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ANTH/LING 203/503

Week 8

How language works:

Phonetics:

the physical reality of sound

Speech production

Air pushed past vocal chords makes them vibrate

Changing shape of vocal cavity modulates sound

Different shape =

different wavelengths resonate (have the most energy)

High frequency = tightly packed waves

Low frequency = longer waves

Vocal tract: tube with lots of kinks and bends, can produce

complex combinations of resonating frequencies

Articulators: change shape of vocal cavity

Vowels

Vocal chords vibrate

Vocal tract air flow not closed off or

significantly impeded

Distinguishing Vowels

Articulatory correlates of distinctive

features:

Height: high vs. low

Frontedness: front vs. back

Roundedness: rounded vs. unrounded (lips)

Elongation: long vs. short

Some other vowels

m

schn

(German)

khl

(German)

kIzIl

(Turkish)

peur

(French)

high

mid

low

front central back

=rounded

bIt

(Russian)

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Vowels of English

i: u:

I

U

:3

bait

beet

bit

boot

book

ee

:c

:

bet

merry

bat

Mary

butt

body,

cot

cart

bought

above o boat

high

mid

low

front central back

=roundedDiphthongs

vowel glidestongue position moves

during production of a diphthong.Examples:

say [ei]

boy [oi]

fine, ice [ai]

so, sew [ou]

cow [au]

Monophthongs

vowels where tongue position does not

move

Monophthongization: pronunciation of a

diphthong as a monophthong:

fine, ice [fain, ais] [fa:n, a:s]

Spectrograms: picturing sound

portrayal of how in speech the energy at

given frequencies changes over time

Differences between vowels=

concentration of energy at different

frequencies (called formants)

Vowel

Spectrograms:

time

frequency

darkness of plot=

sound energy

dark bands=

vowel formants

Consonants

Air flow is stopped or impeded

Stops = plosive consonants:

silence (closure of vocal tract) followed byshort burst of noise

Fricative consonants: noise at certain broad

span of frequencies

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Distinguishing Consonants

Place of articulationbilabiallabiodentaldentalalveolarpostalveolarpalatalvelaruvularglottal

Manner of articulation

stop/plosive

nasal

trill

tap or flap

fricative

Voicing

voiced vs. unvoiced

(are vocal chords vibrating)

Tongue position for consonants

Spectrograms: bab, dad, gag

time

f

requency

darkness of plot=sound energy

Different consonants=

differences in how adjacent vowel formants are shaped

Consonant

Spectrograms:

time

frequency

darkness of plot=

sound energy

Note difference

between

voiced &

unvoiced

plosive

consonants,

and fricatives

IPA

International Phonetic Alphabet

Categorizes consonants based on manner &

place of articulation

Categorizes vowels based on roundedness

& place of articulation (shown on earlier slide)

universal etic description of speech sounds

International Phonetic Alphabetconsonants

Paired symbols are [unvoiced, voiced]

Plosive (stop)

Nasal

Trill

Tap or flap

Fricative

Approximant

Lateral approximant

US English sounds circled