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Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Phonetics. Mostrar todas las entradas
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The larynx, which sits on top of the trachea, is composed of cartilages held together by ligaments. It houses the vocal cords, which lie horizontally just behind the Adam’s apple (see figure 1.2). The space between the vocal cords, which is known as the ‘glottis’, assumes different configurations for sounds known as ‘voiced’ and ‘voiceless’. When the cords are apart (open), the air passes freely through the glottis. Sounds made with such a configuration of the glottis are called ‘voiceless’ (see figure 1.3).
If, on the other hand, the vocal cords are brought together, the air passing through creates vibration, and the resulting sounds are ‘voiced’ (see figure 1.4). It is important to point out that the cord vibration is not a muscular action. When the cords are brought close to one another, the passing air creates a suction effect (Bernoulli principle), and the cords are brought together. As soon as the cords are together, there is no suction effect and the cords move apart. As soon as they are apart the suction is reinitiated, and the cycle repeats itself. One can easily feel the difference between certain voiced and voiceless sounds. If you pronounce the initial sounds of the word pairs ‘sip’–‘zip’ and place your index finger on your Adam’s apple or place your index fingers in both ears, you could feel the buzz created by the voicing of /z/; this effect will not be present in it's voiceless counterpart /s/.
domingo, 1 de mayo de 2011
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Starting from the outer extreme, we have the lips and the teeth. In the upper surface, behind the upper teeth, there is a bumpy area (alveolar ridge), which is followed by a larger bony area (hard palate). Further back is a flaccid area, the ‘soft palate’ (or ‘velum’) which is unsupported by bone. The soft palate is a movable organ, which opens and closes the velopharyngeal passage (the passage that links the pharynx to the nasal cavity). Finally, at the back, the velum narrows to a long, thin pointed structure that is called the ‘uvula’.
In the lower part of the mouth, after the lower lip and the teeth, lies the tongue. The ‘tip’ (or ‘apex’) of the tongue is the foremost part. Just behind the tip is the small surface called the ‘blade’ (or ‘lamina’). The so-called ‘front’ part of the tongue is the area between tip/blade and the center. The hindmost part of the horizontal surface of the tongue is called the ‘back’ (or ‘dorsum’). At the end of the tongue, we have the ‘root’, which is the vertical surface against the pharyngeal wall. Finally, we have the ‘epiglottis’, which is a leaf-shaped cartilage that sticks up and back from the larynx.
What is Phonetics?
Phonetics:
· (a system of) symbols used to show the pronunciation of words.
· The study of sounds of language.
Phonetics is the science which analyses and records sounds and other elements of speech, and their use and distribution in connected speech. It is for this that its necessary the use of a phonetic alphabet. Without such an alphabet, an accurate description and record of speech usages would be clumsy and awkward, and liable to misinterpretation. A dictionary can show the pronunciation of individual words, can even give alternative pronunciations, and can show how words are stressed.
The student is advised to learn to recognize and make the English sounds in isolation and in words, and the symbols which represent these sounds. You will find in this way that a phonetic transcription is a valuable aid to the study of pronunciation. It will help you, in the first place, to get rid of the natural idea that the conventional spelling represents pronunciation. Secondly it will enable you, as no other method could, to realize of your own speech habits.
It should also be remembered that the interpretation of a phonetic transcription requires an understanding of phonetics. There is no science to reading a phonetic transcription. However, as the reader is not trained in speech analysis it’s normal to think that the spelling represents in a manner the pronunciation.
Pronunciation is also connected to grammar resulting in one word having different pronunciation:
Example: Close
A Close friend (adjective)
Close the door (verb)
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