SUBSIDIARY VARIANTS OF THE ENGLISH VOWEL PHONEMES

Все темы данного раздела:

I. THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF PHONETICS
The significance of language and speech becomes quite clear from the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism who defined language as the most important means of human intercourse, and stated that

ACOUSTIC ASPECT OP SPEECH SOUNDS
Speech sounds have a number of physical properties, the firsf of them is frequency, i.e. the number of vibrations per second. The vocal cords vibrate along the whole of their length, produ

ARTICULATORY AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECT OF SPEECH SOUNDS
To analyse a speech sound physiologically and articulatorily some clataonthearticulatory mechanism and its work should be introduced. Speech is impossible without the following fo

DIFFERENCES IN THE ARTICULATION BASES OF THE ENGLISH AND RUSSJAN CONSONANTS AND THEIR PECULIARITIES
The differences in the articulation bases between the two languages-are "in the general tendencies their native speakers have, in the-way they move and hold their lips and the tongue both in s

Ts> 5/.
— the use of the labio-dental /v, b/ instead of the bilabial /w/, — absence of aspiration in /p, t, k/ when they occur initially, — weak pronunciation of voiceless fortis /p, t

Read these Russian and English words. Avoid palatalization of English initial consonants before the front vowels /h, t, e, ei/.
пей—pay бил —bill Вил —veal сед —said Пит—pit сил —sill Фили—feeling лес —less кит—kit ■ зил —zeal бел —bell бег —beg гей —gay сел —sell тип —tip нет —net

ARTICULATORY AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF ENGLISH VOWELS
The first linguist who tried to describe and classify vowel sounds for all languages was D. Jones. He devised the system of 8 Cardinal Vowels. The basis of the system is physiological. Cardinal vow

DIFFERENCES IN THE^ARTICULATION BASES OF ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN jVOWELS
Articulation bases of English and Russian vowels are different. (1) The lips. In the production of Russian vowels the lips are con­ siderably protruded and rounded /о, у/. In the artic

Each minimal pair exemplifies a possible consonant opposition
/m/ /w/ /f/ /v/ /e/ /a/ /t/ /d/ /n/ pike— pen— pine— pan— pin— pine— pin— park— piece- mike when fine van thin thine tin dark niece boss— bind— boot— ban— brash— b

Read aloud the minimal pairs below. Single out the phonemes which are contrasted.
jug—bug led—laid lay—He judge—budge men—main say—sigh birch—-bird singe—sinned keen—coin try—Troy bays—buys lied—Lloyd burn—bone fork—folk fawn—phone fur

Position of the Soft Palate
This principle of consonant classification provides the basis for the following distinctive oppositions. Oral vs. nasal pit — pin seek — seen thieve — theme sick — sing 60

CONSONANT PHONEMES. DESCRIPTION OF PRINCIPAL VARIANTS
Strictly speaking, it is impossible to give an exact and detailed description of a sound within the limits of a short definition, because not a single sound is pronounced identically even twice. So

S — f/, /z — v/.
3. Define the consonant phonemes /9, Э/. *4. Read these words, spell them and translate them into Russian. 0m —sin 9ik —tik hi:0 —hi:t mAn8s 9ik — sik 6o:t — to:t Ьэ

VOWEL PHONEMES. DESCRIPTION OF-PRINCIPAL VARIANTS
a) Monophthongs, cr Simple Vowels Vowels are best of all learnt when the teacher directs-the-attention of the pupils to the position of the tongue and the lips.The descrip­tion of the vowe

Transcribe these words. Use them to explain the relation of the hi phoneme to orthography.
did, lid, gladly, Freely, lynx, courage, village, washes, rouges, boxes, worries, copies, loaded, fountain, biscuit, Friday, sieve, let­tuce, forehead, forfeit, coffee life *

No. 4 Ы
1. Ann and Mary were happy in their ntw hats. 2. The fact is Moth­er packed the sandwiches herself. 3, He waved his hand back to> her till he hit his hand on the back edge. 4. She'd have gladly

No. 6 hi
d&bh^hW??' S0Ud> nod^> crop' с , dollar, bomb, John, gone, yonder, hot

ASSIMILATION
In the process of speech, that is in the process of transition from the articulatory work of one sound to the articulatory work of the neigh­bouring one, sounds are modified. These modifications ca

ELISION
Elision can be historical and contemporary. English spelling is full of "silent" letters which bear witness to historical elision, e.g. walk /wo:k/, knee /ni:/,

Control Tasks
1. Read the words, observe fhe stronger aspiration of/p, t, k/ before long vow­ els and diphthongs. Compare with the Russian /п, т, к/ pronounced with­ out aspiration. port tar car

V. ENGLISH PHONEMES IN WRITING
Language performs its function as a means.of intercommunica­tion not only in oral but also in written form. Therefore it is impor­tant to establish the relationship between orthography and pronunci

Fill in the blanks with fhe appropriate homophone.
(sealing, ceiling) 1. We had difficulty in ... the leak. 2. The spidermade its web on the ... . 3. The ... of the гост is high. (sole, soul) 1. My old boots need new .... 2. He was the...

Learn the extracts by heart. They illustrate difficulties of English pronun­ciation. Transcribe these extracts.
Blood and flood are not like food Nor it mould like should and would Banquet is not nearly parquet Which is said to rhyme with "darky". Rounded, wounded; grieve and sleeve Friend

VI. SYLLABLE
Though the basic phonological elements are phonemes, human in­tercommunication is actualized in syllables. The syllable as a unit is difficult to define, though native speakers of a langua

THEORIES OF.SYLLABLE FORMATjQN AND SYLLABLE DIVISION
There are different points of view on syllable formation which are briefly the following. 1. The most ancient theory states that there are as many sylla­ bles in a word as there are vo

FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYLLABLE
The syllable as a phonological unit performs three functions: constitutive, distinctive, identificatory. They are closely connected. 1. Constitutive Function Syllables constitute

Put down stress marks in the sentences below. Translate them into Russian-
1. The abstract is short. Abstract this theory. 2. This accent is on. the first syllable. Mark it with a weak accent. He accents the word» It's the word "son" you are to accent. 3. A conf

VIII. STRONG ANDWEAK FORMS.UNSTRESSED VOCALISM
In actual speech there is a great number of words which are pro­nounced in the weak or contracted form. They are more common than non-contracted or full forms. It applies to all styles and differen

PAUSATION AND TAMBER
Pausation is closely connected with the other components of into­nation. The number and the length of pauses affect the general tempo of speech. A slower tempo makes the utterance more prominent an

STYLISTIC USE OF INTONATION
There are five verbal functional styles (also referred to as registers or discourses): 1. the belles-lettres style, 2. publicistic style, 3. news­paper style, 4. scientific prose style, 5. the styl

Read these jokes. Define what intonation patterns should be used to convey humour.
Asking Too Much An Englishman was driving along a country road in Ireland and met a man carrying a heavy bag. "Can I take you into town?" the Englishman asked.

Read these texts as if you were readinglthem to a) children; b) students. Learn the poem by heart.
a) The Rooster by Hilda I. Rostron What would we do, I'd like to know, Without that bird That loves to crow? Who wakes him up, I'd like to know, To tell him when I

X. RECEIVED AND GENERAL AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION
The English language is spoken in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and the greater part of Cana­da. It is native to many who live in India, Israel, Malta and Ceyl

THE STfSTEM OF AMERICAN ENGLISH CONSONANTS
The total number of RP and GA consonants differ in one phoneme, it is the GA /W. The rest of the RP and GA inventory of consonant phonemes coincides. The main peculiarities in the pronunci

The Tongue and Lip Positions of the American English Vowels
High i '<> - 'S- т5 *Л 3 ■ О. -О з г Mid В.* 2 ■ -щ б

Comparative Chart of Vowel Phonemes in Canadian English, General American and RP
  CE GA RP Examples i i к Seat e, e