English Language Studies (ELS) Studies, Phonolgy

PHONOLOGY
(Week 3)
© Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khazriyati Salehuddin (2023) 1

Phonology
• The sound patterns of language (Y: 42, FRH: 273 )
• The description of the systems and patterns of speech
sounds in a language (Y:43)
• The study of the ways in which speech sounds form systems
and patterns (FRH: 273)
• “Every adult speaker of a language unconsciously knows
about the sound patterns of that language” (Y: 43)

Phonemes
• The smallest unit of sound in a language which can
distinguish two words (RPW: 214)
• Meaning-distinguishing sounds in language (Y: 44)
bad vs. bed
/bæd/ vs. /bed/
• /æ/ and /e/ are English phonemes as they change the
meaning of the English words

Phonemes
• Other examples:
• bad vs. bat; bad vs. pad
• /bæd/ vs. /bæt/; /bæd/ vs. /pæt/
• /d/, /t/, /b/, and /p/ are also English phonemes as they
change the meaning of the English words
• So far, we know that
• /æ/,/e/, /d/, /t/, /b/, and /p/ are English phonemes

Phonemes
• /æ/,/e/, /d/, /t/, /b/, and /p/ are NOT THE ONLY English
phonemes
• Consonants, Vowels, and Diphthongs
/p/, /b/, /m/, /w/, /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/,
/r/, /l/, /n/, /j/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/, /ʔ/, /h/
/ɑː/, /ɜː/, /uː/, /iː/, /ɔː/, /æ/, /e/, /ə/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/, /ɒ/,
/eɪ/, /aɪ/, /ɔɪ/, /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/, /əʊ/, /aʊ/,

Phonemes
• Other examples:
• bad vs. bat; bad vs. pad
• /bæd/ vs. /bæt/; /bæd/ vs. /pæt/
• /d/, /t/, /b/, and /p/ are also English phonemes as they
change the meaning of the English words
• bad vs. bed; bad vs. bat; bad vs. pad
• MINIMAL PAIRS

Phonemes
MINIMAL PAIRS
• Two words in a language which differ from each other by
only one distinctive sound phoneme (one phoneme) and
which also differ in meaning (RPW: 178).
• bad vs. bed; bad vs. bat; bad vs. pad
• bad vs. bet; bad vs. pat, pad vs. pet

Phonemes
PHONEMES – Abstract (in the mind)
• How they are supposed to be uttered
• /d/, /t/, /b/, and /p/
• Always written in between / /

Phonemes
PHONES – Realization, actual utterance or production
• [d], [t], [b], and [p]
• Some may pronounce /bæd/ as [bed] or [bæt]
• /bæt mæn/ may be pronounced by some as
• [bæd men] or
• [bet men]
• Always written in between [ ]

Lectures
Tutorials
UKMFolio
https://forms.gle/FTBpVNKit3fNJmAZ8

Phones
ALLOPHONES
• A set of phones from one phoneme
• /t/
• Different ways of pronouncing in different contexts
• tar, writer, butter, eighth
• /tɑː/ /ˈraɪtə/ /ˈbʌtə/ /eɪtθ/
• Native speakers,
• [tʰ] [ɾ] [ʔ] [t̪]
• [tʰɑː] [ˈraɪɾə] [ˈbʌʔə] [eɪt̪θ]

Phones
• [tʰ], [ɾ], [ʔ], and [t̪] are individual phones and together, they are
• ALLOPHONES of the phoneme
/t/
• Are [tʰ] and [t] different phonemes of the English language?
• Will the meaning be different?
/bæt/ as /bætʰ/?

Syllables
• A phonological unit consisting of a vowel or other unit that can
be produced in isolation, either alone or accompanied by one
or more less sonorous unit (M: 393)
• A phonological unit composes of one or more phonemes (FRH:
316)
• /ˈsɪləbəl/
• They are actually phones that are combined into larger units
(Mc: 41)

Syllables
Consists of at least a vowel, or a vowel surrounded by one or
more consonants (Mc: 42)
• A syllable with One VOWEL (or ONE DIPHTHONG)
/ɑː/ ‘are’
/ɔː/ ‘or’
/aɪ/ ‘I’ or ‘eye’

Syllables
• A syllable with One VOWEL & One CONSONANT
/kɑː/ ‘car’, /bɔː/ ‘bore’, /siː/ ‘see’ ‘sea’ (CV)
/æm/ ‘am’, /ɪz/ ‘is’; /ɒn/ ‘on’ (VC)
• A syllable with One VOWEL & Two CONSONANTS
/kæt/ ‘cat’, /dɔɡ/ ‘dog’, /bɒs/ ‘boss’ (CVC)
/stɑː/ ‘star’, /fluː/ ‘flew’ ‘flu’, /blɜː/ ‘blur’ (CCV)
/ɑːsk/ ‘ask’, / iːst/ ‘east’, /ɒpt/ ‘opt’ (VCC)

Syllables
•A syllable with One VOWEL & Three CONSONANTS
/spreɪ/ ‘spray’ (CCCV)
/ɑːsks/ ‘asks’ /æŋst/ ‘angst’, (VCCC)
 /sleɪs/ ‘slays’ /kliːn/ ‘clean’, /slɪp/ ‘slip’ (CCVC)
/lɪps/ ‘lips’, /west/ ‘west’, /weɪst/ ‘waist’, (CVCC)
•Other One-Syllable Structures
 /spɒrst/ ‘sports’ (CCVCCC), /splɪnt/ ‘splint’ (CCCVCC),
/splæʃ/ ‘splash’ (CCCVC), / streŋθs/ ‘strengths’ (CCCVCCC)

• The 20-volume historical Oxford English
Dictionary also has
• scraughed, scrinched, scritched, scrooched, sprainged, s
preathed, throughed, and thrutched. It includes, too, a
single instance of the ten-letter word scraunched,
from the 1620 English translation of Don Quixote, a
novel by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes.

• able, Christmas, special, over, tonight, rooftop, reindeer,
secure, safety, lecture, captain, journal, chapter, sofa,
armchair, cupboard, colour
• remember, calendar, ironman, entitled, article, talented,
cabinet, minister,
• territory, literature, metaphoric, supersonic

Syllables
• How to know how many syllables are there?
• Look at the vowels in the word
• One vowel – one syllable
• Two vowels – two syllables
• (but some may be diphthongs)
• Poor /pʊə/ or /pɔː/, - One-syllable word

Syllables
• CVC (/pen/ ‘pen’) is a one-syllable word, but NOT
• VCV
• (/ʌpə/ ‘upper’, /ɪnə/ ‘inner’)
• Is a two-syllable word
• ‘near’ (/nɪə/) is a one-syllable word because
• /ɪə/ is a diphthong

Syllables
• STRESS
•The pronunciation of a syllable with more force than
the surrounding words or syllables, i.e., when it is
produced by using more air from the lungs (RPW: 275)
• Syllables – stressed or unstressed.
•Stressed syllables: Louder and/or Longer duration
and/or higher Pitch (increased intensity, Mc:43)

Syllables
• STRESS
• /ˈstʌdɪ/, /ˈmʌnɪ/, /ˈpiːpəl/, /ˈpɜːsən/
• /pəˈlaɪt/, /kəˈnɛkt/, /prəˈtɛkt/, /səˈpraɪz/
• /ˈsɪləbəl/, /ˈsɪmpəθɪ/, /ˈæfrɪkɪt/, /ˈkæləndər/ /ˈrɛdʒɪstə/,
/ˈɛlɪfənt/, /əˈtrækʃən/, /ˈpærəˌdaɪs/
• /kəmˈpjuːtə/, / kəˈnɛkʃən/, /kənˈsɛptjʊəl/, /baɪˈleɪbɪəl/,
/pərˈmɪʃən/, /pəˈteɪtəʊ/,

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu6UVwkUgzc
• Stress, pitch, tone, intonation

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