The Sounds of Spoken Language Talentcamp 9
PHONETICS THE SOUNDS OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE TALENTCAMP 9. KLASSE TØNDER 2018 Main focus areas of the course
■ Basic phonetics and phonology ■ Transcription ■ American versus English pronunciation ■ Speech production ■ Typical pronunciation problems for Danish learners of English Programme: Saturday
■ Variations in English
■ Introduction to phonetics versus phonology – Speech production / organs of speech – Spelling versus transcription – International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) – Phonemes, allophones and syllables Programme: Sunday
■ Consonant and vowel possibilities ■ Danish learner errors ■ Group work Læringsmål
Gennem denne TalentCamp skal vi: ■ Fordybe os i engelsk fonetik (udtalelære) med fokus på to standardudtaler, nemlig standard britisk engelsk (Received Pronunciation) og standard amerikansk engelsk (General American). ■ Undersøge hvilke udtaleaspekter i engelsk, der er svært for danskere. ■ Analysere og diskutere udtale ved at benytte den relevante terminologi. Derudover skal vi træne jeres tale- og transskriptionsfærdigheder gennem: ■ Forskellige opgaver/transskriptioner i undervisningen Let’s get started
■ How do you perceive pronunciation – and the importance of correct pronunciation?
■ Partner up (A and B)
■ Each of you will get a set of questions to ask your peer. Take turns in asking and answering. EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT EARS. THEREFORE, WE HEAR EVERYTHING A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. Phonetics
■ “Phonetic knowledge can help you to pronounce foreign languages more effectively”
(Collins & Mees 2013: 2) Regional versus social variation
An important distinction:
Regional variation Social variation Differences between one Reflects differences between place and another one social group and another
Examples: New York, Sydney, Examples: Gender, religion, Auckland, London, Leeds, ethnicity, age and (very Edinburgh significantly) social class Regional variation in English
• Every language has a lot of variation, especially in the way it is spoken • In English, we find widespread variation in the way the language is spoken in different countries such as Australia, Scotland, and the USA and even within countries like England or even Denmark. Regional variation in English: The standard language
• When we talk about words or grammar we are concentrating on the features of only one variety of English - the standard language. • A variety associated with administrative, commercial and educational centers • An idealized (official) variety, because it has no specific region • You find it in newspapers, books, etc. Regional variation in English: The standard language
• Standard English: Where is it used and what is it?
“If we think of standard English, it is the version we believe is found in printed English in newspapers and books, is widely used in mass media and most schools. It is the variety we normally try to teach to those who want to learn English as a second or foreign language”
(Yule 2015: 243)
Phonetics and the standard pronunciation?
■ Map indicating locations of main varieties of English worldwide (Collins & Meen 2013: 8) Fictional language based on accent Example: The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn
I bet I was glad to see him. I says: ”Hello, Jim!” and skipped out.
He bounced up and stared wild at me wild. The he drops down on his knees, and puts his hands together and says:
”Doan’ hurt me–don’t! I hain’t ever done no harm to a ghos’. I awluz liked dead people, en done all I could for ’em. You go en git in de river agin, whah you b’longs, en doan’ do nuffin to Ole Jim, ’at ’uz awluz yo’ fren’.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn. 1884. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, shorter 8th edition, vol. 2, 2013, p. 130. Phonetics and the standard pronunciation?
General American (GA) British Received Pronunciation (RP) ■ The umbrella variety of American ■ An accent of Standard English English. in the United Kingdom ■ Americans with high education or from the North Midland, Western ■ Formerly, colloquially called New England and Western “The King’s English” Regions of the country are the most likely to be perceived as ■ Sociolinguist, Peter Trudgill, having GA accent. estimated in 1974 that 3% of people in Britain were RP ■ American English dialects have diverged very little from each speakers other, when compared to dialects – Should we question this rough of single languages in other estimate? countries. – Any ideas why? RP OR NRP (NON-REGIONAL PRONUNCIATION)
■ Rather than dealing with what is now regarded by many of the younger generation as a quaint minority accent [i.e. RP], we shall instead endeavour to describe a more encompassing neutral type of modern British English but one which nevertheless lacks obvious local accent features. To refer to this variety we shall employ the term non-regional pronunciation (abbreviated to NRP). ■ We shall thus be able to allow for the present-day range of variation to be heard from educated middle and younger generation speakers in England who have a pronunciation which cannot be pinned down to a specific area.
(Collins & Meen 2013: 4) REFERENCE ACCENTS: GA VERSUS (N)RP
…TO WHICH WE SHALL RETURN LATER
Programme, Saturday
■ Course introduction and variations in English
■ Introduction to phonetics versus phonology – Spelling versus transcription – International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) – Phonemes, allophones and syllables INTRODUCTION TO PHONETICS VERSUS PHONOLOGY …AND THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET, PHONEMES, ALLOPHONES AND SYLLABLES Phonetics versus phonology
■ The study of sound in general is the science of acoustics. – phonetics is the term used for the study of human language – phonology is the term used for the study of the selection and patterns of sounds in a single language
▪ Both phonetics and phonology are important components of linguistics, which is the science that deals with the general study of language. Phonetics Phonology
■ Identifying the place of ■ The description of the articulation in the vocal system of patterns of tract, mouth and nose speech sounds ■ Identifying the manner of ■ Deals with the sound articulation – including system of languages how air is channeled – How speech is organized and/or stopped during into systems in different speech sounds languages ■ Identifying which speech – How sounds are combined sounds are used in a – The relation between given language them and how they affect ■ Deals with physical each other. properties of the elements of the sound system ■ The movements of the tongue, lips and other speech organs are called articulation – hence this area of phonetics is called articulatory phonetics ■ The physical nature of the speech signal is the concern of acoustic phonetics. ■ The study of how the ear receives the speech signal we call auditory phonetics ■ The formulation of the speech message in the brain of the listener are branches of psycholinguistics
In this course, our emphasis will be on articulatory phonetics! THE VOCAL ORGANS ORGANS OF SPEECH/SPEECH PRODUCTION Purpose and content
■ General introduction to how speech is produced (physically) ■ Overview of the specific mechanisms: ❖ Lungs, throat and mouth ❖ Presentation of different organs of speech and sounds that involve these Organs of speech Three systems/groups
Articulatory system
•RP /ɑːˈtɪkjʊlətri/ •GA /ɑːrˈtɪkjələtɔːri/ Phonatory system
•RP /fəʊˈneɪtəri/ •GA /ˈfoʊnətɔːri/ Respiratory system
•RP /riˈspɪrətri/ •GA /ˈrespərətɔːri/ Organs of speech
■ Three systems A different view
– Articulation – Phonation – Respiration
■ Image copied from http://thesoundsofenglish.blogspot.d k/2013/02/the-organs-of- speech.html Respiratory system
■ Inhalation pulls air into the lungs ■ Exhalation forces air out through the trachea ■ Controlled (mostly) by the diaphragm ■ All speech in English produced on airstream from the lungs ■ Also called an egressive pulmonic airstream
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepa ges/19380.htm Phonatory system (larynx)
■ The larynx, aka voice box, sits at the top of the trachea ■ It can modify / modulate the airstream ■ Consist of cartilages, muscles and mucous membrane, most importantly: ■ The vocal folds, which extend from front to back, may be – apart (for breathing and voiceless sounds) – vibrating, i.e. rapidly opening and closing (for voiced sounds) – firmly kept together, preventing air from escaping Phonation / voicing
■ Voiceless: vocal folds apart / glottis open ❖ Air escapes freely ■ Voiced: vocal folds held loosely together ❖ Airstream will push vocal folds apart ❖ Elasticity of folds and especially aerodynamic forces will pull them back together ❖ Happens very rapidly, typically 100- 500 times per second! Articulatory system / articulation
■ Articulation refers to everything that happens above the larynx ■ The airstream enters the pharyngeal cavity as well as the oral cavity and/or the nasal cavity ■ Most important of these (for us) is the oral cavity (mouth). ■ Modifications of the airstream in the oral cavity creates different speech sounds. Articulation
■ Parts of the oral cavity ■ Passive articulators: – Teeth, alveolar ridge, hard and soft, palate – Upper lip ■ Active articulators: – Tongue: tip, blade, front, back, root – Lips / lower lip
■ Image from Cruttenden (2014): Gimson’s Pronunciation of English, p. 10. Routledge. Articulators 1 – nasal cavity
■ Cannot modify the cavity itself, so only relevant aspect is whether sound is produced with – lowered velum -> air flows through nose -> nasal sound ■ /m n ŋ/ (+ nasalised vowels) – Raised velum (velic closure) -> no nasal airflow -> oral sound ■
■ (Adj. Labial) ■ Both are ”active articulators”, reallyˌ but sometimes upper lip called passive and lower lip called active ■ Used to block the airstream at the lips – /p b m/ ■ Lower lip can articulate against the upper (front) teeth – /f v/ ■ Rounded for certain speech sounds – E.g. /ʃ tʃ w r uː ɔː oʊ/ Articulators 3 - teeth
■ (Adj. dental) ■ Only passive articulators, as they cannot move (independently of the skull/jaw) ■ Articulated against for ”TH-sounds” (by the tongue tip) – /θ ð/ ■ And /f v/ (as we saw before) Articulators 4 – alveolar ridge
■ (Adj. alveolar) ■ Many consonants are articulated here – By tongue tip and/or blade, which are very flexible parts of the tongue – /t d s z n l (r tʃ dʒ)/ Articulators 5 – hard palate
■ (Adj. palatal) ■ Only one consonant articulated against hard palate (by front of tongue) – /j/
■ Relevant also for vowels where the front of tongue is highest (see later) Articulators 6 – soft palate (velum)
■ (Adj. velar) ■ Only ”stop” consonants articulated here in RP and GA – /k g/ with raised velum – /ŋ/ with lowered velum (nasal)
■ Also relevant for vowels where back of tongue is highest (see later) Articulators 7 – uvula
■ (Adj. uvular) ■ No English consonants articulated here ■ Danish /r/ [ᴚ] is articulated here Articulators 8 – tip of tongue
■ (Adj. apical – not used in this course) ■ Again, very flexible part of the tongue ■ Used to create – Fricatives: ■ Dental /θ ð/ ■ (Alveolar /s z/ - sometimes just the blade of tongue) – Stop consonants: /t d tʃ dʒ/ ■ And nasal “stop” /n/ – And /l/ and /r/ – May bend back for “retroflex” /r/ in GA Articulators 9 – blade of tongue
■ (Adj. laminal – not used in this course) ■ Flat surface just behind the tip ■ Used for – /s z/ (sometimes with tip of tongue) – Occasionally for /t d/ (some speakers) – /tʃ dʒ ʃ ʒ/ (with tip and front of tongue) Articulators 10 – front of tongue
■ (Adj. [of vowels] front) ■ Approaches hard palate for /j/ ■ Highest point of tongue for vowels such as – /iː ɪ e æ/ – Hence called ”front vowels” Articulators 11 – back of tongue
■ (Adj. [of vowels] back) ■ Articulates against velum for /k g ŋ/ ■ Approaches velum for /w/ ■ Highest point of tongue for vowels such as – /uː ɔː ɒ oʊ/ – Hence called ”back vowels” Articulators 12 – root of tongue
■ (Adj. radical – not used in this course) ■ No consonants or vowel are described with reference to the tongue root ■ Position still very relevant for especially vowels Articulators 13 – epiglottis
■ (Adj. epiglottal – not used in this course) ■ Prevents food from entering the trachea (wind pipe) ■ Not used as place of articulation in English or Danish ■ Can be safely ignored – (except when eating and drinking) Test yourself Exercise on speech mechanism
■ Terms are necessary for description of consonants and vowels
■ Make sure you connect terms with tactile sensation (feel with your finger or tongue) Why is phonetics and phonology important?
■ It enables people to better understand and speak the language they are learning ■ It allows teachers to examine the differences between the sounds of source and target language and explain the difference to learners. ■ Phonetics yields useful theoretical and practical information for everyone working with spoken language, including students of language, logopedics and/or people working with clinical speech therapy etc. HOW TO TRANSCRIBE: PHONEMES, ALLOPHONES AND SYLLABLES
Segments
■ We need to transcribe words phonetically in order to see the pronunciation: ■ In other words: The Phonemes contrastive units of sound which are phonologically significant in a given language
A symbol we use ■ Phonemes are realised by for an individual phonemic transcription sound The International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet These are the symbols we will get to know The International Phonetic Alphabet
■ Phonemic transcription key ■ https://padlet.com/christa_aakaer/97utgpuhgy4o
Phonemic transcription key
Consonants Vowels ■ More on those when ■ Checked (short) we are dealing with A single symbol speech production – /e/ later today ■ Free (long) Followed by a colon or double vowel phoneme – Steady state /i:/ – Dipthongs /aɪ/ Examples
WORD RP GA talentcamp /ˈtælənt /ˈtælənt kæmp/ kæmp/ dog /dɒg/ /dɔːg/ dinner /ˈdɪnə/ /ˈdɪnər/
The International Phonetic Alphabet
■ Phonemic transcription key
• In groups: Please go through all the different phonemes – both consonants and vowels. Make sure you all pronounce the phoneme sound!
• Come up with at least one more word containing the same phoneme sound:
e.g. /p/ → pop, happy, praise
• Pay attention to the differences between RP and GA Spelling versus transcription
Not all letters represent a single sound: ■ Some letters represent no sounds, e.g. in lamb – /læm/ ■ Some letters represent more than one sound, e.g..
Conversely, not all sounds are represented by a single letter: ■ Some sounds are represented by more than one letter, e.g.
One sound may be represented by several different spellings, cp. ■
One spelling may represent several different sounds, cp. ■ the two instances of
Heteronyms/homographs, i.e. identical spellings but different pronunciations (and meanings) e.g. ■ wind /wɪnd/ vs. /waɪnd/ Homograph = same writing ■ read /riːd/ vs. /red/ ■ wound /wuːnd/ vs. /waʊnd/
Homophones, i.e. identical pronunciations but different spellings (and meanings), e.g. ■ beat–beet /bi:t/ Homophone = same ■ cheap–cheep sound ■ dear–deer Spelling versus transcription: What to be aware of?
Homograph Homophone same writing same sound
“look-alikes” “sound-alikes”
Example: live Example: bear + bare
/laɪv/ - the talk show was /beə/ + /beə/ (RP) sent live yesterday /ber/ + /ber/ (GA) /lɪv/ - live your life Homonym: Same pronunciation and spelling but different meanings How to do a phonemic transcription?
■ Start and stop / / ■ Comma | ■ Full stop || How to do a phonemic transcription?
■ The syllable: The syllable is a unit potentially larger than the phoneme but smaller than the word. How to do a phonemic transcription?
■ Stress: ‘
When an English polysyllabic word is said in its citation form (i.e. pronounced in isolation) one strongly stressed syllable will stand out from the rest. How to do a phonemic transcription?
/ˈsɪdni ˈsaɪjnɪŋ ˈseʃən/ /ˈlæŋgwɪdʒ | ðeɪ seɪ | ɪz ðə bædʒ əv næʃəˈnæləti | ən əˈbʌv ɔːl əlz ɪt ɪz ðə ˈlæŋgwɪdʒ əv ˈsɪdni ðət baɪndz ðɪs ˈfɪsaɪl səˈsaɪəti ɪntə ə ˈjuːnəti || / http://phonetics.dk/Transcri ption/TransPicker.html http://ipa.typeit.org https://howjsay.com/
HOW TO TRANSCRIBE: PHONEMES, ALLOPHONES AND SYLLABLES ■ In other words: Variants Allophones of phonemes. Allophones indicate a detail of articulation. ■ Allophones are realised by phonetic transcription Phonemes have allophonic variation → the realisation of the same phoneme
Can you spot another difference when doing a phonetically transcription? Allophones Today, we will look at: ■ /l/ ■ /t/ ■ Aspiration ■ Glottal stop Variants of English /t/ phoneme Variants of English /t/ phoneme [ t̬ ] / [ ɾ ] [tʰ] [t] also a phoneme
In GA when: • Aspirated in initial • Aspiration position in a neutralised by /s/ • Intervocalic and stressed syllable following a stressed vowel
• Also after /r/ and before syllabic /l, r/ Variants of English /l/ phoneme Variants of English /l/ phoneme
[ l] [ɫ] [l]
Clear l Dark l Devoiced • Before vowels • Before a • Initial in a consonant or final stressed syllable position following /p, k/ • e.g. like, love • e.g. girl, feel • e.g. play, close Aspiration ʰ by adding a little puff of air
■ /p/ ■ /k/ ■ /t/
Aspiration occurs when fortis plosives are initial in a stressed syllable. However, neutralised after /s/.
Examples: tea, pill, com’petitor A test for aspiration
■ Put a piece of paper in front of your mouth and then pronounce the consonants /p, t, k/. ■ Try the same test with the lenis non-aspirated /b, d, g/. What happens? ■ Now try the clusters sp, st, sk as in spy, sky, sty. Does the paper move now? Glottal stop ʔ Release of airstream after complete closure of glottis ■ Is used RP sometimes, preceding plosive consonants ■ /t/ ■ /p/ ■ /k/
■ Example: cute, button, better (RP) Glottal stop in Cockney English
■ Try saying this sentence using [ʔ] for /t/ as it might be in Cockney
I’ve got to put a lot of butter on that little bit of bread
[aɪv ˈgɒʔə ˈpʊʔə ˈlɒʔə ˈbʌʔə r ɒn ðæʔ ˈlɪʔl̩ ˈbɪʔə ˈbred] Allophones - revision
/l/ /t/
Glottal Aspiration stop Transcription time: Allophones and phonemes In both RP and GA, transcribe the following words phonemically and phonetically /word/ [word]
■ Milk ■ Cup ■ Flag ■ Girl ■ Boy ■ Party STRONG, WEAK AND CONTRACTED FORMS Strong, weak and contracted forms: Content versus function words
Content words Function words Nouns Determiners Adjectives Conjunctions Adverbs Pronouns Main verbs Prepositions Auxilary verbs Strong, weak and contracted forms: Why is that of importance when transcribing?
■ Pair up. ■ Read the “article” aloud – and discuss the different examples. Strong, weak and contracted forms
■ Weak form: Reduced, unstressed pronunciation
■ Strong form: Full pronunciation, stressed context
■ Contracted form: Function word + function word A list of essential weak forms and contracted forms
■ A copy from “Practical Phonetics and Phonology”, pp. 22-23 Schwa
■ A bite-size lesson with Tom ■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OefUBwrWzW8 Strong, weak and contracted form Why are those of importance when transcribing?
• Megan had decided to fetch them from the hospital Programme, Saturday
■ Regional versus social variation in English
■ Introduction to phonetics versus phonology – Speech production / organs of speech – Spelling versus transcription – International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) – Phonemes, allophones and syllables PHONETICS THE SOUNDS OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE SØNDAG, TALENTCAMP 9. KLASSE TØNDER 2018 Programme, Sunday
■ Accent variation – General American – Received Pronunciation ■ Consonant and vowel possibilities ■ Transcription Brush Up ■ Danish learner errors ■ Group work COMPARING ACCENTS: GENERAL AMERICAN VERSUS RECEIVED PRONUNCATION GA versus RP
Comparing accents
Systemic Distributional Lexical Realisational variation variation variation variation Systemic variation
Definition: Where one accent possesses more or fewer phonemes than another accent in a particular part of the sound system ■ Phonemes as a finite set: RP (44) GA (40)
1. RP /ɒ/ (lot) This phoneme does not exist in GA. /ɑː/ /ɔː/
2. RP contains three extra diphthongs: /ɪə/ (near) /eə/ (square) /ʊə/ (cure) Distributional variation
Definition: Two accents have the same phonemes but they occur differently 1. Rhoticity ■ GA = rhotic accent → /r/ is pronounced wherever it occurs in the spelling ■ RP = non-rhotic → /r/ is only produced before a vowel. Not /r/ before consonants and in absolute final position.
It is distributional because both accents have the phoneme, but differ with regards to the context in which it is allowed to occur. Distributional variation
Definition: Two accents have the same phonemes but they occur differently 2. Yod-dropping ■ In GA /j/ (yod) is lost after alveolars and dentals in stressed environments ■ Semitic origin ‘yod’ (y-sounds)
■ Alveolars /t, d, n, l, z, s/ ■ Dentals /θ, ð/ Lexical variation Definition: The phoneme chosen for a word or word group differs within accents. 1. Bath words ■ A word group defined as having – one vowel in GA /æ/ – Another vowel in RP /ɑː/ ■ This is lexical variation because there are many exceptions –and you have to know which words behave in the this manner
■ Usually when you see an “a” before: – Nasals /m, n, ŋ/ (e.g. plant, banana) – Fortis-fricative /f, θ, s, ʃ / (e.g. basket, path) Wilfred Pickles
Downton Abbey Lexical variation Definition: The phoneme chosen for a word or word group differs within accents.
1. BATH words ■ Which of the following are BATH-words?
1. Cattle Dance 2. Dance Laugh 3. Laugh Mafia 4. Mafia Passing 5. Start Enhance 6. Passing Master 7. Cambridge Please transcribe one of the following in 8. Enhance both RP and GA 9. Exam 10. Master Realisational variation
Definition: Where two accents realise a given phoneme differently
1. The GOAT-vowel ■ The goat-sound has two different diphthongs. ■ GA: /oʊ/ ■ RP: /əʊ/
■ It is the same phoneme in two different symbols. Realisational variation
Definition: Where two accents realise a given phoneme differently
2. Clear and dark /l/ ■ The /l/ phoneme is realised in different ways in RP and GA ■ GA: Fairly dark in all positions
[ l] [ɫ] [l] Clear l Dark l Devoiced • Before vowels • Before a consonant • Initial in a stressed or final position syllable following /p, k/ • e.g. like, love • e.g. girl, feel • e.g. play, close Realisational variation
Definition: Where two accents realise a given phoneme differently
3. T-voicing
■ Flap t in GA in certain contexts
[ t̬ ] / [ ɾ ]
In GA when:
• Intervocalic and following a stressed vowel
• Also after /r/ and before syllabic /l/, /r/ GA versus RP
Comparing accents
Systemic Distributional Lexical Realisational variation variation variation variation Identify transcribed words! CONSONANT AND VOWEL POSSIBILITIES Consonants
Consonants are usually referred to by brief descriptive labels stating:
■ Place of articulation: Where the sound is produced ■ Manner of articulation: How the sound is produced ■ Energy of articulation: The fortis/lenis contrast Place of articulation: Where the sound is produced
■ The English places of articulation are shown in the table. ■ Other languages and varieties of English may have additional places of articulation ■ Some consonants have two places of articulation.
In pairs: Say these words and relate the consonants in bold to their places of articulation:
Pub, five, this bath, side, rarer, change, you, king, how
Manner of articulation How the sound is produced
■ All articulation involve a stricture, i.e. a narrowing of the vocal tract which affects the airstream. ■ We have three possible types of stricture:
1. Complete closure (forms obstruction which blocks airstream)
2. Close approximation (forms narrowing giving rise to friction)
3. Open approximation (forms no obstruction but changes shape of vocal tracts, thus altering nature of resonance. Manner of articulation
Plosives Stops
Affricates Complete Nasals closure
Trills and traps
Close approx. Fricatives
Central approximants Open approx. Lateral approximant Energy
■ The third possible distinction is energy of articulation ■ English has two classes of consonants sound – Fortis (Latin: strong). Stronger and voiceless articulation. = greater breath force – Lenis (Latin: soft) Weaker and potentially voiced. = less breath force. ■ The fortis/lenis distinction applies in English only to the stops and fricatives. Energy Of immense importance when speaking English
FORTIS LENIS Articulation is stronger and more Articulation is weaker. It has less energetic. It has more muscular muscular effort and less breath effort and greater breath force. force.
Articulation is voiceless Articulation may have voice Plosives /p, t, k/ when initial in Plosives are unaspirated e.g. stressed syllable have strong back aspiration e.g. pack Vowels are shortened before a Vowels have full length before a final fortis consonant e.g. beat, final lenis consonant e.g. bead, wheat, back, weed, bag Consonants – Summing up
Consonants are usually referred to by brief descriptive labels stating: ■ Place of articulation: Where the sound is produced ■ Manner of articulation: How the sound is produced ■ Energy of articulation: The fortis/lenis contrast
Energy Place Manner Vowels ■ Vowels cannot be described the same way as consonants
■ For vowels there is always considerable space between the articulators so that in terms of manner of articulation all vowels are approximants.
■ Nor can we effectively use place of articulation – all we can do is distinguish broadly whether the front, centre or back of the tongue is raised towards the roof of the mouth. Vowels Vowels Checked Free (long) (short) Steady state or diphthong
A single symbol Symbol + length Double symbol mark ■ Front /ɪ, e, æ/ ■ Centering/ɪə, ʊə,eə/ (kit, dress, trap) ■ Front /iː/ (near, cure, square) ■ Central /ʌ, ə (feet) ■ Closing fronting /eɪ, aɪ, (strut, letter) ɔɪ/ ■ Central /ɑː, ɜː/ (face, price, choice) ■ Back/ʊ, ɒ/ (palm, nurse) ■ (foot, lot) Closing backing /əʊ, oʊ, ■ Back /uː, ɔː/ aʊ/ (goose, north) (goat, goat, mouth) Transcription
Handout RP vs. GA Task 2 + 3 + 4 Programme, Sunday
■ Consonant and vowel possibilities ■ Transcription Brush Up ■ Danish learner errors ■ Group work DANISH LEARNER PROBLEMS Slides from Christian Jensen, Lektor, 03.04.2017: KATV - Phonetics, lecture 10 “Danish Learner Problems” Institut for Engelsk, Germansk og Romansk, Københavns Universitet. Pronunciation “errors” ■ An important prerequisite for successful oral communication is speech intelligibility – Speech intelligibility depends on many linguistic dimensions, including vocabulary and grammar – And crucially, also on pronunciation
■ Intelligibility has been widely recognised as the primary goal of language teaching, perhaps since British phonetician David Abercrombie wrote in 1949: “language learners need no more than a comfortably intelligible pronunciation”
■ However, speech, and not least pronunciation/accent is also subject to social evaluation – Some forms of pronunciation may lead to negative evaluations (in various ways and for various reasons) – This may be undesirable for a learner
■ Features of pronunciation which lead to decreased intelligibility and/or negative social evaluation may thus be considered “errors” (for our purposes) Mistakes versus errors Native language, target language and norms
■ The native language of a learner is often referred to as the L1 (first language) ■ The language which is being acquired, is referred to as the L2 (second language) – whether it is learned naturalistically or through formal training (foreign language) ■ The L2 is also called the “target” (what we are aiming for) ■ In this course we assume that the L1 is Danish ■ And we assume that the target accent is either RP or GA – the standard norms that you or any learners who will benefit from your knowledge will be aiming for ■ An error could thus be defined as a (sufficiently noticeable) deviation from the standard norm – (a definition which is in many ways problematic but in line with current definitions of language proficiency in your curriculum!) Error hierarchy and cumulative effect
■ PPP suggests the following hierarchy of error: 1. Errors which lead to a breakdown of intelligibility. (Often = wrong phoneme) 2. Errors which give rise to irritation or amusement. (Often = wrong allophone) 3. Errors which provoke few such reactions and may even pass unnoticed. ■ Point 1 is obviously related to intelligibility, while point 2 deals with social evaluation.
However ■ Understanding speech is not about processing one word at a time – in the sense that if the word can be retrieved, communication is (perfectly) successful ■ Words are processed in context in connected speech – which is good, because the context helps us retrieve words we might not otherwise have identified – but if listeners struggle to retrieve words, the whole intelligibility process may be compromised ■ And negative social evaluation may lead to decreased intelligibility! Foreign language learning and errors
■ There are different theories on how learners acquire the pronunciation of a second or foreign language
■ But they agree on this: (when first starting out) the pronunciation of the L2 is filtered through the phonological system of the L1 – In other words, we perceive the L2 through the categories we have established for our native language – So, when you hear the vowels and consonants of the L2 you assume they can be understood by associating them with vowels and consonants in your first language – Sometimes this works well, at other times not so well! Problematic associations between L1 and L2
1. A contrast in the L2 matches a single phoneme in the L1 equally well/poorly ❖ e.g. RP /ʌ/ - /ɒ/ => Danish [ʌ] (”godt nok”) ❖ got /gɒt/, gut /gʌt/ both associated with Danish [gʌt] (”godt”) ❖ Very difficult to hear such a contrast => very difficult to distinguish in production 2. A contrast in the L2 matches a single phoneme in the L1, but one of the L2 sounds is a better match ❖ e.g. /s/ - /z/ => D /s/ ❖ Sue /suː/ zoo /zuː/, loose /lu:s/ lose /lu:z/, /s, z/ both associated with Danish /s/ (but /s/ better match) Articulation difficulties due to “lack of training”
– Some sounds, or combinations of sounds, may simply be difficult to produce for the “untrained tongue” (lack of muscle training and appropriate neural pathways)
■ The dental fricatives are a case in point, perhaps especially /θ/ – /θ/ may be substituted by /s/: think, theme => sink, seem – before /r/, /θ/ may be substituted by /t/ or /f/: three => tree or free Prioritising pronunciation errors
■ When dealing with pronunciation, one must prioritise some features above others – those that have the larger impact on communication / intelligibility – those that are stigmatised (social evaluation) – those that are general, not incidental – those that are teachable
■ For this weekend, your goal must also be able to show knowledge of phonetics, so – those that are caused by interference from the L1 sound system ■ In the following, we will go through Examples possible errors produced by a Danish from a speaker of English. Not all errors typical of Danish speakers of English are Danish represented learner of English ■ For each error we will: – describe what is different from the pronunciation target (RP/GA), i.e. “wrong” – describe the potential effect on the listener – explain the likely cause (L1 influence) – suggest what should be changed (perhaps also advice to the learner) Example 1 – something, growth
■ Description (broken into different parts for the sake of illustration) – “In the words something and growth (RP /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/, What is wrong? /grəʊθ/) the speaker substitutes the fortis dental fricative ------/θ/ with /s/, so that the words instead sound more like /ˈsʌmsɪŋ/, /grəʊs/. – This is a phonemic error which might (then) potentially lead to a breakdown of intelligibility. This is particularly Likely effect on likely in the case of growth, since the error results in the word sounding like another existing word, gross. (For listener something, there is no similar competitor with /s/ rather ------than /θ/.) – This error likely occurs because Danish has no dental Likely cause fricatives, and the Danish voiceless alveolar fricative is one of the closest equivalent sounds from the L1. Both ------sounds are voiceless fricatives produced with the tongue tip at the front of the mouth. – To achieve the correct sound, the speaker should move the tongue tip forward so that it presses against the upper What should be front teeth or sticks out slightly between the teeth.” changed ------Example 2 – through /θruː/
Description: “In the word through, on the other hand, the initial consonant /θ/ seems to be replaced by the fortis alveolar stop /t/ (or the Danish equivalent) resulting in the pronunciation /truː/, which is the normal pronunciation of the word true. This substitution could thus result in a breakdown of intelligibility. The reason why the speaker in this case substitutes /θ/ by /t/ rather than /s/, as was the case with something, growth, is that the consonant cluster */sr/ is not possible in Danish (or in English, for that matter). The nearest Danish equivalent to /θ/ before /r/ would thus appear to be the voiceless alveolar stop /t/, although some speakers can be heard to use the voiceless labio-dental fricative /f/ instead. The speaker should be made aware of the contrast between /θ/ and /t/ in English and practice moving the tongue tip from immediately behind the upper front teeth for /θ/ to a position below the back part of the alveolar ridge for the post-alveolar approximant /r/.” Example 3 – business /ˈbɪznɪs/
Description: “Unlike English, Danish does not have a contrast between a fortis alveolar fricative /s/ and a lenis counterpart /z/; Danish only has /s/, which is usually voiceless. Many Danes therefore find it difficult to distinguish English /s/ from /z/ in perception and production. In the word business we can hear that the speaker makes no distinction between the /z/ in final position in the first syllable and the /s/ in final position in the second syllable. This neutralises the phonemic contrast, which may in some cases lead to a breakdown of intelligibility, although there is no word */ˈbɪsnɪs/ with which business could be confused. However, in word pairs like phases /ˈfeɪzɪz/- faces /ˈfeɪsɪz/ a lack of contrast might be problematic. Between a preceding (short) vowel and following nasal – two voiced sounds – the primary difference between lenis /z/ and fortis /s/ is probably voicing, so the Danish learner should be advised to practise voicing the /z/ to arrive at a pronunciation closer to the target.” Example 4 – price /ˈpraɪs/
Description: “It is not just the lenis alveolar fricative /z/ which may prove difficult for Danes. In some cases words with the fortis counterpart /s/ may also be problematic, since it is the contrast between /z/ and /s/ which is new, and thus difficult, to Danes. In the word price the Danish speaker fails to indicate that the following consonant is fortis by shortening the vowel. In other words, we do not apply pre- fortis clipping, which is the primary phonetic difference between syllables ending in a fortis obstruent and those ending in a lenis counterpart. This may result in the word being perceived (at least at first) as prize /praɪz/ instead of price /praɪs/. To achieve a pronunciation closer to the target and be more ‘comfortably intelligible’ the speaker should shorten the vowel appropriately.” Example 5 – with /wɪð/
Description: “While the lenis dental fricative seems to cause (perhaps) surprisingly few problems in initial position in words like the, there, them, some Danes do have problems with this sound in syllable-final position, for example in the word with here, where /ð/ is pronounced as the Danish ‘soft D’ (an allophone of /d/), as in the Danish word ved. The Danish sound is an approximant, not a fricative, and it is produced with the back of the tongue raised towards the soft palate; that is, it is velarized. Perhaps because of this velarization, many native speakers of English hear the sound as a dark (velarized) /l/. This means that there is a risk that the word with can be confused with will (and may rely on the context for proper understanding). The reason why Danes have fewer problems with /ð/ in initial position, may in fact be that Danish ‘soft D’ does not occur in this position, and Danes thus become aware that they have to learn a whole new sound. But in final position, they (inappropriately) associate /ð/ with the ‘soft D’. As Danish ‘soft D’ is typically produced with a lowered tongue tip, Danes should be made aware that English /ð/ is produced with the tongue tip raised to the back of the upper front teeth.” Example 6 – quote /kwəʊt/
Description: “In the word quote, the /w/ in the syllable onset is pronounced not as the correct labial-velar approximant, but as a labio-dental approximant [ʋ] – the Danish /v/. This is likely to sound decidedly odd to native (or most other competent) speakers, since the sequence /kv/ is not a possible consonant cluster in English. Danish does not have a /w/ phoneme, although several consonants, including /v/, can be realised as [w] – and usually are – in syllable-final position. But in initial position /v/ is never [w], and Danes tend to struggle with the phonemic contrast between /v/ and /w/ in this position. The most common error is overuse of /w/, so that “very” and “viking” are pronounced /ˈweri/ and /ˈwaɪkɪŋ/. But substitution of Danish /v/, a labio-dental approximant [ʋ], for both /v/ and /w/ (as in this case), is also occasionally heard. The Danish learner should be made aware of the distinction between /w/ and /v/ and produce /w/ with rounded and protruded lips and the back of the tongue raised towards the soft palate.” Example 7 – focussed /ˈfəʊkəst/
Description: “In the word focussed, the unstressed vowel /ə/ is instead pronounced as (Danish) [u], perhaps because this is the pronunciation suggested by the spelling. In Danish, unstressed vowels can have various (full/peripheral) vowel qualities, for example, [æ, u, o] as in the Danish words sofa, rebus, fotografi. In English, such unstressed vowels are typically reduced to schwa /ə/ (/ˈsəʊfə ˈriːbəs ˈfəʊtəgrɑːf/). The use of full vowels will sound odd to many listeners, and may give undue prominence to the syllables in which they occur (full vowels occur mostly in stressed syllables in English). The Danish learner should be made aware of the extensive use of /ə/ in unstressed syllables.” Summary of important learner problems
Consonants ■ The fortis – lenis contrast for obstruents (stops and fricatives) – Avoiding neutralisation (latter – ladder, ankle – angle, rope – robe) partly through – correct vowel and sonorant length before fortis and lenis obstruents (pre-fortis clipping) ■ peace – peas, seat – seed, wince – wins – Voiced vs voiceless fricatives, esp. /s ʃ/ vs /z ʒ/ between voiced sounds, also in initial position ■ racing – raising, pressure – pleasure (also PFC), sue – zoo ■ Affricates /tʃ dʒ/ => [ts/ds] in final position – => /tj, dj/ in initial position only; No /tj, dj/ in final position in Danish! ■ Dental fricatives, esp. fortis /θ/ => /s, f/, or /t/ (before /r/) ■ The constrast between /v/ and /w/ Summary of important learner problems
Vowels By far the most important issue is this:
■ The contrast between STRUT /ʌ/ and the lower back vowels /ɒ/ in RP and /ɑː, ɔː/ in GA – bus – boss, blunder – blonder, colour – collar etc. Other potential problems ■ Use of “full vowels” for /ə/ in unstressed syllables – sofa => *[ˈsəʊfæ], focus = *[fəʊkus]
■ DRESS and TRÆP too close, so /e/ sounds like /ɪ/ and /æ/ like /e/ – pet => pit, let => lit bat => bet, sad => said Case study: Listen to the speaker
■ See if you notice any errors ■ Individually: Note down words you think sound wrong. ■ Explain why Danes are likely to have problems with these words and suggest how the problems may be remedied.
Improving your oral proficiency
■ Why is it a great strength to be able to read phonemes? GROUP WORK APPLIED PHONETICS TIME FRAME
■ 14:00-15:15 Go through all four pho-pho stations ■ 15:15-15:30 Break ■ 15:30-16:30 Final test ■ 16:30-17:30 Evaluering, KAHOOT og tak for denne gang PHO-PHO STATIONS
STATION 4 STATION 1
STATION 3 STATION 2 kæˈhuːt taɪm ! Phonetics – the sounds of spoken language ˈɔːlweɪz bi jɔː'sɛlf
ənˈlɛs juː kæn bi ə ˈpaɪrət ðɛn ˈɔːlweɪz bi ə ˈpaɪrət Works cited
Bohn, Ocke-Schwen & Caudery, Tim. The Sounds of English. 1st edition, Department of English, Aarhus University, 2017.
”Cockney Accent” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dABo_DCIdpM&t=131s
Danish speaker pronunciation mistakes https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/film/fanks-lot-5-klassiske-broelere-danskere-laver-paa- engelsk
Interactive IPA chart. http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/
Tarantino, Quentin. Django Unchained. 2013. ”Raid scene” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHzQis2fO0U
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn. 1884. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, shorter 8th edition, vol. 2, 2013, p. 130.
Villy Søvndal taler engelsk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERW9hq9QKSM&t=110s
Til handout: http://phonetics.dk/Phonex/