Phonetics

Mother Tongue Interference in Second Language:                           According to the theory of Mother tongue interference, we can understand that Mother tongue hinder the second language in pronouncing the speech sounds. In the absence of correct sound, learners tend to use the nearest equivalents in their Mother tongue. Vowel diagram showing the vowels of RP, GIE and Standard Malayalam are given below for comparison. Vowel Systems: Tables showing the Consonants of RP, GIE and Standard Malayalam are given below for comparison. Consonant Systems:

Manners of Articulation of Consonant Sounds              Based on the manner of articulation, consonants can be classified as follows. Plosives:           When the articulators are suddenly seperated and the oral closure released, the air escapes with a small explosive noise. Sounds thus produced with a stricture of complete closure and sudden release are called plosives. Affricates:          An affricate is a consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative.  In the production of affricates there is complete closure, the oral and nasal passage of air is completely blocked. Fricatives:           In the production of fricatives the articulators are brought so close together that the air is escaping through the narrow space between them producing an audible fiction or a hissing sound. Nasals:          In the production of nasals the airstream passes through the nose as a result of the lowering of the soft palate (velum) at the back of the mouth. In the case of nasal consonants

Place of Articulation of the Consonants 1.Labial:           These are sounds produce with lips. The lower lip is the active articulator and the upper lip is the passive articulator. These may be sub-divided into bilabial and labio-dental.   2.Bilabial:              The active articulator is the lower lip and the passive articulator is the upper lip. 3.Labio-dental:              The active articulator is the lower lip and the passive articulator is the upper front teeth. 4.Dental:              The sounds produced with the tip of the tongue against the upper row of teeth are called dental.   The active articulator is the tip of the tongue  and the passive articulator are the upper front teeth. 5.Denti-Alveolar :             The tip and blade of the tongue are the active articulators and the upper front teeth and the teeth ridge are the passive articulators. 6.Alveolar:             These are sounds produced with the tip or blade of the tongue against the teeth ridge. The tip or the blade

Phonetics - Speech Mechanism                 The mechanism involved in the production of speech is called speech mechanism. Egressive pulmonary air stream is used for the production of English sounds. The air reaches the lungs through the wind pipe and when the lungs contracts, the air which comes from the lungs passes through the wind pipe and reaches the larynx. In the larynx the air passes through the gap between the vocal cords. When the vocal cords vibrate during the production of sound, it becomes the voiced sound. If the vocal cord do not vibrate during the production of the sound, it becomes the unvoiced sound. In the pharynx the air undergoes modifications due to the operations of the soft palate. If the soft palate is lowered, the air passes through the nasal cavity and nasal sound is produced. If the soft palate is raised, the air passes through the mouth and oral sound is produced.

Phonetics - The Organs of Speech                                 The organs involved in producing the speech sounds are Lips, Teeth, Alveolar Ridge, Hard Palate, Soft Palate(velum), Tongue, Uvula, Pharynx, Larynx, Vocal cord, Glottis, Epiglottis, Wind Pipe and Lungs. They can be divided into two types. They are Active articulators and Passsive articulators. The upper lips, Teeth, Teeth ridge, Hard palate, Soft palate, Uvula and Pharynx are the Passive articulators. The Tongue and Lower lips are the Active articulators. The glottis is not an active articulator because it is only a space between vocal cords.

What is Phonetics:                      Phonetics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the speech sound of a particular language. It focus on the production and classification of speech sounds.   Consonant sound:               Consonants are sounds in the production of which there is an  obstruction of the air passage. It is articulated with complete or partial closure of   the vocal   tract.                       (eg) /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/ /s/ /z/ etc Unvoiced sound:               If there is no vibration in the vocal cord during the production of   sound,  it   is called as unvoiced sound.                      (eg) /p/ /t/ /k/ /s/ /h/ etc     Voiced sound:                                  If there is vibration in the vocal cord during the production of sound, it   is   called as voiced sound.                     (eg) /b/ /d/ /g/ z/ etc               Vowel sound:                 A vowel is a speech sound produced without any stricture in the vocal   tract. It is produced wit

Define Phonetics ?                              Phonetics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the speech sound of a particular language. It focus on the production and classification of speech sounds. There are 44 phonemes in English. They are divided into two. They are Consonants(24) and Vowels(20). Phonetic Chart that explains Consonants and Vowel Sounds