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Phonetics is the study of the physical features of speech sounds. To understand the universal phonetic features of speech sounds, we have to explore how human speech organs work to articulate different sounds.
There are two general categories of sounds: consonants and vowels. Consonants are defined in terms of manners of articulation, places of articulation, the position of the velum and the state of the vocal cords. The description of vowels includes the height and position of the tongue and the degree of lip-rounding. We may refer to the cardinal vowels and describe the vowel quality in comparative terms.
There is discrepancy between spelling and pronunciation. The International Phonetic Alphabet allows a precise symbolized representation of speech sounds.
Further Reading
Clark, J. & Yallop, C. 2000. An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press & Blackwell Publishers.
Fromkin, V. & Rodman, R. 1993. An Introduction to Language. Orlando: Harcourt Brace College Publisher.
Gussenhoven, C. & Jacobs, H. 2001. Understanding Phonology. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press & Edward Arnold Publishers.
Poole, S. C. 2000. An Introduction to Linguistics. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press & Macmillan Publishers.
Prater, C. H. 1972. Mannual of American English Pronunciation. (3 rd ed.) New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Tinkel, A. J. 1988. Explorations in Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Questions and Exercises
1. The International Phonetic Association is enthusiastic about the phonetic alphabets. It has published an official journal La Maitre Phonetique, where all the essays are transcribed in IPA. So if you were the editor of the journal, and the rhyme in Task 2-1 were to be published on your journal, how would you have it transcribed?
2. Which sound may be described as:
voiced bilabial stop
voiceless alveolar fricative
voiceless glottal
bilabial nasal
voiced palatal affricate
3. Mr. Smith came across little Tom on the way to office one morning. Tom had a cold, but he still greeted Mr. Smith. What he said is something that sounds like /bɔ:big bistə sbiθ/. Can you tell what Tom actually wanted to say?
4. What phonetic property distinguishes the sets of sounds in column A from those in Column B in each row?
注 释
(4) [d]: stop, [z]: fricative; (5) [ʃ]: fricative, [tʃ]: affricate;
(6) [d]: stop, [l]: approximant.