English Phonetics
Overview
Content and Function Words
Phonetics and Phonology
Definitions
Why They Matter
Stress and Rhythm
What is?
Falling and Rising Intonation
Places of Articulation
Definition
Falling vs Rising
Key Terms
Videos
Embedded Videos
Voiced and Unvoiced Sounds
Definitions
Video of this task
Voiced/Voiceless Pairs
Task 5
Every sentence in English contains two broad categories of words based on their role in meaning and their typical pronunciation (stressed vs. reduced).
What is?
A place of articulation (also called point of articulation) is the location in the vocal tract where two articulators make contact or approach each other to produce a consonant sound. The active articulator moves (usually the tongue or lips), while the passive articulator stays in place (teeth, palate, etc.).
Definitions
Key Distinction
Phonetics: The scientific study of speech sounds how they are physically produced (articulatory), transmitted (acoustic), and perceived (auditory). It is concerned with sounds as physical events, independent of their meaning.
Phonology: The study of the sound system of a specific language how sounds function and contrast to create meaning. While phonetics describes sounds universally, phonology explains which sound distinctions matter in a given language
Phonetics → describes ALL possible human speech sounds.
Phonology → studies which sounds are meaningful in ONE language.
Example: In English, /p/ and /b/ are different phonemes (pin vs bin). In some languages, this distinction does not exist phonologically — even if both sounds can be articulated.
Definitions
Voiced sounds: Produced when the vocal cords vibrate. You can feel the vibration by placing your fingers lightly on your throat. All vowels in English are voiced.
Unvoiced (Voiceless) sounds: Produced without vocal cord vibration. The airstream passes through the glottis without causing the cords to vibrate.
Quick test: Say /s/ → no vibration. Say /z/ → vibration. Both sounds are formed at the same place (alveolar) in the same manner (fricative) — voicing is the only difference.
Additional Notes
• Sonorants (nasals /m n ŋ/, liquids /l r/, glides /j w/) are all voiced in English. • Vowels are always voiced in English. • Voicing affects meaning: 'price' /praɪs/ vs 'prize' /praɪz/.
Stress and Rhythm
English is a stress-timed language. Content words receive the primary stress, and function words are typically reduced — often to a schwa /ə/ — in natural connected speech.
Example: "I WANT to GO to the STORE." (CAPS = stressed content words; italics = reduced function words)
Why They Matter for Language Teaching
• Understanding phonetics helps learners produce sounds correctly.
• Phonology explains why certain pronunciation errors affect meaning (minimal pairs).
• Together they support listening comprehension, speaking accuracy, and reading in alphabetic scripts.
• EFL teachers who understand both can diagnose and correct pronunciation systematically.
Falling vs Rising — Comparison
What is Intonation?
Intonation refers to the variation in pitch across an utterance. It is a suprasegmental feature — it operates above the level of individual sounds and affects entire phrases or sentences. Intonation conveys meaning that is not encoded in the words alone: it signals attitudes, discourse structure, and interaction management.
Pragmatic Functions
• Falling intonation can signal dominance, certainty, or closure. • Rising intonation can signal deference, tentativeness, or continuation. • Misused intonation causes pragmatic failure, example, a falling tone on a polite request sounds demanding. Note for EFL learners: Spanish speakers often transfer Spanish intonation patterns to English, which can change the communicative intent of an utterance.
Visual Guide
Task 4
Task 3
English Phonetics
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Transcript
English Phonetics
Overview
Content and Function Words
Phonetics and Phonology
Definitions
Why They Matter
Stress and Rhythm
What is?
Falling and Rising Intonation
Places of Articulation
Definition
Falling vs Rising
Key Terms
Videos
Embedded Videos
Voiced and Unvoiced Sounds
Definitions
Video of this task
Voiced/Voiceless Pairs
Task 5
Every sentence in English contains two broad categories of words based on their role in meaning and their typical pronunciation (stressed vs. reduced).
What is?
A place of articulation (also called point of articulation) is the location in the vocal tract where two articulators make contact or approach each other to produce a consonant sound. The active articulator moves (usually the tongue or lips), while the passive articulator stays in place (teeth, palate, etc.).
Definitions
Key Distinction
Phonetics: The scientific study of speech sounds how they are physically produced (articulatory), transmitted (acoustic), and perceived (auditory). It is concerned with sounds as physical events, independent of their meaning. Phonology: The study of the sound system of a specific language how sounds function and contrast to create meaning. While phonetics describes sounds universally, phonology explains which sound distinctions matter in a given language
Phonetics → describes ALL possible human speech sounds. Phonology → studies which sounds are meaningful in ONE language. Example: In English, /p/ and /b/ are different phonemes (pin vs bin). In some languages, this distinction does not exist phonologically — even if both sounds can be articulated.
Definitions
Voiced sounds: Produced when the vocal cords vibrate. You can feel the vibration by placing your fingers lightly on your throat. All vowels in English are voiced. Unvoiced (Voiceless) sounds: Produced without vocal cord vibration. The airstream passes through the glottis without causing the cords to vibrate. Quick test: Say /s/ → no vibration. Say /z/ → vibration. Both sounds are formed at the same place (alveolar) in the same manner (fricative) — voicing is the only difference.
Additional Notes
• Sonorants (nasals /m n ŋ/, liquids /l r/, glides /j w/) are all voiced in English. • Vowels are always voiced in English. • Voicing affects meaning: 'price' /praɪs/ vs 'prize' /praɪz/.
Stress and Rhythm
English is a stress-timed language. Content words receive the primary stress, and function words are typically reduced — often to a schwa /ə/ — in natural connected speech. Example: "I WANT to GO to the STORE." (CAPS = stressed content words; italics = reduced function words)
Why They Matter for Language Teaching
• Understanding phonetics helps learners produce sounds correctly. • Phonology explains why certain pronunciation errors affect meaning (minimal pairs). • Together they support listening comprehension, speaking accuracy, and reading in alphabetic scripts. • EFL teachers who understand both can diagnose and correct pronunciation systematically.
Falling vs Rising — Comparison
What is Intonation?
Intonation refers to the variation in pitch across an utterance. It is a suprasegmental feature — it operates above the level of individual sounds and affects entire phrases or sentences. Intonation conveys meaning that is not encoded in the words alone: it signals attitudes, discourse structure, and interaction management.
Pragmatic Functions
• Falling intonation can signal dominance, certainty, or closure. • Rising intonation can signal deference, tentativeness, or continuation. • Misused intonation causes pragmatic failure, example, a falling tone on a polite request sounds demanding. Note for EFL learners: Spanish speakers often transfer Spanish intonation patterns to English, which can change the communicative intent of an utterance.
Visual Guide
Task 4
Task 3