Chapter 5: The Sounds of Language

What is phonetics?
Phonetics (from the Greek word phone meaning 'sound, voice') is the study of human speech sounds.

What are the branches of phonetics?
Phonetics has three main branches. Articulatory phonetics concerned with the positions and movements of the lips, tongue, vocal tract and folds and other speech organs in producing speech; acoustic phonetics, concerned with the properties of the sound waves and how they are received by the inner ear; and auditory phonetics, concerned with speech perception, principally how the brain forms perceptual representations of the input it receives.

What is forensic phonetics?
Forensic phonetics is a branch of phonetics that deals with speaker identification and analysis of recorded speech.

What is the function of vocal cords?
Vocal cords are two lip-like muscular structures found within the larynx. When the air is pushed out, vocal cords can adapt different positions—from wide open to tightly closed. When vocal cords are spread apart, air passes between them effortlessly. When they are drawn together, they vibrate as air is pushed out through them, making the sound voiced.

This close-up view of the trans-nasal fibreoptic stroboscopy exam by Dr. Christopher Chang shows the conchae in the nasal cavity, he cricoid cartilage and arytenoid cartilage, connected to these are the cricoarytenoid muscle and the thyroarytenoid muscle, the epiglottis (the thing that looks a bit like a tongue) , vocal folds (the bits that actually vibrate), the glottis (the space between the vocal cords)   and a bit of the trachae. Video of an exam performed on a patient to evaluate the vocal cords using stroboscopy. (click here). The vocal cords actually vibrate hundreds of times faster than you can see here. The strobe lights just create the illusion of the slow movement!

What is a voiced sound?

If vocal cords vibrate during the production of a sound, the sound will have a ‘buzz’ effect to it. Such sounds are called voiced sounds. Sounds like /z/, /v/ etc. are voiced sounds.

What is a voiceless sound?
If the vocal cords do not vibrate during the production of a sound, the sound is called voiceless sounds. Sounds like /s/, /f/ are voiceless sounds.

What is IPA?
IPA stands for International Phonetic Association. It has formulated the guidelines about describing and transcribing speech sounds in different languages. It recognizes more than 100 distinctive phonemes. The symbols it uses for transcription are called international Phonetic Alphabet.

How do we describe a sound?
Consonant sounds are described by means of 1) the place of articulation, 2) the manner of articulation, and 3) the position of the vocal cords. Vowel sounds are described by 1) the height of the tongue, 2) the part of the tongue that is raised, 3) the length of the vowel, and 4) the shape of the lips.

What are the places of articulation?
The place of articulation refers to the point of contact between the active and passive vocal organs involved in the production of a sound. Many positions can be adopted. In English there are nine different places of articulation: Bilabial, Labiodentals, Dental, Alveolar, post-alveolar, Palato-alveolar, Palatal, Velar, and Glottal

Explain a bilabial sound.
Bilabial sounds are produced when both lips touches each other for articulation. The bilabial sounds in English are /p/, /b/, and /m/.

Explain labio-dental sounds
Labio-dental sounds are produced when lower lip touches the upper teeth for articulation. The labio-dental sounds in English are /f/ and /v/.

Explain dental sounds
Dental sounds are produced when the tip of the tongue comes in between the teeth for articulation. The dental sounds in English are // and /δ/.

Explain alveolar sounds
Dental sounds are produced when the tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge for articulation. The alveolar sounds in English are /t/ and /d/.

Explain post alveolar sounds
Post-alveolar sounds are produced when the tip of the tongue touches the region immediately behind the alveolar ridge for articulation.

Explain palate-alveolar sounds
The palate-alveolar sounds are produced when the front of the tongue touches both alveolar ridge and palate for articulation.

Explain palatal sounds
Palatal sounds are produced when the front of the tongue touches the hard palate for articulation. The only palatal sound in English is /j/ .

Explain velar sounds
Velar sounds are produced when the back of the tongue touches the soft palate (vellum) for articulation. E.g. /k/, /g/

Explain glottal sounds
Glottal sounds are produced at the vocal cords. (Glottis is the gap between the vocal cords.) The only glottal sound in English is /h/.

What is meant by the manner of articulation?
Manner of articulation refers to the manner in which a sound is produced. It refers to how the airstream is modulated, the stricture used and the cavity used for the air to escape.

Explain plosive sounds
Plosive sounds are produced when air is stopped at a point in the oral passage, and is released suddenly with an explosive sound. Examples in English are: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/. These are also called stops.

Explain fricative sounds
Fricative sounds are made when air released slowly through a narrow passage with an audible friction. E.g.: /f/, /v/, / /δ/, /s/, /z/, /∫/

Explain affricate sounds
Affricate sounds are made when air is stopped at a point in the oral passage, and the air pressure is slowly released through a narrow gap. .

Explain nasal sounds
Nasal sounds are made when air is released through the nose during articulation.

Explain approximant sounds
Approximants are consonant sounds which share some qualities of vowel sounds. They are produced without much stricture in the oral passage. Examples of approximants in English are: /j/, /r/, /l/, /w/, and /h/.

What is a flap?
Flap is produced when the tip of the tongue is thrown against the alveolar ridge for an instant. When some people pronounce ‘writer’ as ‘rider’, they make a flap.

What is a vowel?
A vowel is a sound in the production of which the vocal tract is open and there is no build-up of air pressure above the glottis. The word ‘vowel’ comes from the Latin word vocalis, (speaking), because speech are not possible without vowels. Monophthongs are vowel sound whose sound quality do not change over the duration. They are also called "pure" or "stable" vowels.

What is a diphthongs and triphthongs?
A vowel sound that glides from one quality to another is called a diphthong (boy), and a vowel sound that glides between three qualities is a triphthong (flower).

Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE?

1. Spoken language originated before written language. ....
2. Children living without access to human speech in early years grow up with no language. ......
3. Onomatopoeic words support the oral gesture hypothesis .......
4. Yo-Heave-Ho hypothesis gives importance to the social origin of language. ..............
5. Glossogenetics is based mostly on the evolution theory. .........
6. Language use is mostly confined to the left side of the human brain. ..........
7. When a symbol refers to a word, we may call it logogram. ........
8. Cuneiform writing was basically logographic writing. ...........
9. Logograms are used in Chinese language. ...............
10. Rebus writing started by using the sound of logograms or ideograms. ......
11. It was the Phoenicians who developed Syllabic writing. ........
12. It was the ancient Greeks who first added vowel letters to the alphabet. .........
13. Human language has no properties of its own when compare to animal language.........
14. Human language is limited by time and space. ........
15. In human languages, there is a natural connection between the sign and its meaning.........
16. Most animal signs have a connection between the message and its signal. ........
17. Human beings can create a sentence that has never been uttered before. .........
18. Human beings cannot create a sentence that they have never heard before. .........
19. Human languages are culturally transmitted........
20. Human sounds and meanings are distinct and independent. .........

Chapter 3: Properties of Language

Define the following features of language:
Vocal-auditory channel: Human language is produced orally and is received through the ear.
Reciprocity: Human beings communicate by sending and receiving signals.
Specialization: Linguistic signals have only one purpose—of communication.
Non-directionality: Linguistic signals can be picked up by anyone within the range of the signals.

How does human language differ from animal languages?
Human languages differ from animal languages in many ways. Some of the major features of human languages are 1) displacement, 2) arbitrariness, 3) productivity, 4) cultural transmission, 5) discreteness, and 6) duality. Animal languages do not possess these features.

What is meant by displacement feature of human language?
A major difference between animal language and human language is the displacement feature of human language. It means that human language can overcome the limitations of time and space. Animal communication is designed for here and now. But, human language can relate to events removed in time and space.

What is meant by arbitrariness of human language?
A major difference between animal language and human language is the arbitrariness of human language. It means that human linguistic signs do not have any natural connection between its form and meaning. The only exceptions are the onomatopoeic sounds. In the animal communication, the signs they use are synonymous with meaning.

What is meant by productivity of human language?
A major difference between animal language and human language is the productivity of human language. This refers to the human ability to combine limited linguistic signs to produce new sentences and expressions. Animals are incapable of this as animal signals have fixed reference.

What is meant by cultural transmission of human language?
A major difference between animal language and human language is the cultural transmission of human language. While animals get their language genetically, human beings acquire language. Human languages are passed down by the society in which one lives and grows up.

What is meant by discreteness of human language?
A major difference between animal language and human language is the discreteness of human language. This refers to the uniqueness of the sounds used in human languages. Every language use a set of different sounds. Each of these sounds is different from the rest and are combined to form new meanings. A sound can be repeated, or combined with another to form a new meaning. But, animal languages do not have this feature of discreteness.

What is meant by duality of human language?
One major difference between animal language and human language is the duality of human language. This is not found in animal languages. Human language can be both spoken and written. Even the languages that do not have alphabet can be written down using some symbols. Animal languages are only spoken.

Chapter 2: The Development of Writing

What is writing?
Writing is the recording of speech using written signs.

Name the different phases in the development of writing.
The major phases in the development of writing are: pictographic writing, ideographic writing, logographic writing, rebus writing, syllabic writing and alphabetic writing.

What is pictographic writing?
Pictographic writing using picture to represent an object. For example, the use of  to mean ‘sun’. In pictographic writing, the sign and its meaning have one of one-to one correspondence.

What is ideographic writing?
Ideographic writing is the use of picture-like symbols to represent the idea of an object. For example, one may draw a circle (O) to mean ‘the sun’, ‘day’, ‘light’, etc. An ideographic sign can represent many related ideas.

What is logographic writing?
Logographic writing is the use of arbitrary signs to represent the idea of an object. For example, Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3...) are arbitrary symbols which represent a whole idea. Other common logograms include the signs & (ampersand), @, (at), % (percent), currency signs ($, ¢, €, £, ¥ etc.) Chinese and Japanese writing are logographic.

What is rebus writing? Explain its importance.
Rebus writing uses symbols such as pictograms as sounds symbols to represent new words. (In Latin language, rebus meant "by things"). A. The association of a picture with a sound was the earliest attempt to write sounds. This method is used in many ancient writings to represent abstract ideas.

What is syllabic writing?
In Syllabic writings, signs represented syllables rather than the whole word. It needed a syllabary—a set of written symbols to represent syllables.

What is alphabetical writing?
Alphabetical writing is the use of signs to represent both the consonant and vowel sounds. Alphabetic writing was discovered by the Phoenicians. Greeks improved it by adding separate symbols for vowels.

Why are there problems in sound-letter correspondence in English?
English is an alphabetical language. But, it does not have absolute sound-letter correspondence because of many reasons. 1) English spelling was fixed by non-English printers in the 16th century. 2) Pronunciation of English words have undergone a gradual change. 3) Many foreign words in English often retain their original spelling.

What is the direction of writing?
Different scripts are written in different directions. The early alphabet could be written in any direction: left-to-right (English, Greek, Latin) right-to-left (Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew), up (Philipinian languages like Alibata, Baybayin or down(Chinese), or boustrophedon—writing of alternate lines were in opposite directions, started horizontally in one direction and at the end of the line reversing direction(Egyptian hieroglyph). The Mongolian alphabet is the only script written top-to-bottom and also left-to-right.

Your Assignment (History of Writing)
Find out the Arabic words used in English. Make a list of 50 words.