CHAPTER I EXERCISES (p.
11)
I-Questions for discussion
1-What is phonetics?
Phonetics is the study of human speech sounds. It is a
branch of linguistics studying the production, the physical
nature, the perception and other aspects of human speech
sounds.
2-What are the three aspects of the speech sound as a
physical event?
A speech sound is a physical event with three aspects: a-
physiological (the production of speech sounds by organs of
articulation), b-acoustic (the transmission of speech sounds),
and c-auditory (the perception of speech sounds).
3-What is articulatory phonetics?
Articulatory phonetics is the study of the way in which
speech sounds are produced (articulated) by the organs of
speech.
4-What are the passive and active articulators?
According to David Crystal (1994: 130), the passive
articulators are: a-the upper teeth, b-the teeth ridge (the
alveolar ridge), and c-the hard palate. The active articulators
are: a-pharynx, b-soft palate or velum, c-lips, d-jaws, e-the
tongue, and f-the vocal cords.
5-What is the use of the cavities in sound production?
1
These cavities give sounds the resonance. Several kinds
of resonance can be produced because the vocal tract is able to
adopt many different shapes.
6-What does acoustic phonetics study?
Acoustic phonetics studies the physical properties of
speech sounds as transmitted in the form of the sound waves
through the air.
7-What are three types of sound?
There are three main kinds of sound that are easily
distinguishable on a spectrogram, corresponding to three
acoustic categories. Sounds can be periodic (that is, regularly
repeating), or aperiodic (that is, random). Aperiodic sounds in
speech can be either continuous (like fricatives such as [sfɵ] or
transient (that is, short and momentary), like [ptk]. Each has
a different appearance on a spectrogram and in waveforms.
8-What is the fundamental frequency of a sound?
The number of complete cycles the vocal folds make in
one second is called the fundamental frequency (f0); it is
measured in Herts (Hz). A frequency of 1 Hz means that there
is one complete cycle per second. A frequency of 100 hz means
that there are one hundred complete cycles per second, or
alternatively one complete cycle every 0.01s (every one
hundredth of a second). In the waveform in Figure I.4, there
are approximately 10.5 cycles in 0.1s, which means the
fundamental frequency in this stretch of speech is about 105 hz.
2
A graphic representation of three dimensions of sounds
in terms of their component frequencies is called a
spectrogram. In a spectrogram, time is always represented on
the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis. Intensity is depicted by
the relative darkness of the frequencies shown.
In spectrograms, periodic signals have two important
visual properties. First, there are vertical striations which
correspond to the opening of the vocal folds: each time the
vocal folds open and air escapes, there is a sudden increase in
amplitude. This shows up in the striations in the spectrogram
which line up with the peaks in the waveform. Voicing is seen
in regular spikes in a waveform, and corresponding regular
striations in a spectrogram.
Secondly, there are a darker horizontal bands running
across the spectrogram known as formants. There are three
clearly visible formants in the periodic part of Figure I.3, one
centred at around 700 Hz (labeled as F1), another sound 1800
hz (labelled F2), and a third one around 2800hz (labeled F3).
There are in fact more formants, but usually only the first three
are of interest.
A formant is a concentration of acoustic energy around
a particular frequency in the speech wave. There are several
formants, each at a different frequency, roughly one in each
1000Hz band. Each formant corresponds to a resonance in the
vocal tract.
We distinguish one vowel from another by the differences
in these overtones. According to Lagefoged (2006), each vowel
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has three formants, i.e. three overtone pitches. The first formant
(F1) is inversely related to vowel height. The second formant
is related to the degree of backness of a vowel.
Formants can be seen in a wideband spectrogram as dark
bands.
Formants are named counting upwards. The first one is
called the first formants, or F1. The next one up is called the
second formants, or F2, and so on.
Spectrograms of American English Vowels
4
Spectrograms of British English Vowels
F1: The first formant (F1) in vowels is inversely related to
vowel height, i.e. the higher the formant frequency, the lower
the vowel height (and vice versa)
5
The frequency of the first formant is mostly determined by
the height of the tongue body:
high F1 = low vowel (i.e., high frequency F1 = low
tongue body)
low F1 = high vowel (i.e., low frequency F1 = high
tongue body)
F2: The second formant (F2) in vowels is somewhat related
to degree of backness, i.e. the more front the vowel, the higher
the second formant (but affected by lip-rounding).
6
The frequency of the second formant is mostly determined
by the frontness/backness of the tongue body:
high F2 = front vowel
low F2 = back vowel
F3: The lower of the formant frequency, the rounder shape
of the lip.
7
9-What is / are the main differences between phonetics and
phonology?
The phonetics of a language concerns the concrete
characteristics (articulatory, acoustic and auditory) of the
sounds used in a language while phonology concerns how
sounds function in a systematic way in a particular language.
The main aim of phonetics is to describe and to classify
human speech sounds. Phonology is the study and
identification of the distinctive units of sound in a language.
Phonology can mean the phonemic system (the system of
distinctive units of sound) in a language.
10-What is the main type of pronunciation described in the
present textbook?
RP (Received Pronunciation)
II- True / False
1.T 2.F 3.T 4.T 5.F 6.T 7.T 8.F 9.T 10.T
11.T 12.T 13.F 14.F 15.T 16.T 17.F 18.F 19.F 20.F
III- Multiple Choice
1.C 2.D 3.B 4.D 5.B 6.C 7.D 8.D 9.B 10.A
III-Vietnamese equivelents
Phonetics: Ngữ âm học
Articulatory phonetics: Ngữ âm học cấu âm
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Acoustic phonetics: Ngữ âm học âm học
Auditory phonetics: Ngữ âm học nhận biết
Formant: fóc măng
Articulation: Sự cấu âm
Phonemics: Âm vị học
Phonology: Âm vị học
