THE PHONETICS of ENGLISH and DUTCH, Fifth Revised Edition

THE PHONETICS OF ENGLISH AND DUTCH, Fifth Revised Edition Beverley Collins Inger M. Mees BRILL THE PHONETICS OF ENGLISH AND DUTCH This page intentionally left blank THE PHONETICS OF ENGLISH AND DUTCH BY BEVERLEY COLLINS & INGER M. MEES FIFTH REVISED EDITION BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2003 This book is printed on acid-free paper. First edition 1981 Second revised edition 1984 Third revised edition 1996 Fourth revised edition 1999 Fifth revised edition 2003 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Collins, Beverley. The phonetics of English and Dutch / by Beverley Collins and Inger Mees. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 9004103406 (Gebrocheerd : alk. paper) 1. English language—Textbooks for foreign speakers—Dutch. 2. English language—Phonology, Comparative—Dutch. 3. Dutch language—Phonology, Comparative—English. 4. English language– –Phonetics. 5. Dutch language—Phonetics. I. Mees, Inger. II. Title. PE1129.D8C637 1999 428.3’43931—dc20 96–11518 CIP Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Collins, Beverley: The phonetics of English and Dutch / by Beverley Collins and Inger Mees. – Leiden ; New York ; Köln : Brill 1996 ISBN 90–04–10340–6 NE: Mees, Inger ISBN 90 04 13225 2 © Copyright 2003 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS CONTENTS Preface .......................................................................................................VII 1. A working basis .................................................................................... 1 2. The phoneme ........................................................................................ 8 3. Transcription ....................................................................................... 18 4. The speech mechanism ....................................................................... 25 5. Classification of consonants ............................................................... 36 6. Fortis/lenis contrast in Dutch and English.......................................... 48 7. Secondary articulation ........................................................................ 56 8. Description and classification of vowels ............................................ 61 9. Back to the phoneme .......................................................................... 76 10. Phonation and states of the glottis ...................................................... 81 11. English checked vowels...................................................................... 89 12. English free vowels .......................................................................... 100 13. Sounds and spelling: vowels............................................................. 118 14. The vowels of Dutch......................................................................... 127 15. English fricative consonants ............................................................. 139 16. English stop consonants ................................................................... 149 17. English nasal and approximant consonants ...................................... 167 18. Sounds and spelling: consonants ...................................................... 182 19. The consonants of Dutch .................................................................. 189 20. Patterns of adjustment in connected speech: assimilation and elision .................................................................... 203 21. Articulatory setting in English and Dutch ........................................ 221 22. Stress and rhythm ............................................................................. 226 23 Pitch, tone and intonation ................................................................. 245 24. Functions of intonation in English ................................................... 256 25. Intonation in Dutch and English compared ...................................... 274 26. Error analysis .................................................................................... 285 27. A brief look at other accents of the British Isles .............................. 294 28. Some differences between American and British English ............... 304 Guide to the technique of phonemic transcription ................................... 311 Guide to the technique of allophonic description ..................................... 323 Glossary of technical terms ...................................................................... 326 Key to exercises ........................................................................................ 341 Further reading and list of works consulted ............................................. 342 Vowel symbols used in various systems of transcription ......................... 349 Selected list of diacritics and phonetic symbols ....................................... 350 The International Phonetic Alphabet ........................................................ 352 English Phonetic Symbol checksheet ....................................................... 354 Index ......................................................................................................... 357 This page intentionally left blank PREFACE Phonetics of English and Dutch is aimed at Dutch-speaking students, from both the Netherlands and Belgium, taking phonetics as part of courses in Eng- lish at university and teacher-training institutes. In addition, it is hoped that the book will prove useful to English speakers who wish to gain an insight into the present-day pronunciation of Dutch. The course provides a complete introduction to the phonetics of English and Dutch based on an essentially practical approach to the subject. No previ- ous knowledge of phonetics is assumed of the reader, and all technical terms are explained in straightforward language as they are introduced. There is an emphasis throughout on the application of phonetics in second language ac- quisition; students are shown how a knowledge of phonetics can help them improve their own pronunciation and how this know-how can be passed on to pupils. Theoretical and practical aspects of the subject are clarified for the reader by means of numerous self-study exercises in articulation and transcription. The book contains a detailed contrastive description of British English (Received Pronunciation) and of Dutch (in both the Netherlands and Belgian standard varieties). In addition to a full discussion of the individual vowels and consonants, there is an extensive treatment of features of connected speech, e.g. intonation, assimilation and elision, stress and articulatory setting. There are sections on sound/spelling relationships in English, and an analysis of the commonest pronunciation errors in the English of Dutch speakers, plus criteria for evaluating the pronunciation of advanced learners of English. A guide to the technique of phonemic transcription is also provided, with numerous transcription passages for which correction keys are available (see pp. 315-22). One chapter is devoted to differences between English and American pronunciation and another provides a survey of a range of British regional accents. An illustrative audio recording is available for purchase, which contains self-study articulatory exercises, examples of vowels, consonants and intonation patterns, and a selection of accents spoken by native speakers of these varieties. Readers are recommended to obtain the workbook complementary to the present volume, Working with the Phonetics of English and Dutch. Phonetics of English and Dutch is based on an earlier book, Sounds of English and Dutch, originally published in 1981, appearing in a second revised edition in 1984. The present volume has been rewritten throughout and much new information has been added whilst outdated material has been re- moved. One important new element is that full attention is now paid to Bel- VIII PREFACE gian Dutch in its standard variety. In addition, the whole appearance of the book has been totally altered and improved, and the content rearranged in smaller, more manageable units. We believe it is now not only more attractive to the eye but also far easier for students to use. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In preparing this book, two people above all have given us help and assist- ance. Firstly, we wish to thank Colin Ewen (University of Leiden), who has given us constant support and advice not only on practical matters — such as how to produce convincing phonetic symbols with available computer soft- ware — but also, crucially, on countless theoretical phonetic and linguistic points. He read and commented on the entire text and also undertook the formidable task of constructing computerised versions of the vowel diagrams and intonation illustrations. Secondly, we are grateful to Anne-Marie Vandenbergen (University of Ghent), who provided us with the information on Belgian Dutch and the pronunciation problems of Dutch-speaking Belgian students of English. We also wish to thank her colleagues, Heidi Verplaetse and James O’Driscoll,

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