Phonetics --> 1st Lecture ( Speech Organs )

Phonetics --> 1st Lecture

Phonetics

Phonetics is the general study of the characteristics of English sounds.

Speech Organs 

(1)The Vocal Cords: 

They are bands of elastic tissues in the larynx.

When the vocal cords are spread apart, the air from the lungs passes between them unimpeded causing a voiceless sound.

When the vocal cords are drawn together, the air from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes through, creating a vibration causing a voiced sound.

(2)The Larynx: 

It is a structure at the top of the wind-pipe from the lungs, which contains the vocal cords. 

(3)The Pharynx: 

It is immediately above the larynx and it is a space behind the tongue reaching up towards the nasal cavity. 

(4)The Tongue: 

It is the most important part of the organs of speech as it has the greatest variety of movement. It is divided into four parts: (1)Tip. (2)Blade. (3)Front. (4)Back. 

(5)The lips: 

They take up various different positions, for example: they can be brought firmly together as in /p/ or /b/ so that they completely block the mouth.

(6)The Teeth: 

The lower front teeth and the upper front ones are important in speech.

(7)The Palate: 

It is the roof of the mouth, divided into the soft palate at the back, the hard palate in the middle, and the alveolar ridge, just behind the teeth. 

(8)The Alveolar ridge: 

It is the part of the gums immediately behind the upper front teeth. It is very important as most of the consonant sounds like /b,d,t,n,r,s,z,j,3,d3/ are made with the tongue touching or close to the alveolar ridge.

9) Aspiration: 

It is a short period after the explosion of /p,t,k/ when air leaves the mouth without voice.

10) Consonant: 

It is one of a set of sounds in which air from the lungs is seriously obstructed in the mouth, and which occurs in similar positions in words.

11) Friction Consonants: 

They are sounds made by narrowing of the air passage until the air is interfered with and causes friction. 

12) Gliding Consonants: 

They are consonants with no stop or friction which have a rapid glide to a vowel.

13) Diphthong: 

It is a smooth glide from one vowel position to another, the whole glide acting like one of the long , simple vowels.

14) Phonemic Transcription: 

It is the representation of each phoneme by a single symbol. 

15) Received Pronunciation:

 It is the kind of pronunciation which is used by many educated speakers, particularly in south-east England. Sometimes it is called B.B.C. English. 

16) Stress: 

It is a greater effort on a syllable or syllables in a word or longer utterance than on the other syllables. 

17) Bilabial: 

The two lips come together as in /b/p/m/. 

18) Labiodentals:

 The lower lip and the upper teeth come together as in /f/v/.

19) Dental: 

 The tip or the blade of the tongue comes in contact with the upper teeth  as in //

20) Alveolar:

The tip or the blade of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge which is directly behind the upper teeth as in /d/t/n/l/s/z/r/.

21) Palato-alveolar:

 The tip of the tongue is close to the alveolar ridge while the front of the tongue is concave to the roof of the mouth .

22) Palatal: 

The front of the tongue approximates to the hard plate as in /j/. 

23) Velar: 

The back of the tongue approximates to the soft palate as in /k,g,n,w/.

Notes

Manner of articulation 

1.plosives                -->   the two lips produce closure. 

2.fricatives              -->   incomplete closure . The air escapes through a narrow channel causing friction. 

3.affricates              -->   a combination of two sounds. 

4.nasal                     -->   the air comes out from the nose , not the mouth. 

5.laterals/ liquids    -->   partial closure in the mouth. 

*Glides (transition sounds ) / ( semi – vowels ) . 

In pronunciation , they are usually produced with the tongue moving , or 'gliding', to or from a position associated with a neighboring vowel sound as [w] and [ y ] : yes , we , wet , you , yet . 

*Consonants are mostly articulated via closure or obstruction in the vocal tract. 

*Vowels are produced with a relatively free flow of air. 

*Liquids are [1] and [r] sounds . the [ 1] sound is formed by letting the air stream flow around the sides of the tongue as it makes contact with the alveolar – ridge. The [r] sound is formed by raising /curling the tip of the tongue back behind the alveolar.

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