Phonetics in learning English

Phonetics in learning faceIntroductionThe nerve center of phonetic is to post the characteristics of the sounds which human begins plunder social occasion in voice communication. Sounds can baseally be divided into ii types vowel sounds and amenables. Vowels atomic number 18 produced by change the shape of the strain tract by positioning of the patois and lips. Consonants argon sounds which be produced by the partial or complete construction of the vocal tract.The imprint of how your m come forthh looks when you say sounds. (Sharon Widmayer and Holly Gray) image of articulatorsYour lips, teeth, tongue, nose, and roof of your verbalize atomic number 18 all important for pronunciation. The epig herdtis is also important. That is the thing that you use to hold your breathing time and to swallow. It closes your windpipe so the air cannot come out.The components of teaching the sound of slope1. VowelsVowels argon usually described by type to five criteria, and these atomic number 18 adequate as a basic fountainhead of reference, although some vowel sound require more specifi roveionthe height reached by the highest distributor point of the tongue (high, mid, low) ,the part of the tongue which is raised (front, center, hold),the shape form by the lips (unrounded or spread, rounded)the position of the soft roof of the mouth for oral vowels, lowered for adenoidal vowels,the duration of the vowel (short, long) rough Generalizations (Not Rules) about slope vowels and spellingEnglish vowels rent long and short forms.The long form is the name of the garner The short form is as followsLong vowels ar usually (but not always) indicated by a second (silent) vowel in the same syllable short-change vowels usually stand alone in spite of appearance a syllable and be a lot followed by double consonants2. Consonant soundsConsonant sounds have three basic features in their articulation place of articulation, manager of articulation, and voicing.Co nsonants produce sounds that atomic number 18 more consistent and easier to identify than vowels. Therefore, they make a good starting point for learning to read.Initially, work should be done on identifying beginning consonant sounds (ex t-t-t tulip).After that, activities can focus on identifying final consonant sounds (ex cat ends with the t-t-t sound)When children learn to recognize the sounds of consonants at the beginning and end positions of reciprocations, they gain the superpower to look at a word and make a apt guess as to what it might be. Viewing the word in the condition of a picture pass on help reinforce this skill.(for congresswoman, a picture of a dog with the word DOG underneath. The ability to sound out the D and G letters will help the child identify that the word is DOG, not puppy or dalmation)The ideas and activities presented in this section will help children develop the following skillsidentifying beginning consonant soundsdistinguishing betwixt two or more beginning consonant soundsidentifying ending consonant soundsdistinguishing between two or more ending consonantschoosing words that have a particular beginning or ending consonantThe following plat shows the names of the various parts of the mouth involved in the ware of English consonantsA = penurious cavityB = dental extendC = hard palateD = soft palate or head coveringE = lips and teethF = tongue 1 tip 2 blade 3 bodyG = uvulaH = larynx and vocal cordsvFor each consonant, two parts of the mouth are involved, and the name given to it reflects this. Starting from the front, some consonants are made use both lips try saying /p/ /b/ /w/ and /m/ and these are called bilabial consonants (bilabial = two lips)Now try /f/ and /v/. This time its the bottom lip and top teeth which are involved. These are labio alveolar consonants (labio = lip, dental = teeth).For nearly all the other consonants, the tongue will move with another(prenominal) part of the mouth. The name of the consonant doesnt include a reference to the tongue however, just the point of the mouth which it meets. So for instance, sounds made by an interaction between the tongue and the teeth are just called dental sounds. These are /t/, /d/ and the voiced and unuttered th sounds / / as in this and // as in thick .If you run your tongue back behind your teeth, you come to a bony rooftree called the alveolar ridge. some(prenominal) sounds are made on or just behind the ridge /s/ /z/ /t/ /d/ /n/ /r/ and /l/Moving back from the alveolar ridge you come to a alike hard but smoother zone the hard palate. /j/ as in yellow is a palatal sound, are as the highlighted consonants in the words sheep, measure, cheap and jeep. There is also a palatal strain of the /r/ consonant. If you found it strange that it was classed before as alveolar, you may have been saying the palatal version.Notice that there is now a deviance in the way the tongue is used. For the dental and alveolar sounds, it was the tip of the tongue which was involved. For palatal sounds, however, its the blade of the tongue, and as we move further back to the velum (the soft part of the palate, closest to the throat) its the back, or body, of the tongue. The velar sounds are /g/ and /k/ and the final consonants in sing and in bottle oftentimes called the dark l.This leaves only the consonant /h/ which is produced by air go across from the windpipe through the vocal cords, or glottis. Its therefore a glottal sound.Place of Articulation tells us where the consonants are produced, but we also accept to consider Manner of Articulation how they are produced. The most important categories arePlosives Plosive sounds (also called stop sounds) are formed by the air creation completely blocked in the mouth and thus suddenly released. For example, /k/ and /g/ are formed when the back of the tongue rises to the velum and momentarily blocks the air. These are therefore velar plosives. The other plosive consona nts of English are the bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/ and the alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/. Some varieties of English London English for example also include a glottal stop which substitutes for the /t/ consonant between vowels. Imagine a London pronunciation of butter, for example.Fricatives Fricatives are formed when the two parts of the mouth approach each other closely, not completely blocking the career of the air, but forcing it through a confined space. The air molecules start to coke against each other causing audible friction. Try the palatal soft the sh sound. You can feel your tongue up close to the alveolar ridge and the air passing through the small space left. The full nominate of English fricatives is labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/ dental fricatives the two th sounds alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/ palatal fricatives // as in in sheep and // as in measure and the glottal fricative /h/.Affricates Affricates are really a plosive and a fricative combined. The air is initially blocked, and then released through a narrow passageway like a fricative. English has two affricates, the initial sounds in cheap and jeep / / and //. These are usually classed as palato-alveolar affricates, as theyre made in a position half way between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate.Nasals when a nasal sound is produced, the air is pr in timeted from going out through the mouth and is preferably released through the nose. There are three English nasals the bilabial nasals /m/ and /n/ and the velar nasal // the final consonant in sing.Approximant Approximants are a bit of a hotch-potch category, and contain some of the most gnarly sounds in English. Well look at them in detail another time, but for now will classify them together as sounds produced when the washables moves around the tongue and out of the mouth with almost no obstruction. The English approximants are the alveolar approximants /l/ and /r/, the palatal approximant /j/, as in yes, a nd the dark l the velar approximant as in bottle. arrest in mind, however, that this is a simplification.This leaves the third distinguishing category which we discussed in the last expression voicing. If the vocal cords are vibrated when the sound is made, the sound is voiced. If the are not, it is unvoiced. several(prenominal) of the English consonants come in pairs. They have the same place and elan of articulation and are distinguished only by voicing (1). For example /t/ and /d/ are both alveolar plosives, but /t/ is unvoiced while /d/ is voiced. In the summarizing chart below, where pairs occur the unvoiced sound is always given first.3. Sounds in affiliated run-inSounds are seldom produced in isolation. In connected speech (that is, any rate spoken at natural speed), many sounds tend to be alter of modified by the sound immediately before of after them, oddly at the boundaries between words.According to the Excerpt from Study Guide, Connected expression is the key to gaining a natural, smooth-flowing style of speech. People do not plow in separate words they speak in logical connected groups of words. Even native speakers sometimes stumble over their words because they are unaware of the little tricks for avoiding the pitfalls. Trained actors, of course, are able to deliver lengthy, complex, and even tongue-twisting passages flawlessly. This is not a gift. They have simply learned the rules for linking one word into another with intention. When youve finished this tape, youll know the rules, too and with practice youll become a fluent, polished speaker.These are the steps for speaking in connected speech Direct Linking Linking final consonants directly into vowels Play and Link Linking final consonants fully played and linked to fully played non-related consonants. pay back and Link Prepare for the final consonant, and execute related consonant that it is linking into. Weak Forms A lot of the very small connecting words in speech are so d e-emphasized, or unstressed, that they often take on a Weak Form. Contractions We use these words so much that, we usually contract them together. Word Endings and Contractions commonalty Word Endings (Suffixes).These are mostly unstressed, and should be treated like fallible forms. Dialogues Practicing Word Endings and Contractions These dialogues have a double emphasis. Practicing both Word Endings and Contractions within a context.ConclusionIf other aspects of pronunciation are dealt with efficiently, sounds do not present such a problem. Again, much of the difficulty which students have when pronouncing English sounds comes, not from a physical inability to form them, but from phraseology interference. This occurs when the student knows how an English word is spelt and pronounces it as if was written in his own language.It is important for a teacher to know how sounds are formed so that he understands what his students are doing wrong.ReferencesJohn Haycraft. (1978). An intro duction to English language teaching. Longman Longman Group Ltd.1978Jones, D.(1998). The Pronunciation of English. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.http//www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/consonants-intro.htmKelly, G.(2000). How to Teach Pronunciation. Harlow Peason.Ladefoged, P.(2005). Vowels and Consonants Oxford Blackwell.Steele,V.(2005) Connected Speech (Onlline).http//www.teachingenglish.org.uk/(2005, May 29)