Most Americans learn to think of the sounds of English in relation to the letters of the alphabet. They tend to refer to speech sounds in ways like the t sound or the f sound. This approach helps young learners connect the writing system to the spoken system, but it soon becomes inadequate for linguists. To prove the dilemma that arises for English, we can try to answer the question, what is the th sound? How do we explain that when th is used in the word thin it has a different sound than when it begins the word then? Linguists need more technical ways to describe and write sounds than is available in the approaches that are used by everyday users of a language.
The technical names of speech sounds are based on the features of their production in the vocal tract. The first distinction is a familiar one: some sounds are consonants and some are vowels. Consonants form one group because they are produced when the airstream is impeded in some way as it moves through the vocal tract. The airstream of vowel isn't impeded, but rather is shaped by the vocal tract, creating differences in sound qualities. Therefore, the technical names of consonants differ somewhat from the technical names of vowels.
We will turn first to describing and naming the consonant sounds of English and contrasting them with some other sounds that are prominent in other languages. Later we will look at the descriptions and names of the vowels.
We identify the consonants by three main features of their production in the vocal tract, and their names follow
this order:
When air moves up from the lungs through the vocal tract, it first must move through the larynx, which is sometimes referred to as the voice box. Two folds of muscle and tendons, often called the vocal cords in laymen's terms but technically called the vocal folds, are inside the larynx. The air passes between these two folds, and depending on whether they are closed or open, the air may be forced to vibrate or not. When the folds are closed and vibrating, we say the sound produced is a voiced sound. When they are open and stationary, we say the sound is unvoiced or voiceless.
Voicing employs the Bernoulli (named after the scientist who first described it) effect. The variations in speed and pressure cause
the vocal cords to vibrate.
To see a diagram of the larynx and the source of the image above, click here
Activity: Understanding the Bernoulli Effect
For this activity you will need a small raisin or candy box (i.e., Junior Mints, Mike & Ike, Hot Tamales). See if you can find one around the house.First, open the box and remove all the contents.
Second, fold back the tabs of the open end of the box, but leave the tabs of the other end folded in
Third, hold the box up to your throat with the open end down and the closed end up: you now have a representation of the voice "box" in the form of the real box. The tube of the box mimics the trachea tube of the throat. The folded in ends of the box now at the top represent the vocal folds in the larynx.
To mimic the air moving through the larynx, you'll have to wrap your mouth around the folded open end of the box and blow into the box.
When you blow into the box, you should produce a tooting sound. This sound is produced because the folded in ends are close together and vibrating, just as the vocal folds make noise for speech sounds.
To test whether the sound is from the folded in tabs, open up the closed end of the box and try blowing through it. You should discover that you no longer make a sound with the box except for just a blowing wind sound.
To discover the difference the effect makes in speech, touch your throat with your fingers and pronounce a continuous [f] sound.
Now pronounce a continuous [v] sound.
When you pronounced [f] you shouldn't have felt anything in your throat because the vocal folds weren't vibrating. When you pronounced the [v] sound, you should have felt the vibration in your throat because the vocal folds are close together and vibrating.
Below are images of the larynx showing the position of the vocal folds for voiceless and voiced sounds.
The [f] is a voiceless sound
No Vibrating
Voiceless sounds – vocal folds are apart and stationary (not vibrating)
The [v] is a voiced sound
Vibrating
Voiced sounds – vocal folds are close together and vibrating
When the vocal folds are held in a voiceless state for sounds are usually voiced, a whisper is produced.
Voiceless Consonants in English
[p] pen
[t] ten
[k] ken
[ʔ] the silence between the syllables of uh-oh
[ɾ] the pronunciation of t in butter
[f] fen
[θ] thin
[s] sin
[ʃ] shin
[h] hen
[tʃ] chin
Voiced Consonants in English
[b] ben
[d] den
[g] get
[v] vent
[ð] then
[z] zen
[ʒ] first sound of the second syllable in leisure
[dʒ] Jen
[m] men
[n] nine
[ŋ] last sound of sing
[w] went
[ɹ] rent
[j] yen
[l] lent
Note: Since phonetics deals with sounds, not letters, we will be using theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to represent the sounds from this point on. Square brackets [ ] are used to designate an IPA symbol and differentiate it from a letter of the alphabet, which is part of the writing system.
Other States of the Vocal Folds
The voiced and voiceless states of the vocal folds are the most common states used in world languages, and they are the only states that are of importance in English. Some languages go beyond voiced and voiceless states, and place meaningful distinctions on other states. Two other states are:
1. Breathy – vocal folds vibrate somewhat in front but are apart and stationary in back. This state is also called murmured and whispery voice.
English only uses voiced and voiceless differences as essential distinctions between speech sounds, and we only use whispering for social purposes, not basic meaning differences between words.
American Sign Language The sign language used by the deaf community in the United States.
Test of English for International Communication. A standardized exam for Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English to conduct business. It is used by some businesses, predominantly in Asia, in hiring.
Test of English as a Foreign Language. A standardized exam from Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English as the language of insruction .It is used as an admissions requirement by most US universities and colleges for international students.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. A term that encompasses both TEFL and TESL. It is the name of the professional organization to which many teachers belong. TESOL the organization has many regional affiliates both in the US and abroad.
Teaching English as Second Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as a tool necessary for some daily task like instruction, shopping, or interpersonal interactions.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as an intellectual, academic pursuit to non-native speakers of English.
Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who acquired English in infancy and young childhood as a first language.
Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a language is that it was encountered in infancy and young childhood as the dominant language of the environment.
Non-Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who didn't acquire English as a first language, but came to it after another language was established.
Non-Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a particular language is that he/she didn't encounter it while initially acquiring language, but came to it after another language was established.
Limited English Proficient. An adjectival phrase used to refer to the same students as ELL refers to. LEP is falling into disuse as it focuses attention on student deficiency rather than on the positive attribute of learning. Is being replaced by ELL.
Second Language. Refers to any language gained subsequent to the first or native language. It is acquired or learned secondarily to the native language. Doesn't refer to the ordinal numbering of languages, only to the relationship of a particular language to a persons native language.
First Language. Refers to the language that an individual encounters as an infant and young child; a persons native language.
English for Specific Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it for highly focused activity, such as for business or for aviation communication.
English as a Second Language Program. refers to a school program that is purposefully structured to provide instruction on the English language to NNSEs. An ESL program does not typically include instruction in any other subjects than English. An ESL program may be a component of a larger ELL program at a school.
English as a Second Language. Refers to the subject matter of the English language and the methodology for teaching the English language to non-native speakers. ESL makes no reference to the subjects other than English, but it is not methodology alone either, it refers to teaching the English language as content area. Typically, ESL refers to the study of English in a country where it is used for at least one daily task, such as instruction, interpersonal relations, or shopping.
English Langauge Learner Program. Refers to a school program that is purposly structured to provide instruction on the English language and instruction in other content areas to English Language Learners.
English Language Learner. Refers to students who are in the process of learning English, whether they are in ESL classes exclusively or a combination of ESL classes and other subject area classes.
English as a Foreign Langauge. Refers to the study of English as an intellectual, academic pursuit, not a a language whose use is necessary or desirable for daily life, although it may be used as a research tool. Typically, EFL is the study of English in a country where English is not a language of instruction or daily interactions, such as in Italy or in Saudi Arabia.
English for Academic Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it as the language of instruction for other subject areas.
Refers to a school program that is purposely structured so that students will use two languages on a daily basis.
Refers to the use of two languages in any capacity on a daily basis. A bilingual person uses two languages on a daily basis--for work and at home, perhaps, or for different subjects at school. Can also refer to the ability to use two languages, even if not used daily.
