Other

Theme 1. PHONETIC SYSTEM OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

1. Phonetics as a linguistic science and its branches.
2. General characteristics of phonology.
3. The phonetic system of a language. The phoneme theory in the World:

4. The phoneme and its functions. Phonological School Findings

5. Variants of the phoneme and their classification.
Prague Phonological School
6. Main trends in phoneme theory.
The London Phonological
School
? The Phonetics –
The American Phonological
School

History of the phonetic science The Copenhagen Phonological

School
Scientist Years Findings/theory
Panini

Sir William Jones

There are four main branches of phonetics:
C. G. Kratzenstein

Wolfgang von  articulatory –

Kempelen

C. J. Ferrein  acoustic –

Johannes Müller

A. M. Bell  auditory -

Jean Pierre Rousselot

 functional –
Jan Baudouin de
Courtenay, L. Scherba

Ferdinand de Saussure There are also:

R. H. Stetson Descriptive phonetics – deals with the studying of the phonetic system of
language at a particular period.
 Historical phonetics – investigates the historical development of the Theme 2. The system of the English consonants and vowels.
phonetic system.
1. The system of English consonants
General phonetics – classifies types and explores peculiarities of speech 2. The system of English vowels
3. Modifications of consonants in connected speech
sounds of different languages. Practical and theoretical is also distinguished.
4. Modifications of vowels in connected speech

Segmental phonology –
? The Phoneme -

Supra-segmental phonology –

The linguistic role of phoneme is seen from its three main linguistic
functions:
The primary aim of phonology is to discover the principles that govern the
1) constitutive –
way that phonemes are organized in languages, to determine which phonemes are
used and how they pattern the phonological structure of a language.
2) identificatory –

3) distinctive –
The phonetic system of the language is a set of phonetic units and is
traditionally treated as a combination of four basic components:
? The allophone - (e.g. pin, spin, slipper) -

Aspects of the sounds and their differences

intonation/prosody Vowels aspects Consonants

articulatory

accentual structure
acoustic

syllabic structure
functional

phonemic components auditory

 Classification of consonants

-According to the type of obstruction

and manner of articulation/noise production

Occlusive Constrictive

Noise Sonorants Noise Sonorants

Plosives: Africates medial lateral

(occlus-
voiced constr)
voiceless

-According to the active speech organs and place of articulation

Labial Lingual Glotal

Bilibial Labio-dental Forelingual: mediolingual backlingual

apical
cacuminal

-According to the point of articulation/

place of obstruction (only frolingual)
IPA
dental alveolar palato-alveolar post
alveolar

-According to the work of vocal cords/

presence and absence of voice

Voiced Voiceless

-According to the force of articulation

Lax/Week/Lenis Tense/Strong/Fortis

-According to the work of the soft palate

Nasal Oral
 Classification of vowels -
-According to the stability of articulation

monophthongs diphthongs diphthonghoids Vowel+Consonant alterations -

-According to the position of the tongue/horizontal movement

front front-retraced central back back-advanced

-According to the vertical position of the tongue

High/close Half open/Mid low/open

narrow narrow narrow
broad broad broad

-According to the lip rounding

rounded unrounded

-According to checkness/character of vowel end

checked free

-According to vowel length

Short long

-According to tenseness
tense lax

Modifications of sounds

Sound alterations

Vowel alterations -
-
-
- Adjustments related to C-C linking
Consonant alterations -
 Assimilation

 Smoothing
According to the direction (diphthongs) -

regressive progressive reciprocal

Adjustments on the syllable level

According to the degree of completeness  Compression -

complete/total incomplete/partial Weakening

 Weakforms -

Adjustement on the syntagm level

Degree of stability
 Elongation –
historical non-obligatory
 Alliteration -c
 Assonance – v

Adjustments related to V-V, C-V, V-C linking

Accommodation (C-V/V-C) Elision or complete loss of sounds, both vowels and consonants, is often observed in English.
Elision is likely to be minimal in slow careful speech and maximal in rapid relaxed colloquial forms of

Nasalization-(с-v) Labialization-(v-c) speech, e.g. history, lunch ([lʌnʃ]). It often occurs in initial unstressed syllables preceding the stressed
one, e,g. correct, believe, suppose, perhaps.

Reduction (V-V) Liaison is the connection of the final sound of one word or syllable to the initial sound of the next
word, e.g. the insertion of a linking /r/: near enough.
Epenthesis is the inserting of a vowel or a consonant segment within an existing string of
Quantitative- Qualitative-
segments, e.g.: realtor – realator.
Smoothing is the process when a diphthong optionally loses its second element before another
vowel, or it is monophthongized, e.g.: fire ['faiә -'faә - 'fa:]
Compression is the linguistic phenomenon when a word is pronounced faster than usual, and
Adjustments related to sound deletion/insertion there is a change of the sound structure, e.g. when two syllables, usually both weak, optionally become
one. (Applies only to [i], [u], syllabic consonants): [i] becomes like [j], e.g. lenient ['li:niәnt] - ['li:njәnt],
 Elision (C) etc.
Weakforms are forms of words reduced in their articulation that they consist of a different set of
phonemes. Weakforms differ from strong forms by containing a weak vowel as a result of reduction or
 Zero reduction (V)
elision, e.g. can [kæn]/[kәn], [kn].
Elongation – elongated articulation of a consonant (when the next word begins with the same
 Epenthesis (intrusive sound in which the previous word ends), e.g.: great talk.
/r/)
Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant in a series of words, e.g.: Carries cat clawed
 Liaison (linking /r/) her couch, creating chaos.
 Assonance is the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighboring words. It is used
to reinforce the meanings of words or to set the mood, e.g.: And stepping softly with her air of blooded
ruin about the glade in a frail agony of grace she trailed her rags through dust and…