Page 75 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Unit 5: Classification of Speech Sounds: Vowels, Consonants-General Introduction

Notes
o
° devoiced lenis consonant, e.g. [z] )(above in the case of [ŋ°, o ¥ g ])
,
| syllabic consonant, e.g. [ n ] (above in the case of [ŋ])
|

F dental articulation, e.g. [ t ]
F
[ ] phonetic transcription
/ / phonemic transcription
Self-Assessment
1. Choose the correct options:
(i) Ear Training Test
Which word is it? Tick the correct answer (or write in phonemic transcription the following
pairs):
(a) bead bid (b) bone born
(c) callous careless (d) car cur
(e) caught cot (f) foot put
(g) gate get (h) lock luck
(i) seat sheet (j) vest west
(ii) Which part of the tongue is raised in the production of the vowel sounds in the following
words:
(a) knee (b) food (c) tin (d) bat.
(iii) Which part of the tongue is raised in the production of the vowel sounds in the following
English words?
beam, big, bid, bag, drop, too.
(iv) Say whether the vowel sounds in the following English words are close or open: key, art,
pot, moon,
(v) Say whether the lips are rounded or unrounded in the production of the vowel sounds in
the following English words:
sea, give, pass, bed, who, hot, come, foot, pack, cut, teach, moon.
(vi) Supply the phonetic symbols for the consonant sounds italicised in the following words:
(a) pleasure (b) touch (c) there (d) think
(e) short. (f)long (g)quality (h) car
(i) please (j) jug

5.5 Summary

• All the sounds we make when we speak are the result of muscles contracting. The muscles in
the chest that we use for breathing produce the flow of air that is needed for almost all
speech sounds; muscles in the larynx produce many different modifications in the flow of air
from the chest to the mouth. After passing through the larynx, the air goes through what we
call the vocal tract, which ends at the mouth and nostrils; we call the part comprising the
mouth the oral cavity and the part that leads to the nostrils the nasal cavity. Here the air from
the lungs escapes into the atmosphere. We have a large and complex set of muscles that can
produce change in the shape of the vocal tract, and in order to learn how the sounds of
speech are produced it is necessary to become familiar with the different parts of the vocal
tract. These different parts are called articulators, and the study of them is called articularoty
phonetics.

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