THEME 8:

THE PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (II). THE

CONSONANTS. PHONETIC SYMBOLS. COMPARISON WITH THE
PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM OF SPANISH.

1. INTRODUCTION

a). Phonetics and Phonology

b). Speech Sounds and Phonemes

2. SPEECH ORGANS

3. CHOOSING A MODEL OF PRONUNCIATION

4. SEGMENTAL FEATURES

a). Distinction between Vowels and Consonants

b). Consonants

5. COMPARISON WITH THE PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM OF SPANISH

a). Consonants

6. TEACHING AND LEARNING PRONUNCIATION

a). Perception and Discrimination

b). Production and Assessment
1. INTRODUCTION

When studying the production system of a language we differentiate two

categories:

 Segmental elements: these include vowel and consonant sounds.

 Prosodic or Suprasegmental elements: these deal with rhythm, accentuation
and intonation.

a). Phonetics and Phonology:

Phonetics is the linguistic discipline that studies the sounds of a language in

themselves without considering the relation they have with a linguistic meaning. It
also provides methods for their description, classification and transcription.

Phonetics as a science may be divided into three branches:

 Articulatory phonetics: this studies the organs of speech and how sounds
are articulated.
 Acoustic phonetics: this studies the way sounds are transmitted; the
physical properties of speech sounds.
 Auditory phonetics: this deals with the way speech sounds are perceived.

Phonology studies the sounds from the point of view of their working in the
language. It investigates the phonic differences with difference in meaning and
the rules according to which these are combined to form significants.

We may distinguish:

 Segmental phonology: this analyses phones.

 Suprasegmental phonology: these are phenomena which affect two or more
phonemes (intonation, quantity, tone, word-stress or sentence-stress).

b). Speech Sounds and Phonemes:

We have to distinguish between the terms ‘speech-sound’ and ‘phoneme’. A speech-

sound is any phonetically distinct unit of sound, that is to say any unit of sound
produced by the speech organs that can be distinguished by the phonetician from
all other units of sound produced by the speech organs.

According to Jones, a phoneme may be described as a family of sounds consisting

of one important sound of the language (generally the most frequently used
member of that family) together with other related sounds (allophones) which
take its place in particular sound sequences or under particular conditions of
length, stress or intonation. It must be remembered that a phoneme in a given

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language is defined as ‘only in terms of its differences from the other phonemes
in the same language’. For example:

pig big few view chew jew

These pairs of words differ only in one distinctive sound-feature and we identify
them as phonemes. Opposing such pairs of words which differ only in one phoneme
is very useful in the study of phonology. They are known as ‘minimal pairs’.

2. SPEECH ORGANS

Speech sounds require that the speech organs shall be placed in certain definite
positions or moved in certain definite ways. The main speech organs are the lungs,
the larynx, the vocal cords, the palate, the tongue, the teeth and the lips.

The most usual force of energy for our local activity is provided by an air-stream
expelled from the lungs.

The air-stream provided by the lungs undergoes important modifications in the

upper stages of the respiratory tract before it acquires the quality of a speech
sound.

First of all in the trachea or windpipe, it passes through the larynx, containing the
so-called vocal folds.

In using the vocal folds for speech, the human being has adapted and elaborated
upon an original open-or-shut function. With the glottal stop, the glottis may be
held tightly closed, with the lung air pent up below it. This glottal stop frequently
occurs in English, for example when it precedes the energetic articulation of a
vowel or when it reinforces or even replaces //, // or //.

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The glottis may be held open as for normal breathing.

The action of the vocal folds which is most characteristically a function of speech
consists of their role as a vibrator set in motion by lung air: the production of
voice or phonation. In order to achieve the effect of voice, the vocal folds are
brought sufficiently close together that they vibrate when subjected to air
pressure from the lungs.

One other action of the larynx should be mentioned: a very quiet whisper may
result merely from holding the glottis in the voiceless position.

The Resonating Cavities: the air-stream, having passed through the larynx, is now
subjected to further modification according to the shape assumed by the upper
cavities of the pharynx and mouth and according to whether the nasal cavity is
brought into use or not.

These cavities function as principal resonators of the note produced in the larynx.

The pharyngeal cavity extends from the top of the larynx and oesophagus, past
the epiglottis and the root of the tongue to the region of the palate.
The palate is divided into several parts:

 The alveolar ridge.

 The hard palate.
 The soft palate (also called the velum because it veils the nose).
 The soft palate, which finishes in the uvula.

The palate curves downwards to the teeth at each side.

The space between the upper and lower teeth will often enter into the description
of the articulation of sounds.

The tongue is the most important of the organs of speech because it has the
greatest variety of movement. Although there is no obvious anatomical division of
the tongue, in phonetics it is essential to have a method for referring to different
parts of it. Hence it is traditionally divided into five parts:

 tip, blade, front, back and root

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An additional feature is the rim (the edge of the tongue).

The boundaries between the five divisions are established on the basis of where
the tongue lies in relation to the roof of the mouth when it is at rest on the floor
of the mouth.

The tip lies underneath the upper central teeth, the blade under the alveolar
ridge, the front underneath the hard palate, and the back underneath the soft
palate. The root is the part of the tongue that faces towards the back wall of the
pharynx.

The lips can take up various different positions. They can be kept apart, either
flat or with different amounts of rounding, and they can be pushed forward to a
greater or lesser extent.

The lower jaw, too, is capable of very considerable movement (the upper jaw is
fixed); its movement will control the gap between the upper and lower teeth and
also, to a great extent, the disposition of the lips.

3. CHOOSING A MODEL OF PRONUNCIATION

What do we mean by perfect English pronunciation? In one sense, there are as

many different kinds of English as there are speakers of it; no two people sound
exactly alike – we can always hear differences between them – and the
pronunciation of English varies a great deal in different geographical areas. So
how do we decide what sort of English to use as a model? To be honest, all the
different accents of English have a great deal in common; they have far more
similarities than differences. Therefore, by choosing what is commonly known as
‘Received Pronunciation’ – a general standard British English – as our model, we are
not denying the existence of other, perfectly acceptable, models.

4. SEGMENTAL FEATURES

a). Distinction between Vowels and Consonants:

Every speech sound belongs to one or other of the two main classes known as
vowels and consonants. A vowel is a voiced sound in forming which the air issues in
a continuous stream through the pharynx and mouth. In the production of a vowel
there is no obstruction and no narrowing such as would cause audible friction. All
other sounds are called consonants, and they are formed when we interrupt the
passage of air through the mouth.

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The distinction between vowels and consonants is based on the relative sonority of
the various sounds. Vowels are on the whole more sonorous than any other speech
sounds, that is to say they carry better or can be heard at a greater distance,
when pronounced with the same length, stress and pitch.

b). Consonants:

There are 24 consonantal phonemes in English; the glottal stop // could also be
mentioned but, as it is not phonemically distinctive, it is not considered a
significant sound in the received pronunciation system.

The essential factors to be included in any classificatory chart refer to:

 The presence or absence of voice.

 The place of articulation.
 The manner of articulation.

I. The Presence or Absence of Voice:

In voiced consonants, the vocal folds are close together and vibrate against each
other. The voiced consonants are:

// buy bee ebb

// do die mad
// go guess egg
// voice over have
// there father seethe
// zoo easy rose
// genre pleasure confusion
// jar major gin
// lie silly feel
// move among seem
// now evening pen
// sing sink finger
// why quick one
// right mirror diary
// yacht union yes

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In voiceless consonants, the vocal folds are apart and there is no vibration of the
vocal folds. The voiceless consonants are:

// pie apple up

// tea late eat
// key queue back
// few offer cough
// thief author breath
// see useful niece
// shy sugar dish
// cheap feature rich
// heat behind whole

II. Place of Articulation:

 Bilabial: The two lips are the primary articulators: ////////

 Labio-Dental: The lower lip articulates with the upper teeth: // //
 Dental: The tip of the tongue articulates with the upper
teeth: ////
 Alveolar: The blade, or tip and blade, of the tongue articulates with
the alveolar ridge: ////////////
 Palato-Alveolar: The blade of the tongue articulates with the alveolar
ridge: ////////
 Post-Alveolar: The tip of the tongue articulates with the rear part of the
alveolar ridge: //
 Palatal: The front of the tongue articulates with the hard palate: //
 Velar: The back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate
(velum): //////
 Glottal: There is an obstruction, or a narrowing causing friction but
not vibration, between the vocal folds: ////

III. Manner of Articulation:

The obstruction made by the organs may be total, intermittent, partial, or may
merely constitute a narrowing which is sufficient to cause friction. We can find:

 Plosive: A complete closure at some point in the vocal tract, behind

which the air pressure builds up and can be released
explosively: ////// ////////
 Fricative: Two organs approximate to such an extent that the air-stream
passes between them with friction: // // // //// ////////
 Affricate: There is a complete closure at some point in the mouth; the
separation of the organs is slow, so that friction is a characteristic second
element of the sound: // //

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 Nasal: There is a complete closure at some point in the mouth but,
as the soft palate is lowered, the air escapes through the nose: //////
 Lateral: A partial but firm closure is made at some point in the mouth,
the air-stream being allowed to escape on one or both sides of the contact: //
 Approximant: They have neither the closure nor the noise component
characteristic of consonantal articulations: //////

5. COMPARISON WITH THE PHONOLGICAL SYSTEM OF SPANISH

While the Spanish and English consonant systems show many similarities, the
vowel systems and sentence stress are very different, and these can cause great
difficulty for Spanish-speaking learners of English. Spanish speakers probably
find English pronunciation harder than speakers of any other European language.

We can analyse some of the more common problems experienced by Spanish

speakers.

a). Consonants:

There are 27 consonants used in spoken Spanish and 25 in spoken English. English
consonants are used more than in Spanish and occur in many positions not found in
Spanish, especially in final position. They also occur in clusters more than in
Spanish.

Consonants in English are more intensely articulated and the voicing is much
stronger. They are not weakened in the medial and final positions as they are in
Spanish.

Some English consonantal phonemes are not phonemes in Spanish. For example:

final // king // raise // loath

Some phonemes which cause difficulty are the following:

// and //: fricative - plosive

// and //: plosive - fricative

// and //: voiceless - voiced (// is usually used for both)

// and //: they do not occur in Spanish and are replaced by //
// and //: they are confused, // being used for both

//////: they are not aspirated in Spanish

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//: is always clear in Spanish

////: dental in Spanish and alveolar in English

/r/: it is a tongue tip trill in Spanish

//: is replaced by // (strong friction sound)

Spanish speakers also have difficulty perceiving and producing English consonant
clusters. Typical examples are:

‘espres’ for express ‘istan’ for instant

‘brefas’ for breakfast ‘tes’ for test and text

As the spelling ‘s’ plus another consonant, as in ‘Spain’, ‘stop’ or ‘station’, does not
exist in Spanish, the tendency is to insert an extra // before the word.

6. TEACHING AND LEARNING PRONUNCIATION

Pronunciation teaching and learning must form an integral part of language

teaching and learning. This can be done at an early stage by using activities, such
as songs or rhymes, which appeal to children. Instead of pronunciation drilling,
contextualised practice activities which may involve some repetition may be more
useful for older learners.

a). Perception and Discrimination:

We need to make our pupils aware of the importance of first recognising, and
later producing, English sounds. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as
asking them to identify similar sounds, different sounds, to write the word they
hear, or with homophones (to demonstrate the difference between spelling and
pronunciation). It is necessary not to concentrate only on the production of
individual sounds. It is also important to give our pupils training in suprasegmental
features like stress, rhythm and intonation.

b). Production and Assessment:

Obviously, production comes after recognition, so we cannot expect our pupils to

master correct pronunciation, stress or rhythm until they have perceived or heard
the sound correctly.
Another way of helping our pupils is to promote the idea of self-evaluation both
inside and outside the classroom.

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 ENGLISH CONSONANT PHONEMES

PLACE OF ARTICULATION
Bilabial Labio- Dental Alveolar Palato- Post- Palatal Velar Glottal
Dental Alveolar Alveolar
Plosive    
  
Fricative     
ARTICULATION

   
MANNER OF

Affricate 

Nasal   

Lateral 

Approx-  r j
imant