An Introduction to Phonology

An Introduction to Phonology

Francis Katamba

Longman London and New York

Addison Wesley Longman Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow. Essex CM20 2JE, England and Associated Companies throughout the world.

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First published 1989 Eigth impression 1996

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Katamba, Francis

An introduction to phonology I. Phonology 1. Tide 414

ISBN 0-582-2915O-X

Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Katamba, Francis, 1947-

An introduction to phonology/Francis Katamba. p. cm. — (Learning about language)

Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. ISBN 0-582-29150-X 1. Grammar, Comparative and general – Phonology. I. Title.

II. Scries. P217.K33 1989 4 1 4 – d c 19 8 8 – 2 8 1 4 9

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Set in Linotron 202 11/12 pt Bembo

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Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xvi

Chapter 1 Introduction to phonetics 1 I . I I n t r o d u c t i o n i 1.2 T h e p r o d u c t i o n of speech 2

1.2. i The production of consonants 2 1.3 T h e p r o d u c t i o n of vowels .8

Chapter 2 The phoneme 16 2.1 Segments of s o u n d 16

2. I . I Distinctiveness: phonemes and allophones 18

2.2 Identifying p h o n e m e s 22 2.2.1 The minimal pair test 22 2.2.2 Contrast in analogous environments 23 2.2.3 Suspicious pairs 24 2.2.4 Recapitulation 24

2.3 Phonological s y m m e t r y 25

Chapter 3 Distinctive features 35 3.1 W h y are features needed? 35 3.2 J a k o b s o n i a n features 38 3.3 T h e SPE system of distinctive features 42

3.3.1 Major class features 42 3 – 3 3 – 3 3 – 3 3 – 3 3 – 3 3 – 3

2 Cavity features 43 3 Tongue body features 45 4 Tongue root features 47 5 Laryngeal features 48 6 Manner features 50 7 Prosodic features 51

3.4 S e g m e n t structure r e d u n d a n c y 56

vi Contents

Chapter 4 Phonological representations 60 4.1 Phonetics and p h o n o l o g y 60 4.2 T h e d o m a i n of p h o n o l o g y 66 4.3 Recapitulation: levels of representation 69 4.4 Phonetic and p h o n e m i c transcription 69 4.5 A gu i d e to p h o n e t i c transcription 72 4.6 W h y s t u d y p h o n o l o g y ? 73

Chapter 5 Phonological processes 79 5.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n 79 5.2 Assimilation 80

5.2.1 Direction of assimilation 84 5.3 Assimilation processes 86

5.3.1 Palatalisation 86 5.3.2 Labialisation 87 5.3.3 Voice assimilation 88 5.3.4 Place of articulation assimilation 89 5.3.5 Manner of articulation assimilation 91 5.3.6 Nasalisation 93

5.4 Dissimilation 94 >* 5.5 C o n c l u s i o n 96

Chapter 6 Naturalness and strength 98 6.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n 98 6.2 N a t u r a l s e g m e n t s , natural classes and natural

processes 98 6.2.1 Phonological strength hierarchies 103

6.3 Explanations of naturalness 108 6.3.1 Natural phonology 109

Chapter 7 Interaction between rules 117 7.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n to rule formalisation and

o r d e r i n g 117 7.2 Linear rule o r d e r i n g 122 7.3 A b a n d o n i n g extrinsic o r d e r i n g 128 7.4 Conclusion: w h y o r d e r i n g matters 132

Chapter 8 The abstractness of underlying representations 134

8.1 Abstractness 134 8.2 C o n c r e t e p h o n o l o g y ? 135 8.3 Absolute neutralisation 145 8.4 C o n c l u s i o n 150

Contents vii

Chapter 9 The syllable 153 9.1 T h e syllable 153 9.2 T h e representation of syllable structure 153 9.3 T h e C V – t i e r 156

9.3.1 A generative CV-phonology model of syllable structure 156

9.3.2 Syllabification 161 9.4 Functions o f the syllable 164

9.4.1 The syllable as the basic phonotactic unit 164

9.4.2 The syllable as the domain of phonological rules 166

9.4.3 The syllable and the structure of complex segments 169

9.4.4 Compensatory lengthening 171 9.4.5 The syllable as indispensable building block

for higher phonological domains 173 9.5 Syllable w e i g h t 175 9.6 Abstract s e g m e n t s 181 9.7 Extrasyllabicity 183 9.8 S u m m a r y 184

Chapter 10 Multi-tiered phonology 186 10.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n to tone languages 186 10.2 T h e n a t u r e of phonological

representations 188 10.3 T h e representation of tone 190

10.3.1 Contour tones 190 10.3.2 Tone stability 194 10.3.3 Melody levels 195

10.4 T h e a u t o s e g m e n t a l m o d e l and the representation of tone 196

10.5 T o n e and intonation 205 10.6 Pitch-accent 208 10.7 V o w e l h a r m o n y 211 10.8 Nasalisation 214 10.9 M o r p h e m i c tier 216

Chapter 11 Stress and intonation 221 11.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n : stress 221

11.1.1 What is stress? 221 11.1.2 Metrical phonology 225 11.1.3 Metrical trees and grids 229 11.1.4 Extrametricality 231

viii Contents

11.1.5 Quantity sensitivity 232 n . 1 . 6 English stress 234

11.2 Intonation 239 11.2.1 The form of English intonation 240 11.2.2 Accentuation function 242 11.2.3 Intonation and illocudonary force 243 11.2.4 The grammatical function of

intonation 244 11.2.5 Attitudinal functions 246 11.2.6 Discourse function 248

Chapter 12 Phonology in the wider context 254 12.1 T h e role of the lexicon 254 12.2 Lexical p h o n o l o g y 257

12.2.1 Level 1 of lexical phonology 258 12.2.2 Level 2 of lexical phonology 269 12.2.3 The elsewhere condition 270 12.2.4 The order of affixes 273 12.2.5 Post-lexical rules 274 12.2.6 Summary 279

12.3 P r o s o d i c d o m a i n s 280 12.3.1 Prosodic domains and French liaison 282

12.4 C o n c l u s i o n 283

Bibliography 288

Suggested answers to exercises 296

Language index 320

Subject index 322

Preface

This book is a hands-on introduction to P H O N O L O G Y for the absolute novice. Probably the best way to learn about phonology, i.e. to learn how speech sounds are used to convey meaning, is to do phonological analysis and confront theoretical issues as they get thrown up by the data.

With this in mind, this book has been written not only with exercises at the end of each chapter, but also with in- text problems and tasks which are separated from the discussion by a line drawn across the page. You should always attempt these problems before reading on. They are an integral part of the discussion. Suggested answers are included within each chapter. Answers to end of chapter exercises will be found at the end of the book.

Some remarks on presentation: technical terms are commented on and highlighted using capital letters when they are introduced for the first time or when it is important to emphasise them. The common convention of using an asterisk to indicate impossible or wrong forms is also observed (e.g. *tleg is ‘starred’ to show that it is not a poss- ible word in English). Examples discussed in the text are written in italics.

The model of phonology which I introduce you to is called GENERATIVE P H O N O L O G Y . It was given its first full and authoritative statement in Chomsky and Halle’s 1968 book The Sound Pattern of English. As we shall see, since then it has moved on in various directions. In the next few paragraphs the objectives of this theory are explained.

Generative phonology is part of the theory of language called GENERATIVE GRAMMAR which has been devel-

x Preface

oped by Chomsky and his collaborators. The basic goal of generative grammar is to explore and understand the nature of linguistic knowledge. It seeks answers to questions like: what does knowing a language entail? How is linguistic knowledge acquired by infants? Are there any properties of language that are universal, i.e. is there such a thing as ‘Universal Grammar’?

Chomsky believes that the answer to the last question, which he thinks holds the key to the other questions, is ‘yes’ and goes on to argue that Universal Grammar has a biological basis. Biologically determined characteristics of the brain pre-dispose humans to acquire grammars with certain properties. But this raises further questions: what are the properties of Universal Grammar? In attempting to answer this question, generative linguists have developed principles and posited rules of the kind we shall explore. They form part of their model of Universal Grammar.

Like other linguists, generative linguists know that some aspects of language are not universal. But still they raise the question whether some non-universal properties of language fall into certain well defined parameters. Are there any pre-set limits within which differences between languages occur? If the answer is ‘yes’ what are these limits and why do they exist? These are some of the main issues which this book addresses.

Besides being concerned with general patterns of language structure, linguistic theory must provide us with the tools for describing those idiosyncratic properties which are peculiar to a particular language. For instance, linguistic theory should enable us to write a grammar for English showing that the final / consonant of chief is pronounced / when the plural -s ending is present but the final / of thief is pronounced v when the same plural ending is present.

The grammar of a language can be regarded as a model of the C O M P E T E N C E (i.e. inexplicit knowledge of rules) that underlies a native speaker’s overt linguistic PERFORMANCE as a speaker-hearer. We need to distinguish between the knowledge speakers have and the manner in which they put that knowledge to use in concrete situations as, sometimes, there is a difference between what one knows to be correct and what one actually says. This may be due to a number of factors such as slips of the

Preface xi

tongue or memory lapses. Linguistics is primarily concerned with linguistic competence (knowledge) rather than performance (use). This book is primarily concerned with P H O N O L O G I C A L C O M P E T E N C E .

Interestingly, knowing a language, say English, is not merely a matter of learning by rote a very large number of sentences. Native speakers of a language can always produce and understand completely new sentences which they have not previously encountered. No list, however long, could contain all the potential sentences of a language. Therefore a grammar of a language cannot be simply a list of words and sentences of that language. In view of this, Chomsky proposes that a grammar of a language should be a gener- ative algebraic system of formal, explicit rules that enum- erates a non-finite number of well-formed sentences and assigns to each one of them a correct analysis of its structure.

The motivation for using rules to account for the fact that there is no limit to the number of possible sentences that a language can contain is obvious: speakers produce and understand sentences using rules. They do not merely memorise long lists of sentences. However, the reasons for assuming that there are rules which underlie speakers’ knowledge of the sound system of their language are perhaps less obvious, given the fact that a language only uses a finite set of sounds to form words.

Just a little reflection is enough to show that the sound system is also rule governed. Determine which of the following nonsense words (which you are probably seeing for the first time) is a possible English word: tpat, bender, bintlement and zvetsin. You no doubt have chosen bintlement as the only potential English word. This is because you know that the consonant sequences tp, Is and zv which occur in the other ‘words’ are not permitted at the begin- ning of an English word. On the other hand, all the sequences of sounds in bintlement are allowed by the rules of English phonology. You might indeed be tempted to look up bintlement in a good English dictionary – but not the other nonsense words.

The implicit knowledge of linguistic rules that speakers have is probably modular. Generative linguists have proposed that it can be represented using a model with a

xii Preface

n u m b e r of c o m p o n e n t s w h i c h represent semantic k n o w l – edge, syntactic k n o w l e d g e , k n o w l e d g e of s o u n d structure, and so on.

O v e r the years, various proposals h a v e been m a d e r e g a r d i n g the precise organisation and content o f a g e n e r – ative g r a m m a r . Y o u are n o t expected to have any prior k n o w l e d g e of these theories. N o t h i n g is presupposed. Essential aspects of the t h e o r y will be i n t r o d u c e d , w h e r e necessary.

T h e diagram b e l o w s h o w s the place of p h o n o l o g y in the general theory of language w h i c h w e shall be using:

Phrase structure i rules ‘

Lexicon

Initial phrase maker

Transformational rules (movement rules)

Surface structure

Phonological rules Semantic interpretation rules

Phonetic representation j ^ Semantic representation y

A Generative Grammar Model of Language (Based on Lightfoot 1982)

T h e S Y N T A C T I C C O M P O N E N T consists of the base s u b – c o m p o n e n t and the transformational rules. T h e P H R A S E S T R U C T U R E (PS) rules and the L E X I C O N found in the base s u b – c o m p o n e n t of the g r a m m a r generate the I N I T I A L P H R A S E M A R K E R ( D E E P S T R U C T U R E ) of a sentence. T h e lexicon lists the w o r d s of the language, t o g e t h e r w i t h their syntactic and phonological properties

Preface xiii

and the PS rules define the constituent structure (i.e. the structure of n o u n phrases, verb phrases etc.) and h o w they interact w i t h each other. T h e initial phrase mar ker enters the transformational c o m p o n e n t w h e r e it m a y be modified by various transformational rules w h i c h m o v e a r o u n d constituents. T h i s is d o n e to relate sentences like Money is what I need and What I need is money. T h e o u t p u t of the syntactic c o m p o n e n t is the S U R F A C E S T R U C T U R E .

Surface structures are the input to rules of L O G I C A L F O R M and S E M A N T I C I N T E R P R E T A T I O N . T h e rules of logical form explain, for example, w h y to pay in the sentence Jane ordered Bill to pay is u n d e r s t o o d to mean that Bill is the one that was expected to pay while in Jane prom- ised Bill to pay it is Jane w h o is expected to pay.

Rules of semantic interpretation are used, for instance to account for logical relations like entailment. A sentence like ‘ The Mayor of Lancaster switched on the Christmas lights last year’ entails that t h e r e w e r e Christmas lights last year. It w o u l d be c o n t r a d i c t o r y to utter that sentence and continue ‘but there were no Christmas lights last year because of budget cuts’.

P H O N O L O G I C A L R U L E S also apply to the surface structure and assign it a P H O N E T I C R E P R E S E N – T A T I O N (i.e. s h o w h o w it is p r o n o u n c e d ) . It is this final aspect of the g r a m m a r that w e are mainly concerned with in this b o o k .

This b o o k is a simple, practical i n t r o d u c t i o n to p h o n – ology within the m o d e l of generative p h o n o l o g y as it has evolved d u r i n g the last t w e n t y years or so. While in the early years the emphasis was on m a k i n g explicit the relationship b e t w e e n u n d e r l y i n g and surface phonological representations by investigating the n a t u r e o f formal p h o n o – logical rules, the w a y s in w h i c h rules interact and the distance b e t w e e n u n d e r l y i n g and surface representations in p h o n o l o g y , lately the focus has shifted to scrutinising the nature of phonological representations themselves and the relationship b e t w e e n p h o n o l o g y and o t h e r c o m p o n e n t s of the g r a m m a r .

This shift in focus is reflected in the contents of this b o o k . After a brief i n t r o d u c t i o n to articulatory phonetics, the o p e n i n g chapters deal w i t h distinctiveness, ‘naturalness’, the relationship b e t w e e n levels o f phonological represen-

xiv Preface

tation and rule interaction. These were the main issues explored in the 1960s and 1970s.

However, the latter part of the book is devoted to topics of current interest. One major trend in generative phonology today involves several ‘non-linear’ approaches to the nature of phonological representations. It is being developed through an examination of the nature of sound ‘segments’, syllable, tone, stress, and intonation in numerous languages. The other major current trend focuses on the relationship between phonology and other components of the grammar such as the lexicon, morphology and syntax. These two trends are complementary.

The exclusive concentration on generative phonology should not be taken as evidence of a belief on my part that nothing of value has been said about phonology in the other frameworks. Occassionally the contributions of other schools are mentioned in a footnote. But I have restricted the exposition to generative phonology for two reasons. In my experience, for the beginning student it is more bewil- dering than enlightening to be presented with several competing theoretical positions, with their different the- oretical concepts, analytical techniques and nomenclature. There is virtue in introducing students initially to one coherent theoretical’ approach. The question that then arises is: which approach?

I have chosen tq .introduce. yp.tr. to generative phon- ology. Thi^&i&’t-feerely-‘^i’mattef-bf my personal taste. Generative > phonology “isj cwFF8 t̂Py-lfner .dominant model of phonology.’; It is the mT)deLt;o,:ep.r4a&eao grips with, if eventu- ally you wish to read the- cufMenf’descriptive and theoreti- cal phonological literature. Much of it is written in some version of this framework.

However, should you wish to survey other past and present trends in phonology there are many books which you can turn to. If you wish to acquaint yourself with the history of phonology you can read excellent historical studies like Fischer-Jorgensen (i975) and the more recent Anderson (1985). If you want an eclectic, ‘unbiased’ intro- duction to phonological concepts and their philosophical underpinnings you can turn to Lass (1984).

This book has developed from phonology courses that

Preface xv

I have taught over the years at the University of Nairobi, Kenya and at the University of Lancaster. I am grateful to the generations of students who were subjected to earlier drafts of the book for the feedback I got from them.

In writing this book I have benefited immensely from the help of Professor Geoffrey Sampson. Very special thanks also go to my editors and colleagues Mr. Mick Short and Professor Geoffrey Leech whose critical comments and suggestions have made this a better book than it would otherwise have been. Those others who over the years have taught me directly or indirectly something about phonology deserve a special mention. Their scholarship is reflected in the theory presented here as well as in the data from the dozens of languages cited. And finally, I am grateful for the encouragement of my wife Janet during the long gestation of this book.

21 March ig88

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the following for permission to repro- duce copyright material:

Cambridge University Press for extracts from NGIYAMBA (1980) by T. Donaldson & from ‘Kimatumbi phrasal phon- ology’ by D. Odden Phonology Yearbook 4 (1987); Harper & Row Inc for an adaptation based on pp 302-329 from The Sound Pattern of English by Noam Chomsky & Morris Halle (Copyright (E) 1968 by Noam Chomsky & Morris Halle); the Editor, Professor Larry M. Hyman for an adaptation of pp 112—115 ‘Noun tonology in Kombe’ by B. Elimelech in Studies on Bantu Tonology SCOPIL 3 (1976). International Phonetic Association for a table from p. 10 of Principles of the International Phonetic Association 1949/84; the author, P. Kiparsky for a figure from ‘From cyclic phonology to lexic- al phonology’ in The Structure of Phonological Representations Part 1 (1982) by Van der Hulst & Smith; MIT Press for a figure from p. 39 of The Language Lottery by D. Lightfoot. Copyright © 1983 MIT Press.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction to phonetics

1.1 Introduction

The purpose of this book is to introduce you to the study of P H O N O L O G Y . Phonology is the branch of linguistics which investigates the ways in which sounds are used systematically in different languages to form words and utterances.

In order to understand phonology, one must have a grasp of the basic concepts of P H O N E T I C S , the study of the inventory of all SPEECH S O U N D S which humans are capable of producing. The term speech sound has been used advisedly since not all noises which we are capable of producing with our vocal apparatus are employed in speech: we can all snore; we can all cough and hiccup; we can all sneeze and we can all gnash our teeth. However, no linguist, has yet discovered a community that has a language in which noises produced by any one of these mechanisms are used to form words. It is almost certain that no such speech community exists. One reason for this is the fact that there are obvious disadvantages in letting communication depend on involuntary noises like hiccups which speakers cannot start and stop at will. Other methods like the gnashing of teeth may be easy to control, but have their drawbacks – the wear and tear which gnashing of teeth would entail must have ruled out that method. I am using these examples to underscore the point that speech sounds form a small subset of all the noises which humans can produce with their vocal apparatus. It is this subset that phoneticians focus on.

The study of speech sounds can be approached from

2 Introduction to phonetics

various angles. These are reflected by the three major branches of phonetics:

(a) A C O U S T I C P H O N E T I C S : the study of the physical properties of speech sounds using laboratory instruments;

(b) A U D I T O R Y P H O N E T I C S : the study of speech perception;

(c) ARTICULATORY P H O N E T I C S : the study of speech production.

1.2 The production of speech

It is articulatory phonetics that we shall concentrate on here because it is the branch of phonetics on which most phono- logical theories have been based in the past.

1.2.1 The production of consonants

Speech sounds are produced by interfering in some way with a body of moving air. Phoneticians use the term AIR- STREAM MECHANISM to describe a body of moving air used in speech production. It is important to describe how the air is set in motion and the direction in which it travels because that makes a difference in the sound produced. The commonest airstream mechanism used in the world’s languages (and the only one found in English) is the P U L M O N I C EGRESSIVE mechanism. When this mech- anism is employed, air is expelled from the lungs, up the windpipe and gets out through the mouth, or through the nose, or through both.

There exist other airstream mechanisms, but we shall postpone discussion of these until Chapter 3. We shall provisionally assume that all speech sounds are made with air pushed from the lungs up the WIND PIPE (also called the TRACHEA, more technically). Continuing its outward journey, the air reaches the LARYNX (or voice box – that cartilaginous membrane at the top of the windpipe which is called the Adam’s apple in everyday language). Once in the larynx, the air must pass through the GLOTTIS. This is the space between the vocal cords. If the vocal cords are apart, i.e. if the glottis is open, the air escapes unimpeded. Sounds produced in this way are said to be VOICELESS.

The production of speech 3

If, on the other hand, the vocal cords are very close together, the air will blow them apart as it forces its way through. In doing so, it will make them vibrate, producing a VOICED sound.

You can perform a little experiment to determine for yourself whether a given sound is voiced or voiceless. Say [ffffj and then [vvvv] with two fingers held firmly on your larynx. Repeat this four times. What do you observe?

N o w say [ffffvvvvffffvvvv] this time with your index fingers in your ears. What do you observe?

In the first experiment, you should be able to feel your fingers vibrating slightly when you say [vvvv] but not when you say [ffffj. And in the second experiment, you should be able to hear a low buzzing noise in your head when you produce [vvvv], but not when you produce [ffffj. The noise that causes the vibration in your larynx which you feel with your fingers as well as the low buzzing sound which you feel when you have fingers in your ears is called VOICING.

Voicing is linguistically important. The difference between voiced and voiceless sounds is functional. In many languages, English included, as you can see in [1.1], there are many consonants which come in pairs, with the two sounds in question differing in voicing:

A pull ten cot fast sink chew

B bull den got vast zinc Jew

The initial consonant of the words in column A is voiceless while the initial consonant of the words in column B is voiced.

Find five more words which begin with voiceless and voiced consonants respectively.

4 Introduction to phonetics

[ 1 . 2 ]

T h e O r g a n s of Speech

1 lips 2 teeth 3 alveolar ridge 4 (hard) palate 5 velum 6 uvula 7 tongue tip 8 tongue blade 9 front of the tongue

10 back of the tongue 11 mouth cavity 12 nose cavity 13 pharynx 14 epiglottis 15 oesophagus 16 glottis 17 larynx

T h e t e r m V O C A L T R A C T is used to refer to the air passages which the air enters o n leaving the l a r y n x . As y o u can see in the figure in [1.2], the vocal tract has t w o parts: the O R A L T R A C T , w h i c h is the air passage offered b y the m o u t h and the N A S A L T R A C T , w h i c h is the air passage p r o v i d e d by the nose.

C o n s o n a n t s are p r o d u c e d by o b s t r u c t i n g in s o m e way the flow of air t h r o u g h the vocal tract. W e can identify the P L A C E (or P O I N T ) w h e r e the obstruction takes place, and the organs involved. T h e parts of the oral tract such as the t o n g u e and lips w h i c h can be used to form speech sounds are called A R T I C U L A T O R S . A list of places of articulation is given in [1.3] t o g e t h e r w i t h the phonetic symbols representing s o m e of the sounds m a d e at each place.

As you read t h r o u g h [1.3] y o u should say aloud the w o r d s in the illustrative examples and observe h o w y o u use the articulators to p r o d u c e each sound. N e x t , y o u should find examples of y o u r o w n of each s o u n d . T h e examples can c o m e from any language you k n o w . If y o u are u n c e r – tain about the t e r m i n o l o g y , consult [1.2].

The production of speech 5

[1.3] Places of articulation

place

BILABIAL

LABIO- DENTAL DENTAL

A L V E O L A R

R E T R O – F L E X

P A L A T O – A L V E O L A R

P A L A T A L

V E L A R

L A B I O – V E L A R

G L O T T A L

articulators

both lips

lower lip and upper front teeth tongue tip and upper front teeth t o n g u e tip or blade and the alveolar ridge

t o n g u e tip curled back past the alveolar ridge

blade of the t o n g u e rising t o w a r d s the alveolar ridge and the front o f the hard palate front of the t o n g u e and the hard palate

back of the t o n g u e and the v e l u m simultaneously using b o t h lips and raising the back of the t o n g u e t o w a r d s the v e l u m vocal cords

examples

[p] peat

[f\fine

[0] thigh

[t] tip [s] sip [1] lip

[x] raft

[n_] pina

[J] sheep [tf] cheap

[j] yes

In] agneau [k] cot

[w] win [kp] kpakp (Nigeria))

[h] hot

b] beat m] meat v] vine

5] thy

d] dip z] zip r] rip n] nip in American English) lake’ (in Wangkatja ‘Australia)) 3] genre d3] jeep

c] ich T German) l a m b ‘ (French)

g]got 0] song

a ‘field’ ( Y o r u b

[•>] better (in many varieties of nonstandard British English, e.g. Cockney)

Besides describing the place where the obstruction occurs in the production of a consonant, it is also essential

6 Introduction to phonetics

to consider the M A N N E R OF ARTICULATION, i.e. the nature and extent of the obstruction involved because sounds made at the same place of articulation – and which are both voiced or voiceless, as the case may be – can still differ depending on the manner in which the airstream is modified. Take these words, which all begin with VOICED ALVEOLAR consonants: dine, nine, line and Rhine. Not only do they sound different, they also mean different things. The difference lies in the manner of articulation of their initial consonants.

In [1.4] below a brief survey of manners of articulation is given, together with English examples.

[1.4] STOP: The articulators come together and completely cut off the flow of air momentarily, then they separate abruptly. Examples: pin bin tin din kilt gilt. Stops like [ p b t d k g ] which are made with the pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism (as the speaker breathes out through the mouth) are called PLOSIVES. Sounds like [m n], as we shall see presently, are also stops but they are not plosives; they differ from plosives in that they are formed by completely blocking off the airstream in the mouth while at the same time allowing it to escape through the nose.

AFFRICATE: In the production of an affricate, first the articulators come together and completely cut off the flow of air, just as they do in a stop; then they separate gradually.

Examples: chain Jane [tf] [d3]

Say the following words very carefully char jar Describe as accurately as you can the ways in which the articulators are used to obstruct the flow of air in the first sound of each word. Which one of the affricates is voiced?

The production of speech 7

FRICATIVE: the articulators are brought very close together leaving only a very narrow channel through which the air squeezes on its way out, producing turbulence in the process. Examples: [f v 0 5 s z J 3]

Say the following words and listen for the turbulence of the initial consonant: fan van thin then sink zinc shrill genre

A P P R O X I M A N T : the articulators are brought near each other but a large enough gap is left between them for air to escape without causing turbulence. Examples: [r 1 w j] as in read lead

weed and yield respectively. NASAL: Nasal sounds are produced with air

escaping through the nose; the velum is lowered to allow access to the nasal tract. Examples [m n rj] The final sounds in all these words are nasal: sum sun sung. O n the other hand, to produce ORAL sounds like [p t k b d g s z] the VELUM is raised right up against the back wall of the PHARYNX, cutting off access to the nasal cavity and making air escape through the mouth only (see [1.2]).

LATERAL: to produce a lateral, the air is obstructed by the tongue at a point along the centre of the mouth but the sides of the tongue are left low so that air is allowed to escape over one or both sides of the tongue. Example: [1] If you say the following words slowly and carefully, you will be able to observe how the air escapes over the sides of the tongue in the last [1] sound:

peddle paddle huddle kettle battle cattle

8 Introduction to phonetics

Examine the examples in [1.4] above once again. State the place of articulation of each consonant and also deter- mine whether it is voiced or voiceless.

Next find three more words exemplifying each manner of articulation that has been described. Take your examples from any language which you know.

Summary

The production of consonants involves four major param- eters which can be varied independently of each other to create different kinds of consonant. The four parameters are:

(a) THE AIRSTREAM MECHANISM This refers to the way in which the moving body of air that provides the power for speech production is generated and the direction in which it moves.

(b) THE STATE OF THE GLOTTIS Voiceless sounds are produced when there is a wide open glottis, with a big space between the vocal cords; voiced sounds are produced when the vocal cords are close together so that the air has to force its way through them, making them vibrate in the process.

(c) THE PLACE OF A R T I C U L A T I O N This refers to the place in the vocal tract where the airstream is obstructed in the production of a consonant.

(d) T H E M A N N E R OF A R T I C U L A T I O N This refers to the way in which the airstream is inter- fered with in producing a consonant.

1.3 The production of vowels

Vowels are more difficult to describe accurately than consonants. This is largely because there is no noticeable obstruction in the vocal tract during their production. It is not easy to feel exactly where vowels are made. Moreover, in many cases, sounds perceived by hearers as the ‘same vowel’ may be produced using a number of substantially different articulatory gestures. The only reliable way of

The production of vowels 9

observing vowel production is using x-ray photography. But this is not only expensive, it is also dangerous and could not be carried out each time one wanted to describe a particular vowel (even if willing subjects eager to allow themselves to be exposed to radiation in the noble cause of phonetic inquiry could be found).

The account in this chapter will be restricted to vowels which occur in English but much of what is said is gener- alizable to many other languages. As we noted above, many of the parameters described above which are used in the description of consonants have not been found applicable to vowels. Vowels are typically voiced, but they have no place or manner of articulation. Traditionally, for the description of vowels a different set of concepts has been found necessary.

Say the words in [1.5] carefully. Observe in a mirror the position of the highest point of your tongue and your lower jaw.

[1.5] [i] seek [u] pool [1] sick juj pull [e] set [D] pot [ae] sat [a] part

Now repeat the exercise, just uttering the vowel sounds on their own. Again observe the position of your tongue and j a w .

In each column your tongue is high when you say the vowel in the first word on the list and gets progressively lower as you work your way through the list. If you watch yourself in a mirror, you will observe that there is a corre- lation between tongue height and jaw opening: when the tongue is high, the jaw is not lowered but when the tongue is low the jaw is also low and your mouth is wide open.

Vowels produced with the highest point of the hump in the tongue close to the roof of the mouth are said to be HIGH and those produced with the highest point of the hump in the tongue barely rising above the floor of the mouth are said to be LOW; the intermediate position is referred to as MID.

10 Introduction to phonetics

Up to now, we have considered the vertical axis in locating the highest point of the tongue. That is not enough. It is also necessary to determine the location of the highest point on the horizontal axis: the highest point of the tongue may be at the front, in the centre or at the back of the mouth. Depending on the location of the highest point of the tongue, vowels may be regarded as F R O N T , CENTRAL or BACK.

Say the words in [1.6] slowly a number of times and observe the position of your tongue in each case:

[1.6] [e] shed [a] should ‘ [D] shod

When you say the vowel [e] your tongue is in the front, palatal region; when you say [a] your tongue is in the centre of the mouth; when you say [D] your tongue shifts to the back of the mouth. That this is the case will be clear if you utter the vowels on their own one after the other.

Finally, the quality of a vowel is affected by the shape of the lips. For simplicity’s sake, phoneticians assume that lips can assume only two positions: they are either R O U N D E D or U N R O U N D E D – intermediate positions are ignored. Lip rounding results in an elongated resonating chamber while lip SPREADING or U N R O U N D I N G (the position the lips assume if you put on that fixed grin when the voice behind the camera tells you to smile or say ‘cheese’) does not. Just as the notes which can be produced by different wind instruments partly depend on the shape of the instrument, the QUALITY of a vowel sound partly depends on the shape of the resonating chamber in the vocal tract resulting from adjustments in lip position.

Get a mirror and once again observe your lips as you say the words in [1.7]. You will be able to verify that in each case the first word in each pair is said with spread (unrounded) lips while the second is produced with the lips rounded:

[1.7] [i] see [u] sue [i] tea [u] two

The production of vowels 11

[e] fen [o] fought [ae] lag [o] log

The various articulatory parameters are not entirely independent of each other. Note, for instance, that there is a systematic correlation between lip rounding and tongue height. For a rounded vowel, the higher the tongue is, the greater the degree of lip rounding.

The phonetic properties of vowels surveyed in this section are conventionally represented in this diagram:

[1.8] Front Central Back

High \ i u

Mid \ e o

Low \ a

Unround Round

As [i.8] shows, typically front vowels are unrounded and back vowels are rounded.

The parameters high, mid and low enable one to distinguish three degrees of vowel height as you can see in [i.8]. But this is not always sufficient. There are languages which make a four way distinction on this parameter. Many phoneticians use the terms CLOSE, HALF-CLOSE, HALF-OPEN and O P E N to reflect this:

I 1 – 9 ] Front Central Back

Close \ i u

Half-close \ e o

Half-open \ e o

Open \ .a

12 Introduction to phonetics

All the vowels w h i c h have been described so far are M O N O P H T H O N G S i.e. vowels w h o s e quality remains virtually u n c h a n g e d t h r o u g h o u t their d u r a t i o n . In addition to such vowels s o m e languages (English included) also have D I P H T H O N G S , i.e. v o w e l s w h o s e quality changes d u r i n g their p r o d u c t i o n .

Say the following w o r d s , concentrating on the v o w e l sound:

[ I . I O ] pie b u y m y g u y cry tie

die sigh shy high lie five

Identify the shifting positions w h i c h y o u r t o n g u e occu- pies as y o u p r o d u c e the v o w e l .

Initially the t o n g u e is l o w and front b u t it finishes up in a high, front position. T h e s y m b o l for this v o w e l is [ai].

N o w say the w o r d s in [ i . n ] and again observe the shifting quality of each v o w e l :

[ i . n ] a . c o w n o w s h o u t o u t [ao] b . toy b o y boil coin [DI] c. wait pay w e i g h t hay [ei] d. air fare w e a r chair [ea]

In [1.12] y o u can see the changing quality of the d i p h – t h o n g s exemplified a b o v e :

[1.12]

The production of vowels 13

The primary aim of this chapter has been to introduce you to the basic concepts of articulatory phonetics so that you can understand the nature of speech production. The secondary largely through familiar English data.”

For a complete list of phonetic symbols see the Inter- national Phonetic Alphabet in the chart in [1.13]. You do not need to learn all the symbols in the chart right away. The chart is provided so that you can refer back to it when- ever you encounter unfamiliar phonetic symbols in the course of reading this book.