Tuesday 13 March 2018

A Physics Lesson

ˈlaɪt ˈtrævl̩z ˈfɑːstə ðən ˈsaʊnd || ˈðæts ˈwaɪ ˈsʌm ˈpiːpl̩ | ˈsiːm ˈbraɪt | ənˈtɪl ju ˈhɪə ðəm ˈspiːk

Key at bottom of page.

Commentary

travels: Phonemically, the final syllable of travel is /əl/. When this syllable is preceded by /v/, however, the schwa /ə/ isn't usually pronounced. Instead the articulators move directly from the position for /v/ to the position for /l/. This is easy to do in the case of /v/ because /v/ is articulated with the lower lip against the upper front teeth and /l/ is articulated with the tongue-tip. These articulators can move independently of each other and so when the lower lip moves away from the upper front teeth, completing the /v/ sound, the tongue tip is already in position for the /l/ and no intervening schwa /ə/ occurs.

Note that in English, syllabic /l/ is not a phoneme in its own right, but merely a special way of realising the syllable /əl/. This means that when we use a special symbol [l̩] for it in transcription, it makes our transcription non-phonemic (because we are now using more than one symbol for each phoneme and introducing a special symbol to show a particular phonetic detail).

The third person singular s has three pronunciations depending on the sound at the end of the verb:
  •          /ɪz/ after /s z ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/
  •          /s/ after the remaining voiceless consonants
  •          /z/ after vowels and the remaining voiced consonants.

The same pattern applies to plural s, possessive s and the contraction of is.

than: When than is unstressed, as it usually is, it has the weak form /ðən/.

that’s: When unstressed, as it usually is, that as a conjunction or relative pronoun has the weak form /ðət/. Note that the other uses of that do not have weak forms and are always pronounced /ðæt/: pronoun, I know that. /aɪ ˈnəʊ ˈðæt/; determiner, I know that man. /aɪ ˈnəʊ ˈðæt ˈmæn/; adverb, It wasn’t that good. /ɪt ˈwɒzn̩t ˈðæt ˈɡʊd/.

When unstressed, as it usually is, the word is can have three different pronunciations, depending on the final sound of the immediately preceding word:
  •          When the final sound of the preceding word is /s z ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/, then is has the form /ɪz/, e.g. Chris is well /ˈkrɪs ɪz ˈwel/.
  •          When the final sound of the preceding word is a voiceless consonants (excluding the consonants listed above), then is has the form /s/ and forms a contraction with the preceding word, e.g. Jack is well /ˈʤæks ˈwel/.
  •          If the final sound of the preceding word is voiced (i.e. a vowel or a voiced consonant (excluding the consonants listed above)), then is has the form /z/ and forms a contraction with the preceding word, e.g. John is well /ˈʤɒnz ˈwel/.


some: When some is a determiner meaning certain members of a group or certain types of a thing, but not all of them, it is usually stressed and does not have a weak form.

people: Phonemically, the final syllable of people is /əl/. When this syllable is preceded by /p/, however, the schwa /ə/ isn't pronounced. Instead the articulators move directly from the position for /p/ to the position for /l/. This is easy to do in the case of /p/ because /p/ is articulated with the two lips and /l/ is articulated with the tongue-tip. These articulators can move independently of each other and so when the lips move apart to release the /p/, the tongue tip is already in position for the /l/ and no intervening schwa /ə/ occurs.

you: The symbol u represents the same vowel phoneme as the symbol . We use u in unstressed syllables and in stressed syllables. This distinction isn't very helpful for TEFL purposes and learners should simply treat the two symbols as the same. Because we are using two different symbols for one phoneme, this means our transcription isn't truly phonemic (phonemic transcription = one symbol for each phoneme).

them: When the pronoun them is unstressed, as it usually is, it has the weak form /ðəm/.

Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some people seem bright until you hear them speak.

No comments:

Post a Comment