语言学Lecture4 Phonetics

1、Lecture Four: Phonetics Wang XiangSoundWhere it all begins Language, thought, memory, speech and even writing are united by one common element: soundSound is at the core of human language. In terms of communication, it is the properties of sound in human language that distinguish people from animals

2、 and plants.Defining PhoneticsPhonetics is “the scientific study of speech” (Peter Roach, “Introducing Phonetics”).It “is the science which studies the characteristics of human sound-making, especially those sounds used in speech, and provides methods for their description, classification and transc

3、ription.” (胡壮麟胡壮麟, Linguistics: A Course Book).Three main branches of phonetics Articulatory phonetics (发音语音学发音语音学): studying how speech sounds are produced/articulated by the various bodily organs. the mouth, nose, tongue and lipsAcoustic phonetics(声学语音学声学语音学): studying the physical properties of s

4、peech soundsAuditory phonetics(听觉语音学听觉语音学): studying the perception of speech sounds.The Organs of Speech and Sound Quality The production of any sound involves the movement of air. Most speech sounds are produced by pushing lung air through the opening vocal cords, up the throat, and into the mouth

5、 or nose, and finally out of the body: pulmonic (肺音肺音). English: pulmonic egressive (肺外呼音肺外呼音)Sounds may also be ingressive. In one kind of ingressive sounds, the air is sucked into the mouth to make clicks(吸气音吸气音 such as tsk).What distinguishes one sound from another？The vocal tract changes its sha

6、pe to produce different sounds.舌面前舌面前: tongue anterior; 会厌会厌: epiglottis; 食道食道: esophagus; 气管气管: windpipe; 喉结喉结: Adams appleLarynx( 喉头喉头): a bony structure at the top of the windpipe, the front of which is the Adams apple. Vocal cords(声带声带): two folds which are fixed at the front, but can move horiz

7、ontally at the back. The space between the opened vocal cords is called the glottis(声门声门).(a) Close tightly: forming a glottal stop(声门塞音声门塞音 ): ?. E.g. honest The vocal cords can:(c) Be wide apart and not vibrating: forming voiceless consonants. ( b ) Vi b r a t e partly opened: forming voicing of c

8、onsonants and vowels.Pharyngeal cavity(咽腔咽腔)The pharynx stretches up from the vocal cords to the start of nasal cavity at the very back of the mouth. English-speakers do not use the pharyngeal cavity much.However it gives the human voice some of its basic resonant characteristics. Human infants cann

9、ot speak partly because of their high larynxes (pharyngeal cavity too short).Nasal cavity (the nose) and oral cavity (the mouth)If the soft palate (velum)(软 腭软 腭) is lowered, there is closure of part of the oral cavity, and a i r w i l l t r a v e l through the nose as one breathes. Nasal sound: /n/

10、, /m/ and / Mouth: the most useful organ of speech. It is through this organ that most of the distinctions between the articulation of different sounds are made.(a) The uvula(小舌小舌): the soft tip at the end of velum. It is very flexible and can be made to vibrate (as in the French /R/). (b) Velum(软腭软

11、腭) and Hard palate(硬腭硬腭) are fixed and bony. The two form a dome-like structure at the top of the cavity.(c) Alveolar ridge (齿龈齿龈): a prominent ridge at the very front of the hard palate, just behind the top teeth.(d) Teeth(e) LipsThe lips can do many things: They can spread, round, open, close and

12、vibrate. They can be employed independently with either of the two sets of teeth, or work together.(f) Tongue1. The back(舌根舌根): can be raisede.g. l-sound at the end of a word in English 2. The front:(i) the blade(舌叶舌叶): directly below the alveolar ridge(ii) the tip: the very front point of the tongu

13、e3. The rims, which are the edges of the tongue.The tongue can be raised: k, g, t, d lowered:h moved back k, gPutting Sounds on Paper: transcriptionThe International Phonetic Alphabet (the IPA)TWO types of transcription: broad and narrowE.g. In broad transcription, the symbol l is used for the sound

14、 /l/ in words like leaf /li:f/, feel /fi:l/, build /bild/, and health /hel/.Question: Is l pronounced the same in all these four sound combinations?Three kinds of pronunciation: the /l/ in /li:f/, occurring before a vowelthe /l/ in /fi:l/ and /bild/, occurring at the end of a word or before another

15、consonantthe /l/ in /hel/, followed by an English dental soundClear l: 发音时发音时, 舌尖抵住上齿龈根部舌尖抵住上齿龈根部, 舌前向硬腭抬起舌前向硬腭抬起, 形成形成气流阻碍气流阻碍. 气流从舌的两侧通过气流从舌的两侧通过, 所以叫做舌侧音所以叫做舌侧音. 此时此时l 是浊辅是浊辅音音, 要振动声带要振动声带. 这个音与汉语的这个音与汉语的“乐乐”有一点相似有一点相似, 只是汉语的只是汉语的发音带有元音音素且更清晰发音带有元音音素且更清晰. Dark /l/: 发音时发音时, 舌尖抵住上齿龈根部舌尖抵住上齿龈根部, 舌面下

16、凹舌面下凹, 舌后部微微上舌后部微微上抬抬,气流在舌面形成的凹形中产生共鸣气流在舌面形成的凹形中产生共鸣, 发音响亮发音响亮. 注意这个时候注意这个时候舌尖不能动舌尖不能动, 只要一离开上齿龈根部这位置只要一离开上齿龈根部这位置, 就变成了清晰的就变成了清晰的l. Dental l: Its pronunciation is somewhat affected by the dental after it.In narrow transcription, no diacritic(变音符变音符) is needed to indicate clear l; the diacritic is u

17、sed to indicate the dark l:; the diacritic is used to indicate dental l: l BROAD transcription (phonemic transcription)This is often the form used in dictionaries for indicating the general pronunciation of a word. “back slashes”: /.NARROW transcription (or phonetic transcription)This gives more spe

18、cific details about each sound unit, for example, is it aspirated or not?The result is a much more accurate picture of what is actually spoken. “square brackets”: What about p in pit and spit? In the word pit, the sound p is pronounced with a strong puff of air, but in spit the puff of air is withhe

19、ld to some extent.In the case of pit, the p sound is aspirated and in the case of spit, the p sound is unaspirated.Broad transcription: no difference.Narrow transcription: a small raised “h” is used to show aspiration.pit: phit spit: spitAnother example of TranscriptionQ: What kind of sounds are con

20、sonants?The sounds in the production of which there is a constriction or an obstruction of the airstream at some point of the vocal tract.When consonants are pronounced, the airstream from the lungs is:completely blocked (e.g. /p/),partially blocked (e.g. /l/)the opening is so narrow that the air es

21、capes with audible friction (e.g. /f/).The Classification of English Sounds and How to Describe Them in WordsConsonant sounds are classified according to three variables:(a) voicing: voiced, voiceless(b) place of articulation (where the obstruction happens)Bilabial: /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/Labio-dental: /

22、f/, /v/Dental: /, /Alveolar: /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /r/, /l/Palatal: /, / , /, /, /j/Velar: /k/, /g/, /Glottal: /h/(c) manner of articulation (the relationship between the articulators and thus the way in which the air passes through certain parts of the vocal tract)Plosive(stops): the obstruction

23、 created by the speech organs is total, the speech sound produced with the obstruction audibly released and the air passing out again./p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/Fricative: the obstruction is partial and the air is forced through a narrow passage in the mouth so as to cause definite local friction a

24、t the point./f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /, /, /, / /, /h/Affricative (塞擦音塞擦音): the obstruction, complete at first, is released slowly with the friction resulting from partial obstruction so that a fricative is made immediately after the plosive. /, /Nasal: the nasal passage is opened by lowering the soft pa

25、late and air is allowed to pass through it./n/, /m/, /Liquid: some obstruction of the airstream in the mouth but not enough to cause friction./l/, /r/ Glide: two articulators are close to each other, but not close to such an extent that a turbulent stream is created. /j/, /w/Glides are always preced

26、ed or followed directly by a vowel, with the tongue moving rapidly in gliding fashion toward or away from a neighboring vowel.功能上类似辅音，但缺乏辅音通常的发音特点（如摩擦或闭塞），功能上类似辅音，但缺乏辅音通常的发音特点（如摩擦或闭塞），而语音学上讲其音质为元音音质，但由于实际出现在音节的界音而语音学上讲其音质为元音音质，但由于实际出现在音节的界音位置，其音延比典型的元音短得多。位置，其音延比典型的元音短得多。 Group A: The PlosiveVoiced

27、bilabial plosive: /b/Voiceless bilabial plosive: /p/Voiced alveolar plosive: /d/Voiceless alveolar plosive: /t/Voiced velar plosive: /g/Voiceless velar plosive: /k/Group B: The FricativesVoiced labiodental fricative: /v/Voiceless labiodental fricative: /f/Voiced dental fricative: /Voiceless dental f

28、ricative: /Voiced alveolar fricative: /z/Voiceless alveolar fricative: /s/Voiced palatal fricative: / /, Voiceless palatal fricative: /Voiced glottal fricative: /?/Voiceless glottal fricative: /h/ Group D: The NasalsVoiced bilabial nasal: /m/Voiced alveolar nasal: /n/Voiced velar nasal: / /Group C:

29、The AffricatesVoiced palatal affricate: / /Voiceless palatal affricate: /Group E: Approximant/frictionless continuant (无摩擦延无摩擦延续音续音)Voiced alveolar liquid: /l/Voiced velar liquid: Voiced post-alveolar liquid: /r/ Voiced labial-velar glide: /w/Voiced palatal glide: /j/VowelsVowels: the sounds in the

30、production of which no articulators come very close together and the air-stream passes through the vocal tract without obstruction.a. Functionally, vowels are the basis of syllables.b. Physically, vowels are musical.c. Articulatorily, for vowels, airstream is not obstructed, and speech organs are te

31、nse.Vowel sounds are classified by four variables:(a) length (long-medium-short) (Long vowels are often called tense and short vowels are called lax.) (b) the degree of lip rounding (rounded-unrounded)(c) the height of the tongue raising (high-mid-low)(d) the position of the highest part of the tong

32、ue (back-central-front).Group A: MonophthongsLong unrounded high front vowel: /i:/Short unrounded high front vowel: /i/Medium unrounded mid front vowel: /e/Short unrounded low front vowel: /Short unrounded low central vowel: /?/Long unrounded low back vowel: /a:/Group A: MonophthongsShort rounded lo

33、w back vowel: /Long rounded mid back vowel: /:/Short rounded high back vowel: /u/Long rounded high back vowel: /u:/Long unrounded mid central vowel (schwa): /:/Short unrounded mid central vowel (schwa): /(the vowel that can be produced with least effort in English ) front central backhigh i: u: i u

34、e (:) :mid low ? a:Diphthongs and Triphthongs These vowel sounds are described as combinations of two (for diphthongs) or three (for triphthongs) monophthong vowels. For example, “a medium unrounded mid front vowel moving to a short unrounded high front vowel”/ei/There are eight main diphthongs in E

35、nglish and five main triphthongs as follows:双元音的两个成分中只有第一个读得比较重、长和清晰，第二双元音的两个成分中只有第一个读得比较重、长和清晰，第二个则要读得比个则要读得比 较轻、短和含糊。集中双元音发音时舌位的移动较轻、短和含糊。集中双元音发音时舌位的移动方向是舌的中部，合口双元音发音时舌位由低向高滑动方向是舌的中部，合口双元音发音时舌位由低向高滑动, 牙床由牙床由开或半开到半合开或半开到半合 . Triphthongs: /ei/, /au/, / i/, /ai/, /u/ Diphthong centering(集中双元音集中双元音) c

36、losing(合口双元音合口双元音) ending in / ending in /i/ ending in u i e u ei ai i u auDiscuss: P. 38 No. 1 (1) Does the string of sounds mean anything to you?If we want to talk really good, well have to invent vowels.(2)What does the picture suggest to you about the role of consonants and vowels in English?Vow

37、els are the backbones of syllables and words.一般说来，元音可以构成音节，辅音不响亮，不能构成音节。一般说来，元音可以构成音节，辅音不响亮，不能构成音节。但英语辅音字母中有但英语辅音字母中有4个辅音个辅音m，n，ng，l是响音，它们是响音，它们和辅音音素结合，也可构成音节。它们构成的音节往往出现在和辅音音素结合，也可构成音节。它们构成的音节往往出现在词尾，一般是非重读音节。词尾，一般是非重读音节。 PracticeWrite the symbol that corresponds to each of the following phonetic d

38、escriptions.Voiceless velar plosivekLow back unrounded tense vowel a:Voiced alveolar lateral lHigh back rounded tense vowelu:Bilabial nasalmHigh front unrounded lax voweliVoiced dental fricativePalatal glidejFeatures NotationIt is possible to specify a sound by a list of phonetic features marked wit

39、h the values: plus (+) or minus (-). spinspinconsonantal+-+vocalic-+-voiced-+stop-+-nasal-+high+low-alveolar+-+labial-+-High sounds are produced by raising the body of the tongue above the level that it occupies in neutral position. /k/, /g/, /r/, /l/Back sounds are produced by retracting the body o

40、f the tongue from the neutral position. /k/, /g/Low sounds are produced by lowering the body of the tongue from the neutral position. /h/(the only one in English)Anterior sounds (前部前部) are produced by an obstruction located in front of the alveo-palatal region of the mouth./p/, /f/Coronal sounds (舌尖

41、舌尖) are produced by raising the blade of the tongue from the neutral position. /t/, /n/ Tense sounds are produced by increasing the muscular effort in the low jaw. /p/, /f/, /i:/Continuant sounds are produced by maintaining the airflow in the vocal cavity(but not in the nasal cavity)./f/, /v/Striden

42、t sounds are produced by increasing the turbulence of the airflow. /f/, /v/Vocalic sounds are produced by an oral cavity in which the greatest constriction does not exceed that found in the high vowels /i/ and /u/. Consonantal sounds are produced by a radical constriction at some point in the vocal

43、tract. ConsonantsVowels Glides (/j/,/w/)Liquids (/l/,/r/)Consonantal+-+Vocalic-+-+p b f v m t d n s z k g hj w rlvocalic- - - - - -+ +consonantal+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +-+ +high- - - - - + + +-+ +back- - - - - + + +- +-low- - - - - -+-anterior+ + + + + + + + + + + + -+coronal- - + + + + + + + -+ +round- - - - - - +-tense+ - + - + - + - + - + -+-voiced- + - + + - + - + + - + - + +-+ + + +continuant- + + - + + - + + -+ + + + +nasal- - + - - + - - -+-strident- + + - - + + -i:ie u:u :?a:vocalic+consonantal-high+-+-low-+-+f