Sorais Francisco Valentim

Individual Assignment I
(English course – Distance Learning – Year II)

Universidade Rovuma
Nampula
May, 2024
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 Sorais Francisco Valentim

Individual Assignment I

Evaluation in Phonetics and Phonology subject to

be submitted at Faculty of Language,
Communication and Arts Sciences.
Lecture: Hermenegildo da Helena Nicolau

Universidade Rovuma
Nampula
May, 2024

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Index
Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
The Voicing and consonants --------------------------------------------------------------------5
The Production/ Articulation of consonants ( place and manner)--------------------------5
Places of Articulators ----------------------------------------------------------------------------6
Phonetic Transcription---------------------------------------------------------------------------7
Phonetic Transcription Tools: Benefits and Uses---------------------------------------------8
Concept of Phonology ---------------------------------------------------------------------------8
The Phonemes-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8
The phonemic system ---------------------------------------------------------------------------8
Phone and allophones ---------------------------------------------------------------------------9
Minimal pairs and sets---------------------------------------------------------------------------9
Complementary Distribution--------------------------------------------------------------------9
Distrinctive feature analysis -------------------------------------------------------------------10
Phonological Processes-------------------------------------------------------------------------10
Phonological rules-------------------------------------------------------------------------------10
The Phonotactics --------------------------------------------------------------------------------11
Conclusion ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12
Bibliography Reference ------------------------------------------------------------------------13

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Introduction
The present Assignment I of Phonetic And Phonology, will discuss about Consonants
and Phonology.
The objective of this present Assignment is to invite the students know about
Consonants and the Phonology, to improve his knowledge about the English language in
our country.
This assignment have the great importance, because it is will show that, Consonants are
letters that represent certain speech sounds, specifically sounds that involve blocking the
air before it leaves the mouth, such as with the tongue, lips, or throat. Most letters of the
English alphabet are consonants, except for a, e, i, o, and u, which are vowels.
Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across languages. Put
more formally, phonology is the study of the categorical organisation of speech sounds
in languages; how speech sounds are organised in the mind and used to convey
meaning.
For doing this essay provided and used many sources how read the books, watch videos
and internet consult.
This essay structured by: Introduction, development, conclusion and Bibliography
Reference.

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Constants
The Voicing and consonants
Voicing
According to Cahill,(2008.pg174), say that, The vocal folds may be held against each
other at just the right tension so that the air flowing past them from the lungs will cause
them to vibrate against each other. We call this process voicing. Sounds which are made
with vocal fold vibration are said to be voiced. Sounds made without vocal fold
vibration are said to be voiceless.
There are several pairs of sounds in English which differ only in voicing – that is, the
two sounds have identical places and manners of articulation, but one has vocal fold
vibration and the other doesn’t. The [θ] of thigh and the [ð] of thy are one such pair. The
others are:
Voiceless:[p] [t] [k] [f]. [θ] [s] [ʃ] [tʃ]
Voiced: [b] ,[d] [ɡ] [v] [ð] [z] [ʒ] [dʒ]
Consonants
Davis,(1976.pg:98),Consonants are letters that represent certain speech sounds,
specifically sounds that involve blocking the air before it leaves the mouth, such as with
the tongue, lips, or throat. Most letters of the English alphabet are consonants, except
for a, e, i, o, and u, which are vowels.
Consonants play a significant role in both spelling and pronunciation, as well as writing
where sound is important, like poetry or music lyrics. Below we give a more detailed
answer to the questions: What are consonants? Including their difference from vowels,
how they’re used with the articles a and na, and the relationship between consonants
and consonance.
The other sounds of English do not come in voiced/voiceless pairs. [h] is voicess, and
has no voiced counterpart. The other English consonants are all voiced: [ɹ], [l], [w], [j],
[m], [n], and [ŋ]. This does not mean that it is physically impossible to say a sound that
is exactly like, for example, na [n] except without vocal fold vibration. It is simply that
English has chosen not to use such sounds in its set of distinctive sounds. (It is possible
even in English for one of these sounds to become voiceless under the influence of its
neighbours, but this will never change the meaning of the word.)

The Production/ Articulation of consonants ( place and manner)

Stops
Davis,(1976.pg.123), say that, A stop consonant completely cuts off the airflow through
the mouth. In the consonants [t], [d], and [n], the tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge
and cuts off the airflow at that point. In [t] and [d], this means that there is no airflow at

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all for the duration of the stop. In [n], there is no airflow through the mouth, but there is
still airflow through the nose. We distinguish between
Nasal stops, like [n], which involve airflow through the nose, and
Oral stops, like [t] and [d], which do not.
Nasal stops are often simply called nasals. Oral stops are often called plosives. Oral
stops can be either voiced or voiceless. Nasal stops are almost always voiced.
Fricatives
In the stop [t], the tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge and cuts off the airflow. In [s],
the tongue tip approaches the alveolar ridge but doesn’t quite touch it. There is still
enough of na opening for airflow to continue, but the opening is narrow enough that it
causes the escaping air to become turbulent (hence the hissing sound of the [s]).
Approximants
In na approximant, the articulators involved in the constriction are further apart still than
they are for a fricative. The articulators are still closer to each other than when the vocal
tract is in its neutral position, but they are not even close enough to cause the air passing
between them to become turbulent.
Affricates
Na affricate is a single sound composed of a stop portion and a fricative portion. In
English [tʃ], the airflow is first interuppted by a stop which is very similar to [t] (though
made a bit further back).

Laterals
Pay attention to what you are doing with your tongue when you say the first consonant
of [lif] leaf. Your tongue tip is touching your alveolar ridge (or perhaps your upper
teeth), but this doesn’t make [l] a stop. Air is still flowing during na [l] because the side
of your tongue has dropped down and left na opening. (Some people drop down the
right side of their tongue during na [l]; others drop down the left; a few drop down both
sides.) Sounds which involve airflow around the side of the tongue are called laterals.
Sounds which are not lateral are called central.
Places of Articulators
According to Cohn, (1990.pg.76), The place of articulation (or POA) of a consonant
specifies where in the vocal tract the narrowing occurs. From front to back, the POAs
that English uses are:
Bilabial: In a bilabial consonant, the lower and upper lips approach or touch each other.
English [p], [b], and [m] are bilabial stops.

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Labiodental: In a labiodental consonant, the lower lip approaches or touches the upper
teeth. English [f] and [v] are bilabial fricatives.
The diagram to the right shows the state of the vocal tract during a typical [f] or [v].
Dental: In a dental consonant, the tip or blade of the tongue approaches or touches the
upper teeth. English [θ] and [ð] are dental fricatives. There are actually a couple of
different ways of forming these sounds:
The tongue tip can approach the back of the upper teeth, but not press against them so
hard that the airflow is completely blocked.
The blade of the tongue can touch the bottom of the upper teeth, with the tongue tip
protruding between the teeth – still leaving enough space for a turbulent airstream to
escape. This kind of [θ] and [ð] is often called interdental.
Alveolar: In na alveolar consonant, the tongue tip (or less often the tongue blade)
approaches or touches the alveolar ridge, the ridge immediately behind the upper teeth.
Postalveolar: In a postalveolar consonant, the constriction is made immediately behind
the alveolar ridge. The constriction can be made with either the tip or the blade of the
tongue.
Retroflex: In a retroflex consonant, the tongue tip is curled backward in the mouth.
English [ɹ] is a retroflex approximant – the tongue tip is curled up toward the
postalveolar region (the area immediately behind the alveolar ridge).
The diagram to the right shows a typical English retroflex [ɹ].
Palatal: In a palatal consonant, the body of the tongue approaches or touches the hard
palate. English [j] is a palatal approximant – the tongue body approaches the hard
palate, but closely enough to create turbulence in the airstream.
Velar: In a velar consonant, the body of the tongue approaches or touches the soft
palate, or velum. English [k], [ɡ], and [ŋ] are stops made at this POA. The [x] sound
made at the end of the German name Bach or the Scottish word loch is the voiceless
fricative made at the velar POA.
The diagram to the right shows a typical [k] or [ɡ] – though where exactly on the velum
the tongue body hits will vary a lot depending on the surrounding vowels.

As we have seen, one of the two constrictions that form a [w] is a bilabial approximant.
The other is a velar approximant: the tongue body approaches the soft palate, but does
not get even as close as it does in na [x].

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Glottal: The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds. In na [h], this opening is
narrow enough to create some turbulence in the airstream flowing past the vocal folds.
For this reason, [h] is often classified as a glottal fricative.
Phonetic Transcription
Cohn, (1990.pg.156), describe that, Phonetic transcription involves using a written set
of instructions (known as “phonetic spelling”) to show a reader how to pronounce a
word.
Phonetic transcription is based on the IPA, or International Phonetic Alphabet, which
employs phonetic symbols to represent vowel and consonant sounds. Unlike phonemic
transcription, nearly every sound in a phonetic transcription has its exclusive character.
If you’re not a native speaker of a specific language, you may be unsure how to
pronounce particular words. Phonetic transcription with IPA helps language learners
speak words accurately. And since IPA is international, it works for every language.
Phonetic Transcription Tools: Benefits and Uses
Hansson,(2010,Pg.86), While some may see phonetic transcription as a niche need,
there are quite a few reasons people incorporate it into their everyday speech and
learning.
How Phonetic Transcription Helps in Language Learning
Learning new languages can be challenging because the same letter can be associated
with varying sounds, depending on the language or dialect. Phonetic transcription aims
to standardize each sound by associating it with a distinct symbol.

When learning a language, checking each sound against its given symbol helps you
speak more confidently, knowing you’re pronouncing words correctly. That can help
you avoid mistakes when conversing with international colleagues or business partners.
Concept of Phonology
Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across languages. Put
more formally, phonology is the study of the categorical organisation of speech sounds
in languages; how speech sounds are organised in the mind and used to convey
meaning.
Phonology is concerned with the abstract, whereas phonetics is concerned with the
physical properties of sounds.
The Phonemes
Phonemes are the meaningfully different sound units in a language (the smallest units of
sound). For example, ‘pat’ and ‘bat’ differ in their first phoneme: the “p” and “b”.
Vowels are also phonemes, so “pat” and “pet” differ by a phoneme, too (But phonemes

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don’t always match up with spelling!). When two words differ by a single phoneme they
are known as a minimal pair.
The phonemic system
The phonemic system of any language is the basis for all the higher order linguistic
structures which make up the complete language system. Language-users carry in their
brain a considerable store of information about all levels of any language they are able
to employ; at the phonological level, this includes not only the inventory of phonemic
units, but also the rules governing the combination of phonemes into morphemes, the
sequential probabilities operative in phoneme strings, the correspondence rules linking
acoustic cues with phonemic categories, phonemic categories with articulation and
articulation with acoustic cues.
The phonemic system of a language is a set of linguistic units which forms the basis for
higher levels of language.
Phone and allophones
In linguistics, a phone (from the Greek fōnḗ ) is a distinct speech sound. We study
phones in phonetics, the branch of linguistics that deals with the physical production
and reception of sound. Phones are not specific to particular languages and aren’t
always vital for understanding the meaning of a word. Phones are represented by letters
and symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
Allophones
Na allophone is a term used to describe the group of phones represented by a single
phoneme in a particular language.
For example, In English, the phones [tʰ] (aspirated), [t] (unaspirated), and [t ʃ]
(affricated) are all represented by the single phoneme /t/ - this makes them all
allophones for the phoneme /t/.
Look at the following words: Trick, Tack, Stack. Each word contains one of the
previous allophones for phoneme /t/. Can you figure out which word has which
allophone?
Trick = [tʃ] (africated – T makes a ‘CH’ sound)
Tack = [tʰ] (aspirated – na exhalation of air after the T)
Stack = [t] (unaspirated)

Minimal pairs and sets

In Phonology, Minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language,
which differ in only one phonological elements such as a phone, phoneme, and have

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distinct meanings. They are used to demonstrate that two phones constitute two separate
phonemes in the language.
Difference between the otherwise identical strings of sounds and this difference results
in a change of meaning.
Example: wet: yet, to: do. Kill: gill, park: bark, might: night .

Minimal set
A set of distinct words in a language which differ in only one or a limited number of
phonological elements. If there are two words in the set, it is a minimal pairs. A minimal
set is used to demonstrate that the phonological elements under consideration is
phonetics that is that is has constranstive function in determining meaning.
Complementary Distribution
In the realm of linguistics, the concept of complementary distribution is crucial to
understanding the formation and structure of a language. This article aims to provide na
in-depth exploration of complementary distribution in various aspects of linguistics,
including its meaning, application, role in phonology, and syntax analysis. Furthermore,
it delves into the topic of vowel complementary distribution in different languages,
highlighting the distinctions between complementary distribution and free variation. By
engaging with the comprehensive analyses provided, you will be equipped with the
knowledge necessary to identify and analyse complementary distribution in English and
other languages, ultimately enhancing your linguistic expertise.
Distrinctive feature analysis
They developed distinctive-feature analysis of sounds; by this analysis, each distinctive
sound in a language is seen as composed of a number of contrasting articulatory and
acoustic features, and any two sounds of a language that are perceived as being distinct
will have at least one feature
In linguistics, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of phonological structure that
distinguishes one sound from another within a language. For example, the feature
[voice] distinguishes the two bilabial plosives: [p] and [b]. There are many different
ways of defining and arranging features into feature systems: some deal with only one
language while others are developed to apply to all languages.
Distinctive features are grouped into categories according to the natural classes of
segments they describe: major class features, laryngeal features, manner features, and
place features. These feature categories in turn are further specified on the basis of the
phonetic properties of the segments in question.

Phonological Processes

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Shane (1973) identifies four main categories of phonological processes in phonological
research. These are: Assimilation, syllable structure, weakening and strengthening, and
neutralization. Assimilation is defined as the process that cause some articulatory
feature of one segment to be Transferred to na adjacent one, such as when English in is
pronounced [im] in in Paris or [iŋ] in In Copenhagen. (Gussengoven & Jacobs, 2011,
p.42). These are many types of assimilation. First, regressive (anticipatory) assimilation,
in which the first of two sounds assimilates to a Following sound. This is the most
common kind of assimilation, since it is grounded in ease of Articulation.
Phonological rules
A phonological rule is a formal way of expressing a systematic phonological
Or morpho-phonological process or diachronic sound change in language.
Phonological rules are commonly used in generative phonology as a notation
To capture sound-related operations and computations the human brain Performs when
producing or comprehending spoken language. They may use Phonetic notation or
distinctive features or both. John Goldsmith (1995) Defines phonological rules as
mappings between two different levels of Sounds representation.

The Phonotactics
For Hansson,(2010,Pg.93), talked that, Phonotactics is the study of rules and restrictions
related to the arrangement of sounds within the syllables of a language. These rules are
crucial for the fluent and smooth pronunciation of words, as they help to create distinct
and comprehensible speech sounds.
Phonotactics: The set of rules and restrictions governing the sequence and distribution
of speech sounds within syllables in a given language.
Phonotactic rules exist in every language and can differ significantly from one another,
resulting in unique combinations of sounds and structures. Here are some aspects of
phonotactics:
Permissible sound sequences: Some languages allow specific combinations of sounds
that might not be allowed in others.
Constraints on syllable structure: Rules that limit the type and number of segments that
can appear within a syllable.
Phonotactic constraints: restrictions on sound sequences within a language that
contribute to maintaining distinct word boundaries and reducing ambiguity.
For example, in English, the combination of /s/ and /l/ is permissible at the beginning of
a word,as in ‘slew’, while it would be more challenging for na English speaker to
pronounce certain consonant clusters found in other languages.

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Conclusion
The present Assignment I of Phonetic And Phonology, concluded that:The vocal folds
may be held against each other at just the right tension so that the air flowing past them
from the lungs will cause them to vibrate against each other. We call this process
voicing. Sounds which are made with vocal fold vibration are said to be voiced. Sounds
made without vocal fold vibration are said to be voiceless.
Also concluded that: Consonants are letters that represent certain speech sounds,
specifically sounds that involve blocking the air before it leaves the mouth, such as with
the tongue, lips, or throat. Most letters of the English alphabet are consonants, except
for a, e, i, o, and u, which are vowels.
Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across languages. Put
more formally, phonology is the study of the categorical organisation of speech sounds
in languages; how speech sounds are organised in the mind and used to convey
meaning.
Finally concluded that: Phonotactics is the study of rules and restrictions related to the
arrangement of sounds within the syllables of a language. These rules are crucial for the
fluent and smooth pronunciation of words, as they help to create distinct and
comprehensible speech sounds.

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Bibliography Reference:

Cahill, Michael. (2008). The phonetics and phonology of labial-velars in Dagbani.

Paper presented at 39th ACAL, University of Georgia, April 18–20, 2008.
Cohn, Abigail C. (1990). Phonetic and phonological rules of nasalization. PhD thesis,
University of California Los Angeles.
Davis, John F. (1976). Some notes on Luiseño phonology. International Journal of
American Linguistics 42.3: 192–216.
Hansson, Gunnar Ólafur. (2001). Theoretical and typological issues in consonant
harmony. PhD thesis, University of California, Berkeley.
Hansson, Gunnar Ólafur (2010). Consonant Harmony: Long-Distance Interaction in
Phonology. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

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