THE STUDY OF HUMAN
SPEECH SOUNDS
PhoneticsLecture 3
Asadova Birgul
Phonetics and Phonology
• Phonetics and Phonology are two important parts of understanding how
people speak. Phonetics focuses on the actual sounds people make when
they talk, how they're made, and how we hear them. Phonology looks at the
sounds that make up words and how they're used in language. Explaining
each concept in detail can help you understand them better and see how
they're different in real life.
Phonetics
Yule (2010) explained that phonetics is about studying speech sounds. It has three main parts: articulatory,
acoustic, and auditory.
• Articulatory phonetics looks at how speech sounds are made by the mouth and throat. This is useful for
teaching foreign languages.
• Acoustic phonetics studies how speech sounds travel through the air as waves.
• Auditory phonetics focuses on how we hear and understand speech sounds.
In phonetics, we use special symbols called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to represent sounds
accurately.
For example, the word "raise" would be written as /reɪz/ in IPA, with each sound [r], [e ɪ], [z] written inside
square brackets.
Articulatory phonetics is especially helpful for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. We'll mainly
focus on articulatory phonetics, covering things like how speech organs work, consonant sounds, and vowel
sounds.
The Organs of Speech
When we talk, certain body parts help make
the sounds. These include the larynx, pharynx,
vocal cords, nasal cavity, mouth, lips, and
tongue. Muscles in these parts work together
to create speech sounds. Most sounds are
made by air from the lungs passing through
the vocal cords, then traveling through the
throat, mouth, or nose, and finally out of the
body.
In every language, there are two main types of
sounds: consonants and vowels. When we make a
consonant sound, we can feel something blocking
the airflow in our mouth or throat. But when we
make a vowel sound, there's no blockage - the air
flows freely through our mouth.
For example, compare saying the first sound in "paper" to saying it in "after." In "paper," our
mouth is completely closed, causing the most blockage. But in "after," our mouth is more open,
and the air flows easily.
In phonetics, we talk about these two types of sounds - consonants and vowels - rather than
specific letters. It's important to remember that both in phonetics and phonology, we're focused
on sounds, not letters.
Additionally, the consonant sounds listed are usually grouped
based on voicing, place, and manner of articulation. We'll
examine each of these classifications one by one.
Voicing
Voicing is determined by the position of the vocal folds in
the larynx. When the vocal folds are apart, air passes
through easily, creating voiceless sounds. But when the
vocal folds come together, the air pushes them apart,
causing vibrations and creating voiced sounds.
In English, voiced consonants include b, d, g, v, ð, z, ʒ, l,
r, j, w, dʒ, m, n, ŋ, while voiceless ones include p, t, k, f,
θ, tʃ, s, ʃ, h. You can feel this difference by placing your
finger on your throat while saying words like "van"
(voiced) and "fan" (voiceless). You'll feel vibration with
"van" but not with "fan."
Place of Articulation:
Place of Articulation: Consonants are grouped into eight classes based on where they're made
in the mouth.
• Bilabials ([p, b, m, w]): Made by pressing both lips together.
• Labiodentals ([f, v]): Made with the lower lip against the upper front teeth.
• Dentals ([θ, ð]): Made with the tongue against the upper front teeth.
• Alveolars ([t, d, s, z, n, l, r]): Made by touching the tongue to the alveolar ridge behind the
upper front teeth.
• Post-alveolars ([ʃ, dʒ, ʒ, tʃ]): Made just behind the alveolar ridge.
• Palatals ([j]): Made with the tongue against the hard palate.
• Velars ([k, g, ŋ]): Made with the back of the tongue against the soft palate or velum.
• Glottals ([ʔ], [h]): Made in the space between the vocal cords (glottis).
Manner of Articulation:
Manner of Articulation: Consonants are also classified by how the airflow is obstructed.
• Plosives: Airflow is blocked completely for a moment, then released in a burst. Examples include [p, b],
as in "pin" and "bin."
• Fricatives: Airflow is partially obstructed, creating friction and a continuous sound. Examples include [f,
v], as in "fife" and "vive."
• Affricates: Begin like plosives with a complete closure, then transition into a fricative. Examples are [tʃ]
as in "chain" and [dʒ] as in "judge."
• Nasals: Air is blocked in the mouth, but escapes through the nose. Examples include [m, n, ŋ], as in
"man," "noon," and "sing."
• Laterals: Air escapes around the sides of the tongue. The only example in English is [l], as in "light" and
"ball."
• Approximants: Tongue approaches but doesn't fully obstruct airflow. Examples include [r] as in "right,"
[j] as in "you," and [w] as in "we."
Vowels
Vowel sounds are easy to produce because they involve a smooth airflow. They're typically at
the heart of a syllable, rarely standing alone as a whole syllable themselves. Each vowel has
unique characteristics that set it apart from others. These include how the lips are shaped—
rounded (like the "oo" in "cool"), neutral (like the "uh" sound), or spread (like the "ee" in
"cheese"). Also, the tongue can be positioned at the front, middle, or back of the mouth, giving
different vowel qualities. For example, "cat" has a front vowel, while "cart" has a back vowel.
The tongue and jaw can be raised close to the roof of the mouth or left low with the jaw open. In
British phonetics, we talk about "close" and "open" vowels, while Americans often use "high"
and "low." Both terms convey the same idea. According to Yule (2011), these are the main
properties of vowel sounds.
Vowels
In English, we have two main types of vowels: monophthongs,
which are single vowels, and diphthongs, which are double vowels.
• Monophthongs: These are single vowels that can be further categorized into short and long vowels.
• Short Vowels Long Vowels
• [ɪ] as in "sit" - [iː] as in "seat"
• [ʊ] as in "book" - [uː] as in "food"
• [ʌ] as in "mother" - [ɑː] as in "farm"
• [ɒ] as in "hot" - [ɔː] as in "law"
• [e] as in "red" - [ɜː] as in "work"
• [æ] as in "hat“
• [ə] as in /əˈbaʊt/ about
Diphthongs: These involve movement from one
vowel sound to another within the same syllable.
• [aɪ] as in "cry" or "bye"
• [əʊ] as in "boat" or "home"
• [aʊ] as in "house" or "doubt"
• [ɔɪ] as in "boy" or "noise"
• [eɪ] as in "bait" or "say"
• [ɪə] as in "near" or "fear"
• [ea] as in "bear" or "care"
• [ʊə] as in "pure" or "tour"
