Chapter Two Phonetics.docx

1、Chapter Two PhoneticsChapter Two Phonetics 0. Introduction0.1 Definition: Phonetics studies speech sounds of all human languages. English phonetics deals with all sounds available in the English language. 0.2 Three sub-branches:A. Articulatory phonetics（发音语音学）is concerned with how a sound is produce

2、d by the vocal organs.B. Acoustic phonetics（声学语音学）deals with how a sound is transmitted from the speakers mouth to the listeners ears.C. Auditory phonetics（听觉语音学）investigates how a sound is perceived by the listener.These sub-branches are related to the production, transmission and reception of a so

3、und respectively.1. The speech organs (articulators)i. 发音器官名称：(1) lips （唇）（the upper lip and the lower lip), (2) teeth (齿) （the upper teeth and the lower teeth）, (3) teeth-ridge / alveolar ridge (齿龈)， (4) hard palate (硬腭)， (5) soft palate / velum （软腭）， (6) uvula （小舌）， (7) tip of tongue （舌尖）， (8) bla

4、de of tongue （舌面）， (9) back of tongue （舌根）， (10) pharynx (咽)， (11) epiglottis （会厌）， (12) food passage (食道)， (13) vocal cords (声带) ii. What is vocal tract? The speech organs above the larynx（喉）form the vocal tract（发音系统).iii.What are the two parts of the vocal tract? oral cavity（口腔），nasal cavity（鼻腔）2.

5、 Consonants and vowels2.0 ConceptsA. What is a consonant?A consonant is a speech sound where the airstream from the lungs is either completely blocked, or partially blocked or where the opening is so narrow that the air escapes with audible friction. Examples: p, b, l, f, v B. What is a vowel?A vowe

6、l is a speech sound in which the airstream from the lungs is not blocked in any way in the mouth or throat, and which is pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords.2.1 The International Phonetic AlphabetA. Is the spelling of words a reliable means to describe English sounds? Why or why not?Answer:

7、 No. Because sometimes a single letter may represent different sounds. For example, the letter a represents five different vowels in the words below:Cat，hate，father，wall，sofaSometimes, different letters or combinations of letters may represent a single sound. For example, the bold-faced letters are

8、pronounced as a single vowel in the following words:Feet，meat，seize，piece，key，weThus, we cannot depend on the spelling of words to describe the sounds of English. B. What means can be used for this purpose?Answer: In 1889, the International Phonetic Association developed the International Phonetic A

9、lphabet. It is a system of symbols which can represent the pronunciation of words in any language. The advantage of this system is that within the system, one symbol represents one sound and every symbol has a consistent value. C. How many symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet stand for con

10、sonants and how many for vowels?Answer: According to the revised form in 1972, there are altogether 72 symbols for consonants and 25 for vowels.2.2 Describing the English ConsonantsThe English consonants are described according to four dimensions which include:A. the position of the soft palateB. th

11、e presence or the absence of vocal-cord vibrationC. the place of articulationD. the manner of articulation(1) The position of the soft palate（参见课本33页图）：According to the position of the soft palate, the English consonants can be divided into two groups: oral sounds, nasal sounds.When the soft palate

12、is raised against the back of the throat, the nasal passage is blocked and the air flow is forced to go entirely through the mouth. The sounds produced in this way are called oral sounds.When the soft palate is lowered, the nasal passage is open and the air flow can go through the nose as well as th

13、e mouth. Such sounds are called nasal sounds.(2) The presence or absence of vocal-cord vibrationi. Where are vocal cords?Vocal cords are inside the larynx (喉).ii. What is glottis?The space between the vocal cords is called the glottis.iii. How are consonants classified according to the presence or a

14、bsence of vocal-cord vibration?They are classified into voiceless sounds and voiced sounds.A. When the vocal cords are spread apart, the airstream is not blocked at the glottis and it passes freely into the vocal tract without vocal-cord vibration. The sounds produced in this way are called voiceles

15、s sounds.B. When the vocal cords are nearly touching each other but not completely closed, the airstream passing through the glottis has to cause vibration. The sounds made in this way are called voiced sounds.(3) Place of articulationi. Definition: The location, inside the mouth, at which the conta

16、ct takes place, is called the place of articulation.ii. Classification（参见课本39页表格）：1) bilabials (双唇音): The sounds made by both lips are called bilabials.4 bilabials: p b m w2) labiodentals (唇齿音): The sounds produced by the contact between the upper teeth and lower lip are called labiodentals.2 labiod

17、entals: f v3) dentals (interdentals) (舌齿音): the sounds made with the tip of the tongue behind the upper front teeth or with the tongue tip between the upper and lower teeth are called dentals.2 dentals: 4) alveolars (齿龈音): The sounds articulated by raising the tip or the blade of the tongue to the a

18、lveolar ridge are called alveolars. 6 alveolars: s z t d l n5) post-alveolars (齿龈后音): The sounds formed by bringing the tip of the tongue to the rear part of the alveolar ridge are called post-alveolars. 3 post-alveolars: r tr dr6) alveo-palatals (齿龈硬腭音): The sounds produced with the tongue at the v

19、ery front of the hard palate, near the alveolar ridge, are called alveo-palatals. 4 alveo-palatals: t d7) palatals (硬腭音): The sounds made by bringing the front of the tongue to the hard palate are called palatals. 3 palatals: j c J8) velars (软腭音): The sounds articulated by raising the back of the to

20、ngue to the soft palate are called velars. 3 velars: k g9) glottals (声门音): These are sounds that are produced without the active use of the tongue and other parts of the mouth. There are glottals. One is h. It is produced when the vocal cords are half-open and the airstream goes through the glottis

21、with friction. The other is ?. It is made when the vocal cords are tightly closed very briefly and then released. 2 glottals: h ? in written ri? n(4) Manner of articulation（参见课本39页表格）：According to manner of articulation, consonants are divided into five groups: stops, fricatives, affricates, liquids

22、, glides.1) stops (闭止音) (包括plosives 爆破音， nasals鼻腔音)：three stages: A. closure stage - the articulators come into contact with each other to form a complete closure.B. hold stage - the air pressure builds up behind the closure.C. release stage - the articulators are suddenly separated and the airstrea

23、m goes out with a plosion. 6 plosives: p b t d k g3 nasals: m n 92) fricatives (摩擦音): They are sounds that are produced by bringing two articulators very close without a complete closure so that the airstream moves between them with audible friction.9 fricatives: f v s z h3) affricates (破擦音): Someti

24、mes two articulators are brought together to form a complete closure but not followed by a sudden release like a stop, rather by a slow release with audible friction. Sounds produced in this way are called affricates.4 affricates: tr dr t d4) liquids (流音): Liquids are produced with some obstruction

25、of the airstream in the mouth but not enough to cause friction. l is a lateral liquid. r is a central liquid.5) glides (滑音、延音): Glides are produced when two articulators are close to each other, but not close to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is created. They are traditionally called semi

26、-vowels.2 glides: j w2.3 Describing the English vowels (1) Velum stateAccording to the state of the velum, vowels are classified into two groups: oral vowels and nasal vowels.Vowels can also be produced with a raised velum or a lowered velum. When the velum is lowered to permit the airstream to flow

27、 through the mouth as well as the nose, nasal vowels are made. In English, nasal vowels occur only before nasal consonants, and oral vowels before oral consonants or at the end of words. (2) Tongue position（参见课本40页图表）：It is customary to describe the tongue position in terms of two dimensions: firstl

28、y, vertical distance between the upper surface of the tongue and the palate; secondly, the part of the tongue, between front and back, which is raised highest. Simply speaking, the position of the tongue is described as high-mid-low to indicate the degree of the height to which the tongue is raised,

29、 and as front-central-back to specify the part of the tongue which is involved.(3) Lip rounding In terms of the shape of the lips, English vowels are classified into rounded vowels（圆唇元音）and unrounded vowels (不圆唇元音). In English, all the back vowels except a: are rounded vowels.(4) Diphthongs （双元音），pu

30、re vowels / simple vowels / monophthongs （单元音）Definition: Diphthongs are vowels that consist of a movement or glide from one vowel to another.Classification: In English, there are 8 diphthongs. The centering diphthongs are made by a glide towards a central vowel . The closing diphthongs are produced

31、 by a movement from a relatively lower vowel to a higher vowel. 参见课本42页图表。(5) Triphthongs（三合元音）Definition: Triphthongs are produced by a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third one rapidly and continuously.In English, there are 5 triphthongs. Some linguists describe them as consisting of

32、 a closing diphthong + .3. Phonetic features Definition of feature specification: a phonetic feature together with its value （音值）is called a feature specification.1) The most common features used for English consonants: nasal（鼻音的），voiced（浊音的 ），consonantal（辅音的），vocalic（元音的）， continuant（连续音的），anterior（前部音的），coronal（舌面音的） and