SOUND PATTERN IN ENGLISH LANGAUGE (PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY)

Introduction:
Sound is a unit of speech which is produced by the human speech organs. Sound is usually
heard. Here we can compare sound to noise which is also usually heard but whereas noise is a
distraction and is also often meaningless, sound is an organised realisation from a natural
language. The International Phonetics Alphabet (IPA) comprises the symbols that are used to
represent sounds. When we write in a language, we make use of letters of the alphabet.
Letters are normally seen while, in comparison, sounds are normally heard. However, sounds
and letters are related in that letters are the symbols with which sounds are represented on
paper.
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to
i. differentiate letters from sounds
ii. explain the speech pattern of consonant sounds
iii. explain the speech pattern of vowel sounds.
Main Content:
Phonetics
Phonetics is concerned with the study of the sounds of natural language i.e. languages into
which human beings are born. Phonetics is the study of production of sounds as produced by
the organs of speech. It deals with the analysis of the sounds of languages in terms of
articulation, transmission and perception. Phonetics seeks to identify sounds that constitute
speech units which are distinct from all other possible human sounds.
There are three major braches in the study of phonetics, namely acoustic Phonetics,
articulatory Phonetics, and auditory Phonetics.
Acoustic Phonetics.
This deals with the transmission of speech sounds through the air (sound waves).
Different instruments are used to measure the characteristics of these sound waves.
Articulatory Phonetics.
Articulatory phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are produced. Sounds are classified
according to the place of articulation in terms of the organs of speech used in their production
(bilabial, alveolar, palatal), and according to manner of articulation in terms of the how
airflow from the lungs is obstructed in their production e.g. stops, fricatives, affricates etc.
Auditory Phonetics.
Hearing, or audition, is one of the traditional five senses, and refers to the ability to detect
sounds. In human beings hearing is performed traditionally by the ears which also perform a
function of maintaining balance. For instance to indicate the consonant sounds of the
following English words: boy, saw, too, square brackets are used by convention:
[b] as in boy
[s] as in saw
as in too
Phonemes, which are the distinguished sounds, constitute the basic unit of study in Phonetics.
Phonology
Phonology, on the other hand deals with the organisation, grouping, patterning and
distribution of the basic sounds of natural languages (vowels and consonants). It studies the
restrictions and regular patterns of sound combinations. The syllable is the basic unit of
study. Symbols which are used to indicate the pronunciation of sounds syllables or words are
written within slanting lines / /, sometimes called slashes or oblique slashes following
phonological convention.
When the differences in sound combinations are as a result of non-segmental phenomena like
tone, intonation, rhythm and accentuation, it is referred to as supra-segmental phonology. For
example, when the first syllable in the word import is stressed, it constitutes a difference in
meaning in that it functions as a noun, but as a verb if the stress is on the second syllable.
In phonology, distinctive features of phonemes are determined and used to describe, compare
and contrast phonemes. The distinctive features of a phoneme refer to the group or bundle of
features which differentiate a phoneme from other phonemes. The features are derived from
the parameters for classification of sounds. Consonants are classified according to the
parameters of place and manner of articulation, and voicing. Vowels are classified according
to the parameters of tongue height, rounding of the lips, and length of production.
Below is the distinctive feature chart for consonants and vowels in English:
Phonetics and Phonology
The relationship between phonetics and phonology is such that human speech is subject
matter. However, Phonetics is the starting point while phonology takes off from where
phonetics ends. The example of aspiration in English will illustrate this relationship. Through
phonetic analysis, the consonant /p/ is a distinct speech sound in English in terms of the
parameters of classification, place and manner of articulation.
Through phonological analysis, /p/ is a distinct phoneme because it constitutes a difference in
meaning when in combination with other sounds in a syllable. Also, /p/ is produced with a
puff air when it occurs in word initial position and before a vowel as in people [pi:pl]. This
production of /p/ is a variant called an allomorph. It is aspirated and represented as [ph]. The
second /p/ in people does not meet the conditions of occurrence and so is not aspirated. Note
however, that the aspirated [ph] is not a distinct sound nor is it a distinct phoneme of English.
In other words, its occurrence does not constitute a difference in meaning.
Sound Patterns
Consonants
In their production, consonants show greater constriction of the vocal tract and are less
sonorous, less prominent than their counterpart – the vowels. In a majority of the world’s
languages, a vowel can serve as a syllable or a word, but a consonant cannot, except it is
accompanied with a vowel. Although we can produce certain sequences like mm, mmn, sh,
shr, zsr, etc. (all made up of consonants), such sequences cannot rightly be claimed to belong
to any particular language, they are simply identifiable human sounds which may express
some kinds of emotion in certain situations. In a majority of the world languages also, the
consonants are marginal or peripheral in the structure of words while the vowels are central
in such structural patterning.
In the production of sounds generally, there are three operative terms which all students of
the subject should be firmly knowledgeable about. These are the terms plosive, fricative and
nasal. Practically all natural languages have plosive consonants, fricative consonants and
nasal consonants, in varying numbers and in varying distributional patterns.
In the realization of a plosive consonant, four stages described here in sporting terms are
notable:
(i) Two articulators come together – the articulators may be the lips coming together; the
tongue moving up to be in contact with the teeth ridge (alveolar ridge) or the back part of the
tongue being in contact with the soft palate. We may refer to this as the preparatory or the
“on-your-marks” phase.
(ii) The air from the lungs is now held completely in check; the united organs prevent it from
escaping. We can call this the ‘get-set’ phase.
(iii) There follows a sudden parting of the organs, a process which allows the imprisoned air
to escape. This is the ‘go’ or the ‘plosion’ phase.
(iv) What follows immediately in the wake of the plosion may be voicing or voicelessness
depending on the action of the vocal lips: vibration or absence of it. We may call this the
post-plosion (the “pp” stage).
These four stages are applicable to the articulation of plosive consonants in practically all
natural languages. From these four stages we can also appreciate why plosive consonants are
sometimes referred to as stop consonants.
With respect to English, six consonant sounds /p, b, t, d, k, g/ are often realized following the
four stages outlined above. Of these six, /b,d,g/ are generally said to be voiced (even if they
are not equally vigorously voided in all word positions), while /p, t, k/ are generally said to be
voiceless. It has also generally been claimed that the voiceless plosives are produced with a
great exertion of energy and so the consonants are said to be strong.
On the other hand, it is generally claimed that the realization of the voiced plosives /b,d,g/
takes a comparatively less exertion of energy in their realization and so the plosives are said
to be weak or lenis. The terms fortis and lenis are however not restricted to English alone.
Indeed, any language in which the dichotomy of energy exertion is observable may employ
the terms for the description of plosive or any other consonant sounds for that matter.
The next term in our preliminary discussion of consonant is fricative. Fricative consonants
are realized when articulating organs get near to each other, leaving a small space between
them. Because of the narrowed space, the air that passes through makes some kind of hissing
sound. Such consonants are often said to be continuant consonants, and this is because of
the fact that the fricative sounds can be continued almost indefinitely so long as the
speaker has enough air to continue the pronunciation at any given time.
The last of our operative terms is nasal. Nasal consonants are those which are realized
through the nose. For this to happen, the soft palate must be lowered to cover the mouth
cavity and this allow the nasal cavity free for the air to pass through. In all natural languages,
consonants of this class exist and are explicable in terms of this kind of lowering of the soft
palate. This possibility of lowering the soft palate during sound production presupposes that
even oral sounds can be nasalized, (for illustration or for any other reasons).
The process of nasalized is a very crucial one in sound production because it makes the
important difference between two sets of sounds – oral and nasal. Ordinarily, all vowels and
all consonants produced without a lowering of the soft palate belong to one class – oral
sounds. All other sounds which pass through the nose cavity are nasal sounds. In a majority
of the world’s languages, all nasals are voiced. So, in a detailed description of a nasal, it is
superfluous to say something like. Voiced velar nasal for / /. It is enough to say: velar nasal.
A Summary of Consonant Patterning
Consonants in English may be patterned according to place of articulation. Here, from the
view point of;
(i) place of articulation, English has four bilabial consonants – those sounds realized between
the two lips: /p,b,m,w/
(ii) two labio-dental consonants – those sounds realized with the lower lip and the upper front
teeth: /f,v/
(i) two interdental (or dental) consonants – those sounds realized with the tip of the tongue
between the two rows of teeth: / ,ð/
(ii) seven alveolar consonants – those sounds realized with the tip of the tongue at the teeth
ridge (alveolar ridge): /t,d,l,n,r,s,z/
(iii) Four palato-alveolar consonants – those sounds realized with the tip of the tongue
simultaneously against the hard palate and the teeth ridge: / , , , /
(iv) one palatal consonant – the sound realized with the tongue touching the hard palate /j/
(v) three velar consonants – those sounds realized with the tongue touching the soft palate:
/k,g, /
(vi) one glottal consonant – the sound realized in the glottis: /h/

VOWELS
The English language has a total of twenty vowels, twelve pure vowels and eight diphthongs.
Pure vowels, also called monothongs, are those vowels which are produced by the movement
of the tongue in one direction only. Pure vowels are also described as simple vocalic sounds
that are said to have ‘a steady state articulation’, implying that the tongue, lips and jaw
achieve, however briefly, a stable configuration, commonly called Target Configuration, if
produced in isolation (Clark & Yallop,1990:73). It is common knowledge that the tongue and
lips undergo transitions in anticipation of a sound that follows or was produced before
another sound but these transitions notwithstanding, a vowel sound which appears to have a
stable auditory quality qualifies to be called a pure vowel. The diphthongs are often
characterised by a glide from one vowel position to another. In such vocalic sounds,
according to (Clark & Yallop, 1990: 73), ‘the glide component
is so prominent even though it is still heard as a single sound.’ Unlike the pure vowels, they
are not tied to conventional numbers. The word diphthong comes from Greek. It means
‘double sound.’ The first vowel in diphthong marks the starting point while the second sound
marks the direction of tongue movement. The first vowel is often longer and louder than the
second. Diphthongs are often transcribed, using diagraphs made up of two vowel symbols,
which represent the starting point and the direction of movement of the tongue during
articulation. The eight English diphthongs are thus:
[ei] as in day, make, great, late
[ai] as in time, light, try, buy
[ i] as in boy, noise, joy, buoy
[ u] as in both, soap, know, sold
[ u] as in sound, town, owl, cow
[i ] as in dear, idea, hero, here
[u ] as in poor, sure, tour, truant
[e ] as in share, pair, wear, Mary
In addition to eight diphthongs, we also have five triphthongs. In careful and slow
pronunciation, it is often possible to distinguish three vowel sounds articulated together.
These are called triphthongs. For example, a careful pronunciation of the vowel in the word
‘tower’ shows three vowels in one sound thus: [t u ]. In English, there are five triphthongs
made up of the five closing diphthongs with
schwa [ ] added to them. Thus we have
[ei] + [ ] – [ei ] as in player, layer
[ i] + [ ] – [ i ] as in fire, tyre
[ i] + [ ] – [ i ] as in royal, loyal
[ u] + [ ] – [ u ] as in sower, lower
[ u] + [ ] – [ u ] as in flower, tower
In each case, the glide is from the first sound to the sound and to the third. As already noted,
it is only the slow and careful English speaker whose speech can feature these complex
vowels. In rapid or normal speech, triphthongs are often reduced to long vowels and
diphthongs with the middle vowel heard only slightly or not at all.
Grouping of the Vowel Sounds of English
The vowel sounds of English may be grouped, first, following the relative duration of the
sounds. Here, four subgroups are generally recognised. These are:
i) Long monothongs (pure vowels): [i:, :, :, u:, :]
ii) Diphthongs (glides): [ei, i, i, u, u, i , e , u ]
iii) Trigpthongs [ei , i , i , u , u ]
As you already know, the above are all long vowels.
iv) Short monothongs (pure vowels): [ , e, æ, u, , ]
Secondly, the vowel phonemes of English may be grouped according to the part of the tongue
raised. There are three subgroups of vowels here:
i) Front [i:, , e, æ]
ii) Back [ , :, u, u:]
iii) Central [ , , :]
There is a vowel that does not neatly fit into any of these three subgroups. It is [ :] usually
grouped as nearer back than front.
Thirdly, the vowel phonemes of English may be grouped according to the extent of raising of
the tongue towards the roof of the mouth. Six subgroups are generally noted here:
i) Close [i:, u:]
ii) Half-close [ , u]
iii) Half-open [ ]
iv) Between ii) and iii) [e, :, ]
v) Open [ :]
vi) Between iii) and v) [æ]
The close vowels [i:, u:] may, alternatively, be grouped as high vowels; the half-close and
half-open [ , u, ] may be said to be mid vowels while the open vowel [ :] may be said to be
low vowels.
With regard to the position of the lips at the time of pronunciation,
i) [u:, :]
ii) [u, ]
iii) [i:, , e, æ, , :, , :] are realised with spread or neutral lips.
Self-Assessment Questions
1. What is the relationship between Phonetics and phonology?
2. Examine the sound patters of vowel and consonant sounds.

Tutor Marked Assignment

Attempt a brief grouping of vowels sounds of English according to the part of the tongue
raised to the roof of the mouth and the extent of such a raising.

REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Eka, D. & Inyang, U. (1996). Aspects of spoken language. Calabar: BON Universal
Eka, D. (1996). Phonological foundations of English. Uyo: Scholars Press (Nig.) Ltd.
Clark, J & C. Yallop (1990): An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology; Oxford; Basil
Blackwell.
Yule, George (2002): The Study of Language. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.