Короткі теоретичні відомості. Speech sounds are grouped into language units called phonemes

    Speech sounds are grouped into language units called phonemes. A phoneme may be thought as the smallest contrastive language unit which exists in the speech of all people belonging to the same language community in the form of speech sounds and may bring about the change of meaning.

    The phoneme is a functional unit. That mans that being opposed to others phonemes in the same phonetic context it is capable of differentiating the meaning, eg: pie – tie                           Are you fond of this cut?

    lot – lit                               Are you fond of this cart?

    The phonemes is realized in speech in the material form of speech sounds of different type. Various speech realizations of the phoneme are called its allophones. The difference between the allophones of the same phoneme is due to their position in various phonetic contexts. For example, the consonant [d] in the isolated position as well as in such a sound sequence as [dot] is lenis voiced stop articulated with the tip of the tongue against the teeth ridge. In the position before an interdental constrictive [ө] as in breadth it is formed with the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth, when [d] is followed by the post-alveolar [r] as in dry the tip of the tongue is placed behind the teeth ridge.

The list of the allophones of the phoneme [d] might continue. Nevertheless all the allophones of the phoneme [d]   have a few articulatory features in common. All of them are forelingual lenis stop. If any of these features is modified the meaning of the word is either changed or destroyed accordingly. In case the forelingual articulation is changed for the labial one the word dot is modified into pot. Those articulatory features which are common to all the allophones of the same phoneme and are capable of differentiating the meaning are called distinctive.

    Allophones of the same phoneme never occur in the same phonetic context. They cannot differentiate the meaning since there is no mutual opposition possible in this case. Such speech sounds are grouped into a phoneme and function as a language unit opposed to other language units, i.e. phonemes. All allophones of the same phoneme are indicated by the same symbol.

Vowels and Consonants

    The organs of speech are capable of uttering many different kinds of sounds. From the practical point of view it is convenient to distinguish two types of speech sounds; vowels and consonants. Vowels are voiced sounds produced without any obstruction in the supra-glottal cavities and consequently have no noise component. In the articulation of consonants a kind of noise producing obstruction is formed in the supra-glottal cavities. Such sounds may be pronounced with or without vocal cords vibration.

Завдання до теми

Read the tongue-twisters:

1. Ten tame tadpoles tucked tightly together in a thin tall tin.

2. Terry Teeter, a teeter-totter teacher, taught her daughter Tara to teeter-totter, but Tara Teeter didn’t teeter-totter as Terry Teeter taught her to.

3. Thank the other three brothers of their father’s mother’s brother’s side.

4. That bloke’s back bike brake-block broke.

5. The batter with the butter is the batter that is better!

6. The big black bug bit the big black bear, but the big black bear bit the big black bug back!

7. The big black bug’s blood ran blue.

8. The black bloke’s back brake block broke.

9. The bleak breeze blights the bright blue blossom

10. The blue bluebird blinks.

Контрольні питання

1. What is phoneme?

2. Why phoneme is a functional unit?

3. What is allophone?

4. What is the difference between phoneme and sound?

5. Do allophones of the same phoneme never occur in the same phonetic context?

Література: [3, c. 130 - 134 ].

Практичне заняття № 6

Тема. Фонема і її відтінки

Phoneme and its shades

Мета: to find out the main difference between phoneme and sound.