Phonetics and Phonology: Key Concepts Explained
Phonetics and Phonology Concepts
Homorganic Nasal Assimilation
In English, if the nasal and oral stop belong to the same syllable, or if the nasal is in a stressed syllable, the oral stop influences the preceding nasal consonant. As a result, the nasal assimilates to the Place of Articulation (PoA) of the following consonant, and the two contiguous sounds end up having the same PoA (homorganic).
Close Vowels
A close vowel is produced with a very limited degree of mouth opening. Example: high vowels such as /i/.
Consonant Production
/b/ Production
The air expelled from the lungs makes the vocal cords vibrate. The velum is raised, so that the air passes into the mouth, where it is momentarily blocked by the lips. When the lips open, a slight explosion is heard. /b/ is a voiced bilabial plosive.
/k/ Production
The vocal cords are held apart, so that there is no vibration. The velum is raised, so that the air passes into the mouth, where it is momentarily blocked by the back of the tongue touching the velum. When this contact is released, a slight explosion is heard. /k/ is an unvoiced velar plosive.
/n/ Production
The air expelled from the lungs makes the vocal cords vibrate. The velum is lowered, so that the air passes into the nasal cavity. In the mouth, the tongue makes contact with the alveolar ridge. /n/ is a voiced alveolar nasal.
/l/ Production
The air expelled from the lungs makes the vocal cords vibrate. The velum is raised, so that the air passes into the mouth. The tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge, but the sides are lowered, so the air escapes laterally. /l/ is a voiced alveolar lateral approximant.
/t/ Production
The air expelled from the lungs passes freely through the glottis, so there is no vocal cord vibration. The velum is raised, so that the air passes into the mouth, where it meets an obstruction formed by the tongue tip and the alveolar ridge. When this contact is released, a slight explosion is heard. /t/ is an unvoiced alveolar plosive.
/v/ Production
The air expelled from the lungs produces vocal cord vibration. The velum is raised, so that the air passes into the mouth. A partial obstruction is formed by the lower lip and upper teeth. The air passing through the narrow gap creates audible friction. /v/ is a voiced labio-dental fricative.
/dʒ/ Production
The air expelled from the lungs makes the vocal cords vibrate. The velum is raised, so that the air passes into the mouth, where an occlusion is made in the post-alveolar region. With slow release of the contact of the articulators, friction is heard. /dʒ/ is a voiced post-alveolar affricate.
/h/ Production
The air expelled from the lungs creates turbulence in the glottis, but there is no vocal cord vibration. /h/ is an unvoiced glottal fricative.
Vowels vs. Consonants
Vowels:
- Can be well described in auditory terms.
- Are produced with an unobstructed flow of air.
- Constitute the peak of stress and form the nucleus of a syllable.
- Are relatively long.
- Are voiced.
- Are more audible than consonants.
- Are less vital to understanding than consonants.
- Are always less numerous than consonants in a phonological system, and there are always fewer nasal vowels than oral vowels.
- Bear pitch change, and the frequency of vibration of the vocal cords is higher than in consonants.
- Can form a syllable without the support of consonants.
Consonants:
- Can be well described in articulatory terms.
- Are produced with an obstructed flow of air.
- Are marginal in the syllable.
- Are relatively short.
- Can be both voiced and unvoiced.
- Are less audible than vowels.
- Are more vital to understanding than vowels.
- Are always more numerous than vowels in a phonological system.
- Have vocal cord vibration if voiced, but this is lower than in vowels.
- Cannot usually form a syllable on their own.
Distinctive Feature Theory
Distinctive Feature Theory arose as a challenge to Phoneme Theory (PT). It takes features of which phonemes are traditionally considered to be composed as the basic units of phonology rather than the phonemes themselves, and casts doubts on the validity of the concept of phoneme.
Vowels: [+SYLLABIC] SYLL; [+SONORANT] SON; [-CONSONANTAL] CONS
Glides: [-SYLL]; [+SON]; [-CONS]
Sonorant Consonants: [+/-SYLL]; [+SON]; [+CONS]
Obstruents: [-SYLL]; [-SON]; [+CONS]
Weak Forms
Weak forms are so called because they generally involve weakening or even loss of a vowel or consonant. This vocalic alternation under the influence of stress is also called gradation or apophony.