Production of Speech Sounds

            More than half of a human body including the chest, lungs, larynx, pharynx, velum, hard palate, tongue, teeth, lips, nostrils, etc takes part in producing speech sounds. The muscle in our chest are contracted to generate the airflow from the lungs. The air from the lungs passes through the glottis in the larynx and is modified in different way with the opening and the narrowing of the glottal folds. Than the air is partially blocked, fully blocked, pressed, or uninterrupted in the vocal tract, and released abruptly or normally through the mouth or nostril so  as to articulate different speech sounds.

Minimal Pairs

Minimal Pairs:
            If two sounds are phonetically similar and occur in the same phonetic environment, and if the substitution of one sound for the other results in a difference in meaning, then these sounds ate assigned to different phonemes. For example, if [ph] is substitute for the [b] in 'bin', a different word 'pin' results. On the other hand, if [ph] is substituted for the [p] in 'spin', we do not obtain a different word. We have that the conclusion that the [ph] and [b] belong to different phonemes, while [ph] and [p] is belong to same phoneme.




It can easily be shown that two sounds belong to different phonemes if we find two words that differ only in that one word has one of these two sounds in a particular position while the other word has the other sound in the same position. Two such words, for example, 'pin' and 'bin' - which differ only by one sound, are said to constitute a minimal pair.

Phone, Phoneme and Allophone

Phone:
A 'phone' is phonetic unit used to indicate the smallest perceptible discrete segment of speech sounds. For example, in the English language the different ways of pronouncing the consonant phoneme /t/ and /t'/ as in 'ten' and 'pet' respectively are all phone of the consonant phoneme /t/.

Phoneme:




A 'phoneme' is a phonological unit that includes similar sounds or phones and differentiates between two or more words. For example, in English language, the words 'pen' and 'ten' differ only in their initial sounds: 'pen' beginning with /p/, and 'ten' beginning with /t/. Therefore, /p/ and /t/ are two different phonemes.




Allophones:
It is now clear that a phoneme is an abstract unit whereas a phone is the actual realization of a phoneme. A phoneme may have several phones. The phones are called allophones of each other.

Branches of Phonetics

            We have already learned that the phonetics performs three distinct but inter-dependent tasks, such as production, transmission, phonetics is divided into three branches - articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics and auditory phonetics. These three branches cover the study of speech sounds on the basis of concrete and  objective observation as well as scientific analysis. Let us now have more ideas of the functions of these branches.

1. Articulatory Phonetics: Articulatory phonetics deals with the way in which speech sounds are produced. To produce speech sounds, we use different speech organs or articulators - lips, teeth, tongue, soft palate, nasal passage, glottal folds, lungs, etc. Different speech organs behave in different manners to articulate speech sounds. Hence, we can classify speech sounds on the basis of our experience of the speech organs, their inter-relationships and their behaviors. All these functions and factors are dealt with in articulatory phonetics.
That is, articulatory phonetics studies speech organs as well as their movement and contact in the articulation of speech sounds, and provides us with as classification of the sounds used in a particular language and language in general. To brief, this branch of phonetics is concerned with how speech sounds are produced by which articulators.
2. Acoustic Phonetics: Acoustic phonetics deals with the speech sounds that is transmitted through the air from the speaker to the listener. The transmission of speech sounds is constituted of some physical properties, such as frequency, and amplitude resulting in sound waves. These physical properties of speech sounds are analyzed and investigated in acoustic phonetics.
3. Auditory Phonetics: Auditory phonetics deals with how speech sounds are received and perceived by the listener and to listen and realize speech sounds, he/she has to use his/her ears, auditory nerve and brain. Hence, the reception and perception of speech sounds create a complex process. This complex process is explored and analyzed in auditory phonetics.

Difference between Phonetics and Phonology

            Both phonetics and phonology are both concerned with speech sounds although they deal with different aspects of speech sounds in linguistics investigation. We would look at the distinction between phonetics and phonology.








Firstly, phonetics is a science of speech sounds, which studies their production, transmission and reception in an impartial and practical manner, even in laboratory. On the other hand, phonology is the study of the ways in which sounds form system and pattern is called phonology.


Secondly, phonetic is confined to the concrete level of sound descriptions, whereas phonology has its job within the abstract level of sound analysis.


Thirdly, a phonetic study of a language refers to the inventory and description of phonetic segments of the language. On the other hand, a phonological study of a language refers to the  inventory of phonemic segments of the language.

Fourthly, while a phonetic entity or unit is 'phone', a phonological unit is 'phoneme.' 


Fifthly, a phonetic unit is transcribed between square brackets, for example [p] etc. On the other hand, a phonological unit is transcribed between slashes, for example /p/, /t/ etc.


Sixthly, a phonetic unit is incapable of meaning contrast, while a phonological unit is can produce a meaning difference.






In sum, while phonetics is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds, phonology studies how speech sounds function to produce meaning contrast.

Receive Pronunciation (RP) or BBC Pronunciation

            The accent that we concentrate on and use as our model is the one that is most often recommended for foreign learners studying British English. It is for a long time been identified by the name 'Receive Pronunciation (RP).'




Receive pronunciation (RP), the term suggesting that is result of social judgement rather than of an official decision as to what is correct or wrong. It has become more widely known and accepted through the advant of radio television. The BBC used to recommend this form of pronunciation for its announcers and news readers mainly because it was the type which was most widely understood and which excited least prejudice of a regional kind. Thus, receive pronunciation (RP) often became identified in the public mind with 'BBC English.' This special position occupied by 'Receive Pronunciation (RP)', basically educated southern British English and traditionally taught to foreigners.

Phonetic Transcription

                                                                         

             Phonetic transcription is a system for transcribing sounds that occur in spoken language or signed language. The most widely known system of phonetic transcription, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), uses a one-to-one mapping between phones and written symbols. The standardized nature of the IPA enables its users to transcribe accurately and consistently the phones of different languages, dialects, and idiolect. The IPA is a useful tool not only for the study of phonetics, but also for language teaching, professional acting, and speech pathology.