Production Of Speech Sounds English Language Essay

Production Of Speech Sounds incline Language EssayThe output of public lecture sounds involves deuce essential comp sensationnts initiating a flow of air in and through the blunt tract Some method of shaping or articulating the air-stream so as to generate a specific type of sound vocalism A third component, present in close to, scarcely non all sounds phonation. installationInitiators lungs in English the only initiator (in new(prenominal) languages also unlikable glottis or tongue (combined with velar closure).Lungs sponges that can fill in with the air, contained within the costa cage. The expiratory air stream is further processed to bronchi, then to trachea/windpipe and then the larynx1. The space among the vocal cords/vocal folds is the glottis.ArticulationOrgans actuateicipating in occasion be called articulators (above the larynx) Pharynx2 a tube stretching from above the larynx, its top end is gived into dickens split One part being the back of the mout h The otherwise part beginning off the counselling through the nasal pitfall. In the action of English sounds it serves mainly as a container of a volume of air that is set into vibration in accordance with the vocal folds vibration3 Oral cavity plays the most important role. It is within the oral cavity that the greatest variety of articulatory motions put acrosss.The articulatory electronic organs in the mouthi/ passive the maxilla, the teeth, the alveolar ridge, the hard palate.ii/ active the jaw, the lower lip, the soft palate. The velum/soft palate raised (the airflow cannot escape through the nose) or lowered a (the air passes through the nose). The most active organ in the mouth is the tongue. The tongue the tip (apex), the blade (dorsum) and the root (radix).The outer end of the mouth is provided with the stop design and lower lip.The vibration of the vocal folds inside the larynx/ phonate box produces the sound of voice and this process is called phonation. The larynx is situated in the neck. It has several parts its main structure is made of cartilage (material similar to bone but less hard). The larynx consists of four cartilages1 cartilago thyreoidea2 cartilago cricoidea3 cartilagines arytenoideae4 epiglottis blanket the entrance into the larynxInside the larynx in that location atomic tot 18 vocal folds (two thick flaps of muscle sooner like a pair of lips). At the front the vocal folds argon joined together and fixed to the inside of the thyroid cartilage. At the back they argon attached to a pair of small-scale cartilages called arytenoid cartilages, so that if the arytenoid cartilages move, the vocal folds go away move too. The arytenoid cartilages are attached to the top of the cricoid cartilage but they can move so as to move the vocal folds apart or together. The term glottis is used to refer to the pass arounding between the vocal folds.States of the glottis1. Not vibrating1) If the vocal folds are most together and t hey part afterward the last-place phase of articulation Voiceless Plosives2) If the vocal folds are loosely open, no vibration, no voice is produced Voiceless Fricatives and Affricates are produced.3) If the vocal folds are held closely only in their front part, the cartilage-like part is set apart Glottal Fricative (the sound /h/) is produced.2. VibratingFurther tapered of the glottis brings it into position for the production of voice.The vocal folds can be held closely together and vibrate. This produces tones / vowel sounds.The vocal folds can be loosely together and their vibration is weak. This produces Voiced Plosives, Affricates and Fricatives.The number of bouts of opening and closing the glottis per heartbeat is referred to as the fundamental frequency of voice (Hz). A single cycle happens in the region of 1/100th second, therefore, the cycle repeats at the rates in the region of between approximately 80-200 cycles per second. This rate is far too rapid for the hum an ear to be able to secern each individual opening /closing of the folds. However, human ear is able to perceive variations in the overall rate of vibration as changes in the pitch of the voice4. The vibration averages roughly between 200 and 300 times per second in a womans voice and about half that rate in adult men.Acoustic aspectSound is rowed by means of the vibration of air molecules and is transmitted in sound waves in all directions. The voice comes into existence on the basis of vocal folds vibration. The periodic vibration gives rise to tone, whereas aperiodic vibration results in the production of noise.The tone is characterized by three canonic qualitiesThe pitch given by the frequency of the vibrations in cps. The pitch is in direct proportion to the number of cps and in indirect proportion to the cycles period.The transport is the amount of energy transmitted through the air. It is related to the amplitude of vibration. The intensity is proportionate to the squ are of the amplitude.The timbre is given by the composition of the tone. Simple tones are non existent because any object vibrates not only as a whole but also in its individual parts. The vocal folds vibrate in such a manner that in addition to the fundamental frequency (a grassroots vibration over their length) they produce a number of overtones or harmonics which are simple multiples of the fundamental or start-off harmonic. The combination of these components makes up the acoustic spectrum. A visible recording of vernacular is produced by computer analysis and it refers to the interest dimensionsTime / duration on the horizontal axis, given in msFrequency on the vertical axis, given in cycles per secondIntensity indicated by relative blackness of the markings.The component bands are called formants and are numbered from bottom upwards. It is the first two formants (F1 and F2) that contribute most to the distinctive character of the vowels. From articulatory point of weigh F1 is correlated with tongue height (the pharyngeal formant), F2 with front-to-back tongue placing (the oral formant).Auditory aspectThe perception of a sound is mediated by the brain rather than by ear itself. The ear has three major travelsTo collect stimuliTo transmit themTo analyze them.The upper limit of frequency which can be perceived is maximal 20, 000 cps.The ear is subdivided into the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear leads to the ear drum. The middle ear is a small air-filled cavity containing a chain of three tiny bones connected to the ear drum at one end and the inner ear at the other. The main part of the inner ear is the cochlea shaped like a snails shell whose function is to convert sound vibrations into nerve impulses. Speech sounds are perceived in wrong of four categories (pitch, loudness, quality and length). The categories are discomfitive and must not be equated exactly with the related physiological and physical categories.Consona nts Plosives, Fortis LenisThe differences between vowels and consonants are in the management they are produced (vowels voices, consonants noises) vowels fulfill the role of the peak of the syllable whereas consonants fulfill the marginal function..Classification of consonants see Chart of Consonants (P. Roach, p.62). It is customary to divide consonants into several groups according to several criteria. The most important are According to their place of articulation According to their manner of articulationA/ Classification according to the manner of articulation The articulators involved form a closure /p, t, k/ /b, d, g /. The consonants produced in this way are called Stops/Plosives. The articulators involved form a narrowing (as for /f, v, s, z, , , , , h/). The consonants produced in this way are called Fricatives. The articulators form a closure combined with a narrowing (as for t, d). The consonants produced in this way are called Affricates.Plosives As for place of art iculation bilabial, apico-alveolar, velar. Plosives four phases (approach, hold, release, post-release).DistributionsAll the three plosives in all positions initial, medial and closing.Initial position CVIn /p, t, k/ during the transition to voiced sound the unfastened glottis takes many time to close sufficiently so that the vocal folds can start vibrating, consequently there is a period of voicelessness aspiration (puff of air). terminal position VCThe syllables closed by voiceless consonants are considerably compacter than those that are open, or closed by voiced consonants.FricativesThey include /f, , s, v, , z, h/.Manner of articulation Two organs are brought and held sufficiently close together for the escaping air-stream to produce strong friction. This friction may or may not be attended by voice.A/ Place of articulation/f, v/ labiodental/,/ dental/s, z/ alveolar/, / palato-alveolar/h/- glottalLength of the preceding soundThe value of the final exam /f, , s, v, , z/ is determined by the length of the syllable which they close. Dental fricatives /, ///spelling always thdistribution expression initial, word medial, word final word initial clusters, word final clusters//spelling always thdistribution word initial, word medial, word final word initial clusters /d/ does not occur in initial clusters, word final clustersManner place of articulationThe tip of the tongue makes a light contact with the edge and inner develop of the upper front teeth. With some vocalizers the tongue-tip may protrude through the teeth.AffricatesAffricates are complex consonants, beginning as plosives and ending as fricatives (Roach).Palato-alveolar Affricates /t, d//t/ when final in syllable effect of reducing the length of the preceding sounds.NasalsBilabial nasal /m/Alveolar nasal //Velar nasal // (spellings ng or n followed by a letter indicating a velar consonant tongue, anxious)distribution word medial singer, hanger, anxiety word medial + g finger, angle, angry, aridity word medial + k anchor, monkey, donkey word final sing, wrong, tongue word final + k sink, rank word final syllabic bacon, taken, organRoach rules for the pronunciation of the nk and ng digraphs in nk the /k/ is always pronounced in ng the following /g/ is pronounced in mono-morphemic run-in (finger, anger, linger) and in comparatives superlatives of adjectives (younger, the longest) otherwise the /g/ following the // is never pronouncedLateralsArticulatory features articulated by means of a partial closure, on one or both(prenominal) sides of which the air-stream is able to escape through the mouth. Only one, alveolar, lateral consonant occurs in E. Within the /l/ phoneme 3 main variants occura/ clear /l/, with a relatively front vowel resonance, before vowels and /j/ Roach /i/ resonanceb/ voiceless /l/ following accented (aspirated) /p, k/ (less considerable devoicing after /f, s, /, or weakly accented /p, t, k/)c/ dark /l/, with a relatively back vowel reso nance, finally after a vowel, before a consonant, and as a syllabic sound following a consonant Roach u resonanceClear /l/ the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate at the akin time as the tip contact is made. Dark /l/ the front of the tongue somewhat depressed and the back raised in the direction of the soft palate.Approximants/r/Distribution word initial (red, raw), word medial, intervocalic (mirror, very), word final /r-link/ (far away, poor old man) in consonantal clusters (price, crow)Manner place of articulation the tip of the tongue held in a position near to, but not touching, the rear part of the alveolar ridge. Lip position according to the following vowel.BBC /r/ distribution only before a vowel./j/ palatal/w/ labio-velarEnglish vowels short vowels long vowelsVowels are specified in terms of 3 parameters vertical tongue position (high low close half-close half-open open) horizontal tongue position (front back) lip-position (unro unded rounded)In accented syllables the so-called long vowels are fully long when they are final or in a syllable closed by a voiced consonant, but they are considerably shortened when they occur in a syllable closed by a voiceless consonant. The very(prenominal) considerable shortening before fortis consonants applies also to the diphthongs.DiphthongsThe sequences of vocalic elements included under the term diphthong are those which form a glide within one syllable. They render a 1st element (the starting point) and a 2nd element (the point in the direction of which the glide is made).BBC diphthongs1st element is in the command region of /, e, a, , , /2nd element is in the general region of /, , / division into closing (direction towards /, / and centering (direction towards //.Generalizations referring to all RP diphthongs1/ Most of the length and filter associated with the glide is concentrated on the 1st element, the 2nd one is only lightly sounded in Slovak the ratio betw een the lengths of the two elements11, in English it is approximately 212/ They are equivalent in length to long vowels and are subject to the same variations in length in the reduced forms there is a considerable shortening of the 1st element3/ No diphthong occurs before // phonics PhonologyPhonetics phonology are the two linguistic sciences investigating the phonetic aspect of language communication and its generalization in the minds of the language users. Phonetics investigates the phonic material of speech (the sounds). The speech sounds are analyzed from two aspectsAspect of the speaker/producerHearer/receiver.The former aspect covers the activity of articulatory organs, the latter the transmission of acoustic entities perceived by the listener and the process of decoding. According to the subject of investigation, phonetics is further subdivided intoi/ genetic/articulatory production of speech soundsii/ acoustic transmission of sounds, acoustic characteristics of speech s oundsiii/ auditory perception of speech soundsPhonology speech sounds from the aspect of their function they fulfill within a linguistic system, how they are organized into systems, how they are utilized in languages and what the relationships among them are.We can divide speech up into segments and we can find great variety in the way these segments are made (their pronunciation differs from speaker to speaker even the same speaker never pronounces the same segment in the same way. But there is an go up set of units as the basis of our speech otherwise we would not be able to understand other speakers of the same language, communication among people would be impossible. These units are called phonemes, and the complete set of these units is called the phonemic system of the language. The phonemes themselves are abstract (the sound excogitations stored in our mental grammar), we do not produce phonemes, we produce sounds or phones. Phonemes are the minimal sequential contrastive units of the phonology of languages, (Catford). contrastive phonemes are contrastive in the sense that they are the bits of sound that distinguish one word from another bit , pit solely by the contrast between the initial consonants /p/ /b/ the two words are distinguished. The bits of sound manifesting these contrasts are phonemes. minimal phonemes are minimal units, because if you take a stretch of speech and chop it up into a sequence of phonologic units, the shortest stretch of speech sounds that functions as a contrastive unit in the buildup of the phonological forms of words is the phoneme.The phonological structure of English, like that of other languages, can be described as a hierarchy of units. The largest, or most inclusive, unit in English is the pitch contour contour or tone-group Jane was here yesterday. We can chop up each tone-unit into smaller units, namely into successive rhythmic units, or feet (the fact that these feet are contrastive, consequence differenti ating units, is demonstrated by the fact that we could divide the utterance into feet differently, and this would convey a slightly different meaning). Next, we can divide each foot into still smaller chunks, namely into a sequence of syllables. Finally, we can divide up each syllable into a sequence of still smaller units and here it is necessary for us to go into phonetic transcription At this point we can do no further chopping. We pick out reached the lowest rank in the phonological hierarchy, the smallest sequential or linear units phonemes. in that respect are no smaller meaning-differentiating units. Sequential following in sequence. Phoneme an abstract unit operating on the level language as a system.Symbols TranscriptionTypes of Transcription1/i/Phonological transcription, phonemic transcriptionThe choice of symbols is limited to one symbol per one phoneme.2/Phonetic transcriptionVery detailed, each single realization of a sound is recorded.The SyllableHuman beings ca nnot produce a sound smaller than a syllable. The syllable seems to be the essential unit of speech segmentation and speech recognition.J. Lavers definition of the phonological syllable is as follows The syllable is a complex unit, made up of nuclear and marginal elements. Nuclear elements are vowels, and marginal elements are consonants.A/ Languages differ in syllable typesThe minimum syllable V (I, Oh)CV (consonantal beginning an onset) (e.g. me) open syllableVC (consonantal end a coda) (e.g. am) closed syllableSome syllables have both onset and coda (e.g. him).The most common type of syllable among the languages of the world is CV. CVC is also common among the languages of the world. English syllables a wide variety of syllable types, both open and closed.B/ Languages also differ on constraints on the segments which can occur at the beginning or end of a syllable. No syllable in E can begin with // // and // are rare. Almost any consonant can occur in syllable-final position, except for /h/, /j/, /w/, /r/ (only in rhotic accents).Syllable types in E Beginning a vowel (see the constraints above), one, two or three consonants. Ending a vowel, one, two, three or four consonants.Syllable structures in EnglishBeginning a vowel zero onset (// rare) a consonant except for //, // having an onset two or more consonants a consonant cluster.C/ Initial two-consonant clustersi/ pre-initial /s/ is followed by one of about 10 initial consonants (p, t, k f m, n l w, j, r) with /l, r, w, j/ a nonpartizan analysis is possible (e.g. slow, sky, swim)ii/ initial (p, t, k b, d, g f, , s, h, v m, n l) followed by a post-initial /l, r, w, j/ (e.g. proud, queen, friend).D/ Initial three-consonant clustersThere is a clear relationship between the two groups/s/ is the pre-initial /p, t, k/ are initial and /l, r, w, j/ are post-initial (e.g. split, square, strike).E/ Final consonant clustersNo final consonant means that there is no coda, i.e. it is an open syllable. One cons onant means that the syllable is closed. Any consonant except for /h/, /w/, /j/, /r/ can occur in syllable-final position.F/ Two-consonant clustersi/ pre-final (m, n, , l, s) is followed by a final (e.g. bend, bench ask)ii/ a final consonant is followed by a post-final /s, z, t, d, / (e.g. fifth. asks, robbed). The post-final consonant often corresponds to a separate morpheme. Pronunciation the release of the first plosive of a plosive + plosive cluster is usually produced without plosion and is therefore practically inaudible.G/ Final three-consonant clustersi/ pre-final + final + post-final (e.g. helped, twelfth)ii/ final + post-final 1 + post-final 2 (e.g. fifths, next)H/ Final four-consonant clustersi/ pre-final + final + post-final 1 + post-final 2 (e.g. twelfths)ii/ final + post-final 1 + post-final 2 + post-final 3 (e.g. sixths).The syllable onset + rhyme/peak + codaDifficulties encountered by foreign learnersUnknown consonant clusters usually two strategies are appliedi/ vow els between the consonants are insertedii/ one of the consonants is deleted.That is simplification of the syllable structure of the E word by making it conform to the pattern of the native languages of the learners. Deletion exists in E but these deletions do not occur randomly.Stress in EnglishThe syllable or syllables which stand out from the the other szllable or szllables of a word are said to be formed, to receive the try.Gimson a stressed syllable the one upon which there is relatively great breath movement and muscular energy.As for perception the stressed syllables are perceived to be more prominent because they are louder, longer, pronounced on the pitch different from that of the other syllables and they contain a vowel sound differing in its quality from neighboring vowels. The most powerful effect is produced by pitch, the length comes second, loudness and quality of the vowel sounds is less important.Types of stress (Kenworthy)Three levels of stress primary, utilit y(prenominal), tertiary are heard in long E wordsi/ when said in closing offii/ the word is in a position in a sentence where it is very strongly stressediii/ full vowels are used. military position of stressEnglish stress isA/ Variable, i.e. the main stress is not tied to any particular syllable (in Slovak it has delimitative function, i.e. denotes word boundaries in E it has distinctive function, i.e. it differentiates the meanings of words)B/ Fixed, i.e. the main stress always falls on a particular syllable in any given wordC/ Mobile, i.e. having become familiar with one form of a word, learners result assume that the stress stays on the same syllable in other forms of the word (or they bequeath assume that prefixes and suffixes make no difference to the placement of the stress) but this is not the case of the E language (e.g. photography photographer photograph advertising advertiser advertisement librarianship librarian library). vocalise Stress RulesWhen considering th e stress placement several factors should be taken into accountthe structure of the word (whether the word in question is a simple or complex)the grammatical category of the word (noun, adjective or verb)the number of the syllables in the wordthe phonological structure of the syllables.1. The structure of the wordSimple word not consisting of more than one grammatical unit morpheme (although this is sometimes difficult to decide)Complex words two major typesi/ words made from a basic stem word with the addition of an affix (derived words) affixes two sorts prefixes and suffixes. They have three possible effects on word stress the affix itself receives the primary stress (i.e. -ee, ese) the affix will not influence the placement of stress, (i.e. -ing the word will be stressed just as if the affix was not there) The stress form on the stem, not on the affix, but it is shifted to different syllable (i.e. magnet magnetic).ii/ compound words made of two (or occasionally more) indep endent E words. There is no clear dividing line between two-word compounds and pairs of words that simply happen to occur together quite frequently.Spelling inconsistency solid (one word, e.g. sunflower) words obscure by a hyphen (e.g. fruit-cake, whistle-blower, cabinet-maker) two words separated by a space (e.g. coffee table, tax inspector, weather forecast).Word stress rules2. The number of the syllables syllable structureTWO-SYLLABLE WORDSVerbs Oo 60%. If the second syllable contains a long vowel/diphthong, or if it ends with more than one consonant the second syllable is stressed (e.g. apply, attract, achieve). If the final syllable contains a short vowel and one/no consonant or the diphthong // the first syllable is stressed (e.g. enter, open, follow).Adjectives follow the verbs (e.g. lovely, even, hollow, divine, correct).Nouns Oo 90%. If the second syllable contains a short vowel, the stress will usually come on the first syllable. (e.g. table, sofa, picture). Otherwis e it will be on the second syllable (e.g. estate, balloon).Adverbs, Prepositions behave like verbs and adjectives (e.g. evenly, correctly).THREE-SYLLABLE WORDSVerbs oOo, ooO. If the last syllable contains a short vowel and ends with not more than one consonant that syllable will be unstressed and the stress will be placed on the preceding/ intermediate syllable (e.g. encounter, determine). If the last syllable contains a long vowel/diphthong, or ends with more than one consonant, that final syllable will be stressed (e.g. entertain, resurrect).Nouns Ooo, oOo. If the final syllable contains a short vowel and the middle syllable contains a short vowel and ends with no more than one consonant, both final and middle syllables will be unstressed and the first syllable will get the stress (e.g. library). If the final consonant contains a short vowel or /u/, it is unstressed if the middle syllable contains a long vowel/diphthong, or it ends with more than one consonant, the middle syllabl e will be stressed (e.g. potato, mimosa, disaster).Adjectives follow the nouns (e.g. derelict, insolent).DERIVED WORDSPrefixes stress rules governed by the same rules as in words without prefixes. Suffixescarrying stress themselves (e.g. -ee, -ese, -eer, -ette)not affecting the stress placement (e.g. -able, -al, -ful, -less)influencing the stress in the stem (e.g. -ive, -ic, -ion, -ious) stress on the penultimate syllable (e.g. words ending in -phy (e.g. photography) -cy (e.g. democracy) -ty (e.g. reliability) -gy (e.g. prodigy) -al (e.g. critical).COMPOUNDSNounsTwo noun elements the first element stressed (e.g. typewriter, suitcase, sunflower).AdjectivesAdjective + -ed the second element is stressed (e.g. bad-tempered) first element a number the second element is stressed (e.g. first-class, five-finger, three-wheeler)Adverbs, Verbs usually final stressed (e.g. ill-treat, down-stream, North-East, half-timbered).Note What a beautiful black bird Look at that big blackbirdStress t ending to go on syllables containing a long vowel/diphthong and /or ending with more than one consonant.3. The grammatical category of the word nouns, adjectives, verbs. Compounds nouns usually stressed on the first element (e.g. summertime, grandfather, silverware, schoolteacher, bathtub). When the second element is a polysyllabic word it retains its stress pattern, but when speaking more rapidly, the stress of the second element may be lost (the secondary stress, e.g. trade exhibition).Some compound nouns late stress exceptionsLate stressFirst element material, ingredient the second element is made of (e.g. plastic cup, jokester sandwich, cherry pie). Compounds containing juice, cake take an other(a) stress (e.g. fruit juice, fruit cake, lemon juice).Names of squares and roads thoroughfares (roads for public traffic, e.g. Walnut Avenue, Cambridge Crescent, Belgrade Square, Oxford Drive). Those containing street, however, have an early stress (e.g. Baker Street).The first e lement identifies a place or a time (e.g. town hall, kitchen window, summer holiday, London transport, April showers).Sentence StressIn sequences (sentence, clause, discourse) not all the words are equally important, which in E is shown by means of sentence stress and sentence focus. Why is it important?As listeners, it is essential that we are able to spot points of importance in the stream of speechAs speakers, we must highlight points in our messages, or E listeners will have difficulty in interpreting what they hear, in deciding how it relates to what has just been said and predicting what the speaker is possibly leading up to. Thus sentence stress and sentence focus are vital for intelligibility. The placement of sentence stress is closely related to the function the word fulfills within a sentence. According to their function the words in E are divided intoContent words/lexical wordsGrammar words/function words/structure words.The former ask the lexical meaning while the latt er are structural markers, denoting grammatical categories and syntactic relations. The classes appear to have physiological and neurological validity. Some brain dishonored persons have greater difficulty in using, understanding or reading content words and structure words (e.g. in inn which witch). Content words normally carry the most of information. They generally have in connected speech the qualitative pattern of their isolate form and therefore retain some measure of qualitative prominence even when no pitch prominence is associated with them and when they are relatively unstressed.Structure words do not carry so much information. They do not have a dictionary meaning in the way we normally expect nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs to have. All structure words