PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

- words can be transcript into the IPA – international phonetic alphabet

- RP – received pronunciation (British English)

o spoken by 3 % of the UK population
o most commonly found in London and southeast of England where it originated
o for long time has been perceived as prestigious
o sometimes referred as the Queen’s English or BBC English
o Characteristic features:
 the long vowel in words such as bath, path, ask - /a:/
 diphthongs in words such as go, no, flow - /әʊ/
 non-rhotic – r in the spelling is usually not pronounced – car /kɑːr/
 no h-dropping – in words such as house or hammer /ˈhæmə(r)/
 no yod-dropping – in words such as stupid or Tuesday /ˈtju:zdeɪ/
o RP Phonemic chart

- GA – general American (American English)

o most “neutral” and free of regional characteristics
o accent usually taught to people learning English as a second language
o characteristic features:
 rhotic pronunciation – full pronunciation of all /r/ sounds – car /kɑːr/
 merger of words like father and bother - /ˈfɑːðər/ vs /ˈbɑːðər/
 yod-dropping – the elision of the sound /j/ even after /t/, /d/, /n/ - tune /tu:n/
 intervocalic alveolar flapping /t/ is pronounced as a voiced “d-like sound”
-> metal and medal are pronounced the same – metal /ˈmet̬.əl/
o GA phonemic chart

1
- phoneme: the smallest unit in language that can distinguish meaning
o when phoneme is changed, it also changes meaning of the word, e. g. /sɪp/ vs. /zɪp/

- minimal pairs: pairs of words that only differ in one phoneme, and they are used to demonstrate
that phoneme can change meaning of words
o ship and sheep /ʃɪp/ and /ʃiːp/
o cat and hat /kæt/ and /hæt/

- allophone: a variant of one phoneme that cannot change meaning; there are no minimal pairs but
complementary distribution
o pat and spin – in word pat there is an aspirated sound [pʰ] but in the word spin there is an
unaspirated sound [p]
o /pʰæt/ vs. /spɪn/

- articulators: parts of the human vocal tract involved in shaping and producing speech sounds
o lips (labials): letters like p, b, m, f and v involve the movement or positioning of the lips
o tongue:
 apex (tip): the tip of the tongue is involved in articulating sounds like t and d
 blade: the blade is important for producing sounds like s and z
 front: the front of the tongue is involved in production of many vowel sounds and
some consonants, such as sh and ch
 back: the back of the tongue produces sounds like k and g
o teeth (dentals): sounds like th (as in think and this) involve interaction between the tongue
and the upper front teeth
o alveolar ridge: bony ridge behind the upper front teeth; it is involved in production of
sounds like t, d, s and z
o hard palate: hard bony part of the roof of the mouth is involved in articulating sound like k
and g
o soft palate (velum): the soft part of the roof of the mouth is crucial for distinguishing
between nasal and non-nasal sounds; when the soft palate is lowered, air escapes through
the nose, producing nasal sounds (e. g. m, n, ng)
o glottis: the space between the vocal cords; the movement of the vocal cords and the
opening and closing of the glottis contribute to the production of many speech sounds
o pharynx: muscular tube that connects the nasal and oral cavities to the larynx and
esophagus; the size and shape of the pharynx can influence the quality of certain vowels
and consonants

2
- English vowels: speech sounds produced with an open vocal tract, allowing the free flow of air;
vowels are typically characterized by the absence of constriction or obstruction in the vocal tract
o key features:
 core of a syllable
 generally voiced, meaning the vocal cords vibrate during their production
 the quality of a vowel is determined by the position of the tongue, lip rounding and
tension
o short vowels symbols: /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /ə/ /e/ /ɒ/ /ʌ/ /æ/
o long vowels symbols: /iː/ /uː/ /ɑː/ /ɔː/ /ɜː/
o vowels are:
 closed and open (vertical position)
 closed: produced with a relatively small degree of openness in the mouth;
the tongue is positioned higher in the mouth, closer to the palate
 vowel sound /i/ in words like "see"
 opened: produced with a greater degree of openness in the mouth; the
tongue is positioned lower, farther away from the palate
 vowel sound /ɑː/ in words like "father"
 front and back (horizontal position)
 front: produced with the highest part of the tongue positioned towards the
front of the mouth, close to the hard palate
 vowels /i/ (as in "see") and /e/ (as in "bet") are front vowels. In
these cases, the tongue is raised towards the front of the mouth
 back: produced with the highest part of the tongue positioned towards the
back of the mouth, away from the hard palate
 vowels /u/ (as in "too") and /o/ (as in "go") are back vowels. In
these cases, the tongue is raised towards the back of the mouth.

- diphthongs: complex vowel sounds in which the tongue glides or moves from one vowel quality
toward another within the same syllable; they involve a combination of two vowel qualities in a
single, uninterrupted sound
o similar to the long vowel
o the first part is much longer and stronger than the second part
o diphthongs are:
 /aɪ/: This diphthong is found in words like "ride," "time," and "night."
 /aʊ/: Examples include "house," "cow," and "now."
 /ɔɪ/: Found in words like "boy," "coin," and "join."
 /eɪ/: Examples include "day," "say," and "way."
 /oʊ/: Found in words like "go," "boat," and "no."
 /ɪə/: Examples include "here," "fear," and "beer."
 /eə/: Found in words like "air," "care," and "stare."
 /ʊə/: Examples include "tour," "pure," and "sure."
3
- homophone: a word that is pronounced as another word but differs in meaning
- homograph: a word that shares the same written form as another word but has I different meaning

- triphthongs: sequences of three vowel sounds that occur within the same syllable
o [aʊə] hour
o [aɪə] fire
o [eɪə] player
o [əʊə] mower
o [ɔɪə] employer
- consonants: speech sounds produced with some degree of constriction or closure in the vocal tract;
they contribute to the rhythmic and structural aspects of speech
o key features:
 classified based on the place and manner of articulation
 often serve as the onset or coda of a syllable, providing structure to syllabic units
 can be voiced or voiceless, depending on whether the vocal cords vibrate during
their production
 the manner of articulation refers to how the airflow is obstructed and the place of
articulation refers to where the obstruction occurs

- plosives: also known as stop consonants, are a class of speech sounds characterized by a complete
closure or blockage of the vocal tract, momentarily stopping the flow of air; the closure is followed
by a sudden release, resulting in a distinct burst of sound
o six primary plosive sounds: p, b, t, d, k and g
o p, t, k – always voiceless
o b, d, g
 fully voiced, e. g. ebbing
 partly voiced, e. g. rib
o fortis = strong
o lenis = weak

o p, t, k can be aspirated
o b, d, g are never aspirated
o aspiration rule: on a voiceless stop occuring as the first sound in a stressed syllable
 pit [ phɪt] vs spit [spɪt]

4
- fricatives: articulated by narrowing the mouth passage so as to make the air-flow turbulent, while
allowing it to pass through continuously

- affricates: complex consonant consisting of a plosive followed by a fricative made at the same place
of articulation

- nasals: articulated by completely obstructing the mouth passage but allowing the air to pass out
through the nose
o velar nasal /ŋ/
 initially – never occurs
 finally – sing /sɪŋ/, hang /hæŋ/
 medially – rule based on morphology

- other consonants:
o the consonant l
 clear l: at the beginning of words
 dark l: elsewhere in the word
 a lateral approximant
o the consonant r
 a post-alveolar approximant
o the consonants j and w
 approximants/semivowels

- syllable: a basic unit of spoken language consisting of a single uninterrupted sound, typically
formed by a vowel and optional surrounding consonants
o they are the building blocks of words and play crucial role in the rhythm and structure of
spoken language
o the nature of the syllable:
 beginning – a vowel or one/two/three consonants
 end – a vowel or one/two/three consonants (occasionally four)
SYLLABLE

RHYME
ONSET

PEAK CODA
5
 o minimum syllable: a single vowel in isolation
 words like: ‘are’ /a:/; ‘or’ /o:/
 they have only the peak

o some syllables have an onset: they have one or more consonants preceding the center of
the syllable
 ‘bar’ /ba:/; ‘key’ /ki:/
o syllables may have no onset but have a coda: they end with one or more consonants
 ‘am’ /aem/; ‘ease’ /i:z/
o some syllables have both onset and coda:
 ‘ran’ /raen/; ‘sat’ /saet/

- syllable onset:
o one initial consonant – any except /ŋ/
 key /ki:/
o two consonant cluster
 prey /preɪ/
o three consonant cluster
 spray /spreɪ/

- syllable codas:
o zero coda
 key /ki:/
o one final consonant – any except /h/, /w/, /j/
 ease /i:z/
o two consonant clusters
 beds /bedz/
o three consonant clusters
 next /nekst/
o four consonant clusters
 prompts /prɒmpts/

- overview:
- maximal onsets principle: two syllables are to be divided, any consonants between them should be
attached to the right-hand syllable, as far as possible
o morning
 /ˈmɔː . nɪŋ/ - correct one
6
  /ˈmɔːn .ɪŋ/
o extra
 e.kstrə
 ek.strə - correct one
 eks.trə
 ekst.rə
 ekstr. ə

- weak syllable: unstressed or less prominent in terms of pitch, loudness or duration compared to a
stressed syllable
o shorter
o less loud
o different in quality
o word data /’deɪ.tə/ - the second syllable is unstressed because it contains ‘schwa’
o ə, i, u
o syllabic consonants - l

- strong syllable: stressed or emphasized in terms of pitch, loudness or duration

o stressed syllables tend to occur at regular intervals
o its peak is one of the vowel phonemes, but not ə, i, u
o if ɪ, e, ae, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ than it has to have coda

- the schwa /ə/:

o always associated with weak syllables
o mid, central vowel
o NEVER STRESSED
o with or without coda
 open /ˈoʊ.pən/
 better /ˈbet.ə/
o essential element in the rhythm and flow of spoken English

- weak syllables – close front and close back vowels

o specific vowel sounds that occur in unstressed syllables
o often undergo vowel reduction, resulting in the use of centralized and less distinct vowel
sound
o /i/
 in the general region of i: and ɪ
 in weak syllables only /i:zi/
 /i/ distribution in weak syllables:
 word-final in words ending in y, ey
 happy /ˈhæp.i/; valley /ˈvæl.i/
 prefixes (re/pre/de) – preceding vowel
 react /riˈækt/; deodorant /diˈoʊ.dər.ənt/
 suffixes – iate, ious
 hilarious /hɪˈler.i.əs/, appreciate /əˈpriː.ʃi.eɪt/
 he, she, me, we, be – when unstressed

7
 o /u/
 in general region of u: and ʊ
 in weak syllables only
 /u/ distribution in weak syllables
 much less common
 you, to, into, do – unstressed + not preceding consonant
 through, who – unstressed
 before another vowel
 influenza/ˌɪn.fluˈen.zə/
 evacuation /ɪˌvæk.juˈeɪ.ʃən/

- /ɪ/ distribution in weak and strong syllables

o accented positions: strong
 pin /pɪn/ -> more like a diphthong /pɪən/
o unaccented positions: strong
 intact /ɪnˈtækt/
o unaccented positions: weak
 can act as a peak within a weak syllable, the next syllable must begin with a
consonant
 visible /ˈvɪs.ɪ.ble/  more like schwa /ˈvis. ə. bl/
 architect /ˈɑː.kɪ.tekt/

- syllabic consonants: l, r or a nasal, stands as the peak of the syllable instead of the vowel, and we
count these as weak syllables like the vowel
o usually indicated by means of a small vertical mark (,) beneath the symbol
o syllabic l
 most noticeable example of the English syllabic consonants
 after another consonant
 cattle, bottle, knuckle – words usually lose their final letter ’e’
 l spelt at the end, with one or more consonant letters followed by al or el: panel,
pedal, parcel
o syllabic n
 in words like threaten, threatening – to pronounce a vowel before the nasal
consonant would sound strange
 most common after alveolar plosive and fricatives
 we don’t pronounce syllabic n after l, tʃ, dʒ
 word – initial position – not common
 non-alveolar – after bilabial consonants; after f, v
o syllabic m, ŋ
 not very common
o syllabic r
 “rhoticity”
 rare in BBC English but common in rhotic accents (GA)

- the nature of stress

o marked with small vertical line (‘) high up, before the syllable it relates to
o father, open, camera – stress on the first syllable
o potato, apartment, relation – stress on the second syllable
o about, receive, perhaps – stress on the last syllable
o two POV – production and perception
o production: seemingly more energy used
o perception: prominence – loudness, length, pitch, quality

8
9
  loudness: louder than unstressed syllables
 length: if one syllable is made longer than others, the syllable would be probably
stressed
 pitch: higher pitch means stress
 quality
o in Czech: perception
 loudness: yes, but mainly in isolated words
 length: no
 pitch: yes
 quality: no

- levels of stress: 3 levels

o primary: the strongest emphasis within a word
 in words with more than one syllable, one of them has to have primary stress
 the symbol for primary stress is (‘) placed before the stressed syllable
 around /əˈraʊnd/
o secondary: weaker form of emphasis that occurs in longer words with multiple syllables
 not as strong as primary stress but stronger than the absence of stress
 the symbol for secondary stress is (,) placed before the stressed syllable
 photographic /ˌfəʊ.təˈɡræf.ɪk/
o unstressed: unstressed syllables receive the least emphasis or prominence in a word
 often pronounced with reduced vowel quality and may have a schwa sound or a
similar neutralized vowel sound
 they don’t have the IPA stress marks
 poetic /pəʊˈet.ɪk/

- placement of stress within the word

o phonological structure of the syllable – peak
 weak syllable – never stressed – data /‘deɪ.tə/
 strong syllable - often stressed – data /’deɪ.tə/
might be unstressed – access /ˈæk.ses/
o morphologically simple vs. complex
 morphologically simple - roots
 morphologically complex - stem + affix (prefix + sufix)
compound words

Stem
Prefix
-un

Root/Stem
fortune Suffix
-ate

- verbs have a tendency to be stressed nearer the end

o 2 syllable words - final syllable is weak or contains əʊ - the first syllable is stressed
enter /ˈen.tə(r)/, follow / ˈfɒl.əʊ/
o final syllable is strong – the final syllable is stressed
maintain /meɪnˈteɪn/
10
- nouns have a tendency to be stressed nearer the beginning
o 2 syllable words - the first syllable is stressed unless the first syllable is weak and second is
strong
Money /ˈmʌn.i/ x balloon /bəˈluːn/
Larynx /ˈlær.ɪŋks/ x design /dɪˈzaɪn/

- 3 syllable verbs
o the final syllable is strong – it receives primary stress: entertain /en.təˈteɪn/
o the final syllable is weak – stress is placed on the penultimate syllable if that syllable is
strong: encounter /ɪnˈkaʊn. tə(r)/
o both second and third syllables are weak – stress is placed on the first syllable:
monitor /ˈmɒn.ɪ.tə(r)/

- 3 syllable nouns
o general tendency for stress to fall on the first syllable unless it is weak: custody /ˈkʌs.tə.di/
o first syllable is weak – stress places on the next syllable disaster /dɪˈzɑː.stə(r)/
o strong final syllable – not usually stressed tomato /təˈmeɪ.təʊ/

- complex word stress

o mostly polysyllabic
o two major types:
 compound words: arm+chair
 stem + an affix: un+fortune+ate
o affixes:
 prefix (předpona)
 suffix (přípona)
- suffixes carrying primary stress: -ee, eer, ese, ette, esque

- aspects of connected speech – rhythm

o noticeable event happening at regular intervals of time
o stress-timed rhythm x syllable-timed rhythm
o stress-timed rhythm: English – foot
o syllable-timed: Czech – every syllable has roughly same time

- content vs function words

o content words:
 nouns, verbs, adjectives
 express meaning
 can be added to the language easily
 stressed syllables of content words are pronounced in the same way whether they
are made prominent or not
A: It is a big CAT. /bɪɡ/
B: It‘s really BIG. /bɪɡ/
o function words:
 conjunctions, prepositions, articles, pronouns
 express grammatical information
 cannot be added to the language easily
 function words change pronunciation
A: It is for you. /fə(r)/ -> WEAK FORM
B: What is it FOR? /fɔː(r)/ -> STRONG FORM

11
- ASSIMILATION
o changes in sounds of neighboring words
o mostly affects consonants:
 regressive assimilation
 progressive assimilation

- regressive assimilation
o place

o manner

o voicing

- progressive assimilation
o word boundary: In the /ɪn ðə/ [ ɪn n̪ə ] (less common)
o morpheme boundary: cat-> cats /kæt/ – kæts/
o coalescence: / t/ + /j/  /tʃ/ What you want /wɒtʃu 'wɒnt/

12
- ELISION
O disappearance of sounds
 lost vowel after /p/, /t/, /k/
 potato / phˈteɪ.təʊ/
 weak vowel + /n/, /l/, /r/
 police /pl̩i:s/
 avoidance of complex consonant clusters
 acts /æks/
 loss of final /v/ in ‘of’ before consonants
 lots of them /lɒts ə ðəm/
O contractions

- LINKING
O linking /r/
 four /fɔː/ x four eggs /fɔːr egz/
O intrusive /r/
 media event /mi:diər ivent/

- INTONATION
o pitch
 high – low
 linguistic significance – change under speaker’s control
 auditory sensation
 falling: starting, new information
 rising: unfinished sentences, asking
 fall-rise: doubt, hesitation, shared information
 rise-fall: strong feelings

13