Phonetics

UNVM- PROFESORADO EN LENGUA INGLESA |
Práctico nº1 |
Phonetics and Phonology |
|
Carballo Isabel, Cisana Celeste, Giovani Maria Zoé. |
03/04/2012 |

English Vowels- Chapter 6 of “English phonetics for Spanish speakers |

Phonetics and Phonology
1-What do both terms – vowel and consonant – refer to?
Consonant is a letter in the alphabet that represents a consonant sound that is aspeech sound made by completely or partly stopping the flow of air being breathed out through the mouth.
Vowel is a letter in the alphabet that represents a vowel consonant sound that is a speech sound in which the mouth is open and the tongue is not touching the top of the mouth, the teeth, etc.
2- Does English use the five vowel letters to represent many more vowel sounds?
Yes, it does.English uses the five vowel letters to represent twelve vowel sounds which are: /i: / /i/ /e/ /æ/ /ɑ: / /ɒ/ /ɔ:/ /ʊ/ /u:/ /ʌ/ /ɜ:/ /ə/
3-Is English a “phonetic language”? Why? Why not?
English is not a “phonetic language” because we do not always say a word the same way that we spell it.
4- What does “intelligibility” mean? What does a learner has to do in order to achieve a minimum degree ofintelligibility?
Intelligibility refers to the ability or capacity of expressing an idea in a clear way, so that the listener o the reader is able to understand what the speaker or writer means. In order to achieve a minimum degree of intelligibility, teachers must aim at producing allophonic differences, which will include very important variations in quantity and minor quality variations. Theseinstructions, however, are very are very difficult to follow in practice, as we cannot feel whether we are doing it correctly. So vowel sounds are generally learnt auditorily, by listening and imitation. Consonants sounds, on the contrary, are produced with some kind of light or close contact between the articulators and can therefore be taught in both articulatory and auditory terms.
5-How canvowels be described? Which criteria should we use to teach pronunciation? Why?
Vowel sounds are normally voiced sounds, i.e. they are produced with vibration of the vocal folds; they are usually oral sounds, i.e. when the vibrating column of air reaches the top of the pharynx it generally escapes through the mouth only. Occasionally there are devoiced and nasalized vowel sounds, but is not acommon characteristic.
In teaching pronunciation, we shall use articulatory and auditory criteria, sometimes preferring one to the other. This is due to the fact that some sounds are easier to learn articulatory and others auditorily. In the case of vowel sounds an articulatory description would tell us which part of our tongue to raise and how high to raise it.
6- How are vowel and consonantsounds learned?
Vowel sounds are generally learnt auditorily, by listening and imitation. Consonant sounds are learnt in both articulatory and auditory terms.
7-What are the functions of vowel and consonant sounds in relation to the syllable?
The vowel sounds are generally ‘syllabic’ in both English and Spanish; i.e, they function as the central elements of syllables, either alone or accompanied byconsonant sounds. E.g. [aɪ] in Eng.I, ice, nice; or [a] in Sp. a, la, clan.
Consonant sounds, on the contrary, tend to be ‘non-syllabic’ in the syllable.
8- Are vowels equal in vowel quality?
No, they are not. Vowel sounds are not equal in vowel quality because they are produced in most cases without any kind of contact between the articulators. Vowel sounds can be made different from eachother by raising a certain part of the tongue to different levels, bymodifying the shapeof the lips and by raising and lowering the velum.

9- What does “quality” refer to? And “quantity”?
Quality refers to the phonological aspect of auditory sensation in which two similar sounds having the same loudness, quantity and pitch are different in meaning. Quality includes pure vowels and diphthongs....