ENG-226-Phonetics and Phonology

Submitted by: Nashrah Shakeel

Roll no: 202670023
Department: BS English
Semester: 3rd
Final Term Assignment: Comparison between English and Punjabi Stops
Submitted to: Sir Asad Habib
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Phonetics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the production of sound and its reception.
Whereas, phonology is the branch of phonetics that deals with the study of the sound systems in
a language.
Although both English and Punjabi are widely different languages from each other, their
phonemes have some similarities and some differences in place of articulation, manner of
articulation, and assimilation.
There are a total of six stops/plosives in the English language /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/ and there
are twelve stops in the Punjabi language /p/, /b/, /t̪ /, /d̪/, /k/, /g/, /ph/, /kh/, /ʈh/, /ʈ/, / t̪ h/, and /ɖ/.
These plosives/stops /p/, /b/, /k/, and /g/ are same in both languages English and Punjabi.
 /p/ and /b/: In both stops, the place of articulation is bilabial, manner of articulation is
plosives/stops, non-syllabic, and /p/ is unvoiced but /b/ is voiced in both languages.

 /k/: Place of articulation is velar, manner of articulation is plosives/stops, non-syllabic,

and it is unvoiced.

 /g/: Place of articulation is velar, manner of articulation is plosives/stopes, non-syllabic,

and it is voiced.

 /ph/, /kh/, and /th/: These stops are not available in English. These are in Punjabi only.

 /ph/: Place of articulation is bilabial, manner of articulation is plosives/stops, non-syllabic

and it is unvoiced.
  /kh/: Place of articulation is velar, manner of articulation is plosives/stops, non-syllabic
and it is unvoiced.

 /ʈh/: Place of articulation is retroflex, manner of articulation is plosives/stops, non-

syllabic, and it is unvoiced.

 /ʈ/, and/ɖ/: Both stops/plosives are Punjabi. Place of articulation is retroflex, manner of
articulation is plosives, non-syllabic, and /ʈ/ is unvoiced, and /ɖ/ is voiced. In English /t/
and /d/ stops are present like Punjabi retroflex stops but their place of articulation is
alveolar, manner of articulation is plosives, and /t/ is unvoiced and /d/ is voiced.

 /t̪ /, /d̪/, and /t̪ h/: These are Punjabi dental stops. Place of articulation is dental, manner of
articulation is stops, non-syllabic, /t̪ / and /t̪ h/ is unvoiced and /d̪/ is voiced. These dental
stops are not present in the English language.

Difference between an English and Punjabi Stops:

 Place of articulation
 Manner of articulation
 Assimilation

English Stops Punjabi Stops Similarities/Differences

/p/ /p/ This stop has the same
Place: +bilabial Place: +bilabial features in both languages.
Manner: +plosive Manner: +plosive Examples:
-voiced -syllabic English /p/: Pat
-voiced Punjabi /p/: ‫( پار‬cross)

/b/ /b/ This stop has the same

Place: +bilabial Place: +bilabial features in both languages.
Manner: +Plosive Manner: +plosive Examples:
+voiced -syllabic English /b/: Bell
+voiced Punjabi /b/: ‫( بار‬outside)

/k/ /k/ This stop has the same

Place: +velar Place: +velar features in both languages.
Manner: +plosive Manner: +plosive Examples:
-voiced -syllabic English /k/: Kid
-voiced Punjabi /k/: ‫( کال‬call)

/g/ /g/ This stop has the same

Place: +velar Place: +velar features in both languages.
Manner: +plosive Manner: +plosive Examples:
+voiced -syllabic English /g/: Gun
 +voiced Punjabi /g/: ‫( گال‬abuse)

Not available in English. /ph/ Example:

Place: +bilabial /ph/: ‫( پ ھاڑ‬torn)
Manner: +plosive
-voiced

Not available in English. /ʈh/ Example:‫ٹ‬

Place: +retroflex /ʈh/: ‫( ھر‬cold)
Manner: +plosive
-voiced

Not available in English. /kh/ Example:

Place: +velar /kh/: ‫( کھاد‬fertilizer)
Manner: +plosive
-voiced

/t/ /ʈ/ In the English language,

Place: +alveolar Place: +retroflex the place of articulation is
Manner: +plosive Manner: +plosive alveolar but in the Punjabi
-voiced -voiced language, the place of
articulation is retroflex.
Examples:
/ʈ/: ‫( ٹ پ‬tub)
/t/: term

/d/ /ɖ/ In the English language,

Place: +alveolar Place: +retroflex the place of articulation is
Manner: +plosive Manner: +plosive alveolar but in the Punjabi
+voiced +voiced language, the place of
articulation is retroflex.
Examples:
/ɖ/: ‫( ڈاک‬mail)
/d/: dead

Not available in English. /t̪ / Example:

Place: +dental /t̪ /: ‫( تاڑ‬wire)
Manner: +plosive
-voiced

Not available in English. /t̪ h/ Example: ‫ت‬

Place: +dental /t̪ h/: ‫( ھال‬Platter)
Manner: +plosive
-voiced
Not available in English. /d̪/ Example:
Place: +dental
 Manner: +plosive /d̪/: Dal (lentil)
+voiced

To conclude, comparison between English and Punjabi stops, some features are similar in both
languages, but some are present in one language and not in the other. There are no retroflexes
and dental stops in the Punjabi language.
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