Theoretical phonetics

The accentual system of English is also free. But it is easier to learn the English accent than the Russian one due to a number of reasons. There exist in English certain tendencies which make the occurrence of word accent more predictable than in Russian. Prof.V.A.Vasailyev describes them as follows: the recessive tendency, the rhythmic tendency, the retentive tendency, and the semantic factor.

These four help learners to determine the position of word accent in most English words.

The recessive tendency which is the oldest one is characteristic of all the Germanic languages. According to this t tendency most native words in English received a stress either on the initial syllable (e.g. father, mother, husband, wonder, etc.) or on the root morpheme in words with prefixes that have lost their meaning (e.g. among, before, forget, become, begin)

The recessive tendency has always been very strong throughout the historical development of the English language. Its strong character is reflected in the fact that most French words which were borrowed into English before the 15th century underwent accentual assimilation. For example: reason, marriage, colour etc. (the initial syllable is stressed); conduct, compose, surprise, produce, remain, depend, etc. (the root morpheme is stressed).

English speech is characterized by rhythmic alternations of stressed and unstressed syllables, in which stressed notional words alternate with short unstressed form words. This feature has caused the development of the so-called rhythmic tendency in the English word accentuation system.

Two types of rhythmical stress are distinguished in English:

(1) historically rhythmical, and (2) synchronically rhythmical stress.

We speak of historically rhythmical stress in case of French words which were borrowed before the 15th century. In present-day English such borrowed words as "family, opinion, colony, radical", etc. have a recessive stress on the first syllable. But during the development of the language these words underwent rhythmic changes. Formerly they had a fixed stress on the final syllable, as all French words. Under the influence of a strong recessive tendency they also received a stress on the initial syllable as well. For some time such words had two stresses: on the initial and on the final syllables with an unstressed syllable in-between. That is why this type of stress is called historically rhythmical - because it is rhythmical only in its origin.

In English there is a fairly large group of words with genuinely rhythmical stress. Such type of stress existing in present-day English is called synchronically rhythmical. This group of words are achieved by the alternation of a secondary and a primary stress.

To this group belong polysyllabic nouns with the suffixes -tion(-sion, -cian), -ity; also polysyllabic adjectives with the suffixes -al, -ic(-ical); polysyllabic verbs, etc. For instance:

population, punctuation, mathematician, derivation, delegation, arithmetician, decoration, etc.

contiguity, continuity, desirability, temporality, removability, etc.

deferential, demagogic, energetic, enthusiastic, etymologic-(al), etc.

represent, underline, recommend, reproduce, understand, recollect, etc.

The so-called retentive tendency consists in retaining the accent (either primary or secondary) in derivatives on the same syllable as in the original word. The difference between retentive accent and constant accent lies in the following: constant accent remains on the same syllable in all the derivatives and grammatical forms of the word; retentive accent in one group of derivatives falls on the same syllable, while in another it may be shifted. For examples

retentive accent: con'verse, conversable, conversant, but: conversation, conversational;

expect, expectancy, expectant, expectative,but: expectation,

(Cf. constant accent: begin, begins, began, begun, beginner, beginners, beginning, etc.).

The accentuation structure of some English words is determined by the semantic factor. The influence of the semantic factor upon the word accent may be commonly observed in compound words. Most of them have two equally strong accents. Both elements of such compound words are considered to be semantically important.

We can distinguish the following groups of double stressed words in English the accentual structure of which is determined by the semantic factor:

(1) words with strong prefixes (which have definite meaning of their own), as in: 'anti-fascist, ' arch-'enemy, 'disbelieve, 'ex-president, half-'price, 'in'dooro, 'interco'nnect, ' vice-chairman, etc.

compound adjectives, as: 'well-bred, 'ill-'tempered, 'light-blue, timber-'headed, 'good-looking, 'dark-green, etc.

compound verbs with postverbal adverbs, such as: "come 'in, 'go 'out, 'put 'on, 'put 'off, 'switch 'on, 'turn 'on, 'turn 'off, etc.

simple numerals from 13 to 19. Each word of a compound numeral is stressed, e.g. 'nineteen, -'thirteen, 'fifty-seven, etc.

(5) a small group of compound nouns in which both elements are semantically important. They have two primary stresses, as in: 'ice-cream, gas-stove, 'arm-chair, 'eye-witness, absent-mindedness, etc.

The great majority of English compound nouns belong to the "blackbird" type.

As Prof.V.A.Vassilyev states the accentual system of present-day English is a product of the combined action of all the three tendencies (recessive, rhythmic, retentive) end the semantic factor as well.

The accentual structure of English words may also be analysed from the phonological point of view. The accentual structure fulfils three main functional constitutive, distinctive, recognitive.

The constitutive function of the accentual structure is proved by the fact that all the words when pronounced in isolation have word accent irrespective of the number of syllables in them. We cannot pronounce any word without making it prominent. Even monosyllabic words pronounced as vocabulary items have word accent.

The distinctive function may be observed in phonological oppositions: presence of stress vs. absence of stress. In English'word accent is capable of differentiating one word from another word,

e.g. 'conduct (n) - conduct (v),

'local (adj) - local (n),

'billow (n) -. be'low (adv),

'insight (n) - incite (v),

'abstract (a) - ab'stract (v),

'increase (n) - in'crease (v),

'perfume (n) - per'fume (v), etc.

In Russian accentual structure fulfils word-differentiating function, as in 'жаркое - жар'кое, пламчу- плачум

In Russian this kind of opposition (i.e. stressed syllable vs. unstressed syllable) is the only possible one. In English oppositions may also be based on primary stress vs. tertiary stress. Free word combinations are opposed to compound nouns by this principle. For example:

(a) 'black 'bird - (a) 'blackbird;'

(to) 'play 'house - (a) 'playhouses

(keep the) 'street 'cleaner - (a) 'street-cleaner; (a) 'strong 'hold - (a) 'strong-hold; 'birds 'nest - (the) 'bird's nest; (a) 'dancing 'girl - (a) 'dancing-girl, etc.

The recognitive function of the accentual structure consists in the correct accentuation of words which makes it easier to understand speech. Wrong accentuation may produce two kinds of mistakes: phonological and phonetic.

If the correct accentuation pattern of a word is substituted by another accentual pattern of the same word (also existent in the language) we have a phonological mistake. For examples

If the correct accentual pattern of a word is substituted by an accentual pattern non-existent in the language we get a phonetic mistake. For examples,

Phonetic mistakes violate the recognitive function of the accentual structure.

The violation of the recognitive function of the accentual structure results in the following: 1) wrong accentuation of words produces a strong foreign accent; 2) it produces a comic impression upon the listener; 3) wrong accentuation of words hampers the communication.

tnglish sound phonetic transcription

Teaching Norms of English Pronunciation

At the previous lecture it was said that the English language is widespread and scattered territorially. By the amount of its speaking population it is the second most widespread spoken language in the world. We know that the pronunciation of English is not homogeneous over the globe. In each country language develops in its own way and has a lot of different types of pronunciation.

Since it is the most favoured foreign lang-ge in countries where it is not native, the question arises which type of pronunciation should be chosen as the teaching norm: RP or GA.

In order to do this correctly we should apply some criteria. The criteria may be subjective and objective.

Among the subjective criteria we may single out the following:

correctness of pronunciation, its beauty and degree of affectation (искусственность, неестественность);

coarse character of pronunciation, or vulgarity.

When choosing a type of pronunciation as the teaching norm we shouldn't take into account these subjective criteria.

Objective criteria are more numerous. They are:

the number of native speakers of this type of pronunciation;

the geographical situation of an English-learning country;

political and economic dependence of an English-learning country upon an English-speaking country;

the understandability of this type of pronunciation in all English-speaking countries;

the extent of investigation made in this type of pronunciation;

the number of audio-visual aids in teaching this type of pronunciation;

that fact that this type of pronunciation has been compared to the pronunciation system of the mother tongue;

These objective criteria may crucial for choosing a particular type of pronunciation as the teaching norm.

As far as the number of native speakers is concerned J. Kenyon doesn't consider it to be decisive. He says: “Mere majorities, without consideration of historical linguistic background and regional distribution, are not decisive. For example, the fact that more speakers in the English speaking world habitually use The General American than any other single type cannot vitiate (делать недействительным, портить) the standing (репутация) of the Southern British pronunciation for the educated Englishman”

According to Mario Pei, GA is used by 120 million speakers, 40 million Americans speak Southern American English, and 30 million people in the USA use the Eastern American type.

According to Daniel Jones, RP is actually used by a rather small minority of English-speaking people.

The geographical situation together with the political and economic dependence of an English-learning country upon an English-speaking country play an important part in choosing a type of pronunciation as the teaching norm. these factors result in a number of contacts and exchanges between the two countries. For instance, the teaching norm of pronunciation in Latin American countries is that of GA English.

None of these factors are crucial in choosing a type of pronunciation in our country. What is really important is the following:

the degree of understandability of a certain type of pronunciation in all English-speaking countries. According to D. Jones RP is “… readily understood in most parts of the English-speaking world”.

Speaking about American English G. B. Shaw used to claim humorously that “England and America are two countries separated by the same language”. A contemporary American writer says that interpreters are needed between ourselves and the British. It is paradoxical, but there is some sense in it.

the extent of investigation made in a certain type of pronunciation. British RP has been described in a great number of books by English and Soviet linguists, such as L. Armstrong and I. Ward, H. Palmer, D. Jones, J. D. O'Connor and G. F. Arnold, R. Kingstone, etc. and also V. A. Vassilyev, G. P. Torsuyev, A. L. Trakhterov, E. I. Torsuyeva, M. A. Sokolova, A. M. Antipova and others.

There are some works on GA pronunciation as well, but American descriptivists are not unanimous in solving some questions concerning the problems of vowel length, for instance, or of diphthongs, or of function of /r/, the status of /t/ sound and so on. This may be due to the fact that some phonetic phenomena have not yet been stabilized in American pronunciation in general.

the number of audio-visual aids in teaching a particular type of pronunciation. There are a lot of books containing phonetic drills, practical exercises, transcribes texts and also tape-recorded texts based on British RP. Besides, some excellent pronouncing dictionaries of RP have been published.

The fact that a certain type of pronunciation has been compared to the pronunciation system of the mother tongue of the students. Many components of the phonetic system of British RP have been described and compared with those in Russian and Kazash pronunciation.

Bringing all these facts together, we may say that British RP must be the prevailing teaching norm in schools, colleges and universities in Kazakhstan.

Teaching norms in the articulation of vowels in RP are as follows:

Diphthongization of the vowel /i:/ is a specific feature of the English phonetic system. It must be especially clearly heard after /w/ and at the beginning of words. (The tongue slightly changes its position: the middle part of the tongue moves from a more open and retracted position to a closer and more advanced one.)

The vowel /e/ is to be pronounced with bulk of the tongue in the front part of the mouth cavity and the middle of the tongue raised in the direction of the hard palate.

The vowel /ж/ is always pronounced in its broad variation of the low position of the tongue, which makes it possible to oppose /ж/ with /e/.

All the English labialised vowels - both monophthongs and diphthongs - must be pronounced with rounded but not protruded lips.

While articulating the vowel /?/ the tongue must be held back more and a little higher as compared with its position in pronouncing the Russian unstressed /a/. Besides the tongue must be held more in front and a little higher as compared with its position in pronouncing the English /?:/.

While pronouncing the vowel /?:/ there must be no lip-rounding in all the positions of the sound /?:/, /w?:/ included. The flat position of the tongue must be strictly kept in all the combinations.

The nucleus of the diphthongs /ai/ and /au/ is to be pronounced as a front open vowel.

The nucleus of the diphthongs /ei/ is articulated as I the vowel /e/.

The facultative phoneme /o?/ is not included into the teaching norms.

Teaching norms in the articulation of consonants in RP are as follows:

the forelingual consonants /t,d,n,l/ must have apical articulation with the tip of the tongue against the teeth-ridge. Raising the middle part of the tongue towards the hard palate is not permitted. It is not included into the teaching norms except in case of `clear' /l/.

while articulating the final voiced plosive consonants the vibration of the vocal cords must cease before the obstruction is released.

The constrictive fricative consonants /и, р/ must have interdental articulation.

The sonorant /w/ is to be produced with the round narrowing of the lips, the latter slightly protruded, the back of the tongue raised toward the soft palate.

The constrictive fricative consonants /?, ?/ must be articulated with two foci, one of which is made up by the tip and the blade of the tongue held close to the back part of the teeth-ridge and the other - by the middle of the tongue raised in the direction of the hard palate. Care must be taken not to palatalize /?/ and /?/ too much, on the one hand, and not to make them too hard, on the other.

The voice occlusive-constrictive /d?/ is to be pronounced with dorsal (дорсальный, спинной) articulation of the tongue typical of the modern development of the phoneme. It draws the two foci nearer and makes it possible to pronounce the two sounds as one.

Labialization and retroflexion of the sonorant /r/ are not included into the teaching norms.

In producing the English /h/ the bulk of the tongue and the lips are held in the position necessary for the articulation of a following vowel.

We do not always pronounce the same words in the same way. Different circumstances influence the pronunciation of one and the same person. For instance, delivering a lecture or speaking over the radio differs greatly from chatting with intimate friends.

D. Jones points out that a person may utter one and the same word quite differently under different circumstances: for example, in serious conversation with an official person the conjunction `and' might often be pronounced /жnd/, while in rapid conversation it is often reduced to /n/, as in `bread and butter' /bred n b?t?/.

Different ways of pronouncing words depend upon the different styles of speech, and consequently upon different styles of pronunciation. Several such types may be distinguished.

D. Jones speaks of five styles of pronunciation:

the rapid familiar style,

the slower colloquial style,

the natural style used in addressing a fair-sized audience,

the acquired style of the stage, and

the acquired style used in singing.

L. V. Shcherba thinks it convenient that only two styles of pronunciation should be distinguished:

colloquial style characteristic of people's relaxed speech, and

full style, which is used when we want to make our speech especially.

The degree of carefulness of pronunciation distinguishes different styles.

The full style is characterized by a slow tempo and careful pronunciation. Words are pronounced in their full forms without vowel reduction and assimilation.

The slower colloquial style is characterized by a quicker tempo and more carelessness in articulation of words. It is the result of reduction of speech sounds and various kinds of assimilation.

The rapid familiar style (or, in other words, the careless colloquial style) differs from the careful colloquial style in free use of non-obligatory assimilation.

For example, the `I should like to see her' is pronounced differently in different styles:

the full style: /ai ?ud ґlaik tu ґsi: h?:/;

the careful colloquial style: /ai ??d ґlaik t? ґsi: h?·/;

the rapid familiar style: /ai ?t ґlaik t? ґsi: ?/.

D. Jones considers the slower colloquial style to be the most suitable for the use of foreign students.

A. C. Gimson also recommends `the foreign learner to aim at a careful colloquial style of English in his own speech' but advises him `to be aware of the features which characterize the rapid colloquial style'.

Список рекомендованный литературы

1 Васильев В.А. и др. English Phonetics. A Normative course. M., 1980.

2 Васильев В.А. English Phonetics. A Theoretical course. M., 1970.

3 Галайдина Н.А. Методические указания по теоретическому курсу фонетики английского языка. Ч.1. Алма-Ата, 1987.

4 Галайдина Н.А. Методические указания по теоретическому курсу фонетики английского языка. Ч.2. Алма-Ата, 1987.

5 Галайдина Н.А. Методическая разработка по организации самостоятельной работы студентов по курсу теоретической фонетики английского языка с частичным программированием. Алма- Ата, 1988.

6Дикушина О.И. English Phonetics. A Theoretical course. M., 1965.

7Леонтьева С.Ф. Теоретическая фонетика английского языка. М., 1988.

8 Соколова М.А. и др. Теоретическая фонетика английского языка. М.: ВЛАДОС, 1996.

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