [m], and [i]?
Kinds of Sound Change
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Assimilation
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(become more alike)
Nasalization
Voicing
Flapping
Dissimilation
(become less alike)
Elision // Deletion
(take a sound away)
Epenthesis // Intrusion
(add a sound)
Metathesis
(shift sounds around)
Vowel Reduction
(shorten or ‘schwa’ a sound)
Kinds of Sound Change
Sound Safari – II
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Find example words for one
subcategory of each sound change in
the previous slide
Email me the examples highlighting
where/how each takes place
Choose I or II, or both for 1.5 total points…
If You Were in Charge…
Revisited
…would you implement a spelling system
with a “one for one” correspondence
between spoken & written words?
Why or Why Not?
For “Tomorrow”
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Exercises
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Be aware of these:
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Spend time on these
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3-1,2,3,4,5,7,10
3-11,12,13
BTW, nothing in this chapter was ‘skippable’
Read Chapter 4
Start your transcription