Phonetics and Phonology

                                                FF1B



                                             Lecture 3

   

                         CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  SOUNDS  OF  ENGLISH   II

                                                     VOWELS



   Sounds are all produced in the vocal tract.  The vocal tract refers to the parts of the body
   that contribute to the production of vocal sounds: the lungs, larynx, oral cavity (mouth),
   lips and nose.

   

   Sounds are divided into vowels and consonants.

   

   Vowels

   are made by voiced air passing through different mouth-shapes, there is no obstruction to the
   flow of air; the differences in the shape of the mouth are caused by different positions of
   the tongue and of the lips.

   Vowels must be learned by  LISTENING  AND  IMITATING ! ! !

   

   Phonetic criteria

   Phonetic (=articulatory) criteria:

   ·        2 positions of the tongue:

   A. Vertical position of the tongue

   a) Close

   b) Close-mid

   c) Open-mid

   d) Open

   

   B. Horizontal position of the tongue

   a) Front

   b) Central

   c) Back

   

   ·        3 positions of the lips:

   A. Rounded

   B. Spread

   C. Neutral

   (front vowels are generally unrounded, back vowels are rounded)

   

   

   Cardinal vowels

   - were devised by Daniel Jones in the 20^th cent,

   - represent a reliable system for the classification of vowels, a standard reference system 

      according to which vowels of any language can be compared and specified,

   - they correspond to the utmost tongue positions which equal the highest degree of a certain

      quality (frontness, highness, etc.)

   

   

   

   

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   Discovery activity

   The general aim of discovery activities  is to experience the auditory, visual and physical
   aspects of sounds. Look at the chart of phonemic symbols and try to pronounce individual
   sounds (ie monophthongs, difthongs and consonants).

   To make this experience more vivid there are 3 kinds of feedback you can give yourself:

   

    1. kinesthetic feedback: the internal physical sensation of touch and of muscle movement in
       your throat, mouth, tongue and lips, etc;
    2. auditory feedback: what you hear, externally through the air, and internally through your
       head (you can even block your ears with your fingers when you speak);
    3. visual feedback: any physical movement connected with the production of the sound that you
       can see in yourself or in others (it’s very helpful to have a pocket mirror available).

   

   You can also deepen your observations by making use of three kinds of voicing, each of which
   show different aspects of articulation:

     o speaking aloud
     o whispering
     o mouthing silently

   

   

   

   For more practice look at Roach: 1995, pp. 17 and 25.