Lecture Notes: Transition from Morphology to Phonetics

Course Announcements

• Transition from morphology to phonetics.
• Problem Set 1 (second problem set) due Thursday, extended from Tuesday due to technical issues.
• New projector setup for more efficient class dynamics.

Introduction to Phonetics

• Phonetics involves the production of sounds, particularly in oral languages.
• Speech involves airflow, typically from the lungs, obstructed in various ways.

Place of Articulation

• Bilabial Sounds: Made with both lips (e.g., p in "paint").
• Labiodental Sounds: Involve top teeth and lower lip (e.g., f in "face").
• Interdental Sounds: Tongue between front teeth (e.g., th in "thistle").
• Alveolar Sounds: Tongue against alveolar ridge behind teeth (e.g., t in "teeth").
• Post-Alveolar Sounds: Tongue further back than alveolar (e.g., sh in "ship").
• Palatal Sounds: Tongue against hard palate (e.g., j in "year").
• Velar Sounds: Tongue against velum (e.g., k in "kernel").
• Glottal Sounds: Sounds made with vocal cords (e.g., glottal stop in "uh-oh").

Voicing

• Voiced Sounds: Vocal cords vibrate (e.g., z).
• Voiceless Sounds: Vocal cords do not vibrate (e.g., s).
• Example: Difference in voicing between "cats" and "dogs."

Manner of Articulation

• Stops: Airflow is completely stopped (e.g., t, d).
• Fricatives: Airflow is restricted to create turbulence (e.g., s, z).
• Nasals: Airflow through the nose (e.g., n).

Additional Sound Classes

• Approximants: Articulators approach each other but do not create turbulence (e.g., w, j).
• Affricates: Combination of stop and fricative (e.g., ch in "church").

Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

• Introduction to International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols.
• Symbols help linguists consistently describe sounds across languages.

Exploring the Vocal Tract

• Different sounds produced by manipulating airflow at different points.
• Experimentation with sound production can reveal personal articulatory tendencies.

Cross-Linguistic Sound Variations

• Not all languages use the same articulatory mechanisms.
• Example: Voiceless bilabial fricative exists in Japanese.

Vowel Articulation

• Height: High (e.g., i), mid (e.g., e), low (e.g., a).
• Backness: Front (e.g., i), central, back (e.g., u).
• Rounding: Rounded (e.g., u), unrounded (e.g., i).

Dialectal Variations in English

• Variations in vowel pronunciation depending on region and dialect.
• Example: "caught" vs. "cot" distinction.

Conclusion

• Practice with phonetic transcription using IPA.
• Upcoming explorations in more exotic consonant sounds and further vowel study.