- •Phonetics as a Branch of Linguistics
- •2. Branches of Phonetics
- •Sounds of Speech as Acoustic and Articulatory Units
- •Acoustic aspect of speech sounds
- •Articulatory and physiological aspect of speech sounds
- •Articulatory and physiological classification of English vowels
- •Position of the lips
- •Lecture 2. The Functional Aspect of Speech Sounds
- •Definition of Phoneme
- •Lecture 3. English Consonants as Units of the Phonological System
- •Work of the Vocal Cords
- •Voiceless vs. Voiced
- •This opposition is simultaneously based on fortis - lenis distinction
- •Active Organ of Speech and the Place of Articulation
- •Manner of the Production of Noise
- •Position of the Soft Palate
- •English Vowels as Units of the Phonological System.
- •Degree of Tenseness and the Character of the End of the Vowel
- •Stability of Articulation
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Degree of Tenseness and the Character of the End of the Vowel
The distinctive oppositions here are:
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tense vs. lax
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checked vs. free
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Length
There are long and short vowels in English. But length is not the only distinctive feature of minimal pairs like Pete-pit, Bart-but. In other words, the difference between /i: - I/ etc. is not only quantitative but also qualitative, which is conditioned by different positions of the bulk of the tongue.
Qualitative difference is the main relevant feature that differentiates long and short vowel phoneme, because quantitative characteristics of long vowels depend on the position they occupy in a word:
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they are the longest in the terminal position
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they are shorter before voiced consonants
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they are the shortest voiceless consonants
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Stability of Articulation
This principle provides the basis for the following distinctive oppositions:
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Monophthongs vs. diphthongs
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Diphthongs vs. diphthongoids