Phonetics in learning English

Ph anetics in learning faceIntroductionThe core of phonetic is to identify the characteristics of the honests which human begins fag end use in language. Sounds can basically be divided into ii types vowel unspoilts and harmonizeds. Vowels be produced by altering the shape of the vocal tract by spatial relation of the tongue and lips. Consonants argon sounds which be produced by the partial or complete construction of the vocal tract.The picture of how your address looks when you say sounds. (Sharon Widmayer and Holly Gray) image of articulatorsYour lips, teeth, tongue, nose, and roof of your mouth be all important for orthoepy. The epiglottis is also important. That is the thing that you use to hold your breath and to swallow. It closes your windpipe so the argument cannot come out.The components of teaching the sound of side1. VowelsVowels are usually described by reference to five criteria, and these are adequate as a basic token of reference, although some vowel soun d require more specifi reproduceionthe height reached by the highest point of the tongue (high, mid, low) ,the part of the tongue which is raised (front, center, back),the shape mannequined by the lips (unrounded or spread, rounded)the couch of the diffused palate for oral vowels, lowered for nasal vowels,the duration of the vowel ( in short, long)Some Generalizations (Not Rules) about English vowels and spellingEnglish vowels corroborate long and short forms.The long form is the name of the letter The short form is as followsLong vowels are usually ( merely not al modes) indicated by a second (silent) vowel in the same syllableShort vowels usually stand alone within a syllable and are lots followed by double conformables2. Consonant soundsConsonant sounds have three basic features in their articulation place of articulation, manager of articulation, and voicing.Consonants produce sounds that are more consistent and easier to identify than vowels. at that placefore, they mak e a good commencement point for learning to read.Initially, work should be done on identifying beginning consonant sounds (ex t-t-t tulip).After that, activities can focus on identifying concluding consonant sounds (ex cat ends with the t-t-t sound)When children learn to recognize the sounds of consonants at the beginning and end positions of words, they gain the ability to look at a word and make a reasonable work out as to what it might be. Viewing the word in the context of a picture will help reinforce this skill.(for example, a picture of a quest after with the word DOG underneath. The ability to sound out the D and G letters will help the child identify that the word is DOG, not puppy or dalmation)The ideas and activities presented in this section will help children develop the following skillsidentifying beginning consonant soundsdistinguishing between two or more beginning consonant soundsidentifying ending consonant soundsdistinguishing between two or more ending conso nantschoosing words that have a particular beginning or ending consonantThe following diagram shows the names of the various parts of the mouth involved in the production of English consonantsA = nasal cavityB = alveolar rooftreeC = hard palateD = soft palate or velumE = lips and teethF = tongue 1 tip 2 blade 3 bodyG = uvulaH = larynx and vocal cordsvFor each consonant, two parts of the mouth are involved, and the name given to it reflects this. Starting from the front, some consonants are made using both lips try saying /p/ /b/ /w/ and /m/ and these are called bilabial consonants (bilabial = two lips)Now try /f/ and /v/. This time its the bottom lip and top teeth which are involved. These are labiodental consonants (labio = lip, dental = teeth).For more or less all the other consonants, the tongue will interact with another part of the mouth. The name of the consonant doesnt include a reference to the tongue however, just the point of the mouth which it meets. So for instanc e, sounds made by an interaction between the tongue and the teeth are just called dental sounds. These are /t/, /d/ and the voiced and voteless th sounds / / as in this and // as in thick .If you run your tongue back behind your teeth, you come to a bony ridge called the alveolar ridge. Several sounds are made on or just behind the ridge /s/ /z/ /t/ /d/ /n/ /r/ and /l/Moving back from the alveolar ridge you come to a similarly hard but smoother zone the hard palate. /j/ as in yellow is a palatal sound, are as the highlighted consonants in the words sheep, measure, cheap and jeep. There is also a palatal version of the /r/ consonant. If you found it strange that it was classed before as alveolar, you may have been saying the palatal version.Notice that there is now a difference in the focusing the tongue is used. For the dental and alveolar sounds, it was the tip of the tongue which was involved. For palatal sounds, however, its the blade of the tongue, and as we move further b ack to the velum (the soft part of the palate, closest to the throat) its the back, or body, of the tongue. The velar sounds are /g/ and /k/ and the final consonants in sing and in bottle often called the dark l.This leaves only the consonant /h/ which is produced by air passing from the windpipe through the vocal cords, or glottis. Its therefore a glottal sound.Place of Articulation tells us where the consonants are produced, but we also need to consider Manner of Articulation how they are produced. The most important categories arePlosives Plosive sounds (also called stop sounds) are formed by the air being completely blocked in the mouth and then suddenly released. For example, /k/ and /g/ are formed when the back of the tongue rises to the velum and momently blocks the air. These are therefore velar plosives. The other plosive consonants of English are the bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/ and the alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/. Some varieties of English London English for examp le also include a glottal stop which substitutes for the /t/ consonant between vowels. Imagine a London orthoepy of butter, for example.Fricatives Fricatives are formed when the two parts of the mouth approach each other closely, not completely blocking the passage of the air, but forcing it through a confined space. The air molecules start to bump against each other causing audible friction. Try the palatal fricative the sh sound. You can feel your tongue up close to the alveolar ridge and the air passing through the small space left. The full list of English fricatives is labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/ dental fricatives the two th sounds alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/ palatal fricatives // as in in sheep and // as in measure and the glottal fricative /h/.Affricates Affricates are really a plosive and a fricative combined. The air is initially blocked, and then released through a narrow passageway like a fricative. English has two affricates, the initial sounds in cheap and jeep / / and //. These are usually classed as palato-alveolar affricates, as theyre made in a position half way between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate.Nasals when a nasal sound is produced, the air is prevented from going out through the mouth and is instead released through the nose. There are three English nasals the bilabial nasals /m/ and /n/ and the velar nasal // the final consonant in sing.Approximant Approximants are a bit of a hotch-potch category, and contain some of the most problematic sounds in English. Well look at them in detail another time, but for now will dissever them together as sounds produced when the airstream moves around the tongue and out of the mouth with almost no obstruction. The English approximants are the alveolar approximants /l/ and /r/, the palatal approximant /j/, as in yes, and the dark l the velar approximant as in bottle. Keep in mind, however, that this is a simplification.This leaves the third distinguishing category whic h we discussed in the outlive article voicing. If the vocal cords are vibrated when the sound is made, the sound is voiced. If the are not, it is unvoiced. Several of the English consonants come in pairs. They have the same place and room of articulation and are distinguished only by voicing (1). For example /t/ and /d/ are both alveolar plosives, but /t/ is unvoiced while /d/ is voiced. In the summarizing chart below, where pairs occur the unvoiced sound is always given first.3. Sounds in connected linguistic processSounds are seldom produced in isolation. In connected speech (that is, any sequence spoken at natural speed), many sounds tend to be altered of modified by the sound immediately before of after them, especially at the boundaries between words.According to the Excerpt from Study Guide, Connected Speech is the key to gaining a natural, smooth-flowing style of speech. populate do not speak in separate words they speak in logical connected groups of words. Even native speakers sometimes stumble everywhere their words because they are unaware of the little tricks for avoiding the pitfalls. Trained actors, of course, are able to deliver lengthy, complex, and even tongue-twisting passages flawlessly. This is not a gift. They have simply learned the rules for linking one word into another with intention. When youve finished this tape, youll know the rules, too and with practice youll become a fluent, polished speaker.These are the steps for speaking in connected speech Direct Linking Linking final consonants directly into vowels Play and Link Linking final consonants fully played and linked to fully played non-related consonants. Prepare and Link Prepare for the final consonant, and execute related consonant that it is linking into. Weak Forms A lot of the very small connecting words in speech are so de-emphasized, or unstressed, that they often take on a Weak Form. Contractions We use these words so much that, we usually contract them together. Wor d Endings and Contractions Common Word Endings (Suffixes).These are for the most part unstressed, and should be treated like weak forms. Dialogues Practicing Word Endings and Contractions These dialogues have a double emphasis. Practicing both Word Endings and Contractions within a context.ConclusionIf other aspects of pronunciation are dealt with efficiently, sounds do not present such a problem. Again, much of the difficulty which students have when pronouncing English sounds comes, not from a physical inability to form them, but from language interference. This occurs when the student knows how an English word is spelt and pronounces it as if was written in his own language.It is important for a teacher to know how sounds are formed so that he understands what his students are doing wrong.ReferencesJohn Haycraft. (1978). An introduction to English language teaching. Longman Longman Group Ltd.1978Jones, D.(1998). The Pronunciation of English. Cambridge Cambridge University Press. http//www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/consonants-intro.htmKelly, G.(2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Harlow Peason.Ladefoged, P.(2005). Vowels and Consonants Oxford Blackwell.Steele,V.(2005) Connected Speech (Onlline).http//www.teachingenglish.org.uk/(2005, May 29)