Answers to Phonetics

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English Phonetics

UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH PHONETICS

A. Theory

# Organs of speech: inwards

Fig 1. Organs of Speech

Lips (upper and lower) / nasal cavity (khoang mũi) teeth (upper and lower) alveolar ridge(chân răng) toungue (tip, blade, front, back or root) / hard palate (ngạc cứng) soft palate (ngạcmềm) uvula (lưỡi gà) pharynx (glottis – hầu / họng) epiglottis (nắp thanh quản) larynx(thanh quản) vocal folds (vocal cords - dây thanh) trachea (khí quản) / oesophagus (thực

quản) ( lungs).1. Define Phonetics and Phonology?

- Phonetics is the study of speech sounds which are utilized by all human languages to represent themeaning. It concerned with the describing the speech sounds which occur in the languages of theworld.

- Phonology is the description of the systems and patterns of sounds that occur in a language.

Phonology deals with how these speech sounds are organised into systems for individual language.

2. What are the stages of speech chain during human communication in sounds?Stages of speech chain are the steps in which the sounds are produced and used for communication.These stages of speaker differ from those of listener.

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English Phonetics

- Speaker: 3 stages

+ Psychological stage: idea is transmitted to the brain throught the 5 senses of human.It is the process of thinking and choosing what to say.

+ Physiological stage: idea is transmitted to the brain and then to the mouth throughnervous system.

+ Physical stage: the process of producing and articulating the sounds. The mouthworks to speak out the sounds.

- Listener: such stages are simplier. Nervous system carries the sounds from the ears up to the brain.The brain will analyse the sounds.

3. What is the difference between pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism and ingressiveairstream mechanism? What airstream mechanism do English sounds belong to?

The difference between these two mechanism is the direction of the airstream. In pulmonicegressive mechanism, the airstream move outwards from the lung to the trachea (windpipe – khí

quản) to pharynx (họng) and to the mouth, but the airstream in pulmonic ingressive mechanismmove inwards from the outside.

English sound belong to the pulmonic egresive airstream mechanism and this mechasnism is alsoused in almost languages in the world.

4. What is voiced, voiceless sound? In what way(s) are voiced sounds different from voicelessones?

- Voiced sounds are the sounds produced by the rapid opening and closing of vocal cords. In avoiced sound, the rapid opening and closing of vocal cords is a kind of vibration.

- Voiceless sound are the sounds made with vocal cords drawn apart so that the air can pass outfreely between them and there is no vibration.

Voiced and voiceless sounds can be distinguished according to the following criteria:

Criteria Voiced sound Voiceless sound

State of the vocal cords Rapid opening and closing Are drawn apart

The airstream from the lungs Being obstructed by the vocalcords

Passes out freely

Vibration Made by the rapid opening andclosing of the vocal cords

There is no vibration

5. What is the difference between articulatory phonetics and acoustic phonetics?

Articulatory phonetics studies the physical processes involved in speech production while acoustic phonetics deals with the physical properties of speech sounds (linguistically relevant acoustic properties).

Articulatory phonetics examines:

- The airstream mechanism: where the air used in speech starts from, and which direction it istravelling in

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- The state of the vocal cords: wherether or not the vocal cords are vibrating, whichdetermines voicing

- The state of the velum: whether it is raised or lowered, which determines whether the soundis oral or nasal

- The place and manner of articulation: the horizontal and vertical positions of the tongue andlips

Acoustic phonetics studies the specific and measurable effects on the air involved in the productionof the speech sound.

6. What is the difference between a vowel and a consonant in the English language? Giveexample to illustrate?

Definition:

- Consonants are speech sounds produced by creating an obstruction to the airstream during thearticulation.

- Vowels are speech sounds where the airstream escapes the oral tract (organs of speech)unobstructed.

Differences: vowel and consonant can be distinguished according to the following criteria:

Criteria Vowel Consonant

Airstream Escapes freely from the oraltract

Being obstructed on the wayout from the lungs

Nasal or oral All vowels are oral sounds as

the velum is raised while thesounds are produced

Eg. /i:/, /u:/, / :/, / :/, /:/; / /, / /, / /, / /, / /, / /, //

Consonants may be nasal

when the velum is lowered or oral when the velum is raised

Eg. /m/, /n/, / / (nasal); /p/,/d/, /k/, / /…(oral)

7. Classify English speech sounds?

English speech sounds can be classified according to the following criteria: voicing, state of thevelum, state of the vocal cords

- According to voicing criteria, English speech sounds can be divided into: voiced and voicelesssounds.

Eg. Voiced sounds such as: /b/, /v/, /d/, / /, /z/, / /, / /…

Voiceless sounds such as: /p/, /f/, /t/, /k/, /s/, / /, / /…

- According to the state of the velum, there are nasal and oral sounds.

Eg. Nasal sounds: /m/, /n/, / /

Oral sounds: /b/, /v/, /d/, / /, / /, / / (consonants), or / /, / /, / /, / /, / / (vowels)

- According to the state of the vocal cords, there are vowel and consonant.Eg. Vowels: /i:/, /u:/, / :/, / :/, / :/; / /, / /, / /, / /, / /, / /, / /

Consonants: /b/, /v/, /d/, / /, /z/, / /, / /, /p/, /f/, /t/, /k/, /s/, / /, / /…

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B. Practice

1. Fill in the blanks in the following passage

There are three principal airstream mechanisms: the pulmonic airstream mechanism, the velaricairstream mechanism and the glottalic airstream mechanism. In normal utterances in all languages

of the world, the airstream is always flowing outwards if the pulmonic egressive airstreammechanism is involved. Stops made with this mechanism are called plosives (tắc). The onlymechanism that is used in some languages to produce some sounds with inward going air and somesounds with outward going air is the glottalic airstream mechanism. Stops made with thismechanism acting ingressively are called implosives (đóng). Stops made with this mechanismacting egressively are called ejectives (bật). The mechanism which is used in the language to

produce sounds only with inward going air is the velaric airstream mechanism. Stops made withthis mechanism are called clicks.

UNIT 2 CONSONANTS

# Definitions:

- Consonants are speech sounds produced by creating an obstruction to the airstream duringthe articulation.

- Voiced sounds are sounds produced by the rapid opening and closing of the vocal cords. Ina voiced sound, the rapid opening and closing of the vocal cords is a kind of vibration.

- Voiceless sounds are sounds made with vocal cords drawn apart so that the air can pass outfreely and there is no vibration.

- Fortis are consonants which are tend to be articulated with relatively strong energy. Theyare voiceless sounds and usually shorten the preceeding vowel. Eg. bat

- Lenis are consonants which are tend to be articulated with relatively weak energy. They arevoiced sounds and usually lengthen the preceeding vowel.

# Criteria to classify English consonants:

- Place of articulation

- Manner of articulation

- State of the velum (nasal or oral)

- Position of the vocal cords (voiced or voiceless)

- Force of articulation / degree of muscular tension (fortis or lenis)!!! To descript an English consonant we should descript the following aspects:

Voicing place of articulation manner of articulation ( place of velum force of articulation)

Eg. p: voiceless – bilabial – plosive (– oral – fortis)

Place

Manner

Bilabial Labio-dental

Dental Alveolar Retroflex

Plato-alveolar

Palatal Velar Glottal

Plosive p b t d k Fricative f v s z h

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Approximant w r j

Lateral l

Affricate t d

Nasal m nTable 1. English Consonants

(Voiceless sounds are on the left)

A. Theory

1. Classify all the English plosives, providing the words containing the sounds.

English plosives are classified according to the following 3 criteria:

- According to the place of articulation: there are 3 types

+ Bilabial plosive: /p/, /b/ eg. pet, pay, big, boy

+ Alveolar plosive: /t/, /d/ eg. tape, talk, date, dog

+ Velar plosive: /k/, / / eg. key, kitchen, go, gap

- According to position of the vocal cords: voiced and voiceless

+ Voiced plosive: /p/, /t/, /k/ eg. pet, pay, tape, talk, key, kitchen

+ Voiceless plosive: /b/, /d/, / / eg. big, boy, date, dog, go, gap

- According to force of articulation:

+ Fortis plosive: /b/, /d/, / / eg. big, boy, date, dog, go, gap

+ Lenis plosive: /p/, /t/, /k/ eg. pet, pay, tape, talk, key, kitchen

2. List the bilabial consonants. For each bilabial, provide one word containing it.

There are 4 bilabial consonants in the English language: p, b, w, m

- Bilabial plosive: /p/, /b/ eg. pet, pay, big, boy

- Bilabial approximant: /w/ eg. wait, watch

- Bilabial nasal: /m/ eg. mother, meet

3. What is the distinctive feature that makes /p/ and /b/ different sounds?

/p/ and /b/ are bilabial plosive consonants, but the distinctive feature that makes them differentsounds is the voicing. /p/ is a voiceless consonant while /b/ is a voiced one. We can realize suchdifference when these sounds are articulated by touching the Adam’s apple. When /b/ is articulated,there is a vibration, but there is no such vibration when /p/ is pronounced.

4. According to what are English consonants classified? Give examples

English consonants are classified according to 5 criteria:

According to place of articulation:

- Bilabial: p, b, w, m eg. pay, boy, wait, man

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- Labiodental: f, v eg. figure, velar

- Dental: eg. think, this

- Alveolar: t, d, s, z, l, n eg. toy, date, size, zoo, long, name

- Retroflex: r eg. run, ray

- Palato-avleolar: , , t , d eg. shine, ship, measure, closure, watch, catch, fridge, jane

- Palatal: j eg. yet, yes, yellow

- Velar: k, , eg. key, dog, king, thing

- Glottal: h eg. house, home

According to manner of articulation:

- Plosive: p, b, t, d, k, , eg. pay, boy, toy, date, key, dog

- Fricative: f, v, , , s, z, , , h eg. five, van, think, this, sun, zoo, shine, measure, hot

- Approximant: w, r, j eg. wait, run, you

- Lateral: l eg. long, later - Affricate: t , d eg. watch, catch, fridge, jane

- Nasal: m, n, eg. main, nation, thing, king

According to State of the velum:

- Nasal: m, n, eg. main, nation, thing, king

- Oral: p, b, t, d, k, , f, v, , , s, z, , , w, r, j, l, t , d , h,

According to State of the vocal cords:

- Voiced sounds: b, d, , v, , z, , w, r, j, l, d , m, n,

- Voiceless sounds: p, t, k, f, , s, , h, t

According to Force of articulation:

- Fortis consonants: voiceless sounds

- Lenis consonants: voiced sounds

5. What are the differences between a plosive and an affricate in English?

Criteria Plosive Affricate

Airstream The airstream is stoped in the oral or nasal cavity by the as the lips contactor the soft palate raises forming a velicclosure

The tongue comes up to make a contactwith the alveolar ridge to form a stopclosure and this contact is then slacken(loosen) to make a fricative.

Number of mannersinvolved

Plosive The combination between plosive andfricative

6. What is the distinction between an alveolar plosive and an alveolar fricative?

The distinction between an alveolar plosive and an alveolar fricative is the airstream: in alveolar plosive, the soft palate is raised so that the nasal tract is blocked off, then the airstream is

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English Phonetics

completely obstructed while in an alveolar fricative, the close approximation of two articulatorscaused the airstream partially obstructed and turbulent airflow is produced.

7. Classify the English fricatives according to the criteria for classification of the sounds. Givethe words containing these consonants.

English fricatives can be classified according to the following criteria:- Accroding to the Place of articulation:

+ Labiodental fricative: f, v eg. fingure, fan, vapour, van

+ Dental fricative: , eg. think, this

+ Alveolar fricative: s, z eg. sun, single, zoo, zero

+ Palato-avleolar fricative: , eg. shine, measure

+ Glottal fricative: h eg. horse, house, hat

- According to the State of the vocal cords:

+ Voiced sounds: v, , z, eg. van, this, zoo, measure

+ Voiceless sounds: f, , s, , h eg. fan, think, sun, shine, hot

- According to the Force of articulation:

+ Fortis: f, , s, , h eg. fan, think, sun, shine, hot

+ Lenis: v, , z, eg. van, this, zoo, measure

8. What are fortis consonants and what are lenis ones?

- Fortis are consonants which are tend to be articulated with relatively strong energy. They arevoiceless sounds and usually shorten the preceeding vowel. Eg. bat

- Lenis are consonants which are tend to be articulated with relatively weak energy. They arevoiced sounds and usually lengthen the preceeding vowel.

9. What is the main difference in articulation between a velar plosive and a bilabial plosive?

Bilabial plosive is formed by the contact between the two lips while velar plosive is formed by the back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate (the soft palate is raised to make velar closure).

10. State basic difference between fortis consonants and its lenis counterparts?

Criteria Fortis Lenis

Force of articulation Relatively strong energy Relatively weak energy

Voicing Voiceless Voiced

Proceeding vowel Shorten Lengthen

B. Practice:

1. Describe the consonant in the word “skinflint”: /‘skinflint/

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s voiceless alveolar fricative (oral fortis)

k voiceless velar plosive (oral fortis)

n voiced alveolar nasal (lenis)

f voiceless labiodental fricative (oral fortis)

l voiced alveolar lateral (oral lenis)

t voiceless alveolar plosive (oral fortis)

2. Underline:

a. The words that begin with a bilabial consonant

mat knee sat bat rat pat

b. The words begin with a velar consonant

knot got lot cot hot pot

c. The words begin with a labiodental consonantfat cat that mat chat vat

d. The words begin with a alveolar consonant

zip nip lip sip tip dip

e. The words begin with a detal consonant

pie guy shy thight thy high

f. The words begin with palato-alveolar consonant

sigh shy tie thigh thy lie

g. The words end with a fricative

race wreath bush bring breathe bang

rave rouge ray rose rough

h. The words end with a nasal

rain rang dumb deaf

i. The words end with a stop (plosive)

pill lip lit limb crab dog hide laugh back

j. The word begin with a lateralnut lull bar rob one

k. The words that begin with a approximant

we you one run

l. The words end with an affricate

much back edge ooze

3. Write the symbol that corresponds to the following phonetic descriptions. Give an English wordthat contains this sound

a. voiced bilabial plosive b eg. big, ball, ban

b. voiceless alveolar fricative s eg. seven, sun, son

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c. voiceless labiodental fricative f eg. fan, finger, farm

d. voiceless palato-alveolar affricate t eg. chain, watch

e. voiceless palato-alveolar fricative eg. shine, ship

f. voiced labiodental fricative v eg. vapour, vanish

g. voiced velar plosive eg. games, dog,

UNIT 3 ENGLISH VOWELS

Note: - vowel with the mark “:” means long vowel, and also tense vowel

- beside four round vowels (u:, , :, , :), there are three neutral vowel ( , :, ) andthe rests are unround vowels.

# Definitions:

- Vowels are speech sounds where the airstream escapes the vocal tract unobstructed.

- Monothong is a pure vowel sound which is pronounced without changing of the position of

the organ of speech throughout the duration of the vowel articulation.- Dipthong is a complex sound consisting of two vowel elements pronounced so as to form a

single syllable. In the pronunciation of dipthong, the position of organ of speech starts in the position of one vowel and glides gradually to the other one.

Description of English vowel:

Monothong: Height Position Shape Length Degree (of articulation).

Diphthong: Height + Pisition (1st vowel) glides to Height + Position (2nd vowel).

A. Theory1. What is monophthong / diphthong?

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- Monophthong: is a pure vowel sound which is pronounced wothout changing of the position of the organ of speech throughtout the duration of the vowel articulation.

- Diphthong: is a complex vowel sound consisiting of two elements pronounced so as to form asingle syllable. In the pronunciation of the diphthong, the position of the organ of speech starts inthe position of the first vowel and glides to gradually to the other one.

2. What are the differences between a monophthong and a diphthong? Give example

- Monophthong: is a pure vowel sound which is pronounced without changing in the position of the organ of speech throughout the duration of vowel articualtion.

- Diphthong: is a complex vowel sound consisting of two elements pronounced so as to form asingle syllable. In the pronunciation of the diphthong, the position of the organ of speech starts inthe position of the first vowel and glides gradually to the other one.

The differences of monophthong and diphthong lie in the number of vowel element and the positionof the organ of speech during the articulation:

Criteria Monophthong Diphthong

Number of vowel element: One Two

Position of organ of speech Unchange Glides gradually from the position of the first vowel to theother.

Eg. Hat /h t/ - is a monothong,a low front vowel.

Nation /ne n/ - is a diphthongconsisiting of and , mid frontglides to high front.

3. How are English monophthong classified? Give example

a. Definition

b. Classification

English monophthong can be classified according to the followings criteria:

Position of the tongue: front, central and back vowels

- Front vowels: the front of the tongue raises towards the hard palate

:, , ,

- Central vowels: the centre of the tongue raises towards the junture of the hard palate and thesoft palate

:, ,

- Back vowels: the back of the tongue raises towards the soft palate

:, , , , :

The height of the tongue in the mouth: high, mid and low vowels

- High vowels: :, , :,

- Mid vowels: ( ), :, ,

- Low vowels: , , , :

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The shape of the lips: round, neutral and unround vowels

- Round vowels: :, , ,

- Neutral vowels: , :,

- Unround vowels: :, , , , :

The length of the sounds: long and short vowels

- Long vowels: :, :, , :, :

- Short vowels: , , , , , ,

The degree of muscular tension: tense and lax vowels

- Tense (long) vowels: :, :, , :, :

- Lax (short) vowels: , , , , , ,

4. What makes an English front vowel different from ist back counterpart? Give example

An English front vowel differs from its back counterpart is due to the position of the tounge in themouth or the raising part of the tongue.

In the pronunciation of an front vowel: the front of the tongue raises towards the hard palate, but inthe articulation of the back vowel the back of the tongue raises towards the soft palate.

5. List all the diphthong. How are they classified into different groups according to theirdirection of glide?

a. Definition, list

There are 8 diphthongs in the English language, including: , , , , , , ,b. Classification

English diphthongs can be classified according to the direction of glide:

- Diphthongs gliding to (centring group): , ,

- Diphthongs gliding to (closing group): , ,

- Diphthongs gliding to (closing group): ,

6. What are the differences between a vowel and a consonant in the English language? Give

examplea. Definition

- Consonants are speech sounds produced by creating an obstruction to the airstream during thearticulation.

- Vowels are speech sounds where the airstream escapes the oral tract (organ of speech)unobstructed.

b. Differences

Criteria Consonants Vowels

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Airstream movement: The airstream is obstructedduring the articulation of thespeech sound

The airstream passes freelythrough the vocal track

Voicing Consist of voiced and voicelesssounds

Consist of voiceless soundsonly

Eg. /p/, /b/ , ,

B. Practice

1. Write the symbol that correponds to each of the following phonetic description and thengive an English word contaning the sound:

a. high front unround lax vowel: bit / /

b. mid front unround lax vowel: bet / /

c. low front unround lax vowel: hat / /d. low back unround tense vowel: : farm / /

e. low back slightly round lax vowel: top / / (it can be )

f. mid back round tense vowel: cot / /

g. mid central neutral lax vowel: the / /

h. mid central neutral tense vowel: : her / /

i. low central lax vowel: current / /

2. Underline the word that:

a. contains a diphthong:

A. peep B. quay C. tie D. grease

b. begins with a central vowel:

A. university B. utterance C. Oxford D. eat

c. contains a high vowel:

A. sat B. meet C. got D. much

d. does not contain diphthong:A. duration B. station C. smooth D. crime

e. contains a central low monothong:

A. superd B. supper C. stupid D. swear

f. does not contain a monophthong:

A. twice B. headlight C. funny D. fine

g. contains a round short vowel:

A. spoon B. understood C. good D. food

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UNIT 4 INTRODUCTION TO PHONOLOGY

A. Theory

1. What is phonology?

Phonology is the description of the systems and patterns of sounds that occur in a language.

;

2. What is a phoneme / allophone? Prove your point of view

- Phonemes are the smallest segments of sound that can be distinguished by their contrast withinwords.

(Segments: are the smallest pieces of sound that are divided from a speech)

- Allophone are phonemes derived from the same phoneme in different distribution.

Eg. stop talking / /

[ ] and [ =] are allophone of phoneme [ ]

3. What are the differences between phonemic transcription and allophonic (phonetic)transcription? Give example

- Transcription is the use of a set of symbols representing sounds to show the sounds in writtenform.

There are two kinds of transcription: phonemic (broad) transcription and allophinic (phonetic or narrow) transcription.

Criteria Phonemic transcription Allophonic transcription

Symbols Uses slanting bracket Uses square bracket

Feature Shows different phonemes that makeup word. It does not show any extrafeatures, no detail of pronunciation;

therefore, we can’t look at thistranscription to pronounce the word

Shows how sounds are pronouncedincluding phonetic details(allophones)

Eg Car / :/ - shows the phonemesinvolved in the word only.

Car / :/ - show both phonemesand phonetic detail. The symbol [ ]indicates that phoneme [k] isaspirated.

4. What can be stated as necessary conditions for forming a minimal set? Give set of words toillustrate

In order to form a minimal set, we must have more than two words which are different in meaning, but they have the same number of segments and only one different segment in the same position/distribution.

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Eg. bat / /, but / /, bet / /

pad / /, pat / /, pan / /

5. What is a minimal pair / set? Give example

- Minimal pair: is a pair of words which are different in meaning, having the same number of

segments with only one different segment in the same position/distribution.Eg. hat / /, cat / / - the different segment is the first one.

- Minimal set: is a set of more than two words of different meaning which have the same number of segment and only one different segment in the same position/distribution.

Eg. bat / /, but / /, bet / / - the different segment is the middle one.

B. Practice

1. Which of the followings is a minimal pair?

A. cater – better B. round – bound C. rock – box

/ / - / / / / - / / / / - / /

2. Which of the following is not a minimal pair?

A. time – mine B. table – cable C. teacher – richer

/ / - / / / / - / // / - / /

A. road – load B. back – bad C. sea – saw

/ / - / / / / - / / / / - / /

UNIT 5 RULES FOR ENGLISH ALLOPHONES

A. Rules

Note: [+ voiced: voiced sound], [- voiced: voiceless sound]

[+ aspirated: aspirated], [- aspirated: unaspirated]

1. Aspiration

a. Aspirated

Symbol: [ ]

[- voiced, + plosive] [+ aspirated] when syllable initial.

Means: voiceless plosive sounds (/p, t, k/) will be aspirated as they are the initial syllable, or whenthey stand in initial position of a stress syllable.

Eg. car [ :] important [ ] top [ ]

b. Unaspirated

Symbol: [=]

[- voiced, + plosive] [- aspirated] when standing:

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+ after /s/ at the beginning of the syllable; or

+ in medial or final position of a syllable

Eg. sport [ = ]happy [ = ] map [ =]

2. Unexploded articulation

Symbol: [ ]

[- voiced, + plosive] unexploded before another [+ plosive]

Eg. act [ ] adapt [ ] looked [ ]

3. Dentalization

Symbol: [ ]

[+ alveolar] [+ dental] before [+ dental], means that alveolar (/t, d, s, z, l, n/) will be dentalized

when it stand before a dental sounds (/ , /).Eg. eighth [ ] width / /

4. Consonants:

[+consonantal) longer when at the end of the word.

Eg. mum [ ] - / / is pronounced longer.

[-voiced] longer when at the end of the word.

Eg. cap [ ] cook [ ] - / / and / / are pronounced longer.

5. Devoicing

Symbol: [ ]

[+ approximant] devoiced after [+ aspirated, + plosive]

Approximant (/w, r, j, l/) will be devoiced when stand after aspirated plosive.

Eg. play [ ] cry [ ] between [ ]

6. Syllabicity (forming syllable without vowel)Symbol: [ ]

[+ nasal] [+ syllabic] when at the end of the word and after [+ obstruent] (plosive, fricative or affricate)

Eg. chasm [ ] mechnism [ ]

[+lateral] [+ syllabic] when at the end of the word and after another consonant.

Eg. channel [ ] metal [ ]

7. Velarization

Symbol: [ ]

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[+ lateral] velarized when after a vowel and before another consonant; or at the end of theword.

Eg. milk [ ]file [ ] mill [ ]

8. More front articulation

[+ velar] more front before more front vowels

Eg. key [ ] gap [ ]

/ / and / / become more front as they stand before front vowels

9. Vowel quality

a. [+vowel] longer in open syllables (no consonant after the vowel).

Eg. see [ :] key [ ]

b. [+ vowel] longer in stressed syllable.

Eg. populate [ ] population [ ]

c. [+ vowel] shorter before voiceless sounds in the same syllable.

Eg. lap [ ] hit [ ] – the vowel is pronounced shorter.

d. [+ vowel] [+ nasal] before [+ nasal]

Symbol: [ ]

Eg. ban [ ] calm [ ] bean [ ]

5. [+ front vowel] [retracted] before syllable final / /; or before velarized [ ]

Eg. milk [ ]calory [ ]

B. Exercises

1. Give some allophones of the phoneme /k/ that occurs in different distribution?[ ] - /k/ is aspirated when it is initial syllable; or stands in initial position of stress syllable.

Eg. car [ ] can [ ]

[ =] - /k/ is unaspirated when it stands aster /s/ in the beginning syllable; or in the medial or final position of the word.

Eg. scar [ ] book [ ]

[ ] - /k/ is unexploded as it stands before another plosive.

Eg. act [ ] cooked [ ]

[The same is applied to other voiceless plosive (/p, t/)].

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English Phonetics

2. What happens to an English fortis plosive when they are preceded by a voiceless alveolarfricative? Give one example for each plosive of this kind.

When an English fortis (voiceless) plosive (/p, t, k/) is preceded by a voiceless alveolar fricative(/s/), it will be unaspirated.

Eg.

Eg. s port [ ] sky [ ]

stay [ ]

3. Transcribe the word PRACTICAL phonetically, then give the description of thetranscribed consonants.

Practical [ ]

4. Show the differences between the underlined sounds in the following pair of words

a. wide

[ ]

Width

[ ]

The first one is longer, thesecond is dentalized.

f. quite

[ ]

sky

[ ]

/ / in the first word isshorter, but / / in thesecond is longer

b. quick

[ ]

skill

[ ]

/k/ in the first word islonger as it stand at thefinal position, /k/ in thesecond is unaspirated asstanding after /s/.

g. good

[ ]

food

[ ]

/ / in the first word isa short vowel, but / /is a long vowel

c.import

[ ]

shore

[ ]

/ / in the first word isshorten, but / / in thesecond is longer.

h. truth

[ ]

true

[ ]

/ :/ in the first word isshorter as standing

before fortis sound, but /:/ in the second is longer

d. bill

[ ]

plate

[ ]

/l/ in the first word isvelarized, but /l/ in thesecond word is devoiced

i. kilt

[ ]

led

[ ]

/ / in the first word isvelarized, but / / in thesecond word isunchanged

e.health

[ ]

love

[ ]

/l/ in the first word isdentalized, but /l/ in thesecond word is unchanged

j. cook

[k ]

key

[ ]

/k/ in the first word isunaspirated, but /k/ inthe second one isaspirated

5. What do the following formulas mean? Give example for each case.a. [+ alveolar] [+ detal] before [+ dental]

means alveolar (/n, t, d, s, z, l /) will be dentalized when it stands before a dental sound (/ , /).

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English Phonetics

Eg. eighth [ ] width [ ]

b. [+ approximant] [-voiced] after aspirated plosives

means approximant (/w, r, j, l /) will be devoiced when it stands after aspirated plosives (/ , , /).

Eg. play [ ] cry [ ] between [ ]

c. [+ vowels] [+ nasal] before [+ nasal]

means vowel will be nasalized as standing before a nasal sound (/m, n, /).

Eg. ban [ ] calm [ ] bean [ ]

UNIT 6 ASPECTS OF CONNECTED SPEECH

A. Theory

1. What is assimilation in the English language? Give example

Assimilation is a process when one sound adapts itself to the neighbouring sound so that it becomesclose to the assimilating one in one or more aspects.

Eg. in the [ ] [ ]

right place [ ] [ ]

2. What is elision / liaision? Give example

Elision is the missing out of a consonant or vowel or both in informal spoken English or in rapidspeech in English.

Eg. acts [ ] - / / will be disappeared in the articualtion of the word.looked back [ ] - / / will be disappeared in the articualtion of the

word.

today [ ] - / / is disappeared

potato [ ] - / / is disappeared

Liaision is a phenomenon where a sound is linked to another in informal speech.

Eg. come in [ ] set up [ ]

3. What is the difference between progressive assimilation and regressive assimilation? Proveit.

Consider a case where two words are combined, the first word ends with a single final consonant(Cf ) and the second one starts with a single initial consonant (Ci).

We have the following construction: …..Cf | Ci

In progressive assimilation, the initial consonant (Ci) changes to become like the final consonant(Cf ) in some ways, whereas (Cf ) changes to become like (Ci) in some aspects in regressiveassimilation.

Eg.

regressive assimilation: good morning [ ] [ ];

one more [ ] [ ]

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English Phonetics

progressive assimilation: in the [ ] [ ]

4. What is the difference between elision and liaison? Prove

Elision is the missing out of the consonant or vowel or both in informal spoken or rapid speech,whereas liaision is the linking of a sound to another in informal speech.

Eg. today [ ] - / / is disappeared (elision)

Eg. come in [ ] → [ ] (liaison)

5. Give example of liaison of consonant and vowel

Liaision is the phenomenon in which a sound is linked to another in informal speech.

Eg. come in [ ] (final consonant + initial vowel)

my turn [ ] (final vowel + initial consonant)

6. What are the types of assimilation? Give example

a. According to the direction of change

- Regressive assimilation: Ci Cf

Eg. good morning [ ] [ ];

one more [ ] [ ]

- Progressive assimilation: Cf Ci

Eg. in the [ ] [ ]

b. According to the way which phonemes change

Assimilation of place of articulation:

Alveolar (/t, d, n/) + bilabial (/p, b, m/) bilabial

/t/ + /p, b, m/ /p/ right place [ ] [ ]

/d/ + /p, b, m/ /b/ good boy [ ] [ ]

/n/ + /p, b, m/ /m/ ten men [ ] [ ]

Alveolar (/t, d, n/) + velar (/ , /) velar

/t/ + / , / / / white coat [ ] [ ]

/d/ + / , / / / bad guy [ ] [ ]

/n/ + / , / / / one cup [ ] [ ]

Alveolar (/s, z/) + palato-alveolar (/ /) / palatal (/ /) palato-alveolar

/s/ + / , / this year [ ] [ ];

nice shoes [ ] [ ]

/z/ + / , / those shops [ ] [ ]

Assimilation of manner of articulation:

Plosive (/t, d/) + fricative (/s, z/) / nasal (/n/) fricative / nasal

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English Phonetics

/t, d/ + /s/ /s/ that side [ ] [ ]

good song [ ] [ ]

/t, d/ + /z/ /z/ that zoo [ ] [ ]

bad zone [ ] [ ]

/t, d/ + /n/

/n/ hot night [ ]

[ ]good night [ ] [ ]

Plosive / nasal (/t, d, n/) + fricative (/ /) plosive / nasal

/t, d, n/ + / / /t, d, n/ get them [ ] [ ]

read these [ ] [ ]

in the [ ] [ ]

Assimilation of voicing in consonant:

Lenis (voiced) / , , / fortis (voiceless) / , , / + ; + ; +

tomb place [ ] [ ]

bad toy [ ] [ ]

big car [ :] [ :]

Note: fortis + lenis no assimilation.

7. Types of elision:

a. Definition:Elision is the missing out of a consonant or vowel or both in informal spoken English or in rapidspeech in English.

b. Types of elision

Consonant:

Plosive + plosive + plosive / fricative the middle plosive will disapprear

Eg. looked back [ ]; acts [ ]

/ / + plosive / nasal / fricative / /

Eg. last time [ : ] last night [ : ] last song [ : ]

/ / + plosive / nasal / fricative / /

Eg. left door [ ] left mountain [ ] laft shoe [ :]

/ / + nasal / lenis (voiced) plosive / /

Eg. kind nurse [ : ] canned bacon [ ]

/ / + nasal / lenis (voiced) plosive / /

Eg. skimmed milk [ ] seemed good [ : ]

Loss of / / in ‘of’ + consonant

Eg. lots of them

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English Phonetics

Vowel:

Fortis plosive aspirated + weak vowel / , / / , / will disappear

Eg. today [ ] potato [ ]

Weak vowel (/ , /) + / , , / / , , / become syllabic consonant

Eg. tonight [ ] delight [ ]

8. Types of liaision:

Liaision: is the a phenomemon in which a sound is linked to another in informal speech

Final consonant + initial vowel:

Eg. come in [ ]

Final vowel + initial vowel:

Eg. my turn [ : ]

Final vowel + initial vowel:

Eg. the end [ ]

Final / / + initial vowel:

Eg. her own [ : ]

Intrusive / /: letter ‘a’ + vowel:

Eg. media event [ : ]r

B. Practice:

1. Explain why [ ] is chosen for substitution for [ ] instead of the other sounds in the phrase“good girl” when it is pronunced by native English speaker in casual speech. State the principle for this phenomenon.

Good girl [ : ] [ : ]

[ ] is chosen for the substitution for [ ] because they have the same place of articulation; therefor the articulation is simplified.

Principle: alveolar + velar velar

2. Give phonetic transcription and explain changes (if any) in term of assimilation, elision orliaision

a. this sharp pen is mine, and that pen is your

[ : , ]

[ : , ]

- [ : ] [ : ]: / / is assimlated into / / as: alveolar + palato-alveolar palato-alveolar

- [ ]: the linking between final consonant and initial vowel

- [ ] [ ]: / / is assimilated into / /as: plosive + fricative plosive

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English Phonetics

- [ ] [ ]: the linking between final consonant / / and initialvowel / /; the assimilation between / / and / /: alveolar + palatal palatal alveolar

b. ten boys meet and said good morning

[ : ]

[ : ]

- [ ] [ ]: / / is assimilated into / /: alveolar + bilabial bilabial

- [ : ]: the linking between final consonant and initial vowel

- [ ] [ ]: / / is assimilated into / /: plosive + fricative fricative

- [ ] [ ]: / / is assimilated into / /: alveolar + velar velar

- [ ] [ ]: / / is assimilated into / /: alveolar + bilabial

bilabial

c. she acts particularly well in the first scene

[ : : : ]

[ : : : ]

- [ : ]: the linking between final vowel and initial vowel; the elision of /t/: plosive + plosive + fricative

- [ ]: / / is missed out as standing after a fortis (voiceless) aspirated plosive

- [ ]: linking between final consonant and initial vowel

- [ ] [ ]: nasal + fricative nasal

- [ : : ] [ : : ]: / / / / as it stands before fricativesound.

UNIT 7 STRESSA. Theory

1. English word stress and its functions?

a. Definition

Stress is the pronunciation of a syllable with more force than the surrounding ones, that means theway the speakers use energy created from the lungs to make a syllable more prominent than theothers. The salience of a sound or syllable is called stress.

b. Functions

Grammatical / syntactic function:- Stress is used to change the word class without changing in the writing of the word. (noun

has stress on the first syllable and verb has stress on the second syllable)

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English Phonetics

Eg. abstract [ ] (n) – abstract [ ] (v)

transport [ ] (n) – transport [ ] (v)

- Stress is used to distinguish compound words from a free combination of words (if the stressis on the first element – compound; if stress is on both elements – free combination)

Eg. whitehouse [ ] (compound) – white house [ ] (free

combination)- Stress is used to indicate grammatical structure of the words

Eg. diplomat [ ] (n) – person who works in diplomatic field

diplomacy [ ] (n) – skill in dealing with people

diplomatic [ ] (adj) – concerning diplomacy

Emphasis function: stress is employed to give emphasis to word to to contrast word withanother.

Stress helps to form the intonation.

2. What is meant by “prominence of a stressed syllable” in English?

All stressed syllable have the one characteristic in common which is called prominence, means thatthis characteristic helps to distinguish stressed syllable from unstressed one.

3. What is the nature of English word stress?

The nature of English word stress includes four factors:

- Loudness: stressed syllable is louder than unstressed one.

- Length: stressed syllable is pronounced longer than unstressed one.

- Pitch: stressed syllable has higher pitch than unstressed one.

- Quality of neighbouring vowel: the vowel of stressed syllable is different from the others

4. Placement of stress within word

a. Stress on simple words:

Two-syllable words:

- Verbs:+ Stress is marked on the second syllable if it contain a long vowel or diphthong or ends with

more than one consonants.

Eg. apply [ ] attract [ ]

+ Stress is on the first syllable if final syllable contains short vowel and one (or no)consonant.

Eg. enter [ ] open [ ]

+ Stress is placed on the first syllable if the final syllable contain diphthong “ ”.

Eg. follow [ ] borrow [ ]- Adjective, adv, preposition: same rule to verbs

Exception: honest [ ] perfect [ : ]

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English Phonetics

- Nouns:

+ Stress is on the first syllable if second syllable contains a short vowel

Eg. money [ ] product [ ]

+ Stress is marked on second syllable if it contain long vowel or diphthong

Eg. design [ ] balloon [ : ]

- Noun and verb with identical spelling: stress is on the first syllable if it is nounand stress is on the second syllable if it is verb

Eg. import [ ] (n) - [ ] (v)

export [ ] (n) - [ ] (v)

Three-syllable words:

- Verbs:

+ Stress is placed on the middle (second) syllable if final syllable contains ashort vowel or ends with not more than one consonant.

Eg. encounter [ ] determine [ : ]

+ Stress is on the final syllable if it contains a long vowel or diphthong or ends withmore than one consonant.

Eg. recommend [ ] entertain [ ]

- Nouns and Adjectives:

+ Stress is marked on middle (second) syllable if: final syllable contains a short vowel or “”; middle syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong or ends with more than oneconsonant.

Eg. disaster [ : ] potato [ ] discover [ ]convenient [ : ]

+ Stress is on the first syllable if: final syllable contains a short vowel and the middle syllablecontains a short vowel and ends with not more than one consonant.

Eg. quantity [ ] cinema [ ] custody [ ]

opportune [ : ] generous [ ]

+ If final syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong or end with more than one consonant,stress is usually on the first syllable and the final syllable is said to have secondary stress.

Eg. entellect [ ] alkali [ ] marigold [ ]b. Stress in complex words:

Verbs ending in “-ate”:

- Two-syllable verb: stress is on the second syllable

Eg. donate [ ] relate [ ]

- Three-syllable verbs: stress is on the first syllable

Eg. dominate [ ] calculate [ ]

- More than three syllables: stress is on the sencond one

Eg. investigate [ ] anticipate [ ]

Adjective ending in “-ative”:

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English Phonetics

- Two and three-syllable adj: stress is on the first syllable

Eg. attractive [ ]

- More than three syllable: stress is on the original place

Eg. communicative [ : ]

Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves (secondary stress is on the first syllable):

- ‘-ee’: employee [ :] transferee [ : :]

- ‘-eer’: engineer [ ] volunteer [ ]

- ‘-ese’: vietnamese [ : : ] japanese [ : ]

- ‘-ette’: cigarette [ ]

- ‘-esque’: picturesque [ ]

Suffixes that do not affect stress placement:

- ‘-able’: comfort [ ] comfortable [ ]

- ‘-age’: marry [ ] marriage [ ]- ‘-al’: approve [ :] approval [:]

- ‘-en’: dark [ :] darken [: ]

- ‘-ful’: wonder [ ] wonderful []

- ‘-ing’: amaze [ ] amazing [ ]

- ‘-ish’: book [ ] bookish [ ] (for Adjs or Vs with morethan one syllable: stress is always on the syllable preceding ‘-ish’ eg. demolish

- ‘-like’: bird [ :] birdlike [: ]

- ‘-less’: power [] powerless [ ]

- ‘-ly’: careful [ ] carefully []

- ‘-ment’: punish [] punishment []

- ‘-ness’: homeless [ ] homelessness []

- ‘-ous’: poison [ ] poisonous []

- ‘-fy’: glory [ ] glorify []

- ‘-wise’: clock [] clockwise []

- ‘-y’ (Adjs or Ns): fun [] funny [

] Suffixes that influence the stem (attract stress to the syllable preceeding them):

- ‘-enous’: advantage [:] advantageous[]

- ‘-graphy’: photo [] photography [ ]

- ‘-ial’: adverb [:] adverbial [:]

- ‘-ic’: diplomat [] diplomatic []

- ‘-ion’: graduate [] graduation []

- ‘-ious’: injure [] injurious []ambitious []

- ‘-ty’: equal [ :] equality [:]

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English Phonetics

- ‘-ive’: impulse [] impulsive []

Suffixes: ‘-ance’, ‘-ant’ and ‘-ary’

- Single-syllable words: stress is on the stem

- More than one syllable stem: stress is on one of them (use the rules above)

+ If final syllable is strong (containing long vowel or diphthong): it has stress

Eg. importance []

+ Otherwise (containing short vowel), stress is on the syllable preceding the final one.

Eg. inheritance []

Prefixes: stress in words with prefixes is governed bu the same rules as those for words without prefixes.

c. Stress on compound words

Compounds = N + N: stress is on the first element

Eg. typewriter [

]suitcase [:

]newspaper [ :]

Compound = Adj + N_ed / Compound = Number + N: stress is on the final element

Eg. bad-tempered [] half-timbered [: ]

first-classs [::]

Compounds functioning as adverbs: stress is on final element

Eg. North-East [ :] downstream

Compounds functioning as verbs and having an adverbial first element (the first element is adv):stress is on final element

Eg. back-pedal [] up-grade []

(Note: “bad-tempered” [] but “a bad-tempered teacher”[ :])

d. Word-class pair

Two words (two-syllable) with identical spelling, one of them is V and the other is either a N or anAdj:

- If stress is on the second syllable: it is V

- If stress is on the first syllable: it is N or Adj

Eg. abstract [] (Adj) abstract[] (V)

contract [] (N) contract [] (V)

B. Practice:

1. Mark the stress on the words below:

a. optimistic [] b. development[]

c. autonomous [] d. expectation

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English Phonetics

[]

e. representation[]

f. tragedy []

g. freedom [:] h. championship

[

]

2. Work out the rule for stress placement from the examples below:

a. possibility[]

capacity []

Suffix ‘-ty’ attracts stress to the syllable preceding it.

b. record [] (N)

record [

] (V)

Word-class pair: Noun has stress on the firstsyllable while Verb has stress on the finalsyllable.

3. Mark the stress on the following compounds and then work out the rule

- blacksmith []: Compound = N+ N stress on the first element

- walking-stick []: free combination of words

- non-government []: Stress on words with prefix is based onthe rules for those without prefix

- hot-tempered [

]: Compound = Adj + N_ed stress is on the finalelement

UNIT 8 INTONATION

A. Theory1. English intonation and its function?

a. Definition

When speaking, people generally raise the pitch of their voice forming pitch pattern. They also givesyllable in their utterances greater degree of loudness and change their speech rhythm. These

phenomena are called intonation. In other words, intonation is the raises and falls in which level or pattern of pitch change.

b. Functions

- Attitudinal function: Intonation enables us to express emotions and attitudes as wespeak, and adds special “meaning” to spoken language.

- Accentual function: Intonation helps to produce the effect of prominence onsyllables that need to be perceived as stressed.

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English Phonetics

- Grammatical function: The listener is better able to recognise the grammar andsyntactic structure of what is being said byusing information contained in the intonation.

- Discourse funtions: Intonation can signal to the listener what is to be taken as“new” information and what is already “given”

2. What are the basic tunes in English intonation and their uses? Falling tune (intonation):

- Uses:

+ In statement

+ In imparative sentence (câu mệnh lệnh không có chủ ngữ)

+ Wh-question

- Rules:

+ The voice decends step-wise on each stressed syllable. Unstressed syllables are on the samelevel at the preceding stressed syllable.

+ To avoid monotomy, speaker can make his voice used of the convenience of stressedsyllable, but not as high as stressed syllable

+ For long statement, break them into different tunes.

Eg. Hegoes to thecinema with her.

Raising tune (intonation):

- Uses:

+ Yes / No question

+ Imparative as request or statement as remark of emotion

- Rule: the voice ascends step-wise at each stress syllable ans then rises.

(Note: Trợ động từ trong câu hỏi Yes/No vẫn có stress)

Eg. Did you break the vase?

_ _

Sustained tune: the combination of falling and raising tunes

Uses:

- Clause: Subordinate clause: raising tune + Main clause: falling tune

Eg. When hecame, Iasked him towait

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English Phonetics

- Main clause: falling tune + Adv phrase: raising tune

Eg. You canask me, if necessary

- Tag question:

+ Imply answer (agreement): statement: falling tune + tag: falling tune

Eg. It’s aniceday, isn’t it?

+ Ask for information: statement: falling tune + tag: raising tune

Eg. It’s aniceday, isn’t it?

3. Form of intonation

a. Definition

- Tone-unit: is a unit generally greater in size than the syllable is needed to analyze theintonation.

- Tonic syllable: is a syllable which carries a tone will be called tonic syllable. Tonic syllablehas a higher degree of prominence.

b. Structure of the tone unit

TONE-UNIT = Prehead (PH) + Head (H) + Tone Syllable (TS) + Tail

- Prehead: all stressed syllable before the first stressed syllable

- Head: extends from the first stressed syllable up to the TS (not including TS)

- Tonic Syllable: main stressed syllable on which pitch movement begins

- Tail: the remained part (all unstressed syllable after TS)

Eg. I havegone to thezoo.PH H TS

I’mtalking to astudent now.

PH H TS Tail

B. Practice

Mark the possible intonation for the following:

a. Have you been to Mary’swedding party? (raising tune – Yes/No question)

_ _

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English Phonetics

- b. Youmusttake himhome (falling tune – imperative)

- c. Get on with your dinner (falling tune – imperative)

d. Shall I bring somesandwitches for you, too? (raising tune)

-

e. Pleasesit down (falling tune – imperative)

f. If you like, I’ll send the car for you (if-clause: raising tune + main clause: fallingtune)

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Answers to Phonetics