Task 2 – Phonetics Collective Creation

Exploring Phonetics and Phonology: A guide to English Sounds.

Introduction to Lingusitics

Introduction

For the elaboration of this activity we can introduce that phonetics and phonology are fundamental disciplines for the teaching-learning process that complement the teacher's training to understand the production of sounds, how to distinguish and neutralize them, in this way knowledge and security are transmitted to students.

What is Phonology?

Phonology is the study of how sounds are organized and used in a language or languages. According to David Crystal, “Phology is a branch of linguistics which studies the sound systems of languages.” Phonology is language specific; it studies the speech sound of a given language and their function within the sound system of that language. As matter of fact, human speech is something which is extremely, delicately patterned.

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What is phonetics?

Study of production of sounds. Phonetics is concerned with how sounds are produced, transmitted and perceived (we will only look at the production of sounds). In other word, phonetics study is about sounds of language, phonology about systems of language. Phonetics is a descriptive tool necessary to the study of the phonological aspects of a language. Phonetics and phonology are worth studying for several reasons. One is that as all study of language, the study of phonology gives us insight into how the human mind works. Two more reasons are that the study of the phonetics of a foreign language gives us a much better ability both to hear and to correct mistakes that we make, and also to teach pronunciation of the foreign language (in this case English) to others.

What is the difference between phonetics and phonology?

Both Phonetics and Phonology deals with the sounds of language. But there are certain differences in their range and process. Phonology operates at the level of sound systems and linguistic units called “phoneme”, and arranges sounds into meaningful utterances while phonetics concerned with the study of how human speech sounds are produced.

What is the IPA alphabet?

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or a similar system of phonetic symbols is used to indicate the pronunciation of words. Many (though not all) of the symbols in fact look like ordinary letters, but it is important to keep in mind that, unlike letters, phonetic symbols directly represent sounds in a one-to-one fashion. In order to indicate which kind of unit we are talking about, we use two different sets of brackets: angled brackets “< >” for letters, and brackets “[ ]” for sounds. Thus, for instance, the orthographic representation of the word referring to a piece of garment you wear on your feet is <sock>, but the representation of its sounds, its ‘phonetic representation’, is [sÅk]. In the latter case each symbol represents uniquely one sound.

IPA ALPHABET

What is the manner of articulation, provide two examples.

Manner of articulation refers to how the airstream is obstructed or modified as it travels through the vocal tract in order to produce speech sounds. Plosives or Stops: A plosive is a consonant sound in which the airflow is stopped completely and then suddenly released. Examples include /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/ and /g/. Fricatives: A fricative is a consonant sound produced by forcing air through a narrow channel in the mouth, creating friction. Examples include /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, (as in "she"), and /ʒ/ (as in "pleasure". Affricates: An affricate is a consonant sound that begins as a plosive and ends as a fricative. Examples include /tʃ/ ( as in "cheese") and /dʒ/ (as in "judge").

Nasals: A nasal is a consonant sound produced by allowing air to flow through the nose. Examples include /m/, /n/, and /ŋ / (as in "sing"). Approximants: Approximants are consonant sounds produced by bringing the articulators close together but not enough to produce friction. Examples include /l/, /r/, /w/, and /j/ (as in "yes"). Lateral approximants: A lateral approximant is a consonant sound produced by allowing air to flow over the sides of the tongue. The only example in English is /I/. Examples: The sounds represented by the letters “p,” “t,” and “k” are plosives. When you say these sounds, your lips or tongue momentarily block the airflow, and then you release it abruptly. The sounds represented by the letters “f,” “s,” and “sh” are fricatives. When you say these sounds, the airflow is restricted, causing a hissing or buzzing quality.

What is the place of articulation, provide two examples.

Place of articulation refers to where the sound is made in the mouth. Place of articulation deals with the placement of the vocal organs when producing a sound. Bilabial: sounds formed by using both upper and lower lips. Between the lips, in sounds like /m/ Mom or /p/ Pop. Labio-Dentals: sounds formed by using the top teeth and lower lip. Examples are /f/ safe (voiceless) and /v/ save (voiced). Dental: sounds formed by putting the tongue between the top and bottom teeth. Examples are /θ/ oath (voiceless) or /ð/ clothe (voiced). Alveolar: with the tongue tip on or near the top teeth, in sounds like /t/ Too or /l/ look.

Post–Alveolar: post-alveolar consonants are those that occur when the tongue blocks or constricts airflow at the point just beyond the alveolar ridge. Examples: /ʒ/ as in “vision” or “measure” /tʃ/ as in “chick” or “match” Palatal: The hard palate (the roof of your mouth) is involved in creating palatal consonants. English has only one palatal consonant: /j/ as in “yes” and “bayou”. Velar: With the tongue body on or near the back of the mouth’s roof (or the soft palate), in sounds like /g/ (Gap) or /ŋ/ (Sing). Glottal: Produced not so much in the mouth, but by air passing from the windpipe through the vocal cords, in the sound /h/ (Hi). Examples: Bilabial consonants occur when you block or constrict airflow out of the mouth by bringing your lips together: /p/ as in “purse” and “rap”, /b/ as in “back” and “cab”. Dental consonants occur when you block or constrict airflow by placing your tongue against your upper teeth: /θ/ as in “thick” and “bath” and /ð/ as in “the” and “rather”.

Solutions of the exercises in Step 3

1. Name the manner of articulation of the following consonant sounds.Example: -/V/: manner of articulation is Fricative. a) /t/: manner of articulation is Plosive (Stop). b) /k/: manner of articulation is Plosive (Stop). c) /m/: manner of articulation is Nasal. d) /θ/: manner of articulation is Fricative.

2. Name the place of articulation of the following consonant sounds. Example: - /v/: Place of articulation is Labio-dental. a) /d/: Place of articulation is Alveolar. b) /h/: Place of articulation is Glottal. c) /j/: Place of articulation is Palatal . d) /ð/: Place of articulation is Dental. 3. Name the articulators involved in the following “Place of Articulations.” Example: Bilabial: Upper and lower lips. Dental: top and bottom teeth.

Labio-dental: upper teeth and lower lip. Alveolar: touch the alveolar ridge. Glottal: at the larynx (the glottis is the space between the vocal folds). Palatal: back part of the tongue goes and touches palate. Velar: with the tongue body on or near the back of the mouth’s roof. 4. Below, you´ll find a list of words. Your task is to match each word with its corresponding phonetics transcription. Pay attention to the sounds and try to make the correct matches. - Write the letter of the correct phonetics transcription next to each word.

Phonetics Transcription words a) - /dɒg/ Elephant _e_ b) - /fɪʃ/ Dog _a_ c) - /ˈtiːtʃər/ Sun _d_ d) - /sʌn/ Fish _b_ e) - /ɛlɪfənt/ Teacher _c_ 5. Below, you will find five sentences. Your task is to replace the words in phonetic transcription with their corresponding regular words. Fill in each blank with the correct word based on the given phonetic symbols. For example: The /sʌn/ is shining in the sky. The sun is shining in the sky.

a) I /ˈhæv/ a red balloon. I have a red balloon. b) The /ˈkæt/ is playing /ˈwɪθ/ a ball. The cat is playing _with a ball. c) We /laɪk/ to eat pizza /fɔːr/ dinner. We like to eat pizza for dinner. d) My /ˈfrɛnd/ has a /ˈɡriːn/ umbrella. My friend has a green umbrella.

Conclusions

- In conclusion, it is important to learn phonetics and phonology because that way it will help us to sound much better and as natural as possible when speaking the language of English or the one we are interested in learning, our grammar may not be perfect, other people will understand us when we speak, because our pronunciation will be just as a native pronounces them.- Phonology is the basis on which every articulation of the speech organs is used, so that sounds and words can be pronounced correctly according to language and intonation. - Phonics in English is a fundamental key to breaking down the obstacle in linguistics and mastering the language.

Bibliographic References

Forel, C. A., & Puskás, G. (2005). Phonetics and phonology. University of Oldenburg, 10.(S/f-b). Pressbooks.pub. Recuperado el 31 de marzo de 2024, de https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/oralcommunication/chapter/consonants/ ITTT International TEFL & TESOL Training [@internationaltefltraining]. (2017, octubre 9). Pronunciation and phonology in the EFL classroom - place of articulation pt. 1. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0iSDfFFvfE Ingo Plag, Maria Braun, Sabine Lappe, & Mareile Schramm. (2009). Introduction to English Linguistics: Vol. 2nd rev. ed. De Gruyter Mouton. https://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xww&AN=390974&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_33

Bibliographic References

Luiggy, M. [@misterluiggy7048]. (2020, septiembre 13). APRENDE EL IPA Y DOMINARÁS TU PRONUNCIACIÓN EN INGLÉS PARA SIEMPRE - Alfabeto Fonético Internacional. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW5CGt_sMTk Murcia, Y.(2023). A Quick Overview of Linguistics. https://repository.unad.edu.co/handle/10596/58566 (S/f). Colostate.edu. Recuperado el 4 de abril de 2024, de https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/books/sound/chapter4.pd

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