23.05.2010
Lecture 2
3) Our next point should be made in connection with another sound property, that is voiced and
voiceless characteristic which depends on the work of vocal cords. It has been long believed that from
the articulatory point of view there is a distinction on the absence or presence of vibrations of vocal
cords between such pairs of sounds as: p-b; k-g; t-d; v-f; s-z; ʃ-ʒ; ʧ-ʤ, but this not the only difference
between them. It is obvious that there is also energy difference. All voiced consonants are weak, all
voiceless consonants are strong.
4) There is one more articulatory characteristic according to which English consonants can also be
classified, that is the position of the soft palate (мягкое небо). According to it consonants can be oral
(ротовые) and nasal (носовые). Only some consonants demand the lowed position of the soft palate.
They are nasal occlusive sonorants. They differ from oral plosives in which the soft palate is lowed
(опущен) or risen (приподнят).
In the English system of consonants there is a problem of affricates. That is their status and
number. There two debated question:
1. are the English sounds [ʧ] [ʤ] monophonemic or biphonemic combinations.
2. if they are monophonemic then how many phonemes of this kind exist in the system of
English consonants and can such combinations [tr] [dr] [ts] [dz] [tƟ] [dð] be considered as
affricates?
One thing is clear: that is all these sounds are complexes because articulatorily and acoustically
we can distinguish two elements. The articulatory difference between [ʧ] and [ʤ] on the one hand and
[t] [d] on the other hand is based on the speed of releasing the obstruction. When [ʧ] and [ʤ] are
pronounced the obstruction is released slower than in case of [t] [d]. But it isn’t the only difference
between affricates and plosives. There is no synchrony in releasing the obstruction by the central part
of the tongue and its sides. Considering phonetic duality of affricates it is necessary to analyze the
relation of affricates to other consonants. Traditionally it is the type of obstruction that serves the bases
for comparison. There are 2 types of obstruction: complete and incomplete. According to this it is
impossible to refer affricates to any group because they consist of 2 types of obstructions: complete
and incomplete. So they are singled out (выделяются) in a separate group – affricates or
occlusive/constrictive consonants.
The problem of affricates is a debated problem among phoneticians. According to Russian
phoneticians there are 2 affricates - [ʧ] and [ʤ]. An English phonetician D. Jones says there are six
affricates: [ʧ] [ʤ] [tr] [dr] [ts] [dz]. An English phonetician A. Gimson increases their number to eight
adding two more affricates: [tƟ] [dð]. To understand if they are affricates or not we must define their
articulatory indivisibility. This procedure is usually fulfilled according to principles of Trubetskoy.
According to his point of view a sound complex can be considered monophonemic if:
1) its elements belong to one syllable;
2) they are produced by one articulatory effort;
3) its duration doesn’t exceed normal duration of its both elements.
Rule 1 Syllabic indivisibility
butcher [ˈbʊʧ-ə]
mattress [ˈmætr-ɪs]
curtsey [ˈkɜ:-tsɪ]
eighth [eɪtƟ]
—
—
—
—
lightship [ˈlaɪt-ʃɪp]
footrest [ˈfʊt-rest]
out-set [ˈaʊt-set]
whitethorn [ˈwaɪt-Ɵɔ:n]
We can see that in the words in left column the sounds belong to one syllable and can not be
divided.
Rule 2. Articulatory indivisibility
All sound complexes have many features in common: unlike separate sounds in the beginning
of their articulation organs of speech are not in the position to pronounce the first element but in the
position of the second fricative element. But there is a complete obstruction formed by the tip of the
tongue and by the sides of the tongue.
Rule 3. Duration
This condition is less important than the previous ones and there is not enough data.
By conclusion we can say that there are two approaches to the problem of affricates:
1. British phoneticians say that there are 8 affricates;
2. Russian phoneticians say that there are 2 affricates.
Summering what has been said we can state relevant phonetic characteristics to classified
consonants:
1) type of obstruction;
2) place of obstruction;
3) force of articulation;
4) position of soft palate.
5.2 Modifications of consonants in connected speech
Till now we have looked at sounds individually but in everyday speech sounds are very seldom
pronounced as separate units. Speech is performed in larger units: words, phrases and texts. There are
very big differences between pronouncing a word in isolation and a word in connected speech. There
is a problem of defining the phonetic status of sounds in connected speech. As a result there are some
processes of phonetic changes in connected speech:
1) assimilation;
2) accommodation;
3) vowel reduction;
4) elision.
Assimilation is the adaptive modification of a consonant by neighboring sound:
eighth
at three
alveolar [t] becomes dental [Ɵ]
Accommodation is the adaptation of sounds combinations of vowel-consonants type and
consonant-vowel type:
never
man (consonant-vowel type)
nasal pronunciation of vowels
больно
конь думать
Labialization of consonants is before labialized vowels.
Vowel reduction is a quantitative or qualitative weakening of vowels in unstressed positions:
board
blackboard
man
postman
Elision is a complete loss of sounds, both vowels and consonants. In informal speech we can
lose many sounds. The process cannot be neglected in defining the phonemic status of speech sounds.
These phenomena represent the economy of energy from the part of the speaker. Usually the listener
doesn’t even notice this because these changes don’t influence the meaning. The target of listener is
usually to understand the meaning but sometimes the meaning can also be influenced, for example [z]
can represent has, is, does, plural, possessive, third person singular. Now let us consider which
qualitative characteristics of consonants can be changed in connected speech. Consonants can be
modified according to the place of articulation: assimilation takes place when a sound changes its
character in order to look like a neighboring sound and the characteristic which is involved in this is
almost always a place of articulation:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
eighth - at the said that
[t] [d] alveolar + [Ɵ] [ð] interdental = dental [t] [d]
Partial regressive assimilation
tree
- true
dry dream
[t] [d] alveolar + post alveolar [r] = post alveolar [t] [d]
Partial regressive assimilation
horseshoe - this shop
[s] [z] alveolar + [ʃ] post alveolar = post alveolar [s] [z]
Complete regressive assimilation
graduate - congratulate - did you - could you
[t] + [j]; [d] + [j] = affricates [ʧ] [ʤ]
Partial regressive assimilation
symphony
[m] bilabial + [f] labiodentals = [m] labiodentals
Partial regressive assimilation
Manner of articulation is also changed as a result of assimilation.