Background: the production of sound for speech Adam Albright ([email protected]) LSA 2017 Phonology University of Kentucky How do humans use sound to communicate? I Speech production I Intended meaning, calculate syntactic form, determine phonological form, translate into physical instructions I Speech perception I Sound waves enter ear, auditory analysis, parse for linguistically significant units, determine phonological and syntactic form, reconstruct intended meaning The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 1/54 Properties of speech sounds What makes a speech sound speech? I Speech is noise created by air flowing from the lungs, modified as it exits through the mouth/nose I Speech is just one of many modes of linguistic communication I Hand signs, writing, semaphore, morse code, … I But all except sign language are derivative from spoken speech I Speech is continuous I A fluid stream of sounds, without necessarily any pauses between individual sounds, words, or even sentences I Speech is segmentable I Composed of smaller units: words, morphemes, syllables, and individual sounds The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 2/54 Although it’s not obvious from the waveform, the speech stream is composed of smaller units, which we can refer to discretely I Phrases, words, phones (= individual speech sounds) I explain = e k s p l ai n Speech: continuous, yet segmentable . “If you can’t see that, then I don’t know if I can explain it to you” The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 3/54 I explain = e k s p l ai n Although it’s not obvious from the waveform, the speech stream is composed of smaller units, which we can refer to discretely I Phrases, words, phones (= individual speech sounds) Speech: continuous, yet segmentable . “If you can’t see that, then I don’t know if I can explain it to you” The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 3/54 Although it’s not obvious from the waveform, the speech stream is composed of smaller units, which we can refer to discretely I Phrases, words, phones (= individual speech sounds) Speech: continuous, yet segmentable . “If you can’t see that, then I don’t know if I can explain it to you” I explain = e k s p l ai n The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 3/54 Speech: continuous, yet segmentable . “If you can’t see that, then I don’t know if I can explain it to you” I explain = e k s p l ai n Although it’s not obvious from the waveform, the speech stream is composed of smaller units, which we can refer to discretely I Phrases, words, phones (= individual speech sounds) The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 3/54 Evidence for discrete phones I Phonemic awareness tasks (typically used for testing development in children) I What is the first sound in cat? I Which of these words start with the same sound: cat, pat, coat I Say cat without the [k]; say stand without the [t] I Say cat. What word do you get if you change the [k] to [m]? I Language games I pig latin ! ig-pay atin-lay I Speech errors I “cad you rean the small print?” I (More common: ‘spoonerisms’ of word-initial consonants) I Alphabetic writing The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 4/54 Producing speech Two components: I Aerodynamic component I Air is forced out of lungs, though throat, mouth, and nose I Articulatory component I Air stream is modified in various ways on its way out The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 5/54 The vocal tractArticulation of English sounds: Consonants (6) A bit of anatomy nasal passages palate alveolar ridge brain tongue dorsum lips velum teeth tongue uvula tongue blade larynx (glottis) to the lungs (7) The airstream: (mylungs vocal tract, for illustrativelarynx purposes)vocal tract outside world The nature(8) of speechStep 1:The The production larynx of, voicing or vocalVowels cordsConsonants 6/54 • closed: vibrate, make buzzing noise → voicing • open: no vibration, just let air pass through → no voicing ☞ What would speech sound like if there was no voicing? (9) Step 2: The vocal tract • air flowing through the mouth = oral sounds • air flowing through the nose = nasal sounds (10) Articulation: doing something to block or obstruct the airstream (11) Place of articulation = where is the obstruction? lips = labial articulation alveolar ridge = alveolar articulation palate = palatal articulation velum = velar articulation uvula = uvular articulation glottis = glottal articulation And one other useful term: air escaping around side(s) of the tongue = lateral articulation ☞ how would a labiodental articulation be made? an interdental articulation? an alveopalatal articulation? 2 + The larynx (= the glottis) From http://www.oto-hns.northwestern.edu/Voice/education.html (broken link) The vocal tract The first linguistically significant airstream obstruction: The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 7/54 The vocal tract The first linguistically significant airstream obstruction: + The larynx (= the glottis) From http://www.oto-hns.northwestern.edu/Voice/education.html (broken link) The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 7/54 Manipulations of the vocal folds Vocal folds are held at varying degrees of stiffness/closure I Completely open: for respiration (= breathing) I Close enough to obstruct airflow: whispering, sighing, [h] (aspiration) I Close together, intermediate stiffness: normal (modal) voice I Tightly closed: glottal stop (as in [ʔ]uh-[ʔ]oh) The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 8/54 Voicing is the first major source of noise for speech I Creates a complex periodic wave, which resonates in the mouth and nose, and is otherwise modified on its way into the atmosphere Voicing I When the vocal folds are held somewhat close together, and with the right amount of stiffness, air rushing through causes them to “vibrate” I Vocal folds are forced apart and rapidly close again, repeatedly I Periodic vibrations = voicing I Can feel externally as a “buzzing” on your throat; try [sssszzzzsssszzz] The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 9/54 Voicing I When the vocal folds are held somewhat close together, and with the right amount of stiffness, air rushing through causes them to “vibrate” I Vocal folds are forced apart and rapidly close again, repeatedly I Periodic vibrations = voicing I Can feel externally as a “buzzing” on your throat; try [sssszzzzsssszzz] Voicing is the first major source of noise for speech I Creates a complex periodic wave, which resonates in the mouth and nose, and is otherwise modified on its way into the atmosphere The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 9/54 Source properties: voice quality How would you characterize the difference between these pairs of sounds? I Mpi (Tibeto-Burman, spoken by ≈ 900 people in Thailand) Tone Word Gloss Word Gloss Low rising . si ‘to be putrid’ . si ‘to be dried up’ Low level . si ‘blood’ . si ‘seven’ Mid rising . si ‘to roll rope’ . si ‘to smoke’ Mid level . si (a color) . si (classifier) High falling . si ‘to die’ . si (name) High level . si ‘four’ . si (name) I Regular vs. ‘tense’ voice Hear them here. The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 10/54 Source properties: voice quality !Xóõ (Khoisan, Botswana/Namibia) Plain (voiced) Pharyngealized Strident Breathy . kǁáa . qáʕa . k!ào . k!a̤o ‘camelthorn tree’ ‘long ago’ ‘base’ ‘slope’ The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 11/54 I Emotive use: frustration, surprise, etc. I Individual style: Louis Armstrong, Julie Kavner, etc. description Source properties: voice quality Voice quality contrasts I Bai (Tibeto-Burman, China) (Esling 2002) . tɕi31 ‘field’ . tɕi21 ‘flag’ (breathy) (harsh) I English: what determines the voice quality that a word is spoken with? The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 12/54 Source properties: voice quality Voice quality contrasts I Bai (Tibeto-Burman, China) (Esling 2002) . tɕi31 ‘field’ . tɕi21 ‘flag’ (breathy) (harsh) I English: what determines the voice quality that a word is spoken with? I Emotive use: frustration, surprise, etc. I Individual style: Louis Armstrong, Julie Kavner, etc. description The nature of speech The production of voicing Vowels Consonants 12/54 The vocal tractArticulation as filter of English sounds: Consonants (6) A bit of anatomy nasal passages palate alveolar ridge brain tongue dorsum lips velum teeth tongue uvula tongue blade larynx (glottis) to the lungs (7) The airstream: lungs larynx vocal tract outside world The nature(8) of speechStep 1:The The production larynx of, voicing or vocalVowels cordsConsonants 13/54 • closed: vibrate, make buzzing noise → voicing • open: no vibration, just let air pass through → no voicing ☞ What would speech sound like if there was no voicing? (9) Step 2: The vocal tract • air flowing through the mouth = oral sounds • air flowing through the nose = nasal sounds (10) Articulation: doing something to block or obstruct the airstream (11) Place of articulation = where is the obstruction? lips = labial articulation alveolar ridge = alveolar articulation palate = palatal articulation velum = velar articulation uvula = uvular articulation glottis = glottal articulation And one other useful term: air escaping around side(s) of the tongue = lateral articulation ☞ how would a labiodental articulation be made? an interdental articulation? an alveopalatal articulation?