ENGL 390: The Linguistic Structure of Modern English
Spring 2006 Dr. J. Rubba
Original text © Johanna Rubba 2006
English Sounds

English Sounds and English Spelling

+Sound in language:

• Speech is the original, basic form of human language

• Since 60,000-100,000 yrs. ago

• Writing first invented 5,000 yrs. ago

• Wrtg. invented in only 3 known places: Near East, China, Yucatan

• All humans learn to speak instinctively -- no teaching necessary

• Humans must be taught to read and write

• Literacy instruction builds on speech

+Phonetics vs. Phonology

• Phonetics: raw material used for speech; sounds humans can make

• Phonology: how sound is used to make language function as needed:

F Make words different from each other

F Keep speech pronounceable and perceivable

Phonological systems

+Every language has a phonological system; comprises:

+Building blocks (units) that are put together into patterns to create larger building blocks.

• Units:

F Features (which build individual speech sounds or phones)

F Phones (which build syllables)

F Syllables (which build words)

F Words (which build phrases)

F Phrases (which build sentences)

• Patterns:

F Phonotactic constraints

F Phonological processes

F Intonation & stress

How sounds are made: The vocal tract; the general mechanism of speech production

Vocal tract images

+http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/vocal_vowels/vocal_vowels.html

+X-ray movies: /apa/, /ata/, /aka/:
http://www.ling.yale.edu:16080/ling120/Gestural_structure/Xray_Films/ptk.html

+Animated vowel tubes:
http://www.ifp.uiuc.edu/speech/synthesis/vtract.html

How sounds are made: Features

+ One sound comprises several features

+ Each based on what is going on in some part of the vocal tract
In table: voiceless sounds are on the left of dotted line; voiced on the right

How sounds are made: Features

+ Vowel features

+ Three- and four-term labels for consonants

Features: Three-term labels for vowels

Phonetic transcription

+Letters vs. sounds

m

+Phonetic alphabets:

• Are perfectly consistent (one and only one letter per sound)

• can be used to write any language:

F English: / s‡u sayz / shoe size

F Spanish: / sApAtAs Asules / zapatas azules “blue shoes”

F French: / s‡e vu / chez vous “at your place”

Features: Natural classes of sounds

+ Natural class: A group of sounds that share one or more features

F Alveolar stops: in blue: /t, d/

F Voiceless fricatives: in red: / f, T, s, s‡, h /

F Bilabial sounds: in green: /p, b, m, w/

Natural classes: Applications

+Child language acquisition:

Natural classes: Applications

+ Language change over time:

• Proto-Indo-European to Modern English

• Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the ancient language from which English descends

• Spoken approx. 7,000-9,000 years ago

• English originated about 1500 years ago.

+ PIE voiceless stops became fricatives:

• PIE /p/ —> /f/ p´ter —> father

• PIE /t/ —> /T/ treyes —> three

• PIE /k/ —> /h/ kwn- —> hound (only the root consonants are known)

+ PIE voiced stops became voiceless stops:

• PIE /b/ —> /p/ dheub —> deep

• PIE /d/ —> /t/ doklos —> tail

• PIE /g/ —> /k/ gen —> kin

Phoneme inventories across languages

English consonants vs. Vietnamese consonants

Phoneme inventories across languages -cont’d

+ Differences in phoneme inventory are one cause of foreign accent: learners have trouble both hearing and pronouncing a sound that is not in their native phoneme inventory.

+ Blue = shared sounds yellow = Vietnamese only pink = English only

Syllables

+Divides stream of speech into rhythmic chunks

+Parts:

• Onset (consonants) - first sound(s) in syllable - optional

• Rhyme: remainder after onset

F Nucleus: core element (vowel) (no nucleus, no syllable) - not optional

F Coda: consonant(s) after nucleus - optional

F Examples:
tomato /to.me.to/
window /wIn.do/
conventional /k´n.vEn.s‡´.n´l/

+ Pair work: Find two words that fit each syllable pattern. C = consonant; V = vowel. Ignore spelling! Listen for sound.
1. CVCC
2. VCC
3. CV.CVC
4. VC.CVC

Syllables: Application

+Onset/rhyme: “Phonograms” in spelling instruction

• = rhymes of a # of common one-syllable words, spelled consistently:

F [Al] - tall, small, fall, call, ball, wall

F [IN] - sing, thing, ring, cling, bring, ding

F [Qnd] - hand, land, sand, stand, band

+Phonemic awareness training:

• Children hear words as wholes, not strings of sounds

• P. A. trains them to hear individual sounds in words

F So that they can match them with letters later

• P. A. training proceeds top-down, beginning with words that rhyme; changing the onset of a one-syllable word, etc.

Syllables: Application (cont’d)

+ Poetry:

• Rhyme - identical rhymes:

F The rain in Spain falls mainly* in the plain. *(main.ly is 2 syllables; main is the first)

F Once upon a midnight dreary
As I pondered weak and weary ...

• Alliteration - identical or near-identical onsets (from Beowulf):

F Oft scyld scefing scea†ena †reatum Often, Scyld, son of Scef, from enemies’ bands
monegum mæg†um meodosetla ofteah from many tribes, carried off the mead-benches

• Assoance - identical nuclei:

F Hear the mellow wedding bells,
Golden bells! (Poe, The Bells)

Syllables: Application (cont’d)

+ Poetry:

• Meter - syllables grouped together into feet

F Foot = a group comprising one strong (accented) and one or more weak (unaccented) syllables

] Iamb: 2 sylls.; weak - strong: a.bout, un.til, co.llect

] Troche: 2 sylls.; strong - weak: so.fa, ti.ny, may.be

] Anapest: 3 sylls., weak - weak - strong: o.ther side, in be.tween

] Dactyl: 3 sylls.; strong - weak - weak: min.i.mum, se.ve.rance

F Meter = number of feet per line of verse

] Iambic pentameter: five iambic feet (feet in [ ], strong sylls. bold)

v [Shall I] [compare] [thee to] [a su][mmer’s day]?
[Thou art] [more love][ly and] [more tem][perate]. Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

] Mixed meter: Emily Dickinson:

v [My life] [closed twice] [before] [its close] - iambic tetrameter (4 feet)
[It yet] [remains] [to see] - iambic trimeter (3 feet)
[If im][morta][lity] [unveil] - iambic tetrameter (4 feet)
[A third] [event] [to me] - iambic trimeter (3 feet)

[So huge], [so hope][less to] [conceive] - iambic tetrameter (4 feet)
[As these] [that twice] [befell]. - iambic trimeter (3 feet)
[Parting is] [all we] [know of] [heaven], - tetrameter; dactyl followed by 2 troches
[All we] [need of] [hell]. - trochaic trimeter with clipped final foot.

Phonotactic constraints

+ Phonotactic constraints = limits on number, kind, and order of sounds in syllable parts (onset, nucleus, coda)

+ Often involve natural classes

+ Group activity: refer to the consonant chart on p. 13 of the phon. chapter to answer these questions. Think up words to prove your findings. Don’t let spelling fool you!

• To answer the questions, work methodically through the chart, attempting to put each consonant after /s/; think of a word with that combination if there is one. E.g., /p/ can follow /s/, as in speed /spid/.

• 1. /s/ can be the first consonant in a two-consonant onset in English (e.g., small). Which (classes of) consonants can be second?

• 2. Other than /s/, which (classes of) English consonants can be first in a 2-consonant onset (e.g., free, bleak)?

Phonotactic constraints: Applications

+ Child language acquisition:

• Children go through a developmental series in acquiring syllable structure: from less structure to more.

• Earliest syllables: V, CV, CVCV

F ooh, dah, nah, mama, wawa, baba, beebee (“baby”), daddy, etc.

• Then, single-C codas: hat, sock, juice /hæt/, /sAk/, /æ‡us/

• Then, 2-C codas and onsets: spoon, friend

• Then, 3-C onsets: squeak, string

• 1- and 2-syllable words first; 3-syll. later; 4-syll.+ remain challenging through early school years

• Can pronounce most syllable types by age 6

+ Children will reduce syllable structures in order to use words with structures beyond their current ability:

• Spoon > / pun /

• Sleep > / sip /

• Hand > / hæn /

• Hands > / hænz /

Phonotactic constraints: Applications

+ Foreign accent:

• Different languages have different phonotactic constraints:

F English: permits up to CCC onset (strike); up to CCCC coda (sixths = / sIkTs /

F Spanish: up to CC onset; no sC: frio (‘cold’), playa (‘beach’) but España (‘Spain’)

F Spanish: no coda bigger than C: arbol (‘tree’), fin (‘end’), sus (‘his/her’ pl.)

F Russian: up to CCCC onsets: vstrec‡At ‘meet’

• Different languages allow different types of consonants to cluster:

F Greek: / kseno / ‘guest, stranger’, /pseudos / ‘falsehood’

F Modern Aramaic: / kxaka / ‘laugh’, / mnonu / ‘sons’, / pTaxa / ‘open’

+ Learners face great difficulty in expanding syllable structure beyond their native language:

• English speakers say ‘zeno’ for /kseno/ (zenophobia); omit /p/ of ‘psychology’

• English speakers insert a vowel in long onsets: v´strec‡At

• Spanish speakers insert a vowel in sC or sCC clusters: /Eskul / = ‘school’

• Spanish speakers delete final C’s of clusters: ‘friend’ > / frEn /

Phonology and foreign accent

+Foreign accent results from:

• Deep entrenchment of native language phonological system:

F Phoneme inventory

F Phonotactic constraints

F Intonation/pitch patterns

F Phonological processes

• Learner often cannot hear differences

F Train in hearing as well as speaking

] Discrimination tests: Which of two words am I saying? Write down the sounds you hear at the end of this word: “collapsed”

F Discuss differences openly to help learning

• Tips for pronunciation training:

F Start small and slow: one item (sound, syllable structure) at a time; work up

F Train on word stress and sentence intonation, not just speech sounds

Phonology and foreign accent - cont’d

+ Group work:

• Trace transformation of ‘Christina’ / krIstinA / = CCVCCVCV into Hawai’ian

Consonant inventory: p k / h m n w l no r, s, t in Hawai’ian
Vowel inventory: i e a o u no I in Hawai’ian
Possible syllables in Hawaiian: V, VV, CV, CVV

+ Steps:

• 1. /k/ OK

• 2. /kr/ illegal CC - insert vowel > /ki/

• 3. no /r/ - substitute /l/ > kil

• 4. no / / - substitute /i/ > kili

• 5. no /s/ - substitute /k/ > kilik

• 6. /st/ illegal CC - insert vowel /kiliki/

• 7. /na/ OK : kilikina

Suprasegmental Features

+Suprasegmental Features: “above segment”

+Apply to syllable (or syll. nucleus)

+Pitch: “Melody” of voice over speech = intonation

+Stress: Point of “accent” or emphasis in a word, phrase

• English prefers alternating stressed / unstressed (strong/weak) syllables.

• Poetic meter: Trochaic quadrameter (4 pairs of strong/weak syllables):

ONCE uPON a MIDnight DREAry

AS i PONdered WEAK and WEAry ...

(The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe)