Phonetics and
Phonology
Manal A. Allehyani
Phonetics Vs. Phonology

Whereas syntax is about sentence formation, and
semantics about sentence interpretation,
phonetics and phonology cover the field of
sentence utterance.

Phonetics is concerned with how sounds are
produced, transmitted and perceived (we will only
look at the production of sounds). Phonology is
concerned with how sounds function in relation to
each other in a language. In other words,
phonetics is about sounds of language,
phonology about sound systems of language.
Phonetics is a descriptive tool necessary to the
study of the phonological aspects of a language.
Why are phonetics and
phonology worth studying?
 Orthography
 Reading
 Speech
disorders
 First language acquisition
 Second or foreign language teaching
What is phonetics
 Definition
 Three
main directions in phonetics
 Goals of any phonetic theory
Definition
 Phonetics
is the study of actual sounds of
language.
The Three Main Branches of Phonetics

Articulatory Phonetics : articulatory phonetics is interested in the movement
of various parts of the vocal tract during speech. The vocal tract is the
passages above the larynx where air passes in the production of speech. In
simpler terms which bit of the mouth moves when we make a sound.

Acoustic Phonetics: This is the study of the sound waves made by the human
vocal organs for communication and how the sounds are transmitted. The
sound travels through from the speaker's mouth through the air to the
hearer's ear, through the form of vibrations in the air. Phoneticians can use
equipment like Oscillographs and Spectographs in order to analyse things
like the frequency and duration of the sound waves produced. Acoustic
phonetics also looks at how articulatory and auditory phonetics link to the
acoustic properties.

Auditory Phonetics :This is how we perceive and hear sounds and how the
ear, brain and auditory nerve perceives the sounds. This branch deals with
the physiological processes involved in the reception of speech.
Goals of any Phonetic Theory
Any phonetic theory should account for:
1- Any kind of noise that the human vocal
apparatus is capable of producing (e.g.
grunts, groans, and laughter).
2- Linguistically significant sounds in
language in general.
3- Linguistically significant sounds in a
particular language (e.g. English).
Description of Consonants
 1-
Place of Articulation
 2-
Manner of Articulation
1- Place of Articulation
2- Manner of Articulation
Manner of articulation concerns the
types of obstruction that can take
place in the vocal tract. There are
two main places where such
obstruction takes place. One is the
glottis and the other is the oral cavity.
The two operate independently from
one another and may act
simultaneously.
Obstruction in the Glottis
1- Voicing and the glottis : in the production of
speech, the main importance of the larynx lies
in the fact that it contains the vocal bands
(vocal cords). The vocal bands consist of two
horizontal folds of elastic tissue, one on each
side of the passage.
 In
normal breathing, the vocal bands are open,
but it is possible to close them partially or
completely during the production of a sound.
 The bands may be brought together so they
vibrate as air passes through them. This vibration
accounts for the feature of voicing (e.g. [z], [v],
and [b] are classified as voiced sounds).
 If the vocal bands are open and not vibrating
during the production of a sound, it will be a
voiceless sound (e.g. [s], [f], and [t]).
 It is possible to completely close the vocal bands
and release them in a rather abrupt manner. The
resulting sound is referred to as glottal stop,
symbolized as [ʔ].
Obstruction in the Oral Cavity
 Obstruction
in the oral cavity has to do with the kind of
obstruction the air meets on its way out, after it has passed the
vocal folds.
Description of Vowels
 Vowels
are described in terms of:
 1- Tongue Position
 2- Length
 3- Rounding
 4- Nasality
 5- Diphthong
1- Tongue Position



Tongue position is described using two criteria: the height (how high
is the tongue) and the part of the tongue involved in the production
of the sound.
In English the tongue may either be high , i.e. when the speaker
produces e.g. [i:, u:] in [bi:t, bu:t] beat , boot , intermediate , e.g.
[e, N:] in [bet, b N:t] bet , bought , or low , e.g. [z,a:] in [b zt, ba:t]
bat , Bart .
The part of the tongue involved in the production of a vowel can
also be illustrated with the examples above. If you say [i:] and then
[u:] just after it, you almost have the feeling that you are moving
your tongue backwards. This is because [i:] is a front vowel, and [u:]
is a back vowel, or in other words, the highest point in the
pronunciation of [i:] is the front of the tongue, whereas the highest
point in [u:] is the back of the tongue.
2- Length
3- Rounding
4- Nasality
5- Diphthongs
The basic Unit in Phonology : The Phoneme

A phoneme is a basic unit of a language's phonology, which is combined
with other phonemes to form meaningful units such as words or morphemes.

The phoneme can be described as "The smallest contrastive linguistic unit
which may bring about a change of meaning". In this way the difference in
meaning between the English words kill and kiss is a result of the exchange
of the phoneme /l/ for the phoneme /s/.

Phonemes are abstract units of a set of speech sounds (i.e. phones)which
are perceived as equivalent to each other in a given language.

Notation: Phonemes are conventionally placed between slashes in
transcription, whereas speech sounds (phones) are placed between square
brackets. Thus /pʊʃ/ represents a sequence of three phonemes /p/, /ʊ/, /ʃ/
(the word push in standard English), while [pʰʊʃ] represents the phonetic
sequence of sounds [pʰ] (aspirated "p"), [ʊ], [ʃ] (the usual pronunciation of
push).
Phones and allophones

Phones are the actual speech sounds. It is a speech
segment that possesses distinct physical or perceptual
properties, and serves as the basic unit of phonetic
speech analysis. A phonetic transcription is enclosed
within square brackets ([ ]), rather than the slashes (/ /)
of a phonemic transcription.

In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple
possible spoken sounds (or phones) used to
pronounce a single phoneme. For example, [pʰ] (as in
pin) and [p] (as in spin) are allophones for the
phoneme /p/ in the English language. Changing the
allophone used by native speakers for a given
phoneme in a specific context usually will not change
the meaning of a word but the result may sound nonnative or unintelligible.
Minimal pairs and near minimal pairs to
discover phonemes
 Minimal
pairs and near minimal pairs are the
simplest procedures to discover which sounds of a
language are contrastive (i.e. different phonemes
not allophones).
 Minimal pairs : a set of two or more words that
have the same sounds except for one sound and
are different in meaning (e.g. sin , pin, bin, and
chin).
 Near minimal pairs: words that have the same
sounds except for 2 sounds and have different
meanings (e.g. /fIʃin/ (fishin’)and /vIžin/ (vision)).
Complementary distribution to discover
allophones

Complementary distribution is the relationship between
two different elements, where one element is found in
a particular environment and the other element is
found in the opposite environment. It often indicates
that two superficially different elements are in fact the
same linguistic unit at a deeper level. For instance, in
English, [p] and [pʰ] are allophones of the phoneme
/p/ because they occur in complementary distribution.
[pʰ] always occurs when it is the syllable onset and
followed by a stressed vowel (as in the word pin). [p]
occurs in all other situations (as in the word spin).
Free Variation

There are instances where phonetic variants are both non-contrastive and
not in complementary distribution. It is the phenomenon of two (or more)
sounds or forms appearing in the same environment without a change in
meaning and without being considered incorrect by native speakers. In
these cases, a speaker may use two or more of the allophones in the same
environment. For example, the word stop may be pronounced with a plain
unaspirated [p], [stɑp], or with a glottalized [pˀ], [stɑpˀ].
Phonemic Fluctuation:

It is the situation when two different phonemes alternate
without causing a difference in meaning. For example;
‘either’ is pronounced as [i:ðər] and [ayðər].
Phonological Features
 I.
Major Class Features
 II.
Manner of Articulation Features
 III.
Place of Articulation Features
 IV.
Laryngeal Features
I. Major Class Features
o
Syllabic [syl.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds that can serve as peaks of syllables.
[+ syllabic] sounds include vowels , glides, and nasals.

Sonorant [son.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced without an extreme
constriction in the oral cavity.
[+Sonorant] nasals, liquids, glides, vowels.
[- Sonorant] stops, fricatives, affricates (obstruents).
o
Consonantal [cons.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced with an obstruction
along the central line of the oral cavity.
[+Consonantal] obstruents, liquids, and nasals.
[- Consonantal] vowels and glides.
II. Manner of Articulation Features

o
o
o

Continuent [cont.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced without
stopping the air flow in the oral cavity.
[-cont.] stops, affricates, and nasals.
Delayed release [d.r.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced with
gradual release of air.
[-d.r.] stops.
Strident [str.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced pushing the air
through a narrow opening creating turbulence.
[+str.] fricatives [f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ] and affricates [tʃ and dʒ].
Nasal [nas.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced with the velum
lowered so that the air escapes through the nasal cavity.
[+nas.] only [m, n, and ɳ]
Lateral [lat.]: a feature that characterizes sounds produced by lowering of one or
both sides of the tongue.
[+lat.] only [l]
III. Place of Articulation Features
 Anterior [ant.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced with a primary
obstruction located at or in front of the alveolar region.
[+ant.] labials, dentals, and alveolar sounds
[-ant.] alveopalatals, palatals, and velar sounds.
o Coronal [cor.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced with the front
(tip or blade) of the tongue raised from the neutral position.
[+cor.] interdentals, alveolars, and alveopalatal sounds.
[-cor.] labials and velars.
 High [hi.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds produced by raising the body of
the tongue from neutral position.
[+hi.] high vowels [i, I, u, ᴜ], alveopalatals, velars, and glides.
[-hi.] labials, alveolars, and dental sounds.
 Low [low.]: it is a fearture that characterizes sounds produced by lowering the
body of the tongue from the neutral position.
[+low.] low vowels are [æ], [ɑ], and [ᴐ]
 Back
[bk.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds
produced with the body of the tongue moved
back and slightly raised from neutral position.
[+bk.] back vowels are [ᴜ], [u], [ə] and [ʌ],
oral glides [w], and velars.
 Tense [tns.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds
produced with a more deliberate gesture that involves
considerable muscular activity at the base of the tongue.
[+tns.] vowels [i, e, u, o, ᴐ, ɑ].
[-tns.] vowels [I, ᴜ, ɛ]
 Round [rd.]: it is a feature that characterizes sounds
produced with lip rounding.
[+rd.] vowels are [u, ᴜ, o, ᴐ].
IV. Laryngeal Features
 Voiced
[vd]: it is a feature that
characterizes sounds produced with a
vibration of the vocal bands in the larynx.
Phonological Processes
 Assimilation
 Deletion
 Epenthesis
 Metathesis
Assimilation



Definition: is a linguistic process by which a sound becomes similar to an
adjacent sound.
Degree of assimilation: Partial or complete. In Partial assimilation, a sound takes
on some of the characteristics of a neighboring sound (e.g. the plural /s/ in cats
and cabs takes the voicing feature of the preceding sound, [kæts] Vs.[kæbz]). In
complete assimilation, a sound takes on all the characteristics of a neighboring
sound resulting in a process called geminatation (e.g. [gImmi ‘give me’], [lɛmmi
‘let me’], and [gubbaI ‘good bye’].
Direction of assimilation: Assimilation is either progressive (i.e. the assimilated
sound follows the conditioning sound), or regressive (i.e. the assimilated sound
precedes the conditioning item).
Conditioning Sound →Assimilated Sound = Progressive assimilation
Assimilated Sound ← Conditioning Sound = Regressive assimilation
Deletion



Definition: Sounds that occur in some contexts are lost
in others. Deletion changes the syllable structure of a
word.
Subtypes of Deletion:
A. Haplology: An entire syllable is lost when it is
identical to another syllable (e.g. adjectives ending in –
ly, such as lively and friendly). When these are used as
adverbs, the addition of the adverbial suffix –ly results
in two identical syllables (i.e. livelyly and friendlyly).
Haplology resolves such cases by deleting one of the
identical syllables resulting in friendly and lively.

B. Aphesis: refers to the loss of an unstressed
initial vowel or syllable (e.g. about →bout /
around → round/ because →cause).

C. Syncope: is the loss of a medial vowel or syllable
(e.g. evening →ev’ning/ every→ev’ry).

D. Apocope is the loss of a final vowel or syllable (e.g.
singan →sing / finde →find).
Epenthesis
 Definition:
epenthesis is inserting a sound
segment. Both vowels and consonants
may be inserted (e.g. the vowel in the
plural /Iz/ in buses [bʌsIz], the vowel in the
past tense /Id/ in waited [wetId], the consonant [p]
in attempt →[ətɛmpt]/ comfort → [cʌmp]fort/ non
standard pronunciation of chimney → chimbly and
family→fambly).
Metathesis
 Definition:
it is changing the linear order of the
segments by permutations of one type or another.
That is, two segments reverse positions (e.g. ask
→aks ‘ask’ / prIslraᴵb→pIrskraᴵb ‘prescribe’/
hʌndrId→hʌndIrd ‘hundred’).
References
 Wolfram,
Walt, and Robert Johnson. 1982.
Phonological Analysis: Focus on American
English
 Phonetics and Phonology: Reader for First
Year English Linguistics by Claire-A. Forel &
Genoveva Puskás University of Geneva
 Phonetics and Phonology
 Handouts of Dr. Mahasen Abu-Mansour
and Dr. Rawiah Kabrah