Introducing Phonetic ScienceThis accessible new textbook provides a clear and practical introductionto phonetics, the study of speech. Assuming no prior knowledge of thetopic, it introduces students to the fundamental concepts in phoneticscience, and equips them with the essential skills needed for recognising, describing and transcribing a range of speech sounds.Numerous graded exercises enable students to put these skills intopractice, and the sounds introduced are clearly illustrated with examplesfrom a variety of English accents and other languages. As well as lookingat traditional articulatory description, the book introduces acoustic andother instrumental techniques for analysing speech, and covers topicssuch as speech and writing, the nature of transcription, hearing andspeech perception, linguistic universals, and the basic concepts ofphonology. Providing a solid foundation in phonetics, Introducing PhoneticScience will be invaluable to all students beginning courses in linguistics,speech sciences, language pathology and language therapy.

MICHAEL ASHBY is Senior Lecturer in Phonetics at University College London,and an experienced teacher of phonetics at both undergraduate andgraduate level. He is the Phonetics editor of the Oxford Advanced Learner’sDictionary and other ELT dictionaries, and has published various paperson both English and general phonetics.

JOHN MAIDMENT is Lecturer in Phonetics at University College London, andan experienced teacher of phonetics at both undergraduate and graduatelevel. He is co-author of English Transcription Course (2000), and has beenDirector of an HEFCE-funded project on teaching and learning inphonetics. He has published various papers on both English and generalphonetics.

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Cambridge Introductions to Language and LinguisticsThis new textbook series provides students and their teachers with accessible introductions to the majorsubjects encountered within the study of language and linguistics. Assuming no prior knowledge of thesubject, each book is written and designed for ease of use in the classroom or seminar, and is ideal foradoption on a modular course as the core recommended textbook. Each book offers the ideal introductorymaterial for each subject, presenting students with an overview of the main topics encountered in theircourse, and features a glossary of useful terms, chapter previews and summaries, suggestions for furtherreading, and helpful exercises. Each book is accompanied by a supporting website.

Books published in the series:Introducing Phonology David OddenIntroducing Speech and Language Processing John ColemanIntroducing Phonetic Science John Maidment and Michael Ashby

Forthcoming:Introducing Sociolinguistics Miriam MeyerhoffIntroducing Morphology Maggie Tallerman and S. J. HannahsIntroducing Historical Linguistics Brian JosephIntroducing Second Language Acquisition Muriel Saville-TroikeIntroducing Language Bert Vaux

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IntroducingPhoneticScience

MICHAEL ASHBYAND JOHN MAIDMENT

www.cambridge.org© Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press0521808820 - Introducing Phonetic ScienceMichael Ashby and John MaidmentFrontmatterMore information

cambridge university press

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Cambridge University PressThe Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.orgInformation on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521808828

© Michael Ashby and John Maidment 2005

This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2005

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data

Ashby, Michael.Introducing phonetic science / Michael Ashby and John Maidment.

p. cm. – (Cambridge introductions to language and linguistics)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-521-80882-0 (alk. paper) – ISBN 0-521-00496-9 (pb. : alk. paper)1. Phonetics. I. Maidment, John A. II. Title. III. Series.

P221. A778 2005 2004054642414'.8–dc22

ISBN-13 978-0-521-80882-8 hardbackISBN-10 0-521-80882-0 hardbackISBN-13 978-0-521-00496-1 paperbackISBN-10 0-521-00496-9 paperback

Cambridge University Press has no resonsibility forthe persistence or accuracy of URLs for external orthird-party internet websites referred to in this book,and does not guarantee that any content on suchwebsites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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Cambridge University Press0521808820 - Introducing Phonetic ScienceMichael Ashby and John MaidmentFrontmatterMore information

1 Introduction to speech 1Introduction 2Sounds and symbols 2Transcribing sounds 4Types of transcription 5Syllables 7Segments: vowels and consonants 7Suprasegmentals 9Speech as an acoustic signal 9Writing systems 10The relationship between speech and writing 13Problems with syllables and segments 15Chapter summary 16Exercises 16Further reading 19

2 Voice 21Introduction 22The larynx 22Vocal folds 22Voiced and voiceless sounds 22Observing vocal fold vibration 24Voicing in languages 26Whisper 26Aperiodic waves 29Chapter summary 30Exercises 31Further reading 32

3 Place of articulation 33Introduction 34A brief tour of the vocal tract 34Articulation 36Place 36Complex articulations 40Homorganic sounds 40Instrumental techniques 41Places of articulation used in languages of the world 45Chapter summary 46Exercises 46Further reading 49

Contents

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Cambridge University Press0521808820 - Introducing Phonetic ScienceMichael Ashby and John MaidmentFrontmatterMore information

4 Manner of articulation 51Introduction 52Airflow, pressure, turbulence 52Degree of stricture: obstruent and sonorant 53Stops: oral and nasal, plosive and affricate 54Fricatives: median and lateral 56Approximants: median and lateral 57Taps, flaps and trills 59Voice, place, manner labels 61Use of manners of articulation in the world’s languages 61Chapter summary 63Exercises 63Further reading 67

5 Vowels 69Introduction 70Spectrum and resonance 70Vowel articulation 72Long and short vowels 75Oral and nasalised vowels 75Monophthong vs diphthong 75The vowel quadrilateral 76Cardinal vowels 77Vowel systems 79Vowel instability and variability 80Chapter summary 83Exercises 84Further reading 89

6 Voice II 91Introduction 92Voice Onset Time 92Aspiration 92Devoicing 95Phonation type 97Chapter summary 99Exercises 99Further reading 101

7 Airstream mechanisms 103Introduction 104Airstream generation 104Ejectives 105Implosives 108Clicks 110Chapter summary 114

vi Contents

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Exercises 114Further reading 115

8 Speech sounds and speech movements 117Introduction 118Primary and secondary articulation 118The linguistic use of secondary articulation 120Coarticulation 122Acoustic and physiological data 129Chapter summary 132Exercises 132Further reading 133

9 Basic phonological concepts 135Contrast 136Minimal pair 136Environment and distribution 137Alternation 140Phonological processes 140Features 142Underlying and surface forms 144Phonological rules 144The syllable 145Phonotactics 146Chapter summary 148Exercises 148Further reading 151

10 Suprasegmentals 153Introduction 154Fundamental frequency and pitch 154Stress 154Rhythm 160Lexical tone 162Intonation 165Paralinguistic features 171Chapter summary 172Exercises 173Further reading 176

11 Speaker and hearer 177Introduction 178The hearing mechanism 178Visual cues 180Speech perception tests 181Cue redundancy 183

Contents vii

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Speech development 184Hearing impairments 185Chapter summary 187Further reading 187

Glossary 189Solutions to the exercises 201Index 219

viii Contents

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