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Why is English orthography (writing system)
not accurate in representing sounds?
Did he believe that Caesar could see the
people seize the seas?
IPA is a representation of sounds not letters.
What is a phoneme?
 The smallest unit of sound that carries
meaning.
 Phonemes can be divided into 2 types:
1. Consonants
2. Vowels
 How are consonants produced?
 Consonants are produced by obstructing the
flow of air as it passes from the lungs
through the vocal tract.
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In your own words, explain the concepts of
place and manner of articulation.
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Place of articulation
Place of Articulation
Consonant
Bilabial
[p] [b] [m]
Labiodental
[f] [v]
Interdental
[θ] [ð]
Alveolar
[t] [d] [n] [s] [z] [l] [r]
Palatal
[ʃ] [ʒ] [tʃ] [dʒ]
Velar
[k] [g] [ŋ]
Glottal
[h]
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What is the difference between voiced and
voiceless sounds?
◦ When the vocal cords are apart when speaking, air
flows freely through the glottis. Sounds produced in
this way are voiceless.
◦ If the vocal cords are together, the airstream forces
its way through and causes them to vibrate
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How are nasal sounds produced?
When the uvular blocks the airway through
the nose, the sound is oral. When the uvular
is not raised, air escapes through the nose
and the mouth. This is called a nasal sound.
What nasal sounds are there?
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What is the difference between stops and
fricatives? Give examples
In your own words, describe how the [t]
sound is produced.
What are the other 4 types of sounds and how
are they produced?
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What are the 4 qualities of vowels?
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The placement of the body of the tongue:
◦ Vertical: high – mid – low
◦ Horizontal: front – central – back
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The shape of the lips:
◦ Rounded – Unrounded
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The degree of the vocal tract contraction:
◦ Tense – Lax
a
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What are diphthongs? What are the 3 different
diphthongs?
Diphthongs are a combination of 2 vowel
sounds.
kite
bout
boy
[aj]
[aw]
[ɔj]
Quick exercise:
Answer following questions in IPA
1. /wær du dɒktərs wərk?/
2. /wʌt kʌlər ɪz ðə skai?/
3. /wʌt ɪz θri taɪmz θri?/
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1.
2.
3.
/hɔspɪtəl/ or /haspətəl/
/blu/
/najn/
The mental representation of sounds
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Phonology is concerned with the sound
structure/patterns of languages.
What syntax is for grammar, phonology is for
phonetics.
Knowledge of phonology determines how we
pronounce morphemes depending on their
context. Just as morphology has rules,
phonology has its own rules.
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Most English nouns have a plural form:
cat/cats, dog/dogs, fox/foxes
You might think an “-s” makes nouns plural,
but when you listen carefully, you’ll here a
different pronunciation of that “-s”.
A
B
C
D
cab
cap
bus
child
cad
cat
bush
ox
bag
back
buzz
love
cuff
garage
mouse
criterion
The final sound of the plurals in A is a [z] a
voiced alveolar fricative.
For column B, the plural ending is an [s] –
a voiceless alveolar fricative.
Column C is [əz]
Column D are irregular endings.
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Do you think the variance of plural
pronunciation is random?
There’s a phonological rule behind it. To
understand it, we must analyze the
surrounding sounds. To understand the
surrounding sounds, we need to look at
minimal pairs.
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Minimal pairs are words that only differ in
one sound segment. For example
ship/sheep
cat/mat
Minimal pairs from the previous examples are
cap/cab
bag/back
bag/badge
These minimal pairs differ in the final sound
segment, so the final sound must determine
the pronunciation of the plural ending.
Allomorph
Environment
[z]
After [b], [d], [g], [v], [ð], [m], [n], [ŋ], [l], [r], [a], [ɔj]
[s]
After [p], [t], [k], [f], [θ]
[əz]
After [s], [ʃ], [z], [ʒt], [ʃ], [dʒ]
Allomorph
Environment
[z]
After voiced nonsibilant segments
[s]
After voiceless nonsibilant segments
[əz]
After sibilant segments