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--- # Phonetics: The Sounds of Language ### Will Styler - LIGN 101 --- ### Today's Plan - How does speech work? - How can we write down speech? - How do we describe consonants? - How do we describe vowels? --- ## How does speech work? --- ### The Speech Process * Flapping bits of meat inside your head while blowing out air * This creates vibrations in the air you're expelling * The ear picks these up, and inteprets them as speech. * This process is studied in **Phonetics** --- ### The Lungs
--- ### Flapping bits of meat ("articulation")
--- ### Simplified a bit...
--- ### You will not be responsible for any anatomical terms not required for transcription on exams --- ### The Tongue
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--- ### Let's do an experiment --- > The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. --- ### Speech is absolutely insane - It's a series of fluid and overlapping gestures - It's amazingly complex - ... and it's nothing like we think it is --- ### How do we wrap our heads around it? - First, we break speech into 'segments' or 'phones' - Then, we figure out how to describe those phones and their properties - This lets us *transcribe* what was said, rather than what words were said - But first you need to realize that... --- ## Your writing system is a trainwreck -
--- ### Your writing system is lying to you - Every minute of every day - "They thoroughly and roughly wrought the boughs in the borough, through and through" - C doesn't exist - The 'ee' in 'pee' is silent - The 'e' - TH is neither a t nor an h, and represents two different sounds - ... and if you start thinking about letters, you're going to start struggling - For this class, consider your writing system with the same skepticism you would normally reserve for a guy with a broken bottle walking towards you in a dark alley. --- ### ... but wait, speech is super complicated - Our writing system is lying to us - Many languages don't have writing systems - ... and we still need to write down what was said in them - ## Is there no hope?! ---
--- (Nah, it's cool, we've got the IPA!) --- ### The International Phonetic Alphabet - A system for *transcribing* what was said, that's based on *describing* individual phones - We'll discuss a reduced set of the IPA focusing on the English language in this class ---
--- ### The International Phonetic Alphabet - A system for *transcribing* what was said, that's based on *describing* individual phones - The IPA should be able to transcribe speech in *any* human language or dialect --- ### The IPA allows us to 'transcribe' speech - You throw away the writing system, and write down the *sequence of sounds* being produced - "Black Lives Matter" - In Will's dialect: /blæk lajvz mæɾəɹ/ - Note the /z/, and the /ɾ/ tap, and the lack of "c" --- ### The Entire IPA is shown on the IPA chart
--- ## Important Note: Most Online IPA Charts with Sound are awful! - ipachart.com is bad and should feel bad -
is not - [Here's the International Phonetic Association's Version](https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/IPAcharts/inter_chart_2018/IPA_2018.html) - If you're just typing IPA, you can use [this tool](https://wstyler.ucsd.edu/intipa/#/keyboard) - Use the quick reference guide too! --- ### We have a new tool! ##
- Give this a try to see audio and video of IPA sounds! --- ### To understand the IPA, you need to understand how sounds work --- ## How do we describe how speech sounds are made? --- ### We break the world into two kinds of speech sounds - **Consonants:** Constrict, obstruct, or divert air in the vocal tract when being produced - **Vowels:** Shape the (unobstructed) vocal tract to change the sound emitted --- ## Describing Consonants --- ### Three steps to describing Consonants * We need to know three things: * **Place**: Where is the sound made? * **Manner**: What are we doing there? * **Voicing**: Are we making voicing? --- ## Place --- ### Place of Articulation - Where is the sound being made? --- ### Place
--- ### Place
--- ### Place * **Bilabial**: As in "***b***oy" * **Labiodental**: As in "***V***ote" * **Interdental**: As in "***Th***ose" * **Alveolar**: As in "***T***o***t***e***s***!" - Your alveolars may be *dental* * **Postalveolar**: As in "***J***u***dge***" - Your textbook calls these 'palatal' - We'll accept either for this class * **Velar**: As in "Ta***c***o***c***at" * **Glottal**: As in "Uh***-***oh!" ---
### The first and last sounds in "King" are... A) **Bilabial**: As in "***B***at***m***an isn't ***m***e!" B) **Labiodental**: As in "***V***owels aren't ***f***oul!" C) **Alveolar**: As in "***T***o***t***e***s*** ***l***i***t***!" D) **Postalveolar**: As in "***J***u***dgy*** ***Ch***eetahs" E) **Velar**: As in "**G**o **c**all you**ng** **c**arpenters" --- ### The first and last sounds in "King" are... A) **Bilabial**: As in "***B***at***m***an isn't ***m***e!" B) **Labiodental**: As in "***V***owels aren't ***f***oul!" C) **Alveolar**: As in "***T***o***t***e***s*** ***l***i***t***!" D) **Postalveolar**: As in "***J***u***dgy*** ***Ch***eetahs" E)
**Velar**: As in "**G**o **c**all you**ng** **c**arpenters"
--- ### There are other places English doesn't use - 'Uvular' sounds are made involving the uvula - As Cardi B says, 'that little dangly thang that swang in the back of my throat' - The French "r" sound in 'rouge' - 'Retroflex' sounds curl the tongue up and back - Present in Hindi/Urdu, as well as many other languages! --- ### Reference Diagrams for Place of Articulation --- ### Bilabial
--- ### Bilabial
--- ### Dental
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--- ### Alveolar
--- ### Alveolar
--- ### Retroflex
--- ### Retroflex
--- ### Palatal
--- ### Palatal
--- ### Velar
--- ### Velar
--- ### Uvular
--- ### Uvular
--- ## Manner of Articulation --- ### Manner "So what are you doing with the articulators?" --- ### Manner * **Stops**: Stop the airflow (also called 'plosives') - As in '**c**a**t** **d**o**ck**e**t**' * ***Taps***: Throw your tongue against the roof of your mouth - As in 'la**t**er la**dd**er wi**nn**ers' * **Fricatives**: Constrict the airflow to make sounds - As in '**f**la**sh**y **s**o**v**iet **sh**i**f**ter**s**' * **Nasals**: Channel the air out the nose - As in 'wi**ng** **m**a**n** ' --- ### Oral Stop (/t/)
--- ### Oral Stop (/t/)
--- ### Nasal Stop (/n/)
--- ### Nasal Stop (/n/)
--- ### Manner (Continued) * **Approximants**: Bring the tongue *toward* the place - As in '**y**ou **w**ill' * **Laterals**: Channel air *around* the tongue - As in '**l**atera**l**s' ---
--- ### The initial sounds in "Taco Bell" are... A) **Stops**: Stop the airflow B) **Fricatives**: Constrict the airflow to make sounds C) **Nasals**: Channel the air out the nose D) **Approximants**: Bring the tongue *toward* the place E) **Laterals**: Channel air *around* the tongue
--- ### The initial sounds in "Taco Bell" are... A)
**Stops**: Stop the airflow
B) **Fricatives**: Constrict the airflow to make sounds C) **Nasals**: Channel the air out the nose D) **Approximants**: Bring the tongue *toward* the place E) **Laterals**: Channel air *around* the tongue --- ### The initial sounds in "Feline Show" are...
A) **Stops**: Stop the airflow B) **Fricatives**: Constrict the airflow to make sounds C) **Nasals**: Channel the air out the nose D) **Approximants**: Bring the tongue *toward* the place E) **Laterals**: Channel air *around* the tongue --- ### The initial sounds in "Feline Show" are... A) **Stops**: Stop the airflow B)
**Fricatives**: Constrict the airflow to make sounds
C) **Nasals**: Channel the air out the nose D) **Approximants**: Bring the tongue *toward* the place E) **Laterals**: Channel air *around* the tongue --- ## Voicing --- ### Voicing * Is the larynx buzzing, or not? --- Content Warning: Things are about to get weird. ---
[Video Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwAR7J9471M) --- ## Let's pretend we're snakes eating bees!
--- ### Voiced vs. Voiceless - Cats - Bob - Month - Those - Crash - Judge --- ### The initial sounds in "Phonetics wins popularity" are... A) All Voiced B) All Voiceless C) Voiceless, Voiced, Voiceless D) Voiced, Voiceless, Voiced E) None of the above
--- ### The initial sounds in "Phonetics wins popularity" are... A) All Voiced B) All Voiceless C)
Voiceless, Voiced, Voiceless
D) Voiced, Voiceless, Voiced E) None of the above --- ### Three steps to describing Consonants * We need to know three things: * **Place**: Where is the sound made? * **Manner**: What are we doing there? * **Voicing**: Are we making voicing? --- ### All consonants can be described this way - /m/ - Voiced Bilabial Nasal - /t/ - Voiceless Alveolar Stop - /g/ - Voiced Velar Stop - /f/ - Voiceless Labiodental Fricative --- ### There are a couple of weird ones - /ɹ/ - The English "R", a voiced 'alveolar' approximant - "Reed read the wrong resolution" - Super weird - /w/ - A voiced labio-velar approximant - "Will would wisely watch the wind" - Has a voiceless version ("Cool whip" from Family Guy) --- ### 'Affricates' If you combine a fricative and a stop, you get an affricate - **J**u**dg**e (dʒʌdʒ) - **Ch**eese (tʃiz) - Ca**ts** (kæts) --- Once we've organized sounds by place, manner, and voicing, we have... --- ### English Consonants
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--- ### Can't figure out where in the mouth that is? Ask [Sammy the Interactive Sagittal Section](http://smu-facweb.smu.ca/~s0949176/sammy/)! - Or check UBC's [Enunciate](https://enunciate.arts.ubc.ca/) site --- ### So, that's consonants. --- ## Vowels! --- ### Vowels are created by shaping your vocal tract * A vowel is voicing passing through (and resonating in) an unobstructed vocal tract! * If we change the position of the tongue, we change the resonances ---
--- ### Vowels are different from consonants - They're always* voiced - They can (and do) occur on their own. I. - We describe vowels using different characteristics --- ### How many vowels are present in Mainstream US English? A) 5 B) 5, sometimes 6 C) 12 D) 17 E) 21
--- ### How many vowels are present in Mainstream US English? A) 5 B) 5, sometimes 6 C) 12 D)
17
E) 21 --- ### Reminder, your writing system is as trustworthy as a politician turned used-car-salesman ---
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--- ### / i, ɪ, ɛ, æ, ə, əɹ, ʌ, ɑ, ɔ, ʊ, u / - beet - bit - bet - bat - sof**a** - bird - but - bot - bought - book - boot --- /i/ - beet, see, seen, sear, seal /ɪ/ - bit, sit, tin, sill /ɛ/ - bet, set, sent, fair, sell /æ/ - bat, sat, pant, pal /ʌ/ - but, sun, pun, lull (ə in sofa, amount) /əɹ/ - bird, purr, earl, butter, clamor (this is often broken into two vowels!) /ɑ/ - bot, saw, star, paul, pawn, (cot*) /ɔ/ - corn /kɔɹn/, boy /bɔj/ (caught*) /ʊ/ - book, hood, puss /u/ - boot, who’d, loose, lure, loon --- ### Do you produce 'Cot' and 'Caught' differently? A) Yes, they're two different vowels B) No, they're the same vowel
--- ### A note on /ɔ/ vs. /ɑ/ - These are two vowels for some people - Cot (/ɑ/) vs. caught (/ɔ/) - For many speakers, these have merged in all but a few cases - I am one of these speakers - Even for me, “horse” and “corn” still have /ɔ/. (/hɔɹs/ and /kɔɹn/) - Also, “boy” /bɔj/ --- ### What's the difference between /ʌ/ and /ə/? - They sound the same, but we use /ə/ in *unstressed* positions in words - If there's just one vowel in the word, and it sounds like 'uh', it's /ʌ/ - This is the same difference between /ɜ˞/ and /əɹ/ (although for this class, you can write /əɹ/ for both) - More details [at this link](http://wstyler.ucsd.edu/posts/difference_schwa_wedge.html) --- ### Describing Vowels - For vowels, we talk about three additional dimensions - 1- Where is the tongue in terms of height? - (High, Low, or Mid) - Also "Closed, Open, or Mid" - 2- Where is the tongue in terms of horizontal space? - (Front, Central, or Back) - 3- Are your lips rounded or not? ---
--- ### The IPA Vowel Chart
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--- ### Diphthongs - Vowels where the tongue moves through the mouth - Start at one vowel, move to another vowel - Things like “boy” (/ɔj/), “buy” (/aj/), “bay” (/ej/), “boat” (/ow/), “cow” (/aw/) - Others are monophthongs --- ### MUSE Diphthongs /ɔj/ - boy, soy, toy, join, oil, Roy /aj/ - buy, right, try, sigh, die, fire /ej/ - play, bay, may, ray, lay, trail /ow/ - boat, oat, wrote, pope, toll /aw/ - how, now, brown, cow, prow, louse --- ### So, Mainstream US English has lots of vowels - 12 Monophthongs - / i, ɪ, ɛ, æ, ə, ɜ˞, ə˞, ʌ, ɑ, ɔ, ʊ, u / - 5 Diphthongs - /ɔj, aj, ej, ow, aw/ - And we describe these vowels in terms of high-to-low, front-to-back, and rounded or not. --- ### So, that's how we describe consonants and vowels --- ### Wrapping it up - Speech is crazy complicated - The English writing system is a large lagoon of lies - We describe consonants by talking about place, manner, and voicing - The English writing system is a festival of falsehoods - We describe vowels by talking about height, front-back, and rounding - The English writing system is a dumpster of deception - The IPA can save us! --- ### Next time... - More on transcription, and some phonetic phun! --- ### Download an IPA chart and reference guide from Canvas files or take one here!
Thank you!