Influential Elements in English Sounds

Jamil M. Osorio Lopez S00700772

ENGL-310: English Phonetics

Universidad Ana G. Méndez

Recinto de Cupey

Prof. Rubén Lebrón León

 Influential Elements in English Sounds

When speaking the English language, there are several elements which take precedent

over others. This are influential in the production of sounds and the meaning behind them.

Depending on the context they carry such as where the person is from, their biological

development and their experience with the language itself. Things such as English consonants,

their vowels, how allophonic devices come in to play, as well as basic acoustics and digital signal

processing. Their all very important aspects of the English language.

To understand which might be the most important, we must see what each of them are in

charge of. The most common view is that vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to

the flow of air as it passes from the larynx to the lips (Roach P, 2009). We can safely say that

consonants would be the obstruction of the air flow, such as with letters such as s or p. These are

a bit tricky to define as there are obviously variables that might change how they work. Now an

allophone as stated in (Higa M, 2022) is an imperceptibly slight variation on a given vocal sound

of a language. For example, the letter k in kill and skill may sound the same to most people but

are very different sounds under critical phonetic analysis.

Acoustic phonetics is the study of the acoustic (physical) properties of sounds, which are

determined by measuring pitch (formants and frequencies), loudness (amplitude), and quality

(timbre) (Aronow R & Bannar K, 2016). In the research I conducted, I have found this one to be

the most important and influential when it comes to production of sound. In its most simple

terms, it is the basic acoustics which have a lot to do with how we pronounce words. Their pitch,
loudness, and the quality of these sounds that come out of our vocal cords and that we ourselves

are organisms assign a meaning to.

In conclusion, I believe that out of the consonants, vowels, allophonic and acoustics that

we have to thank the latter for how we can interpret the others. Without a basic understanding of

acoustics, we cannot branch out in to understanding the other elements listed. It is important in

not only a scientific sense but also a cultural one where language is a really big part in.
 References

 Roach, Peter. English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course. Fourth Edition,

2009.

 Higa, Megan. “What is an Allophone?” November 25th, 2022.

https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-an-allophone.htm

 Aronow, Robert & Bannar Kevin. “The Basics About Acoustic Phonetics” July 1st, 2016.