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ENGLISH PHONETICS: CONSONANTS AND VOWELS

Prof. Dr. Luiz Fernando Gomes

While phonetics deals with how speech sounds are actually produced,
transmitted and received in actual spoken language, phonology deals
specifically with the ways those sounds are organized into the individual
languages, hence dealing with abstractions on a virtual basis.

In an attempt to make this definition a little more accessible, you might

dare to say that phonology deals with what is in a speaker's head (knowledge
about the sounds of language, “LANGUE”), while phonetics focuses on what
actually comes out of the speaker's head and mouth (concrete production of
sounds, “PAROLE”

Transcription: Into / / indicates phonemic or broad transcription:

focus in difference between words;
Into [ ] indicates phonetic or narrow transcription: focus on individual
difference of pronunciations.
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Organs of speech
The term organs of speech refers to those parts of the human body which are
concerned in various ways with the production of speech. A lot of them are only
secondarily concerned with the production of speech – their primary functions
have to do with eating, chewing, and swallowing food, and respiration. Those
parts of the body below (not the lungs) belong to the vocal tract. The vocal
tract is divided into the supraglottal and the subglottal tract.

• lips
• teeth
• nasal cavity
• tongue
• hard palate
• soft palate
• pharynx
• larynx
• vocal folds/cords
• trachea
• lungs
• uvula
• diaphragm
• jaw bone

Vocal Sound Production

Diaphragm action pushes air from the lungs

through the vocal folds, producing a periodic
train of air pulses. This pulse train is shaped by
the resonances of the vocal tract. The basic
resonances, called vocal formants, can be
changed by the action of the articulators to
produce distinguishable voice sounds, like the
vowel sounds.

ARTICULATORY PHONETICS

CONSONANTS AND VOWELS TRANSCRIPTON AND CLASSIFICATION

Consonants are mainly classified according to:

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1-The state of the glottis: voiced or voiceless

2-The position of the velum: oral or nasal

3- the place of articulation: bilabial, labiodental, interdental, alveolar, palatal,

velar and glottal

4- the manner of articulation: stops, continuants, fricatives, affricates, liquids

and glides.

1- State of the glottis:

Voiceless: without vibration of vocal folds: [p , t , k , f , θ , , , s, h]
Voiced: with vibration of vocal folds: [ b, d, g, z, ʒ, ð ,m ,n, ŋ, l, r, dʒ, j, w]

2- The position of the velum

Nasal and Oral Sounds - Sounds pronounced through the nose are nasal
[m] [n], and [ŋ]; those pronounced through the mouth are oral (all other
consonants...)

3- Place of Articulation

1- Bilabials: [p, b, m] - Sounds produced by bringing the lips together

2- Labiodentals: [f, v]- Sounds produced with bottom lip against upper
teeth
3- Interdentals: [ ð, θ ] this and thin - Sounds produced with tip of tongue
between the upper and lower teeth (also called dentals)
4- Alveolars: [ t, d, n, s, z, l, r] - Sounds produced with the front part of
the tongue against the alveolar ridge - the part of the roof of the mouth

that is right behind the teeth [ ʃ , ʒ , tʃ , dʒ, j ]- Sounds produced with

the front part of the tongue against the hard palate just behind the
alveolar ridge
5- Velars: [k, g, ŋ, w ]- Sounds produced with the back of the tongue
against the soft palate (velum)
6- Glottal: [ h ]
7- - Sounds produced with the glottis (vocal cords) - the h sound is
produced with open glottis; if the glottis is closed to stop the air
momentarily, a glottal stop is produced: the sound represented by tt
when a Beatle says "bottle", or the sound that starts each syllable if you
say "uh-oh". Manners of Articulation
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4- Manner of articulation: how lips, tongue, velum, and glottis can be

positioned in different ways to produce different sound types.

Stops and Continuants: the airstream enter the cavity, it may be

stopped, partially obstructed, or it may flow freely out of the mouth.

1-Stops: [p, t ,k b, d, g, m, n, ŋ] - Sounds in which the airstream is

stopped completely in the mouth cavity for a brief period (note that in m, n, and
ŋ, the nasal stops, air is stopped in the mouth even though it continues to flow
through the nose)

Continuants:

1-Fricatives: [f, s, ʃ , v, ʒ , z, θ, ð, h] - Sounds in which the airstream

is not totally stopped but is obstructed to a narrow area, causing friction.

2-Africates: [tʃ , dʒ] - combine a stop and a fricative and you get an
affricate. Basically, to make one of these you pronounce the stop, then the
fricative, so ch = t + sh and j = d + zh. Affricates are also classified as stops
since the airstream is halted briefly.

3- Liquids: [l, r ]- Sounds where the airstream is obstructed, but not so

much as to either stop it or create friction. In American English the r is
considered a retroflex because of how the tongue flexes back toward the
alveolar ridge (in most dialects). L is considered a lateral liquid because it is
made by putting the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, then letting the
airstream flow around the sides of the tongue - laterally.

4 -Glides (semivowels): [j, w] - Sounds with little or no obstruction to

the airstream in the mouth. Ex. Woo, yes. They may either preceded or followed
by a vowel.[j] (palatal glide] is produced in a position almost identical to [i:]
(beat) and [w] (labio-velar), in position similar to [u:].

USA IPA

s ʃ
z ʒ
c tʃ
j dʒ
u ʊ
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Place >>
Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Manner!
Stop
(oral) - pet p till t kill k
voiceless
Stop
(oral) - bet b dill d gill g
voiced
Nasal
met m nil n sing ŋ
(stop)
Fricative
feel f thin θ seal s mesher hill h
voiceless
Fricative
veal v then ð zeal z measure
voiced
Africate
church
voiceless
Africate
voiced
Glide - which*
voiceless m
Glide - witch*
you j
voiced w
lead l
Liquid
read r
* Some dialects of English do not distinguish the voiceless wh in which from the
voiced w in witch
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Consonants Classification
IPA As found in Description
p pill Voiceless bilabial stop
t till Voiceless alveolar stop
k kill Voiceless velar stop
b bill Voiced bilabial stop
d dill Voiced alveolar stop
g gill Voiced velar stop
m mill Nasal Bilabial Stop
m nil Nasal Alveolar Stop
ŋ ring Nasal Velar Stop
f feel Voiceless Labiodental Fricative
s seal Voiceless Alveolar Fricative
h heal Voiceless Glottal Fricative
v veal Voiced Labiodental Fricative
z zeal Voiced Alveolar Fricative
θ
thigh Voiceless Dental Fricative
ð
thy Voiced Dental Fricative

ʃ shell Voiceless Palatal (Postalveolar) Fricative

ʒ
azure Voiced Palatal (Postalveolar) Fricative

t chill Voiceless Palatal Africate

ʃ
dʒ
jill Voiced Palatal Africate
l leaf Alveolar Lateral Liquid (Approximant)
r reef Alveolar Liquid (Approximant)
j you Palatal Glide (Approximant)
w witch Voiced Labial-Velar Glide (Approximant)
m which Voiceless Labial-Velar Glide (Approximant)
h
uh-oh Glottal Fricative

Exercises
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1- Complete the chart below for the consonantal phonemes in bolt:

Word Phonetic Oral Nasal Voiced Voiceless Place of art. Manner of
symbol (x) (x) (x) (x) art.
[ ]
Longer
winner
Humor
Hurt
Tear
Lock
where
Weird
Use
Who
Measure
Nation
Scissors
Fasten
Bathe
Teeth
Oven
Gopher
Twig
Matter
Draft
Blast
Germ
Lunch
Uncle
Chord
Hunter
Terror
Upper
Upon
2- Write the [phonetic symbol] for the first sound of each of the following words:

a- Judge e- Pneumonia i- Phone

b- Thomas f- Psycho j- Civic
c- Though g- Usury
d- Cheese h- Contract
3- Write the [ phonetic symbol] for the last sound in each of the following words:
a- Fleece d- Health g- Rough
b- Neighbor e- Watch h- Cheese
c- Long f- boost i- Bleached
j- jazz
 4- Write the symbol that corresponds to each of the following phonetic descriptions;
then give an English word that contains this sound:

a- Voiceless bilabial stop

b- Lateral liquid
c- Velar nasal
d- Voiced interdental fricative
e- Voiceless affricate
f- Palatal glide

Vowels and Diphthongs

Vowel sounds carry pitch and loudness; you can sing vowels. They may be long or
short. They can be produced without any consonants before or after them. They are
divides into: simple vowels and diphthongs.

Diphthongs are vowels that exhibit a change in quality within a single syllable.
Simple vowels: pit, set, cat, father, dog, but, put, suppose (8)
Diphthongs: say, buy, cow, loose, grow, boy, heat. (7)

Vowels can be classified according to:

1- Tongue position (how high is the tongue?)
2- Lip rounding (what is the position of the lips?)
3- The part of the tongue involved (what part is raised or lowered?)

VOWEL CHART

Tongue height FRONT-----part of the (CENTER) tongue involved ----------BACK

ROUNDED
ROUNDED

HIGH ij (beet) uw
Uw(boot)
(boot)

I (bit) (put)
(put)

ow (boat)
ow (boat)

MID ej (great)

ə (melody)
(bore) (boy)
ε (bet) (bore) (boy)j

^ (does)

LOW ǽ (act) aj (lies) aw (crowd) a (father)

 Phonetics

Tip Frontal Part

Ij, I, eI, ɛ,
Central Part
æ

ǝ,^,aj, aw

Back Part

ʊ,uw,ow,ɔ,ɔj, ɑ
 Phonetics

Tongue Hight

High

Mid

Low
 Suprasegmental/ Prosodic Properties

Pitch: the auditory property of a sound that enables us to place it on a scale that ranges
from low to high. It´s the frequency of vibration of vocal cords.
Ex. [ s] is higher than [ ʃ ]
Intonation: is a kind of pith control. Pitch movement is spoken utterances that is not
related to differences in word meaning, it´s “a kind of musical accompaniment.”

Upward movement level or sustained downward movement

Ex. Falling and rising intonations indicate different statements:
Bill? Can you come here? Fred parked the car.
Pitch height: 3= high pitch; 2= medium; 1= low

Length: vowels on consonants whose articulation is held longer relative to that of other
vowels and consonants,

Stress: the prominence in some vowels utterances. Refers to loudness of the sounds
and sound sequences. Ex ´digest (n) x di´gest (v)
 EXERCISES
1- Based on the chart above, complete the vowel classification below:
According to tongue position:
High:
Mid:
Low:
According to tongue height:
Back:
Front:
Central:
According to Roundness:
Rounded:
Unrounded:

Complete the chart below for the vocalic phonemes in bolt

Word Phonetic Tongue Part of the roundness
symbol [ ] Position tongue
Cream
Income
Clay
Lead
Racket
Loose
Hood
Throat
Coin
Normal
Rob
Afford
Tough
Plow
Tide
Believe
Been
Grain
Said
Laugh
Brew
Should
Toe
Loyal
Caught
Father
Suspect
Was
Bough
buy
 2- Listen to a colleague of yours and transcript his/her pronunciation for the
following words:

a- Physics
b- Merry
c- Weather
d- Coat
e- Yellow
f- Marry
g- Tease
h- Mary
i- Heath
j- “your name”

3- Write the symbol that corresponds to each of the following phonetic

descriptions; then give an English word that contains this sound:
a- Low front vowel
b- Mid front vowel
c- High back vowel

4- In each of the following pairs of words, the bold sounds differ by one or more
phonetics properties (features). State the differences and the properties they have
in common.

a- Cool – cold
b- Good- God
c- Tall - country
d- Chip – sheet
e- Put- but

5- In each of the following pairs of words, the bold sounds differ by one or more
phonetics properties (features). State the differences and the properties they have
in common.

Comments: in plural forms, pronounce /s/ after a voiceless sound ended in: /s , ʃ,
t ʃ/ , pronounce /z/ after voiced sound ended in: /z, ʒ , dʒ/, pronounce /IZ/ after
sounds ended in: /s , ʃ, t ʃ, z, ʒ , dʒ/

a- Bath – bathe
b- Reduce – reduction
c- Wife – wives
d- Cats – dogs
e- Impolite – indecent
f- Suspects – buses
g- Rags – rats
h- Judges - churches

6- Write the following sentences in regular English spelling:

 a- Noam Chomsky is a linguist who teaches at the MIT.
………………………………………………………………………………………
b- Phonetics is the study of speech sounds
………………………………………………………………………………………..
c- All languages use sounds produced by our upper respiratory system.
…………………………………………………………………………………………

d- In some dialects of English cat , the name ,and caught, the verb, are pronounced
the same. ……………………………………………………………………………
………….

EXTRA EXERCISES

1- Make phonetic transcription of the following words (use your dictionary)

2- Classify the consonants (in bolt) in each word, according to the place of
articulation, manner of articulation and voice (use your own chart).
3- Classify the underlined vowels, according to the position of the tongue (high,
mid, low); frontness (front, central, back); nasalization, and position of the lips.
4- Copy all diphthongs (do not the repeated ones).

One-syllable words

moon cloth
star clothe
go foot
come scale
both wrong
shall bridge
could joy
may throw
block phone
day shroud
night league
quiche gives
next think
few coin
green Jacques
black Two- syllable words
white guitar
jack bedrock
chime friendly
tongue structure
that coffee
bazaar
defeat longer words
loser engineer
vision mandolin
adjust abbreviate
phantom neighborhood
booking vegetable
knitted diaphragm
column beautiful
terrain survivor
catchy collusion
employ psychology
fountain confounded
pizza deception
enough corduroy
shepherd kangaroo
longing potatoes
thistle mathematics
rather sixtieth
science geography
listen invasion
laughter curious
yellow mayonnaise
impugn
indict
therefore

REFERÊNCIAS

http://www.uni-ielefeld.de/lili/personen/vraithel/teaching/HTHS/transcription.html

http://ipap.calpoly.edu/epa/consonants.html

http://depts.washington.edu/llc/olr/linguistics/LIN_004/html/ConChart.html

http://ipa.typeit.org/

O’GRADY, William; DOBROVOLSKY, Michael & ARONOFF, Mark.

Contemporary Linguistics – an Introduction. N. Your. St. Martin Press, 1993.