GROUP 5 :

- Muhammad Iqram B
- Nur Ulil Albab A. R
- Sitti Fatimah
- A. Nursaila Salsabila
- Dewi Wulandari
- Tri Mardani Pausiah
THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE

Background
Phonetics is the scientific study of sounds used in language, including how the sounds are
produced, transferred from the speaker to the hearer, and perceived. Knowing a language
includes knowing the sounds of that language, and phonetics is the study of speech sounds .
It is possible to segment a continuous stream of speech into distinct parts and recognize the
parts in other words. Phonetics is concerned with the properties of sounds and the ways
that they are combined into larger units, such as syllables and words.

Purpose
Knowing how the actual process of language sounds occurs, starting from the production
of sounds, the formation of vowels, consonants, semi-vowels to the pronunciation of words,
groups of words and sentences. Knowing about the actual process of producing language
sounds.

Content
Linguistic structure is conveyed to a listener by speech. (Although linguistic structure can
be conveyed to a viewer by sign or by writing, in this chapter we will consider only oral
communication.) Phonetics is the study of the physical aspects of speech events, including:
speech production (how speech is produced by the speaker, an instance of skilled motor
performance), speech acoustics (the properties of the airwaves that transmit speech from
speaker to listener), and speech perception (how speech is perceived by the listener).
Phonetics is part of linguistics, but it is part of other disciplines as well, such as speech and
hearing science, psychology, and engineering. Linguistic phonetics is a term sometimes used
to describe the aspects of speech articulation, acoustics, and perception that are part of
linguistics. It includes the study of the speech sounds of a range of languages,
generalizations about sounds that hold across languages, and the study of the relation of
phonetics to other areas of linguistics. In the next section we provide some concepts and
terms that let us describe the sounds of speech.

Place Of Articulation

The place of articulation is the description of the place where the obstruction in the vocal
tract takes place . To describe the place of articulation of a consonant we must state which
of the lower articulators articulates with which of the upper articulators .

Bilabial : There are three bilabial sounds in English : / b , p , m / in words such as bee ,
pea , me . The first and the last are voiced , the second is voiceless . For the / b , p / the soft
palate is raised , that is , they are produced at the oral cavity only and so are defined as
being oral , whereas // is nasal , that is , it is produced with the soft palate being lowered
which produces the air escape through the nose and mouth . As for the place of articulation ,
in the three of them the upper lip articulates with the lower lip ( more specifically ,
producing a complete contact ) .

Alveolar : There are six alveolar consonants in English : / d , t , z , s , n , 1 / as in take , day ,

see , zoo , never and later ( the last one is lateral ) . Of the group , / t , s / are voiceless and
the rest / d , z , 1 , n / are voiced . As for the place of articulation , the tip of the tongue ( the
blade of the tongue for some speakers ) articulates with the alveolar ridge , therefore , these
consonants are actually described as being apico – alveolar or laminal ( depending on the
part of the tongue which participates in the articulation ) .

Velar : Velar sounds are produced with the back of the tongue against the soft palate .
They are actually called dorso – velar . There are three velar sounds in English : / g , k , / , the
first one is voiceless , the last two are voiced . The last one is nasal . Examples are : queen ,
gain , and the last sound in sing .

Labiodental : There are two labiodental sounds in English : / v / and / f / in veal , laugh .
The first one is voiced , the second voiceless . In the production of these two consonants ,
the lower lip articulates with the upper teeth , barely touching each other . Both are oral .

Dental : Two dental sounds occur in English : / o / and / 8 / ( voiced and voiceless ,
respectively ) , in words such as teeth and they . They are oral . They are actually defined as
being apico – dental sounds , as the tip of the tongue ( lower articulator ) articulates with the
teeth . In this case , the articulation implies a very soft contact between the two articulators.

Palato – alveolar : There are four palato – alveolar sounds in English : / S , 3 , ts , d3 / 2 .

For the first two , the blade of the tongue is arched near the alveolar area with a
simultaneous approximation of the front of the tongue towards the hard palate . Examples
are shoe and genre . For the last two sounds , besides the close approximation of the front
part of the tongue towards the hard palate , the blade of the tongue comes in contact with
the alveolar area and then separates progressively . Examples are the first consonants in
chair and John . According to the part of the tongue that participates in the articulation ,
these sounds are , then , laminal .

Retroflex : There is one retroflex sound in English , the first sound in red / a / or / r / .
Retroflex means that the tip of the tongue ( therefore , an apical sound ) is curled up and
back towards the rear part of the alveolar ridge . In this sense , the sound could also be
considered post alveolar ( the Postalveolar area is right behind the alveolar ridge , on the
border of the hard palate ) , but the special position of the tongue gives it its retroflex
characteristic . The tip of the tongue does not touch the upper articulator , there is only
approximation “ .

Palatal : Palatal sounds are made with the front of the tongue articulating against the
palate . There is one palatal sound in English : / j / in words such as yes , yesterday , yawn .

Labial – velar : As the palatoalveolar consonants , the sound / w / has a double place of
articulation , meaning that it is produced at the labial and the velar area . For the production
of this consonant , the lips get approximated at the same time that the back of the tongue
and the soft palate get near . Examples are wet and nowhere . It is considered voiced “ .
 Glott al : There is only one glottal sound in English / h / in words such as hen , ahead .
Glottal refers to the glottis , where this consonant is produced by the close contact of the
vocal folds that produce friction . The sound is ordinarily produced as a voiceless vowel , but
it functions as a consonant . We say that is actually produced as a vowel because in its
articulation there is no obstruction in any of the resonators ( more specifically the oral cavity
) and , thus , can be paired with any other vowel . However , this . consonant never functions
as a vowel , whose main position is that of being central in the syllable . English / h / can only
appear in syllable initial position , more common at the beginning of the word and rarely in
the middle : he , his , hate , how , who , anyhow .

Manner Of Articulation

Manner of Articulation is the “how” of making sounds. When learning our first
language, we don’t usually think about how we make the sounds we do. We just reproduce
what we’ve heard over the first few years of our lives. We make the sounds without thinking
how our mouth tongue, and teeth are doing, unless we need the additional support of
speech therapy. Manner of articulation in second language learning is important, because
pronunciation doesn’t come as naturally as when learning our first language. It’s important
to know how sounds are made so that you can pronounce sounds correctly and speak more
clearly.

Conclusion

Phonetics is the study of the physical aspects of speech events, including: speech production
(how speech is produced by the speaker, an instance of skilled motor performance), speech
acoustics (the properties of the airwaves that transmit speech from speaker to listener), and
speech perception (how speech is perceived by the listener).

As for the place of articulation , the tip of the tongue ( the blade of the tongue for some
speakers ) articulates with the alveolar ridge , therefore , these consonants are actually
described as being apico – alveolar or laminal ( depending on the part of the tongue which
participates in the articulation ) .

Reference

1. Fronkin, Victoria
A.2000.LinguisticsAnIntroductionToLinguistiTheory.USA.BlackwellPublishers
2. https://www.studywithandrea.com/learn-english/english-lesson-manner-of-articulation-
and-place-of-articulation/
3. http://www.siff.us.es/fil/publicaciones/apuntes/teresals/apartado%205-0.pdf