Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009)
Universidad de Los Andes Facultad de Humanidades y Educación Escuela de Idiomas Modernos
Description of the Production of the English Consonant Phonemes
/p, b/
A fully articulated bilabial plosive is produced in the following manner:
a) The soft palate is raised, shutting off (= closing, blocking) the nasal passage.
b) The lower lip and the upper lip close together firmly, making a complete closure of the air passage.
c) The outgoing air stream stops behind the closure for a short time, so that air pressure builds up.
d) The vocal cords vibrate for /b/, but they do not vibrate for /p/.
e) Suddenly, the lips separate and the air escapes from the mouth cavity quickly, producing a slight plosion for /p/ and a weaker plosion for /b/. In addition, there may be aspiration for /p/.
f) A strong force of air is used for /p/, but a weak force of air is used for /b/.
/t, d/
A fully articulated alveolar plosive is produced in the following manner:
a) The soft palate is raised, blocking the nasal passage.
b) The tip of the tongue, or the tip and the blade of the tongue, makes a firm contact with the alveolar ridge and the side rims (= edges) of the tongue touch the upper molars (= side teeth), making a complete closure of the air passage.
c) The outgoing air stops behind the closure for a while, so air pressure builds up.
d) For /t/, the vocal cords are held wide apart, so they do not vibrate; for /d/, the vocal cords are held very near, so they vibrate.
1 Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009)
e) Suddenly, the tip of the tongue moves away from the alveolar ridge and the air goes out of the mouth cavity with force producing a slight plosion for /t/ and a weaker plosion for /d/. In addition, there may be aspiration for /t/.
f) A strong force of air is used for /t/, and a weak force of air for /d/.
NOTE: The tip of your tongue must not touch the upper front teeth when you pronounce /t/ or /d/.
Flap [|]
A flap (or tap) is a lenis voiced consonant sound, produced when the tip of the tongue goes up toward the alveolar ridge, touches it once very quickly and then goes down. The side rims of the tongue usually make a light contact with the upper molars. The soft palate is raised.
Glottal Stop [/]
It is a fortis, voiceless consonant sound, produced when the vocal cords move toward each other, close firmly together and make a complete closure of the air passage. The outflow (= the passing) of air into the supraglottal (i.e., above the glottis) cavities is interrupted for a while, so air pressure builds up behind the closure. Suddenly, the vocal cords separate and the air escapes quickly with a slight plosion. A strong force of air is used. The soft palate is raised.
It is important to note that the compression stage of the glottal stop consists of silence; its presence is perceived auditorily as a sudden cessation of the preceding sound or as the sudden onset (= beginning) of the following sound (cf. Gimson, 1970; Sloat et al., 1978).
The glottal stop (or the glottal plosive, as it is also referred to) is more common in British English (especially in London Cockney) than in American English. In this course we will study it only as an allophone of /t/.
/k, g/
A fully articulated velar plosive is produced in the following manner:
a) The soft palate is raised, shutting off the nasal passage.
b) The back of the tongue makes a firm contact with the soft palate, making a complete closure of the air passage.
c) The outgoing air stops behind the closure for a short time, so air pressure builds up.
2 Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009)
d) For /k/ the vocal cords are held wide apart, so they do not vibrate; for /g/ the vocal cords are held very near, so they vibrate.
e) Suddenly, the back of the tongue separates from the soft palate and the air escapes quickly, producing a slight plosion for /k/ and a weaker plosion for /g/. In addition, there may be aspiration for /k/.
f) A strong force of air is used for /k/, and a weak force of air is used for /g/.
It is important to point out that the actual part of the soft palate with which the back of the tongue makes contact depends on the nature of the following vowel. When /k, g/ are followed by front vowels, such as /i…, I, e, œ/, the contact will be made on the most forward part of the soft palate or even part of the hard palate. For example: key [k5Ói…], kit [k5ÓIt], kettle ["k5Óet:`], cat [k5Óœt]; geese [g5(i…s], begin [b9I"g5In], get [g(5et], ghast [g5(œst]. Notice that the diacritic [ 5] represents an advanced contact.
Similarly, when /k, g/ are followed by central vowels, such as /´. ‰…. ø/, the back of the tongue makes contact with the central part of the soft palate; e.g., curt [kÓ‰…rt], hiccough ["hIk´p], come [kÓøm]; girl [g(‰…r:], bigger ["b9Ig´r], gun [g((øn].
When /k, g/ are followed by back vowels, such as /A…, Å, O…, U, u…/, the contact will be somewhat retracted (i.e., with the tongue drawn back) from the central part of the soft palate. For example: card [k∞ÓA…rd9], cod [k∞ÓÅd9], cord [k∞ÓO…rd9], could [k∞ÓUd9], cooed [k∞Óu…d9]; guard [g∞(A…rd9], god [g(Åd9], gourd [g(O…rd9], good [g(Ud9], goose [g(u…s] (cf. Gimson, 1970). Notice that the diacritic [ ]∞ represents a retracted contact.
/f, v/
a) The soft palate is raised, closing the nasal passage.
b) The inner surface of the lower lip makes a light contact with the edge of the upper front teeth The air passage is so small that the outgoing air escapes through it with difficulty, producing some friction.
c) The vocal cords do not vibrate for /f/, but they vibrate for /v/.
d) A strong force of air is used for /f/, but a weak force of air is used for /v/.
3 Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009)
/T, D/
a) The soft palate is raised, shutting off the nasal passage.
b) The tip of the tongue makes a light contact with the inside (i.e., the inner surface) and edge of the upper front teeth and with the edge of the lower front teeth. At the same time, the side rims of the tongue make a firm contact with the upper molars. The outgoing air-stream escapes with difficulty through the gap (= narrow space) between the tip of the tongue and the upper front teeth, causing some friction.
c) The vocal cords do not vibrate for /T/, but they vibrate for /D/.
d) A strong force of air is used for /T/, but a weak force of air is used for /D/.
/s, z/
a) The soft palate is raised, shutting off the nasal passage.
b) These sounds can be made in two different ways, without any significant acoustic difference in the quality of the sound being caused by the different tongue positions.
With many speakers, the tip and blade of the tongue make a light contact with the alveolar ridge, narrowing the air passage. With many other speakers, only the blade of the tongue makes a light contact with the alveolar ridge, which narrows the air passage, while the tip of the tongue is against the lower front teeth. At the same time, the side rims of the tongue make a close contact with the upper molars. The upper and lower teeth are very close together. The air stream escapes through a narrow groove (= channel) in the center of the tongue, between the blade of the tongue and the alveolar ridge, causing audible friction (cf. Gimson, 1970; Jones, 1960).
c) The vocal cords do not vibrate for /s/, but they do vibrate for /z/.
d) A strong force of air is used for /s/, but a weak force of air is used for /z/.
/S, Z/
These sounds can be made in two different ways, without any significant acoustic difference being caused by the different tongue positions.
a) The soft palate is raised, closing the nasal passage.
b) With many speakers, the tip and the blade of the tongue make a light contact with the rear part of the alveolar ridge; at the same time, the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate; the side rims of the tongue are in contact with the upper molars; the teeth are close
4 Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009) together; the lips are slightly rounded. The outgoing air escapes through a narrow groove (but wider than that for /s, z/) in the center of the tongue, causing some friction (cf. Gimson, 1970; Goilo, 1979; Jones, 1960).
With many other speakers, the blade (or the front) of the tongue makes a light contact with the rear part of the alveolar ridge; the tip (or the apex) of the tongue is near the lower teeth; the side rims of the tongue are in contact with the upper molars; the teeth are close together; the lips are slightly rounded. The outgoing air escapes through a narrow groove (but wider that that for /s, z/) in the center of the tongue, causing some friction (cf. Jones, 1960; Sloat et al., 1978).
c) The vocal cords do not vibrate for /S/, but they vibrate for /Z/.
d) A strong force of air is used for /S/, but a weak one for /Z/.
/h/
a) The soft palate is raised, closing the nasal passage.
b) The vocal cords move toward each other and get very near, without making a contact; the strong air stream expelled from the lungs passes through the glottis with difficulty, causing some friction. The upper speech organs (i.e., the lips, tongue and soft palate) are shaped in readiness for the articulation of the following vowel (or semivowel).
c) The vocal cords do not vibrate.
d) A strong force of air is used.
/tS, dZ/
a) When the outgoing air stream passes through the glottis, the vocal cords do not vibrate for /tS/ but they do for /dZ/.
b) The soft palate is raised, closing the nasal passage.
c) The tip and the blade of the tongue rise toward the alveolar ridge, making a complete closure of the air passage. The side rims of the tongue make a firm contact with the upper molars. At the same time, the front of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate, without touching it. The air stream is stopped behind the closure for a moment, so air pressure builds up. Then slowly the tip and the blade of the tongue separate a little bit from the alveolar ridge, leaving a narrow opening for the air to escape through the central surface of the tongue and causing some friction between the blade of the tongue and the alveolar ridge. The front teeth are very close together. Lip-rounding occurs before back vowels (such as /A…. Å, O…, U, u…/).
5 Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009)
d) A strong force of air is used for /tS/, but a weak force of air is used for /dZ/.
/m/
a) The air coming out from the lungs passes through the glottis and makes the vocal cords vibrate.
b) Further up, the air stream finds the soft palate lowered; however, it continues its way into the mouth cavity.
c) Once in the mouth cavity, the air stream finds its exit (= way out) blocked: the upper and lower lips have moved toward each other and closed the air passage completely. This makes the air stream rebound (= spring back) and escape freely (without friction) through the nasal cavity. The tongue is in its neutral position or ready for the production of the following sound.
d) A weak force of air is used.
/n/
a) The air coming out from the lungs passes through the glottis and makes the vocal cords vibrate.
b) Further up, the air stream finds the soft palate lowered; however, it continues its way into the mouth cavity.
c) Once in the mouth cavity, the air stream finds its exit blocked: the tip of the tongue has risen toward the alveolar ridge and closed the air passage completely (Note: the mouth cavity is partitioned (= divided) into two smaller chambers - front and back). At the same time, the rims of the tongue make contact with the upper molars. Because of this, the air stream springs back (= rebounds) and escapes freely (= without friction) through the nasal cavity. The lips will be rounded before back vowels.
d) A weak force of air is used.
6 Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009)
/N/
a) The air coming out from the lungs passes through the glottis and makes the vocal cords vibrate.
b) Further up, the air stream finds the soft palate lowered; however, it continues its way into the mouth cavity.
c) At the entrance of the mouth, the air stream finds its exit blocked: the back of the tongue has risen toward the soft palate and closed the air passage completely. Because of this blockage, the air stream rebounds and escapes freely through the nasal cavity.
d) A weak force of air is used.
It is important to note that for the articulation of /N/ the actual (= real) contact of the back of the tongue with the soft palate will depend on the nature of the preceding vowel. That is to say, the contact will be somewhat advanced (i.e., made with a part of the soft palate more to the "front") after front vowels. The contact will be somewhat retracted (i.e., made with a part of the soft palate more to the "back") after back vowels. Before central vowels, the contact of the back of the tongue will be with a part of the soft palate between the advanced and retracted points of articulation.
Likewise, it is important to notice that English /N/ occurs only after the short vowels /I, e, œ, ø, Å/; e.g., sing [sIN], sang [sœN], sung [søN], song [sÅN], Bengalese ["b9eNg´Æli…z9]. /N/ does not normally occur after long vowels and diphthongs, unless /N/ occurs as a result of the assimilation of /n/ before velar consonants, as in raincoat ["reINÆkÓoUt], I've seen ghosts [aIv9 "si…N \goUsts]. Moreover, in English /N/ does not occur in word-initial position, only in word- internal and word-final positions.
/l/
In English, there are two kinds of l-sounds: alveolar or clear ‘l’ [l] and velar or dark ‘l’ [:]. Clear ‘l’ occurs before vowel sounds and the semivowel /j/, and dark ‘l’ occurs before other consonants and word-finally when the following word begins with a consonant or at the end of a phrase or sentence.
Alveolar ‘l’ (or clear ‘l’): a) The soft palate is raised, closing the nasal passage.
7 Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009) b) The central part of the tip of the tongue rises toward the alveolar ridge and makes a firm contact it, closing the air passage partially. The front of the tongue is somewhat raised toward the hard palate. c) The front sides of the tongue are lowered (or down), so the outgoing air escapes freely on the sides of the tongue. The back rims of the tongue make contact with the upper molars. d) The vocal cords vibrate. e) A weak force of air is used.
Velar ‘l’ (or dark ‘l’): a) The soft palate is raised, closing the nasal passage. b) The central part of the tip of the tongue rises toward the alveolar ridge and makes a firm contact with it, closing the air passage partially. At the same time, the back of the tongue is raised toward the soft palate. (Note: Dark ‘l’ can also be made only with the central part of the back of the tongue raised toward the soft palate.) c) The sides of the tongue are lowered, so the outgoing air escapes freely on the sides of the tongue. d) The vocal cords vibrate. e) A weak force of air is used.
Note: During the production of /l/, the lips are somewhat rounded in contact with back vowels.
/r/ a) The tip of the tongue curls (= curves) back1 and rises toward the rear part of the alveolar ridge but does not touch it, so that the underneath of the tip of the tongue faces the alveolar ridge. The air passage is somewhat narrowed, but it is wide enough for the outgoing air to escape freely over the center of the tongue. b) The front of the tongue is somewhat dipped or hollowed. The side rims of the tongue make contact with the upper molars. The lips are somewhat rounded in contact with back vowels. c) The vocal cords vibrate. d) A weak force of air is used.
1 The backward movement of the tip of the tongue is usually known as retroflection.
8 Prof. Argenis A. Zapata Fonética y Fonología del Inglés I (B-2009)
/j/ a) The front of the tongue takes the position for a front half-close vowel [I] to close vowel [i…] and moves away immediately to the position of the following vowel sound (cf. Gimson, 1970). The air passage is somewhat narrowed, but it is wide enough for the outgoing air to escape freely. b) The soft palate is raised, closing the nasal passage. c) The vocal cords vibrate. d) A weak force of air is used.
/w/
a) The back of the tongue takes the position for a back half-close vowel [U] to close vowel [u…] and moves away immediately to the position of the following vowel sound (cf. Gimson, 1970). At the same time, the lips are rounded, especially before back vowels. The air passage is somewhat narrowed, but it is wide enough for the outgoing air to escape freely. b) The soft palate is raised, closing off the nasal passage. c) The vocal cords vibrate. d) A weak force of air is used.
References
Gimson, A. C. 1970. An introduction to the pronunciation of English (2nd ed.). London: Edward Arnold. Goilo de Tyrode, I. 1979. A contrastive study of the consonantal sounds of R.P. English and Venezuelan Spanish. Trabajo de Ascenso sin publicar. Universidad de Los Andes, Facultad de Humanidades y Educación, Escuela de Letras. Jones, D. 1960. An outline of English phonetics (9th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sloat, C. et al. 1978. Introduction to phonology. Englewoods Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Zapata Becerra, A. A. (1993). Notes on English phonetics. Trabajo de Investigación sin publicar. Universidad de Los Andes, Facultad de Humanidades y Educación, Escuela de Letras.
9