MA Linguistics Phonetics and Phonology Lecturer Prof. R.M.W. Rajapakshe Lecture Phonetics and Phonology Date 31st July 2021 Session 01 Air Stream Mechanism Any physiological process which provides a source of energy capable of being used in speech sound production is called air stream mechanism. Air is moved inwards or outwards by the movement of this mechanism, producing respectively an Ingressive or Egressive. Page | 1 MA Linguistics Phonetics and Phonology There are three types of airstream mechanism: Pulmonic Airstream mechanism The movement of lung air by the respiratory muscles. Most sounds are produced with a pulmonic airstream mechanism, but in case of stop consonants, two other airstream mechanisms may be involved Glottalic Airstream Mechanism The movement of pharynx air by the action of the glottis. An upward movement of the closed glottis will move the air out of the mouth; a downward movement of the closed glottis will cause air to be sucked into the mouth. Velaric Airstream Mechanism The movement of mouth air by action of the tongue. There is a velar closure formed by raising the back of the tongue when using the velaric airstream mechanism. Pulmonic Airstream Mechanism The following groups of consonants are produced by the Pulmonic Airstream Mechanism 1. Stop sounds (Plosive) 2. Nasal sounds 3. Fricative sounds 4. Trill sounds 5. Flap sounds 6. Lateral sounds 7. Approximant sounds Page | 2 MA Linguistics Phonetics and Phonology 1. Stop sounds When the air is completely blocked at the oral cavity a stop sound is produced. Voiceless Bilabial AA – lower lip PA – upper lip p pit (English) Voiced b Voiceless Alveolar AA – front of the tongue PA – alveolar ridge t tetə (Sinhala) Voiced d Voiceless Retroflex AA – tip of the tongue PA – hard palate ʈ ʈake (Sinhala) c citrə (Sinhala) ɖ k kæt(English) ɟ q kazaq (Kazakh, Turky) ɟajə (Sinhala) kaɟɟə (Sinhala) Voiced ɡ Voiceless Uvula AA – back of the tongue PA – uvula ɖakku (Sinhala) Voiced Voiceless Velar AA – back of the tongue PA – soft palate/velum datə (Sinhala) Voiced Voiceless Palatal AA – front of the tongue PA – hard palate bit(English) ɡə:l (English) Voiced ɢ ʔitiɢama (Kazakh) Voiceless Glottalic AA – tip of the tongue PA – hard palate ʔ attəʔ (Sinhala) Page | 3 MA Linguistics Phonetics and Phonology 2. Nasal sounds When the air is blocked at the oral cavity, but escapes though the nasal cavity, a sound is produced. Voiced Bilabial AA – lower lip PA – upper lip m mæt (English) Voiced Labio-dental AA – lower lip PA – upper teeth ɱ sɪɱfəni (English) Voiced Alveolar AA – front of the tongue PA – alveolar ridge n nʌt (English) Voiced Retroflex AA – tip of the tongue PA – hard palate ɳ œɻɳ (Faroese) ‘eagle’ Voiced Palatal AA – front of the tongue PA – hard palate ɲ pipiɲɲa (Sinhala) Voiced Velar AA – back of the tongue PA – soft palate/velum ŋ ræ:ŋ (English) Voiced Uvular AA – back of the tongue PA – uvula ɴ nihoɴ (Japanese) Page | 4 MA Linguistics Phonetics and Phonology 3. Fricative sounds Fricative Sounds are produced when the air is pressed through the active and passive articulators making a hissing noise. As a group they make the largest one in the IPA chart. Voiceless Bilabial AA – lower lip PA – upper lip ɸ ru:ɸa:i (Tamil) ‘Rupee’ Voiced β Voiceless Labio-dental AA – lower lip PA – upper front teeth f fæn (English) Voiced v Voiceless Dental AA – front of the tongue PA – upper front teeth θ θiŋ (English) s sin (English) ð ʂ ʂʊ (Foroese) ‘eighty’ z ç çil (Berber) ‘measure’ ʐ ʃ ʃip (English) uʐ (Torwali) ‘straight’ Voiced ʝ Voiceless Palato(post)-alveolar AA – front of the tongue PA – back alveolar ridge zip(English) Voiced Voiceless Palatal AA – front of the tongue PA – hard palate ðen (English) Voiced Voiceless Retroflex AA – tip of the tongue PA – hard palate væn (English) Voiced Voiceless Alveolar AA – front of the tongue PA – alveolar ridge βati(Foroese) ʝust(Dutch) ‘good’ Voiced ʒ pleʒə: (English) Page | 5 MA Linguistics Phonetics and Phonology Voiceless velar AA – back of the tongue PA – soft palate / velum x xoʃ (Azerbaijani) ‘pleasant’ Voiced ɣ Voiceless Uvular AA – back of the tongue PA – uvular χ χpa (Abkhaz) ‘three’ ħ muħ (Agul) ‘bar n’ ʁ h hæt (English) tsəʁ (Abkhaz) ‘marten’ Voiced ʕ Voiceless Glottal AA – glottis PA – larynx ‘house’ Voiced Voiceless Pharyngeal AA – back of the tongue PA – pharynx adəɣɑ (Adyghe) ʕɑwr (Kurdish) ‘cloud’ Voiced ɦ ɦora (Zech) ‘mountain’ Page | 6
