Principal and subsidiary variants of english phonemes

There are 2 types of allophones:

1. principle;

2. subsidiary.

The actual speech sounds are allophones or variants of the phoneme. Allophones of one and the same phoneme are phonetically similar. They don’t contrast with one another.

F.e. English phoneme [d] when not affected by the articulation of the preceding or following sounds is a plosive, fore-lingual apical, alveolar, lenis stop. This is how it sounds in isolation or in such words as door, darn, down, etc., when it retains its typical articulatory characteristics. In this case the consonant [d] is called the principal allophone.

Principle allophones don’t undergo any distinguishable changes in speech. They aren’t positionally determined. They are most representative of the phoneme as a whole.

Principle A. = stressed vowels + consonants before them.

Subsidiary allophones presupposes quite predictable changes in the articulation of allophones that occur under the influence of the neighbouring sounds in different phonetic situations.

Subsidiary allophones consist of 2 types:

1. combinatory – occur as a result of assimilation [eitθ] close to dental /t/ for /θ/ is interdental.

2. positional – traditionally used in some fixed positions. The clear and dark variants /l/ and /t/

Билет 11

The main approaches to the description of melody( British and American schools).

Speech Melody –most meaning carrying component of the Intonation; the variation in the pitch of the voice in connected speech.

Major approaches to the form of melodic units.

1. Contour A. worked out by British phonetic school( Johns, Dalmer, Armstrong, Ward, Kingdon, O’Connor). Based on the assumption that the melodic form of an utterance is a unity of funct-ly independent components. Melodic configuration is studied within a sense –group(smallest unit of sense in speech).

Structure and functions. The melodic contour of a sense gr.includes: a scale, a nuclear tone, a head, a prehead, a tail. N.T- a tone which is used within the nucleous of the utterance, the highlighting part carrying max.informational load. Scale – a part of the utter.starting with the first stressed syl-l(head) and going as far as the last unstr.syl-l before the nuclear tone. A prehead – includes the initial unstressed syl-l before the head.

Apart from melodic contour melody contains: 1) range( overall width of pitch change or the interval b/the highest and the lowest pitches in a sense group. Narrow/ wide range). 2)register (the hight of pitch range. Low/mid/high). Acc to British scientific tradition the melodic form of a sense gr. is a contour possessing both horiz and vertic components each performing its specific function.

2. Pitch-level A. American phonet.tradition( Gleason): the melodic structure of a sense group is analysed in terms of pitch levels. These pitches are relative.They are not related to any particular fundamental frequency band. Pitchlevels are distinctively relevant – pitch phonemes. Meaning is ascribed to a sequence of pitches, a contour. Usually they distinguish 4 pitch-levels:

1.mid pitch (marked by 2)- corresponds to a quiet unemotion.pitch of voice.Normal pitch of the voice

2.low pitch(1)- is lower 2or 3 notes below mid p.

3.High pitch(3)-is higher than 2 as much as 2 is above 1.

4.Extra high- higher than 3, is less frequent than the other three. In intense emotions, express.surprise.

The (2)31↘ intonation contour can indicate a statement, but commonly used with questions.

E.g. I’m going home.- When are you going home↘?

(2)31 ↗- is more polite: What are we having for dinner↗?

The influence of the Russian articulatory setting on the pronunciation of English sounds. Mistakes which occur as a result of the differences in the articulatory setting of English & Russian.

См. билет 13 у Шуры

Articulatory basis has 2 aspects:

3. the static aspect;

4. the dynamic aspect.

The static aspect is the position of the organs of speech provided a person does not speak (or when he is about to speak) and when an isolated sound is uttered. This position of the organs of speech is usually called ARTICULATOTY SETTING.

General tendencies of the articulatory setting of English:

5. The lips are spread and pressed tightly against the teeth.

6. The tip of the tongue is slightly curled back and is opposite the alveoli (but does not touch them!). So the tongue is drawn back from the teeth.

7. The middle and the back parts of the tongue are flattered and lowered (the back part in particular!).

8. The soft palate is raised, as in yawning. Such a position of the soft palate in combination with the lowered position of the back part of the tongue contributes to the increase of the mouth resonator.

General tendencies of the articulatory setting of Russian:

4. The lips are slightly rounded and with some speakers even protruded. The lips are not pressed against the teeth.

5. The tip of the tongue is put forward and touches the teeth.

6. The middle and the back parts of the tongue are slightly raised.

These differences in the articulatory settings of English & Russian are quite obvious, and Russian learners of English must be constantly aware of them when speaking English.

Mistakes.

- palatalization of Eng consonants (influence of Rus): кон-конь, стол-столь. Palatalization is typical for Russian;

- Rus voiceless consonants are weak, Eng – strong

- learners of Eng don’t aspirate, in Rus there’s no aspiration

- Rus fore-lingual consonants are dorsal dental (дорсальный), dorsal – sounds articulated with the back of the tongue. Eng – apical alveolar, an articulation involving the tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge, as in Eng d in die;

- Russian substitute back-lingual h, Eng h is glottal, weak. Rus has no glottal sounds;

- Rus has no diphthongs, Eng – 8 diphthongs;

- Rus has no tenseness of long vowels;

- Rus open vowels are not so open as they are in Eng, it is difficult for learners to make vowels open enough;

- mispronunciation of front ı-ī-ıə: Rus make them too close with the Russian и

Билет 12