PHONETICS MANUAL.indd - HumBox

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the vocal tract [2] 2.01 Speaking and Breathing All speech sounds in all languages are produced by modifying ordinary respiration. In quiet breathing, air enters and leaves the lungs without any obstruction, passing freely through the throat and mouth (or nose). If, however, the tongue or some other organ is placed in the path of the airstream, this free passage of air is disturbed; the air from the lungs may be set into vibration or the flow momentarily interrupted. For example, the lips close and briefly cut off the airstream for [p] and [b]. Any such disturbance generates a sound wave — a ripple effect that travels through the air between speaker and hearer(s) and is then interpreted as a particular speech sound. Articulatory phonetics studies the various ways in which airstreams can be “interfered with”. 2.02 The Source of Air for Speech Sounds The LUNGS (Fig. 1) are basically sponge-like in design, except that they hold air (in a myriad of tiny airsacs), not water. When we breathe in, we enlarge the chest cavity (in part by lowering the diaphragm). This in turn expands the lungs, and air rushes in to fill the vacuum. Breathing out involves the opposite procedure. The chest is contracted and air is squeezed out of the lungs, passing through the two BRONCHI (or bronchial tubes), then through the windpipe (more technically the TRACHEA), and finally emerging in the throat. Larynx Trachea Right Bronchus Left Bronchus Fig. 1 4 The Vocal Tract
One or two refinements on this simple picture might be noted in passing. First, we normally speak only while breathing out. It’s also quite possible to speak while breathing in (for example when counting and not wishing to pause to draw breath), but this is an inefficient way of making sounds and therefore not a regular feature of any language. In some speech-communities, though, people use “ingressive air” as a conventional means of disguising their voices. Second, there are various ways of making speech sounds with air that doesn’t originate in the lungs. The disapproving noise conventionally represented as tut tut! is an example. Some languages make regular use of “click” sounds like this one, as well as other “non-pulmonic” sounds that from a European point of view seem even more exotic. Third, if we used the same breathing rhythm for talking as for just breathing quietly, we’d have to pause for breath every couple of words. (Try it and see.) In speech, quite complex adjustments of the chest muscles and diaphragm are constantly being made in order to slow down the airstream and hold it back as it leaves the lungs. 2.03 The Larynx The statement above that the airstream “emerges from the trachea (windpipe) into the throat” is actually an over-simplification. Before the air reaches the “throat”, it has to pass through one of the most important speech organs, the LARYNX. It’s at this point that the first possibilities occur of modifying the airstream and generating sound. The larynx can conveniently be thought of as an irregularly-shaped, hollow box made of cartilage, which sits on top of the trachea. (This is reflected in the non-technical name for it: the “voice-box”.) The front of the larynx can easily be seen and touched: it forms the projection an inch or two below the chin, known as the “Adam’s apple” (more prominent in males than in females — hence presumably the name). Across the interior of the larynx are stretched two horizontal sheets of muscle tissue. When these are relaxed and wide apart, then the air is free to pass between them. This is how they are held for normal respiration (Fig. 2). But if they are brought together with their inner edges in close contact, then air is prevented from entering or leaving the lungs: the only way in or out is through the larynx cavity, which is now sealed off (Fig. 3). This is the configuration for swallowing: it prevents not only air but, more importantly, foreign bodies from getting into the lungs. Front of larynx (Adam’s apple) Vocal Folds Fig. 2 Fig. 3 The Vocal Tract 5
Page 1 and 2: Introduction to Phonetics for Stude
Page 3: CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1 1.01 Wha
Page 6 and 7: You will be introduced to the IPA a
Page 10 and 11: A third possibility is shown in Fig
Page 12 and 13: to be produced by positioning the _
Page 14 and 15: . THE UPPER FRONT TEETH. These are
Page 16 and 17: In some languages, the rear wall of
Page 18 and 19: Vowels [3] The story so far: Speech
Page 20 and 21: Having seen these diagrams, you sho
Page 22 and 23: 13. Again without looking at the te
Page 24 and 25: So in between the highest and lowes
Page 26 and 27: c. The cardinal vowel chart is impo
Page 28 and 29: 22. Characterize the following vowe
Page 30 and 31: As Spanish and Italian don’t have
Page 32 and 33: 27. Which of the following language
Page 34 and 35: The symbol is referred to as “sma
Page 36 and 37: A foot (Scotland) [ ], fast (N. Eng
Page 38 and 39: that learners of English as a forei
Page 40 and 41: Changing the height, fronting, or r
Page 42 and 43: ise. Some people, quite wrongly, st
Page 44 and 45: consonants [4] The story so far: Vo
Page 46 and 47: There’s a slight but significant
Page 48 and 49: The answer is that different kinds
Page 50 and 51: It follows from the difference betw
Page 52 and 53: (4) lower lip + upper teeth (5) fro
Page 54 and 55: [h] (read as “aitch” — it’s
Page 56 and 57: 66. With reference to as many as po
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[tS] and [dZ] are the two commonest
Page 60 and 61:
Fig. 35 [m] [p, b] If the oral clos
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(1) the velum is raised (as it is f
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Germany. And it’s found in many r
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To resume the complexities of r: En
Page 68 and 69:
phonetic transcription and general
Page 70 and 71:
differences which do have an effect
Page 72 and 73:
5.03 Transcribing French, German an
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la peninsula ibeica: baiedad kuja g
Page 76 and 77:
h. Affricates are an intermediate c
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(c) the tip of the tongue, closing
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24. foule, lune, bouder, fumer, vou
Page 82 and 83:
45. good (shorter), food (longer) c
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65. Uvula is a noun; uvular is an a
Page 86 and 87:
86. The r and l sounds. 87. Places:
Page 88 and 89:
German: (1) The aspiration of voice
Page 90:
further reading [7] The following t
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