PHONETICS
LI 2023
NATHALIE F. MARTIN
Made to Speak
Contemporary
Linguistics: p. 2.
 ________: to supply air for speech
 _____________: to produce vibrations for




speech sounds
________: to articulate vowels and consonants
________: to provide place of articulation
________: to articulate vowels and consonants
________: to provide nasal resonance during
speech
1.1 Specialization for Language
Contemporary
Linguistics
Analysis: p. 2.
Organ
Survival
Speech
Lungs
Exchange CO2
for O2
Air flow
Vocal
Cords
Cover tube to
lungs
Vibration
Tongue
Move food in
mouth
Articulation
Teeth
Chew food
Articulation
Lips
Seal oral cavity
Articulation
Nose
Breathing
Nasal
resonance
Introduction
Spoken Language
 Language can be spoken, written, manually signed,
mechanically reproduced and synthesized by
computer
 Spoken language is the main way humans express
themselves
 Humans ________before they ________
 Reason why linguists ________with the study of
spoken rather than written language
Phonetics
 Definition:

The study of the ________and ________of the sounds
of speech.

Analyzes the ________of all human speech sounds,

________________________.
Approaches to Phonetics
 Articulatory phonetics
 Studies the _______________________of speech
production
 Acoustic phonetics
 Measuring and analyzing
the physical properties of
the _____________we
produce when we speak
Phones
 Definition:

______________

Infinite or finite possibilities of sounds?
 ____________
The possibilities of sounds is limited by the vocal tract
 According to one estimate: 600 consonants and 200 vowels

Units of representation
 Break up the flow of speech into individual sounds
 Segments (individual phones or speech sounds)
 Syllables

Nota:

Some writing systems are phonetic and syllabic
International Phonetic Alphabet
 The IPA is a system of ________
 Represent ________of human speech with a
_______________

« One sound, one symbol »
 Important: Enclosed in ________________
Explore the IPA
 Go through pronunciation of words
 Do you notice any difference between these sounds?
 Nota bene: Sometimes two phonemes need to be used to
represent a vowel.
 IPA
 Look at the information mentioned
 What are the classifications mentioned in the consonant chart?
IPA
Transcription
 Broad transcription
 Uses a _____________set of symbols to represent
_________________but does not show all ________
 Narrow transcription
 Show ______________using an ________set of symbols

Here are fonts that you will need to see the IPA symbols:
IPA
Diacritics
Contemporary
Linguistics: p. 635.
 « Marks added to a phonetic symbol to alter its value
in some way »

Example: a circle under a symbol to indicate voicelessness.

See your IPA chart
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~danhall/phonetics/sammy

For help with phonetics
Linking sounds to symbols:
IPA Help, SIL International
http://www.sil.org/computing/speechtools/ipahelp.htm
Identifying articulatory features:
Interactive Sagittal Section, Daniel Hall, University of Toronto
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~danhall/phonetics/sammy
Practice transcribing:
Made to Speak
Specialization for Language:
Made to Speak
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html
Sound-Producing System
Features
Contemporary
Linguistics: p. 17.
 Segments are produced by coordinating a number of
individual articulatory gestures including:



________
________
________
Sound-producing System
 Sound is produced when air is ____________
 Sets of ______modify the sound in various ways
Sound-producing system
 Lungs
 Vocal cords
(or vocal ________)
 Larynx (vocal folds
are within larynx)
(the velum is the soft area
Towards the rear of the roof
of the mouth)
Sound-producing system
Three filters:
 Pharynx
(the tube between the
larynx and the oral cavity)
 Oral cavity
 Nasal cavity
Glottal States
Sound-producing system
Glottal States
Sound-producing system
Glottal States
 ________: Space between the vocal folds
 Vocal folds may be ________in a number of ways
to produce different ________________
Glottal States
Voicelessness
 When the vocal folds are ________.
 The air passes ________________the glottis.
 Any sound produced when the folds are in this
position are said to be voiceless.
 Put your fingertips to your larynx.
 Fish
 Sing
 House
Glottal States
Voicing
 When the vocal folds are _______________,
but ________________.
 Air passes through and causes them to _______.
 Any sound produced when the folds are in this
position are said to be voiced.
 Put your fingertips to your larynx.
 Zip
 Vow

Or any vowel
Glottal States
Whisper
 Whispering is voiceless.
 No vibration of the cords.
 The vocal cords are ________ ________
(though ________________________).
Glottal States
Murmur
 Known as a breathy voice
 Murmuring is voiced
 Vibration of the vocal cords
 Vocal folds are ________to allow air to escape to
produce a breathy effect.
Sound Classes
CONSONANTS
VOWELS
GLIDES
Sound classes
Consonants
 Articulatory difference:

May be ________________

May be made with either a ________________or a
________of the vocal tract

The airflow is either ________momentarily or
________so much that the noise is produced as air flows
past the constriction.
 Consonants cannot be the _______________
Sound classes
Vowels
 Articulatory difference:
 Vowels are produced with ________________in the vocal
tract and are usually ________
 Acoustic Difference:
 Vowels are more ________ (acoustically powerful)
 Perceived as louder and longer lasting
 Vowels can be the ________of a syllable.
Sound classes
Glides
 Shows properties of ________________
 May be thought of a ________ ________
(auditory impression they produce)
 Produced with an ________like that of a vowel
 Glides can never be the ________of a syllable
 Aka. ________________, ___________
The Tongue
 Primary articulation organ
 It can be:
 Raised, lowered, thrust forward, retracted or rolled back
 Five areas of the tongue:
 Tip, blade, body, back and root
Place of Articulation
Consonants
Place of Articulation
 Also called ________________
 Each point at which air stream can be _______to
produce a different sound is called a place of
articulation
 Places of articulation are found at the ____, within
the ________, in the ________and at the
________.
Consonants
Place of Articulation
Place of articulation
Labial
 Any sound made with closure or near-closure of
the ______is said to be labial.
 Bilabial: sounds involving ________
 Example:
 Labiodental: sounds involving the ________
and the ________

Example:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html
Place of articulation
Dental and interdental
 Sounds produced with the tongue placed ______
or ________the ________


Example: European French (temps, dire, sept, zizi)
 Interdental: Produced with the tongue _______
the ________


Example: The words thing & this
Place of articulation
Alveolar
 Sounds produced when the tongue ________or is
brought ________to the _______________
 Example:
+ Spanish “r” = [r]
http://www.uiowa.edu:80/~acadtech/phonetics/spanish/frameset.html
(Lingual-alveolar)
Place of articulation
Alveopalatal & palatal
 Alveopalatal area: Just behind the alveolar ridge the
roof of the mouth _______sharply
 Alveopalatal consonants:


Example: Show, measure, chip & judge
 Palatal glide:


Example: Yes & yours
Place of articulation
Velar
 Velum: ____area towards the ____of the mouth
 Velar: Sounds produced with tongue touching or
near this position


Example: Call, guy & hang
 Labiovelar: Sounds produced with ________
________ and the ________at the same time

_____ like in wet
Place of articulation
Uvular
 Uvula: Small fleshly ________that hangs down
from the ________.
 Uvular: Sounds produced with the tongue touching
or near this position.


None in English
European French « r » = [R]
Place of articulation
Pharyngeal
Pharynx: Area of the ________between the uvula
and the larynx.
Sounds made through the modification of the air flow
in the pharynx by ________________or
________________________
[ʕ]
 Example: The Arabic letter « ‫ » ع‬like in Jesus

Place of articulation
Glottal
 Sounds produced using the ________as primary
articulation


Example: Hog, heave
Manner of Articulation
Manner of articulation
Oral vs Nasal
 Oral: Velum is ________cutting of the airflow to
the nasal passages
 Nasal: Velum is ________to allow air to pass
________the nasal passages
 Both consonants ([n] [m] [ŋ]) and vowels ([ã] [õ]
etc.) can be nasal and are generally voiced


Example: Sun, sum, sung
No nasal vowels in English
Manner of articulation
Stops
 Stops are made with a ______________either
in the oral cavity or at the glottis
 In English: Bilabial, alveolar and velar oral and nasal
stops


[p], [b], [m], [t], [d], [n], [k], [g], [ŋ] & [ʔ]
Examples: Glottal stop in the sound [ʔ] like in the expression
uh-uh (meaning “no”) or like in some British dialects [ʔ] is
heard instead of a “t” (example: bottle)
Manner of articulation
Fricatives
 Fricatives: Consonants produced with a
________________through the mouth
 Part of a larger class called continuants
 English fricatives:

[f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [ʃ], [ʒ] & [h]
Manner of articulation
Affricates
 Affricate: Non-continuous consonant that show a
________________________.
 Affication: A process in which palatalized stops
become afficates


[ʧ] & [ʤ]
Example: Church & Jogging
Manner of articulation
Voice Lag and Aspiration
 Lag: After the release of certain voiceless stops in
English, you can hear a lag or brief delay before
voicing the following vowel
 Aspiration: Since the lag in the onset of vocalic
voicing is accompanied by the ________
 Transcribed with a small [h]


Examples: pat [phæt], tub [thʌb] and cope [ khowp]
Examples of unaspirated: spat [spæt], stub [stʌb] and cope [
skowp]
Manner of articulation
Liquids
 Different variants of « r » and « l »
 Lateral: Varieties of « l »
 As laterals are articulated, air escapes through the mouth
________the lowered ________of the tongue
 English « r »
 ________the tongue tip back into the mouth or by
________the tongue upwards and back in the mouth
Manner of articulation
Liquids (continued)
 English « r »
 Retroflex [ɹ] or [r] = Curling the tongue tip back into the
mouth or by bunching the tongue upwards and back in the
mouth
Example: car & ride
 Transcribed as [r] in textbook


Flap [ɾ] = Tongue tip ________the ______________
as it passes across it

Example: North American pronunciation of bitter & butter
Glides
Manner of articulation
Glides
 Glide: Very rapidly articulated non-syllabic segment
 _____or ________ [j]: Palatal glide
 W-glide [w]: Tongue raised and pulled back near the
________ and with ________ ________ or
rounded.
 [M]: Voiceless (labio)velar fricative glide

Example: When, where, which (but not in witch)
Vowels
Vowels
 Vowels: Sonorous, syllabic sounds made with the
________ more ________ than it is for
consonants and glide articulation
 Produced by varying the placement of the body of the
________ and ________
 Can be altered by protruding or rounding the lips, by
lowering the velum to produce nasal vowels or by
constriction.
Vowels
Simple vowels and Diphthongs
 Simple vowels: Do not show a noticeable change in
quality during their articulation


[i], [I], [ɛ], [ɑ], [ɒ], [ə], [ʌ], [ʊ], [u], [ɔ] & [æ]
Example: Pit, set, cat, dog, but, put & suppose.
 Diphthongs: Vowels that exhibit a change in quality
within a single syllable


[ei], [ej]*, [aI], [aj]*, [au], [ɔI], [ou], [ij]*, [uw]*, [ow]* & [aw]*
Example: Say, buy, cow, ice, lout, go, boy.
IPA Vowel Chart
IPA Vowel Chart
Vowels
IPA Vowel Chart (Diphthongs)
Vowels
Tense and lax
 Tense vowels: Produced with placement of the
tongue that results in ________ vocal tract
________


[i], [ej] , [u] , [ow], [ɑ] , [aj] , [aw] & [oj]
Example: heat, mate, shoot, coat, lock, lies, loud & boy
 Lax vowels: Produced with ________
articulation


[ɪ], [ɛ] , [æ] , [ʊ], [ɔ] , [ʌ] & [ə]*
Example: hit, met, mat, should, ought, cut, Canada
* Schwa [ə]: is a reduced vowel (very brief duration)
Suprasegmentals
LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT WAYS TO
MARK PROSODIC PROPERTIES OF SOUNDS.
Suprasegmentals
 All phones have suprasegmental (or prosodic)
properties
________
 ________
 ________

Suprasegmentals
Pitch
 All humans have the ability to control the level of
pitch in their speech

By controlling the tension of the vocal folds and the amount of
air that passes through the glottis

Tense vocal folds + greater air pressure = higher pitch
 There are two kinds of controlled pitch movements:
________ and ________
Suprasegmentals
Pitch: Tone
 Tone language: A language where differences in
word meaning are signaled by differences in pitch

Ex: ________
Suprasegmentals
Pitch: Tone
 Register tones: Level tones that signal meaning
differences


Some tone language have 2 or 3, even 4 tones
Ex: High tone, middle tone, low tone
 Marked with diacritic
 [´] for high tones
 [`] for low tones
 Contour tones:
 Ex: Mandarin
 Rising
pitch
 Falling pitch
Suprasegmentals
Pitch: Intonation
 Intonation: Pitch movement in spoken utterances
that is ________ to differences in ________
________
 Often does serve to convey information

Terminal (intonation) contour


Final intonation at the end = signals that the utterance is complete
Non-terminal (intonation) contour

Rising or level intonation at the end = often signals
incompleteness
Suprasegmentals
Pitch: Intonation
 Different intonation rules depending on English
speaker:

Ex: “Correct change, please”
Suprasegmentals
Length
 Length: Vowels and consonants whose articulation
takes longer relative to that of other vowels and
consonants
 Marked with ________ :

[:] or IPA colon
 Nota: Not the same as English long and short vowels
 Ex: Hat [hæt] & hate [hejt]
Suprasegmentals
Stress
 Some vowels are ________ as more ________
than others

Ex: [thɛləgræfɪk] = [ɛ] and [æ]
 Vowel nuclei that are more prominent than other are
[ɛ] and [æ]
Suprasegmentals
Stress
 Stress: A cover term for the combined effect of pitch,
loudness and length
 Marked by diacritics:
 [´] for the most prominent or primary stress
 [`] for the second most prominent or secondary
stress

Examples in book (p. 38)
Examples in dictionary.com

MY TRICK: Rapper Stress Test 

Speech Production
Speech Production
 Is not a series of isolated events
 Complex
 Articulatory organs are operating independently of each other
 Many fine adjustments are carried out very rapidly as we
speak.
 As a consequence, speech production often results in the
articulation of one sound affecting that of another sound
Speech Production
Coarticulation
 Coarticulation: More than one articulator is active
 Example:
The sound [pl]
 [pl] = [p] (bilabial- no tongue) + [l] (alveolar– with tongue)
 Resulting in the tongue moving to the alveolar
ridge (early) during the pronunciation of [p]
Speech Production
Processes
 Processes: Articulatory ________ that occur
during the production of ________ ________
 Result in :
 A more ________ articulation
 A more ________ output
Speech Production
Processes
 Making articulation more ________
 Example:
Bank = [bæŋk]


[æ] (oral vowel) + [ŋ] (nasal consonant)
Anticiption of the nasal consonant [ŋ] results in the nasalization
of the vowel [æ]
Key = [k] (velar) + [i] (Front, high and tense)

Results in a more palatal [k]
Speech Production
Processes
 Other examples:
Parade = [pəreɪd]
 More efficient articulation results in the dropping of the
unstressed vowel [ə] = [preɪd]
 [p] (voiceless stop) + [r] (voiced lateral) = Voicelessness
carried to [r]
Speech Production
Processes
 Making articulation less efficient
 Lengthen consonants and vowels when they are asked to
repeat a word
 Example:
« It’s Fred. »
 « Did you say ‘red’? »
 « No, it’s ‘Fffreeed’! »

 Greater articulatory effort, but …
 Results in a more ________ form that is easier to
________
Speech Production
Processes
 Adding a segment
 Example:
« Stop screaming! »
 « What? Stop dreaming? »
 « I said, ‘Stop sc[ə]reaming!’ »

Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Assimilation:
 A number of different processes that are the result of the
________ of one segment on another
 A sound becoming more ________ another nearby sound in
terms of one or more phonetic characteristics
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Regressive assimilation: Assimilation in which a
sound influences a ________ segment (e.g.,
nasalization in English)
 Progressive assimilation: Assimilation in which a
sound influences a ________ segment (e.g.,
liquid-glide devoicing in English)
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Assimilation - Nasalization
 Nasalization of a vowel before a nasal consonant is caused by
speakers ________ the lowering of the velum
 Example: Can’t [khænt]


[æ] + [n] = nasalized [æ]
Regressive assimilation or progressive assimilation?
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Assimilation - Voicing assimilation
 Devoicing:
Example
 [p]
of Please [pliz]
(voiceless) + [l] (voiced) = devoiced [l]
 Voicing:
Example
 Afbellen
of[af] (off or over) in Dutch
(to cancel): [f] (voiceless) + [b] (voiced) =
[vb] (both voiced)
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Assimilation – Flapping
 A Process in which a dental or alveolar stop articulation
changes to a flap [ɾ] articulation
 Example:


Butter, writer, fatter, wader & waiter
Example : “I bought it” [ajbɑtɪt]

[ɑ] (stressed vowel) + [t] (dental consonant) = [ɾ] (flap)
 Flapping is considered a type of assimilation since it
changes a non-continuant segment to a continuant
segment
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Dissimilation: The opposite of assimilation. It
results in two sounds becoming ________ alike in
articulatory or acoustic terms.
 Results in a sequence of sounds that are easier to
________ and ________

Example: Fifths [fɪfθs]
[f]
+ [θ] + [s] = [fts]
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Deletion: Is a process that ________ a segment
from certain phonetic contexts
 Occurs in everyday ________
 In English, the schwa [ə] is often deleted when the
next vowel in the word is stressed

Examples: parade, corrode, suppose
[preid],
[krowd] & [spowz]
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Epenthesis: Is a process that ________ a syllabic
segment within an existing string of segments
 Example:
warmth [wormθ]
[wormpθ]
 Example:
Something [sʌmθɪŋ]
[sʌmpθɪŋ]
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Examples:
 Warmth
[wormpθ] = [m] + [p] + [θ]
 Length [lɛŋkθ]
= [ŋ] + [k] + [θ]
 Prince [prɪnts]
= [n] + [t] + [s]
 Tenth [tɛntθ]
= [n] + [t] + [θ]
 Nota:

In English the epenthesized consonant are all nonsonorant, have the same place of articulation as the
sonorant consonant to their ____, and have the save
voicing as the non-sonorant consonant to their ____
Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Metathesis: Is a process that ________ a
sequence of segments
 Often results in a sequence of phones that are easier
to ________
 Common amongst children

Examples:
Spaghetti = pesghetti [pəskɛɾi]
 Prescribe = perscribe [pərskraɪb]
 Prescription = perscription [pərskrɪpʃən]

Speech Production
Common Articulatory Processes
 Vowel reduction: A process that ________ the
articulation of a vowel (typically unstressed vowel) to
a more ________ _______
 In English: Reduction of a full vowel to a schwa [ə]

Example:
Canada [khænədə] (stressed vowel = æ)
 Canadian [khənejdiən] (stressed vowel = ej)

Speech Production
Articulatory Processes?
 The sound [pl]
 [pl]

= [p] (bilabial- no tongue) + [l] (alveolar– with tongue)
Resulting in the tongue moving to the alveolar
ridge (early) during the pronunciation of [p]
Speech Production
Articulatory Processes?
Bank = [bæŋk]


[æ] (oral vowel) + [ŋ] (nasal consonant)
Anticiption of the nasal consonant [ŋ] results in the nasalization
of the vowel [æ]
Key = [k] (velar) + [i] (Front, high and tense)

Results in a more palatal [k]
Speech Production
Articulatory Processes?
Parade = [pəreɪd]
 More efficient articulation results in the dropping of the
unstressed vowel [ə] = [preɪd]
 [p] (voiceless stop) + [r] (voiced lateral) = Voicelessness
carried to [r]
Speech Production
Articulatory Processes?
 Example:
 « It’s Fred. »
 « Did you say ‘red’? »
 « No, it’s ‘Fffreeed’! »
Speech Production
Articulatory Processes?
 Example:
 « Stop screaming! »
 « What? Stop dreaming? »
 « I said, ‘Stop sc[ə]reaming!’ »