FR4207 Production of Sound

 Articulatory Phonetics:

• Use of speech organs to create sound:
• Air passes over the vocal chords which creates vibration 
• The vibration is shaped by the tongue coming into to contact with the teeth and/or the roof of the mouth in different ways 
• And by the shape of our lips as the vibration leaves the mouth
• If the vibration is directed up into the nasal cavity, a nasal sound is produced

Place of articulation: 

• The places in the mouth where the sounds are produced:
  • Bilabial - use of both lips - egs - p, b, m, ɥ   
  • Labio-dental - lower lip, upper teeth - egs f, v
  • Interdental - tongue between upper and lower teeth 
  • Dental - tongue contact with back of upper teeth - egs t, d, s, z, l, n 
  • Alveolar - tongue contact with gum ridge behind upper teeth 
  • Palatal - middle of tongue against palate
  • Palato-alveolar - front of tongue against hard palate - egs ʃ, ʒ
  • Velar - back of tongue against soft palate (velum) - egs k, g, w
  • Uvular - back of tongue near or against uvula - egs, r
  • Glottal - vocal chords come together to form friction
   

Mode of articulation: 

• The way the air is released:
• Stop/Plosive - air flow is blocked, then suddenly released to produce sound - eg p, b, t, d, k, g
• Fricative - audible friction created by forcing air through a constricted/partially obstructed passage in the vocal tract - eg f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, r
• Affricate - a stop or plosive sound, followed by a fricative eg tʃ, dʒ (Eng only) 
• Lateral - tongue tip lifted to roof of mouth so that air flows around either side of it, eg l
• Nasal - airflow directed through nose rather than mouth, eg m, n, ɲ, ŋ
• Glide - semivowels, vowel sounds that function as syllable boundaries rather than nuclei, eg, j, w, ɥ

Voice:

• Voiceless - no vibration of the vocal chords - eg p, t, k, f, s, ʃ, ʒ  
• Voiced - vibration of the vocal chords - eg b, d, g, v, z, r, l, m, n, j, w, ɲ, ŋ, ɥ

French/English Articulation Comparison - Consonants

Possible exam qs:
Describe the consonants of French
Compare the sounds (vowels/consonants) of French

Place/Mode		Plosive		Fricative		Affricate		Lateral	Nasal	Glide
		Voiceless	Voiced	Voiceless	Voiced	Voiceless	Voiced	Voiced	Voiced	Voiced
Bilabial	Fr	p (pont)	b (bon)						m (mon)	ɥ (lui)
	Eng	p	b						m
Labio-dental	Fr			f (fou)	v (vous)
	Eng			f	v
Inter-dental	Fr - NOTE: no Fr inter-dental sounds
	Eng			θ (thin)	ð (then)
Dental	Fr	t	d	s	z			l	n
	Eng - NOTE: no Eng dental sounds
Alveolar	Fr - NOTE: Fr dental sounds = Eng alveolar sounds
	Eng	t	d	s	z			l	n
Palato-alveolar	Fr			ʃ (chat)	ʒ (jaune)
	Eng			ʃ (ship)	ʒ (vision)	tʃ (church)	dʒ (June)			r
NOTES: Affricate sounds exist in Eng but not in Fr Eng /r/ is Palato-alveolar but Fr /r/ is Uvular Only 2 palato-alveolar sounds in French vs 4 in English
Palatal	Fr								ɲ (ligne)	j (hier)
	Eng									j (yes)
Velar	Fr	k	g						ŋ (dancing)	w (oiseau)
	Eng	k	g						ŋ (sing)	w
Uvular	Fr			ɹ	ʀ
	Eng NOTE - no Eng uvular sounds
Glottal	Fr NOTE - no Fr glottal sounds
	En			h

French Vowel Sounds


  The French Vocal Quadrilateral:

Hear the sounds here.

English Vowel Sounds 

Description:

• ei (make) - tongue moving back and up, mouth slightly more closed
• iə (here) - begins high and ends more central, mouth opens a little
• əu (no) - begins central, then moving back and up, mouth closing
• uə (poor) - begins high and to the back, moves down and to the middle, mouth opening
• au (now) - begins tongue low and to the front, finishes high and at back, mouth from open to closed
• ɔi (boy) - begins low and to the back, ends mid height and to the front, mouth from open to half closed
• ai (write) remains frontal, goes higher, mouth closing
• ɛə  - tongues moves from front to centre, mouth not significantly changed

Vowel comparison

•  French vowel sounds are on the outside of the quadrilateral, unlike English
• French vowels are more extreme sounds - the mouth must move more 
• English vowels include many diphthongs - sounds whereby the tongue starts in one position and ends in another
• Most French sounds are monophthongs - the tongue stays in one position
• English sounds last longer - they're said to 'glide'