LG204 background.pdf

LG204-5-FY ENGLISH PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY Background
Approximants
There are four phonemic approximants in English. Three [ w j] are classified as
‘central’ and the fourth [l] as lateral. If we divide them in a different way, we can say
that [ l] are ‘liquids and [w j] are glides (see above). These approximants share a
number of attributes. They may occur as the second element of word initial
consonant clusters, although, as we shall see, there is some doubt about the status of
[j] in this context. We’ll discuss this next term.
When preceded by voiceless obstruents, approximants will be voiceless (e.g. play,
pry, fry, fly, three, sleep, try, shriek, climb, cry, swim, twin, queen, cute, few, pure).
/l/ has two positional allophones i.e. [l] (clear l) in syllable onsets and [] (dark l) in
syllable rhymes. In many dialects dark l is vocalised (full [fuw]). The extent to which
such vocalisation occurs and the contexts in which it is more likely to appear is a
matter for research.
In non-rhotic dialects, // occurs only in syllable onsets having been replaced by []
particularly following non-low vowels, although in recent years the schwa has also
tended to disappear except where the preceding vowel is high. (fear [f], hour [a]
higher [ha] but dare [d:] door [d:] etc.).
As I mentioned in class, // also has two allophones (although the dark variant lacks a
symbol as far as I can ascertain – this may be because it’s usually attached to a vowel
– Ladefoged discusses rhoticised vowels in AmEng. For example [] for the vowel
in dare in contrast to [] in a non-rhotic dialect.
References
Ladefoged P. (2001) A Course in Phonetics Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers
THE VOWELS OF ENGLISH
Over the past two weeks, we have discussed the articulation of English consonants
and have been able to give a pretty accurate description of how and where they are
articulated. This is because there is an interruption to the airstream that it’s possible
to pinpoint. We found out, of course, that the consonants can be influenced by
position in the word or by neighbouring sounds, which will cause them to vary in a
number of ways. However, it’s still possible to describe the variation in terms of
place, manner and voicing etc. When we come to the description of vowels, however,
we have no points like this to guide us. There is no interruption to the airflow.
Vowels involve the vibration of the vocal folds and a free passage of air. If we
practise this we get something like []. So how do we vary vowel quality in order to
give us a greater range than just one vowel? This can be achieved by changing the
shape and size of the resonating chamber – the mouth. When the vibrating air
particles enter this chamber, they will produce different notes according to this shape
and size. This can be compared with the trick some people perform with glasses of
water. They put different amounts of water into glasses and then play a tune by
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