English Phonetics and Sound
Structure
Handout 1: Introduction
Objectives of the course
• To study the relationship between spelling and
pronunciation: Correspondence and
discrepancy between spelling and
pronunciation
• To gain some basic concepts of English
phonetics such as the organs of speech,
consonants and vowels of English
• To study acoustic properties of English sounds
and (to learn how to use a speech analysis
program (Praat))
Objectives of the course
• To study some characteristics of distinctive
features and phonemes
• To learn sound patterns and properties of
connected speech and suprasegmentals of
English like phonological processes, syllable
structures, stress, rhythm, and intonation
• To help students develop creative ideas on
how to teach the English sound system through
project-based learning assignment and using
games and classroom activities
Learning resources
• Textbook:
-Teaching American English pronunciation
(TAEP)
-Manual of American English pronunciation
(MAEP)
-Course packet
• Software: Praat
• Course handouts
• Recommended web sites, You tube video clips
Evaluation
• Midterm exam: 30 points
• Final exam: 40 points
• Assignments: 25 points
-Assignment: Vowel formant chart drawing (15
points)
-Project-based learning assignment (10 points):
Presentations on exercises for practicing stress
and intonation (cooperative learning)
• Attendance/ Participations: 5 points
Project-based learning assignment:
stress & intonation exercises
1. p. 81, p. 88 (2 students)
2. pp. 24~27: E, F, H (6 students)
3. pp. 38~42: A, C, D, E (5 students)
4. pp. 53~57: D, G (4 students)
5. pp. 70~74: E, F(2), G, H (5 students)
6. Presentation on More about Intonation (5
students)
7. p. 86: B, pp. 88~89: F, G (5 students)
Overview of the course
• Week 1: Spelling & pronunciation/speech
organs
-Correspondence and discrepancy between
spelling and pronunciation
-Speech organs: tongue, lips, teeth, tongue roof
-Consonants vs. vowels
• Week 2: English consonants
-Classification of English consonants
-Comparison between Korean and English
consonants
Overview of the course
• Week 3: English vowels/ Phonemic and
phonetic transcription
-Classification of English vowels
-Comparison between Korean and English
vowels
-Broad and narrow transcription
• Week 4: Phonemic and phonetic
transcription/ Acoustic phonetics
-Phonetic transcription rules for English
consonant and vowel allophones
-Introduction to acoustic phonetics
Overview of the course
• Weeks 5-7: Acoustic properties of English
vowels and consonants
-Sound wave, source-filter theory, fundamental
frequency, VOT, burst, formant, formant
transition, some acoustic characteristics of vowels
and consonants
-Praat: How to use praat-demonstration
• Week 7: Phonemic analysis
-Phonemic analysis: Phoneme, allophone, minimal
Overview of the course
pairs, complementary distribution, free variation,
pattern congruity, doing a phonemic analysis
-Review
• Week 8: Midterm exam/ Distinctive features
-Distinctive features: The need for distinctive
features
• Week 9: Distinctive features/ Syllables
-Distinctive features for consonants and vowels,
rule formalism, underlying representation
-Syllable structures and phonotactic constraints
Overview of the course
• Week 10: Syllables/ Phonological processes
-More on English syllable structures and
phonotactic constraints
-Phonological processes: Assimilation.
dissimilation, coalescence, neutralization,
metathesis, insertion, deletion, etc.
• Week 11: Stress
-More on phonological processes
-Basic concepts and application of stress: Which
words are stressed?, stress patterns
Overview of the course
• Week 12: Stress
-Stress patterns, stress assignment rules,
functions of stress, unstressed vowels
-Sentence stress and application, schwa, a
rhythm rule
-Exercises
• Week 13: Stress/ Intonation
-More on stress
-Basic concepts and application
Overview of the course
• Week 14: Intonation
-Intonation patterns
-Functions of intonation, applications of
intonation
-More on intonation patterns: functions of
intonation, applications of intonation
-Exercises
• Week 15: Intonation/ Final exam
-More on intonation
-Review
Overview of the course
-Final exam
• Week 16: Final exam (Alternative option)
Contents of the lecture
• The speech chain
-The speech chain model
-How do we produce and understand speech?
• Levels of investigation: the linguistic level
(syntactic, lexical, morphological,
phonological, and phonetic levels)
-How does our knowledge of various aspects of
language help us to understand and acquire
language?
• Letters and sounds
Denes & Pinson, 1992
In Sum
• The speech chain
-The speech chain model
-How do we produce and understand speech?
• Levels of investigation: phonological, and
phonetic levels
-Speech production: physiological and
articulatory levels
-The acoustic level
-Speech perception: acoustic and perceptual
levels
Letters and sounds
• How many letters and sounds do the following
words consist of?: jungle, think, fish, cough
Number of letters Number of sounds
-jungle
-think
-fish
-cough
• How about your name?
-Number of letters vs. number of sounds