The sounds of language

Language is:

• Discrete
• Combinatorial
• Unbounded
• Recursive

Each vocal tract movement = an articulatory gesture. To define an articulatory gesture,

• Airstream mechanism
  • Pulmonary egressive, Glottalic egressive, Glottalic ingressive, Velaric ingressive
• State of the velar port
  • Closed: Oral sounds
  • Open: Air can pass through the nose, Nasal sounds
• State of the larynx
• Place of articulation (where the articulator moves)
• Manner of articulation (type of constriction made)

Place of articulation

Active articulator: the “mover” articulator

• Lower lip (labial)
• Tongue front (coronal)
• Tongue body
• Larynx

Passive articulator: the place to which the active articulator moves

Building descriptors:

Transcription

• English does not have good sound-letter correspondence
• Many logographic languages do not have sound-letter correspondence at all
• Phonetic transcription cannot be restricted by one language
  • Xhosa’s "X" != Xu’s "X"

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

1. Universal alphabet (every human language can be represented)
2. Unambiguous (one-to-one sounds-symbols)

Types of transcription

• Broad transcription: Basic symbols only to distinguish words
  • Contrastive aspects: different symbols <=> different words
• Narrow transcription: Articulatory Details (often via diacriticals + basic symbol)
  • Contrastive and non-contrastive

Building blocks of speech

Airstream, Larynx, Velum

Airstream: By DEFAULT, is pulmonic egressive (unmarked). The limited case is marked

Laryngeal: State of vocal folds [Vibrating, Closed, Open]

• Voiced/voiceless [z/s]: If vocal folds are vibrating it is voiced.
• Aspiration [$^h$] (extra voicelessness): How large the vocal fold opening is
  • Test by feeling air in front of mouth
  • Glottal stop [ʔ]: shutting the folds down cutting airflow in larynx
• Nasality/orality [e.g. m]: Velum open/closed
• Creaky/Relaxed: vocal folds are tense/relaxed

Manner of articulation

3 types of audible air:

1. Pop [obstruent]
2. Turbulence [obstruent]
3. Resonance [sonorant]

Obstruent: Obstruction to the flow of air

• Plosives (oral stops) [p,b,k,t]
  • bring active and passive articulators together to stop air from exiting the mouth
• Fricatives [e.g. f,s]
  • articulators are brought close but not completely
  • narrow slit to force air through (hiss)
• Affricates [ch]
  • STOP –> FRICATIVE

Many obstruents are voiceless.

Voiced obstruents (stops/fricatives) are marked.

• e.g. [b, d, g], [v, ð, z, ʒ]
• Voicing requires airflow through
• But obstruents block it.
• Hence more difficult and unconventional –> marked.

Sonorant: No buildup of pressure in vocal tract, we allow it to free flow and vibrate at different frequencies.

• Vowels
• Nasal stops [m]
  • Counts as a stop as lips are closed
  • No buildup/burst of pressure
• Approximants [r, l]:
  • Active articulator narrows the vocal tract, but not so much as the fricative

On approximants (laterals, trills, taps, flaps)

Laterals: stops the airflow down the centre of the vocal tract, air flow through side

• Dark l (l with tilde through centre): occurs when l is after a high vowel (e.g. feel, heal, pool)
• Lateral fricatives: a tighter constriction at the sides and/or more airflow
• Labial laterals are impossible.

Taps [up-down] and flaps [one-way] are often rhotics.

Approximants: constriction in the vocal tract

Most sonorants are voiced.

• Blowing out air –> vibration –> basics of sonorance

Unvoiced sonorants are marked

Contour vs complex segments

Contour segments: Start with one manner and end with another manner

Complex segments: 2 places of articulation are used at the same time

• labio-velar approximant [w]
• labio-velar plosives [kp, gb]
• labialization, palatalisation, velarization, pharyngealization

Vowels

Determined by tongue position.

• Height (high/low/mid)
• Frontness (front/central/back)
• Rounded/unrounded
• Schwa (the reduced vowel): Short unstressed syllables.

“Offglides”

• Non-contrastive (“bade/bode”: [beɪd/boʊd])
• Contrastive (“find/found”: [aɪ/aʊ])
  • Diphthongs