RESUMEN FINAL

BLOQUE 1
1. LINGUISTICS AND PHONETICS
Phonetics and phonology is the branch of linguistics which studies the sounds of language, analysing the nature, systematisation
and communicative function of the components of speech.
- Vowels and consonants: a vowel is a speech sound made with your mouth fairly open, the nucleus of a spoken syllable. A
consonant is a sound made with your mouth fairly closed (usually marginal in the syllable); with the exception of syllabic
consonants.
o Some syllables have an onset: one or more consonants preceding the centre of the syllable: “bar” /ba:/, “key” /ki:/
o Syllables may have no onset but have a coda: they end with one or more consonants: “am” /æm/, “ought” /ɔ:t/,
“ease” /i:z/.
o Some syllables have both onset and coda; “ran” /ræn/, “sat” /sæt/, “fill” /fIl/.
- Letters and sounds: the main difference is that letters are written, while sounds are spoken, as in English, orthography and
pronunciation do not correspond to each other.
- Sounds and sound groups: a phoneme (represented through slashes //) is a minimal distinctive unit in phonology which
serves to distinguish meaning. The pairs of words that differ in meaning through a contrast of a single phoneme are called
minimal pairs.
However, allophones are different speech sounds that are realizations os the same phoneme (represented between brackets
()).
- Words and utterances: sounds and words are connected together with others to make up longer utterances (in English
utterances you have to take in account rhythm and stress, intonation, etc.).
When we analyse sounds, we can speak of two levels of analysis:
o Segmental phonology: the study of separated segments outside of a larger phonological context.
o Suprasegmental phonology: it involves sequences or strings of sounds.

2. PHONETCS VS. PHONOLOGY

Phonetics deals with the capabilities of the human articulatory and auditory system with respect to the sound and its acoustic
characteristics, whereas phonology is concerned with the ways in which the sounds defined by phonetics are actually used in
languages.
Both are interrelated. Phonology depends on phonetics because it points out the sounds worth of study, and phonology depends on
phonetics because it provides the necessary knowledge to investigate the linguistic use of the sounds.
CHOOSING A MODEL OF PRONUNCIATION
The most appropriate pronunciation model to be chosen is the standardised one, however this can leave out other standard regional
varieties. Nowadays, in Britain only around 3% of the population are RP speakers (Received Pronunciation).
In our case, where English is taught and learnt in a Spanish environment, the model of pronunciation must be generally
understood, and there must be adequate descriptions and plenty of material resources.
Even though non-native teachers feel inferior with respect to natives one, they have actually some pronunciation advantages over
natives ones:
- The EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher speaks the native language of the students, and this helps teachers
prevent difficulties in the learning process.
- The learners feel identificated to their teachers.
English is taught to help people communicate easily due to it is spoken all over the world.
3. ARTICULATORY, ACOUSTIC AND AUDITORY PHONETICS
- Articulatory phonetics: it studies the neural controlling of muscular activity, the organs we use when producing sounds and
the movements they make.
- Acoustic phonetics: it studies the characteristics and nature of sound waves (amplitude and frequency of vibration,
duration and intensity).
- Auditory phonetics: it studies speech perception.
4. THE PHONETIC ALPHABET
The phonemic system described for the BBC contains 44 phonemes. The best-known set of symbols is that of the IPA
(International Phonetic Association’s alphabet).
- Phonemic transcription: every speech sound must be identified as one phoneme and written with the appropriate symbol (a
sound = 1 phoneme).
- Phonetic transcription: contains much more information than a phonemic transcription (more diacritics).
5. THE LEVELS OF THE LANGUAGE
- The morphology: the structure of words, in particular their inflexion (start/started – the past tense morpheme is added to
the stem morpheme).
- The syntax: description of the categories like noun and verb and the system of rules governing the structure of phrases,
clauses, sentences in terms of order and constituency.
- The lexicon: the words of the language, the sequences of phonemes of which they are composed, together with their
meanings.
- The pragmatics: the influence of situation on the interpretation of utterances.
6. HOW WE PRODUCE SPEECH
The speech mechanism is mainly an egressive mechanism in that the air is expelled out through the vocal tract, being opposed to
ingressive, in which the sounds are articulated by introducing air into the vocal tract. Speaking depends on the physical activity of
breathing, but when comparing breathing and speaking, we notice that in the first one the inhalation and exhalation phases are
quite similar, whereas the exhalation phase is much longer in speaking.
1. The organs of speech fall into three groupings:
Location System
HEAD ARTICULATORY SYSTEM
THROAT PHONATORY SYSTEM
CHEST RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
STAGES
1. INITIATION: Use of airstream mechanism, usually involving the LUNGS or RESPIRATORY APPARATUS to initiate the
production of sounds.
o The lungs expand and contract.
o The cycle of breathing in and out takes about four seconds.
 o When we´re talking we breathe in more quickly and extend the time of exhalation.
o Almost all sounds are produced on a (PULMONIC) EGRESSIVE AIRSTREAM (while breathing out), it is also
possible to speak on an INGRESSIVE PULMONIC AIRSTREAM.
2. PHONATION: Use of the LARYNK to produce sounds that will be modified by the speech organs above it.
o Found at the very top of the trachea (windpipe), which is the “engine” of the phonatory system.
o Visible in grown males (Adam´s Apple).
o It has two basic functions: preventing food or other objects from entering into the trachea; and controlling the
passing of the air.
o It is a hard casing around the VOCAL FOLDS/CORDS:
 Two thick flaps of muscle lying horizontally across the larynx. At the back attached to a pair of small
cartilages called the ARYTENOID cartilages, if the arytenoid cartilages move, the vocal folds move too.
 Responsible for opening and closing the glottis (space between the vocal cords).
 Its main function in speech production is to produce voiceless or voiced sounds.
 Wide open and not vibrating = voiceless sounds/close together and vibrating = voiced sounds.
3. ARTICULATION: Use of the organs in the SUPRALARYNGEAL or SUPRAGLOTALL VOCAL TRACT or CAVITIES.
These cavities act as resonators for the sound generated by the larynx. THREE supraglottal cavities:
1. The PRARYNX: is the cavity comprised between the larynx and back of the tongue. Its main function is to
modulate the acoustic properties of the sounds after passing through the larynx. It is also responsible for what is
commonly called the “quality” of the voice (deep or high).
2. The ORAL CAVITY or mouth: is the space between the pharynx and the lips. For the production of oral sounds it
is necessary that the uvula blocks the passing of the air into the nasal cavity It is the place where the stream of air
is ultimately modulated giving the sounds their finally quality.
 Mobile articulators:
 Lips (depending on the position: rounded, neutral, spread, protruded).
 Tongue: it is the most important articulator organ due to its mobility and versatility. It can be
divided in different parts: tip, blade, front and back.
 Lower jaw: its function is to increase or decrease the capacity inside the oral cavity.
 Lower teeth
 Uvula: mobile organ used to block or unblock the passing of the air into the nasal cavity.
 Fixed articulators:
 Upper teeth: it is in contact with the tongue and the upper lips. Necessary for the production of
dental sounds.
 Alveolar ridge: protuberance between the upper teeth and the hard palate.
 Palate (soft “velum”: aids speech and the pronunciation of velar consonants along with the
dorsum of the tongue; prevent any food or liquid from entering into the nasal cavity. It does the
same thing for the larynx when sneezing/hard).
3. The NASAL CAVITY: is a space right above the oral cavity. Its opening is controlled by the uvula, which can be
stuck to the back wall of the pharynx wall, preventing in this way the air from coming into the nasal cavity, or can
be released (separated from the pharyngeal wall) permitting the air to come into it.
7. THE SPEECH CHAIN
1. Linguistic level: think about the concepts you want to say.
2. Physiological level: the brain sends the information to muscles and organs.
3. Acoustic level: the sound travels through the air.
4. Physiological level: those sound waves are caught into an ear (listener's).
5. Linguistic level: the brain of the listener processes the information.
 8. HOW WE HEAR
1. Sound waves enter your outer ear and travel through the ear canal to your eardrum.
2. Your eardrum vibrates with the incoming sound and sends the vibrations to three tiny bones in your middle ear (hammer,
anvil and stirrup).
3. The bones in your middle ear amplify the sound vibrations and send them to your inner ear (cochlea). The sound vibrations
activate tiny hair cells in the inner ear, which in turn release neurochemical messengers.
4. Your auditory nerve carries this electrical signal to the brain, which translates it into a sound you can understand.
BLOQUE II
1. CONSONANTS DEFINITION
Consonants are sounds that involve some kind of obstruction or constriction (narrowing) of the oral tract so that the air cannot flow
out of the mouth freely.
2. CLASSIFICATION OF CONSONANTS
1. Whether they are voiced (lenis – soft or smooth) or unvoiced (fortis – strong).
Voiced consonants are those in which there is an additional vibration of the vocal folds b, d, g, v, o, z,3, d3, l, m, n, r, j, w/.
Voiceless consonants are those in which there is no such vibration p, t, k, f, 0, s, S, tS.
2. The place of articulation: the description of where the obstruction occurs in the vocal tract.
 Bilabial: lips are brought together /p, b, m, w/.
 Labio-dental: the top teeth touch the lower lip /f, v/.
 Dental: the tip of the tongue touches the teeth /O, o/.
 Alveolar: the tip and the blade of the tongue touches the gum ridge behind your teeth /t, d, z, n, l/.
 Palato-alveolar/post-alveolar: the blade and the front of the tongue articulate with an area behind the alveolar ridge
and the beginning of the hard palate /tS, d3, S, 3, r/.
 Palatal: when the back of the tongue touches the soft palate /k, g, n, w/.
 Velar: when the back of the tongue touches the soft palate /k, g, n, w/.
 Glottal: the air escapes thorough the glottis producing a hissing sound as the vocal cords are open /h/.
 Labial-velar: the back of the tongue is raised near the velar area, but there must be a rounding of the lips.
3. The manner of articulation: how the sound is produced.
Obstruent consonants: when an oral obstruction occurs.
 PLOSIVES: a complete closing of the air passage is made, followed by a sudden release of the closure, and thus
producing an audible explosion.
o /p/ voiceless bilabial plosive: shepherd: silent in “psalm”/sa:m/ “rapsberry”/ /’ra:zbri/.
o /b/ voiced bilabial plosive: silent in “tomb”/ tu:m/ “doubt”/daut/.
o /t/ voiceless alveolar plosive: in -ed endings after voiceless consonants, but “t” (talked/to:kt); silent in
“listen”/lIsn/. Varieties: it may get lateralised (“litte/lItl/), nasalised (“eaten” /i:tn/), dentalised
(“eighth”/eIt0/) or have a post-alveolar articulation (“try”/traI/).
o /d/ voiced alveolar plosive: in -ed endings after voiced consonants but /d/ (“lived” /lIvd/); silent in
“blind” /blaIn/. Varieties: It can get lateralised (“middle” /mIdl/), nasalised (“hidden” /hIdn/), dentalised
(“width”/wIdO/) or have a post-alveolar articulation (“dry” /draI/).
o /k/ voiceless velar plosive: ‘k’ (“king” /kin/), ‘c’ (“electric” /I´lektrIk/), ‘ch’ (“ache” /eIk), ‘qu’
(“queen” /kwi:n/), ‘x’ (“six”/siks/). Silent in “knee” /ni:/. Varieties: advanced articulation (“cute” /kju:t/
because of the contact with /j/), lip – rounding articulation (“quick” /kwIk/ because of the contact with
/w/), spread-lips (“keep” /ki:p/ because of the contact with /i:/).
o /g/ voiced velar plosive: ‘g’ (“Big” / bIg/), ‘gg’ (beggar” / begshua/), ‘gh’ (“ghost” gshuaust), ‘gu’
(“guard” / ga:d/), ‘x’ (“exam”/Ig´zaem/ represented by x only when initial in the accented syllable). Silent
in “reign” reIn. Varieties: advanced and spread-lips articulation (“geese” /gi:s/) and lips-rounding
articulation (“goose”/gu:s/).
 FRICATIVES: an active organ approximates a passive one leaving sufficient space for the air to produce a hissing
sound when passing through.
o /f/ voiceless labiodental fricative: ‘f’ (“flower” /’flaua/), ‘ff’ (“office”/’ofIs/), ‘ph’ (“phone” /fshuaun/),
‘gh’ (“laugh” /la:f/).
o /v/ voiced labiodental fricative: “value” /’vaelju:/.
o /0/ voiceless dental fricative: ‘th’ (“theory”/’OIshuari/). “in content/ lexical words: noun, adjectives, verbs
and adverbs.
 o /o/ voiced dental fricative: (“with” /wIo/) ‘th’ in final position of some lexical words, (“bathe” /beIo/)
when followers by mute, (“baths” /ba:oz/) in plurals when ‘th’ comes a long vowel or diphthong, (“the”
/oshua/) in structural words: articles, demonstratives, conjunctions, etc.
o /s/ voiceless alveolar fricative: ‘s’ (“sink” /sink/), ‘-s’ preceded by a voiceless sound (“takes” /teIks/), ‘sc’
(“science” /saIshuans/), ‘c’ (“cigar” /sI´ga:/), ‘-se’ in nouns and adjectives (“course” /ko:s/), ‘ss’
(“assist”/ /’shuasIst/). Silent in “aisle” /aIl/.
o /z/ voiced alveolar fricative: ‘z’ (“zoo” /zu:/), ‘zz’ (“jazz” /d3aez/), ‘-s’ when preceded by a voiced sound
(“friends” /frendz/), “use” /ju:z/ (‘-ss’ in verbs), “dissolve” /dI´zolv/.
o /S/ voiceless palatoalveolar fricative: ‘sh’ (“shoe”/Su:/), ‘si’ preceded by consonant´ (“pension” /’penSn),
‘sci’ (“conscious” /’konSshuas/), “ci” (“suspicious” /sshuas’pISshuas/), “i” (“nation” /neISn/), ‘s’ (“sugar”
/Sugshua/), ‘ch in words of French origin’ (“machine” /mshua’Si:n/).
o /3/ voiced palatoalveolar fricative: ‘z’ (“seizure” /’si:3shua/), ‘s between vowels´ (“pleasure” /ple3shua/),
‘si preceded by a vowel’ (“conclusion” /kshuan’klu:3shuan/), ‘ge in words of French origin (“beige”
/beI3/), ‘ge only in’ (“genre” /’3a:nre/).
o /h/ voiceless glottal fricative: ‘h’ (“hero” /hIrshuau/), ‘wh’ (“who” /hu:/). Silent in “hour” /aushua/.
 AFFRICATES: these can be described as a “mixture” between a plosive and a fricative. After having produced an
obstruction at some pin of the oral tract, the separation of the organs does not occur in an abrupt way but it
becomes a slower process, giving some time for the air to produce a frication when passing through.
o /tS/ voiceless palatoalveolar affricate: ‘ch’ (“cheap” /tSi:p/), ‘tch’ (“pitch” /pItS/), ‘-ture’ (“culture”
/kAltSe/); also in “righteous” /raItSes/, “concerto” /ken’tS3:teu/.
o /d3/ voiced palatoalveolar affricate: ‘j’ (“jewel” /d3u:el/), ‘g’ before e, i, y (“gem” /d3em/), ‘dg’
(“edge”/ed3/); also in “soldier” /sold3e/, “procedure” / pre’sid3e/, “grandeur” / graend3e/.
Sonorants consonants: when the vocal tract is more freer air flow:

 NASALS: for the production of nasal consonants the soft palate (uvula) must be separated from the back wall of
the pharynx and an obstruction must be made at some point within the oral tract, in this way forcing the air to
escape through the nose.
o /m/ voiced bilabial nasal: “mum” / mAm/. Varieties: it may get syllabic “prism” /prizm/, it can substituted
by its labiodental allophone “triumph” /traIemf/.
o /n/ voiced alveolar nasal: ‘n’ (“name” /neIm/, ‘nn’ (“annoyed” /e’noId), ‘kn’ (“know” /neu/, ‘gn’
(“foreign” /forIn/), ‘pn/ (“pneumatic” /nju:’maetIk/), ‘mn’ (“mnemonic” /ne’monIk/). Varieties: it may get
sullabic “cotton” /’kotn/, it may be substituted by a dental allophone “enthusiasm” /In/0u:zIaezm/.
o /n/ voiced velar nasal: ‘n’ in contact with /k, b/ (“singer” /sIne/). Varieties: it may get syllabic in
“bacon” /baikn/, have a front articulation in “sing”/sIn/, have a back articulation in “song” /son/.
 APPROXIMANTS: technically, approximants can be termed glides, that is, transitions from an articulatory
position to another articulatory position.
o /r/ voiced post-alveolar approximant: in British English “r” or “rr” before a vowel “car and” /ka:r en/. In
American English it is pronounced in all positions.
o /j/ voiced palatal approximant: ‘y’ (“yes” /jes/), ‘i’ (“behaviour” /bi´heIvje/), ‘e’ (“hideous” /haIdjes/), ‘u’
(“university” /ju:nI´v3:sIti), ‘ue’ (“Tuesday” /tju:ZdeI/), ‘ew’ (“dew” /dju:/), ‘eu’ (“Europe” /ju:rep/).
o /w/ voiced bilabial velar approximant: ‘w’ (“waste” /weIst/), ‘wh’ (“why” /waI), ‘qu’ (“quite” /kwaI/),
‘gu’ (“language” /laengwId3/).
 VOWELS
Sibilant consonants: /s, z, S, 3/.
Liquid consonants:
- LATERAL: these is only one lateral phoneme, being produced by placing the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge
and by leaving at the same time both sides of the mouth unblocked so that the air can escape freely.
o /l/ voiced alveolar lateral: ‘l’ (“look” /luk/). Varieties: it can get syllabic in “middle” /mIdl/.
- ANY TYPE OF R SOUND.
4. The airstream used to make the consonant: pulmonic (by the movement of air out of or into the lungs), glottalic (by
moving air inwards or outwards by lowering or raising the larynx), velaric (by making a velar closure and sliding the
tongue backwards or forwards to move air inwards or outwards).
3. AREAS OF DIFFICULTY AND USE OF CONSONANTS: PRIORITIES FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS
1. Phonemic contrast:
- Spanish speakers find difficulties with English /b/ – /v/ as Spanish only possesses the phoneme /b/. Moreover, Spanish
 vary from the plosive [b] to the fricative [B], producing a plosive in initial and final positions but a fricative in intervocalic
contexts.
- /O/ becomes problematic in word initial positions as it is only found un Spanish in intervocalic contexts.
- /3/ problematic because of its articulatory difficulty, as it is normally produced as a fortis /S/.
- /h/ becomes a problem for Castilian speakers of Spanish, who produce antes exaggeratedly strong version.
2. Consonant clusters: when initial, the most problematics ones are those beginning with ‘-s’ as Spanish speakers tend to insert a
vowel right before the ‘s’. When finally, the most problematic are the ones involving a sequence if plosive + plosive. That´s why
the pronunciation of “-ed” may cause a great deal of problems to speakers, who try to pronounce the two plosives while they
should be keeping the closure for /p/, /k/, /b/ and /g/ and producing antes explosión only for /t/ and /d/.
Other problematic clusters are ‘-ps’, ‘-ks’ + ‘-ed’, ‘-ft’, ‘-st’ + ‘-s’, consonant + /O/’.
3. Aspiration: aspiration is a “puff” of air which accompanies voiceless plosives /p, t, k/ when initial of accented syllables. The
phonetic cue foto the distinction of pairs like “pin-bin” in English os bases on the presence or absence of aspiration. This is not
properly realidad by Spanish speakers.
4. Force of articulation of lenis consonants: Spanish speakers overemphasise the production of lenis consonants when showing the
opposition between voiceless and voiced consonants.
5. Devoicing: voiced consonants tend to get devoiced: a) when initial after a pause; b) when final before a pause; c) when in
contact with a fortis consonant. If Spanish speakers produce antes exaggerated voiced version of a lenis in a phonetic environment
when It should be devoiced.
6. Voiced plosives into fricatives: Spanish speakers tend to turn voiced plosives /b, d, g/ into voiced fricatives [B, O, V] in
intervocalic position.
7. Dental /t/ and /d/: the problem is that these English consonants are alveolar and not dental as in Spanish.
8. Weakening if intervocalic /t/: the articulation of /t/ between vowels mayor be weakened and becomes a “flap”. This process can
be found at word boundaries in standard British English and standard American English but only word- internalización un
Americano English. It is problematic for Spanish in terms of perception.
9. Glottalisation: glottal stops are mainly used to: a) reinforce voiceless plosive consonants in colloquial or regional accentual
variants. It may be a source of confusion in word recognition for students.
10. Incomplete plosion of final voiceless plosives: voiceless plosive consonants very often lack the third “explosive” stages when
un final position before a pause. This may result in a problem for word recognition, so these plosive consonants might get
substituted by a glottal stop.
11. Voiceless/voiced in ‘-ed’ and ‘-s’: students have problems in getting the ability to perceive and produce this difference. The pay
attention the phonetic context they occur, instead of paying more attention to the fortis/lenis distinction.
12. Weakening of affricates into fricatives (giving way to confusiones if the type “watching” and “washing”)
13. /h/ dropping: cause confusion in word recognition as is related to the disappearance if the sound /h/ in connected speech
(careless pronunciation).
14. Nasal plosions: any time a nasal comes in to contact with /t/ or /d/ and becomes syllabic, there are two possible pronunciations:
a) the plosive consonant shows an oral final “explosive” stage simultaneous with a nasal explosion; b) the organs do not separate in
the oral tract. The second one is difficult for Spanish speakers un terms of Word recognition
15. Velar nasals: English /n/ has no counterpart in Spanish at the phonemic level, this cause problems in phonemic contrasts. A
second problem with this sound appears when being represented by ‘n’ before ‘g’ . A third problem, is related to the use of /n/ in
word-final position by native speakers un careless articulation.
16 Dark ‘l’: English phoneme /l/ when before a consonant, before a pause and when syllabic the lateral changes to what is known
as “dark ‘l” (pronounced by hollowing the front if the tongue without separation the tip from the alveolar ridge). The tendency for
Spanish speakers is you produce “clear ‘l’”.
17. Varieties of ‘r’ and orthography: Spanish speakers tend to produce ‘r’ in the Spanish way” in all situations. In standard British
English it is only pronounced before vowels and not after them. After vowels, it is always pronounced un standard American
English, but with its retroflexed variety.
18. /j/ articulation and use: very often describes as non- existent in the Spanish sound systems (it can be found un “frío” and
“hielo”). In American English it is not present in the spellings which stand for /ju:/ in British English (vacillate in the
pronunciation of it).
19. /w/ articulation: Spanish students tend to avoid the velarisation of the tongue, and merely producing a bilabial fricative.
 BLOQUE III
1. VOWELS DEFINITION
From an articulatory point of view vowels (steady-state) are defined as sounds in which no obstruction is made inside the oral
cavity when the air is passing through. From a functional point of view vowels are defined as sounds which can take the role of
peak of syllables.
2. CLASSIFICATION OF ENGLISH VOWELS
There are twelve vowels in English. Vowel classification organised in terms of four variables:
a) Soft palate: all vowel sounds are phonemically oral. Only in certain contexts the passage to the nasal cavity is slightly
open and the get nasal quality.
b) Jaws: depending on the separation between the lower and the upper jaw, vowels can be classified in terms of wide (/a:;
A/), medium to wide (/ae, o, o:/), medium (/e, u/), narrow to medium (/i; I, u:/) and narrow (/3:, shua/).
c) Lips: when describing lip position, vowels can be neutral (/I, e, ae, A, 3:, shua/), spread (/i:/), open (/a:/), rounded (/o, o:,
u/) and protruded (/u:/).
d) Tongue: according to tongue position, vowels can be tense if reaching a fairly far point in the oral cavity is required (/i:, a:,
u:/) or lax (/I, e, ae, o, o:, u, A, 3:, shua/). Also vowels can be classified in:
- Horizontal axis: front (if articulated in an area near the lips), central and back (if articulated at the back if the oral
cavity).
- Vertical axis: close (if articulated near the top of the oral cavity), close-mid, close-open and open (if articulated near
the bottom if the oral cavity).
Vowels have also been classified in terms of long (“free steady-state vowels; including diphthong) and short (checked steady-state
vowels). This classification describes their quality but not their quantity: they are long or short if articulated in isolation, but un
speech their quantity depends on the context.
For example, a long /i/: in “beat” is in fact short quantity due to the voiceless plosive following it (this process which affects all
vowel sounds followed by a fortis consonant, is known as pre-fortis clipping). However, the /i:/ sound in “bead” is qualitatively
and quantitatively long as lenis consonants do not reduce the length of previous vowels sounds.
*(Bi’ t) it means a reduction on the length of the vowel (cambiar coma por triángulo).
1) /i:/: front, close, spread lips, tense tongue, narrow to medium jaw-opening. Ee: tree, ea: sea, I: machine, e: eve, ei: receive,
ey: key, ie: chief, eo: people, oe: phoetus, ae: Caesar.
2) /I/: front, close-mid, neutral, lax, narrow to medium.
i: bit, y: myth, e: pretty, u: busy, o: women, a: palace, ei: foreign, ai: mountain, endings like -ace, -age, -ate, -ness: savage,
private…
3) /e:/ front, close-mid but more open-mid, neutral, lax, medium.
e: bed, ea: head, ai: said. Ie: friend, a: any, u: bury, eo: leopard, ei: heifer
4) /ae/: front, between mid-open and open, neutral, lax, medium to wide.
A: bat, ai: plait; fat, machine, mathematics
5) /a:/: almost fully back, open, neutral, partially tense, medium to wide.
a+r: large, a+f: staffe, a+s: pass, a+th: path, a+n+consonat: dance, a+l: half, au: aunt, er: clerk, ear; heart, ata: schemata;
foreign origin: moustache, drama…
6) /o/: back, almost fully open, rounded, lax, medium to wide.
o: lock, ou: cough, ow: knowledge, au: saussage, w+a: wander, qu+a: quality, ouce: Gloucester; also: yacth, restaurant
7) /o:/: back, between open-mid and open-close, rounded, lax, medium to fairly wide.
au: author, aw: saw: or: short, ourt: court, oor: door, oar: roar, al(l): all, always; ou: thought, ar: quarter, ou: could; ore:
before; also: water, warm….
8) /u/: between back and central, close-mid, rounded, lax, medium.
u: bush, oo: book, ou: could, also: woman, wolf, bull, good, lool, would…
9) /u:/ between back and central, close, protruded, ense, narrow to medium.
u: June, oo: too, o: lose, ou: soup, ew: blew, eu: feud, ui: suit, ue: blue, also: canoe, shoe…
10) /A/: central, open-mid, neutral, lax, wide
u: dull, o (“worry” words): worry, wonder, done, won, ou: young, oo: flood; also: does, money….
11) /3:/ central, “hesitation vowel” between close-mid and open-mid, neutral, lax, narrow.
er: her, ir: flirt, ur: fur: our: journey, ear+consonan: pearl, w+or: work, yr: myrtle; also: colonel, amateur….
12) schwa/: central, between half open and half close, neutral, extremely lax, narrow. It is the most central and weakest vowel;
it always occurs in non-accented syllables. It is mainly used in syntactic words (and, as, but, than…), and in “gonna” and
“because”.
- nouns and adjectives ending in -ate (“chocolate”/tSoklet/).
 - in suffices -less/-ness (“happiness”; it also can be found with /I/ mainly in feminine forms).
- suffix-ace (necklace /’nekles/); it is usually pronounced /Is/.
- in endings -let/-ret (“bracelet” /breIslet/).
- *loss of schwa is quite normal before /l/ and /n/, which become syllabic (“apple”/’aepl/).
BLOQUE IV
1. DIPHTHONGS DEFINITION
Diphthongs (vowel glides) are combinations of two vowels sounds. They are normally defined as “an independent vowel glide”: a
transition between one vowel articulation to another vowel articulation.
2. DIPHTHONGS CLASSIFICATION
According to the direction of the transition:
a) Closing: the movement form one vowel to the other is heading the upper level in the oral cavity. Divided into:
a. Wide: if the transition is long (/au, ai, oi/).
b. Narrow: if the transition is short (/eu, ei/).
b) Centring: the transition is heading the central area in the vowel cavit (/ie, ee, ue/). They are also classified
attending to their final element:
a. Ending in/u/ (/eu, au).
b. Ending in I (eI, aI, oI/).
c. Ending in e (/Ie, ee, ue/).
3. DESCRIPTION AND CLASSIFICATION
If compared with Spanish diphthongs, the second element in English diphthongs is much weaker than the Spanish second
component. Also, Spanish diphthongs lies in their length: English diphthongs are longer in isolation, and reduced in quantity due
to the presence of a fortis consonant after them.
1) /eu/
o: go, oa (not followed by’-r’): road, ow: know, ou: shoulder, French origin: bureau, beau.
2) /au/
ow: now, ou: found, ough: plough
3) /eI/
a: slave, ay: day, ea: great, ei: weight; also: campaign, café….
4) /aI/
I: child, ie: die, y: try, also: height, buy…
5) /oI/
oy: boy, toy; oi: coin, avoid, poison; bsy, Freud
6) /Ie/
ier: bier, eer: beer, ere: mere, ea: idea, ear: here; also: museum
7) /ee/
are: rare, air:pair, ear : wear, also: Sarah, there)
8) /ue/
oor: poor, ure: pure; our: tour; also: jewel
4. LONGER VOWEL SEQUENCES
“Triphthongs” consist of a diphthong + “e”. in casual speech, these sequences are affected by a process called “smoothing” or
“levelling” in which the second element disappears and the first vowel becomes long.
- /eue/: shower; reduction to /3:e/.
- aue: our; reduction to /a:e/.
- /eIe/: player; reduction to /3:e/.
- /aIe/: fire, reduction to /a:e/.
- /oIe/: employer; reduction to /o:e/.
In colloquial speech the reduction goes further with the disappearance of the final schwa.
*PRONUNCIATION OF -ED ENDINGS
-ed is pronounced /Id after the sounds t and d.
pj. waited, started/ended, neede
 - ed is pronunced t after unvoiced sounds (except t).
pj. stopped, touched, kissed, worked….
- ed is pronunced d after voiced sounds (except d).
pj. opened, raised, filled, played…
PRONUNCIATION OF -(E)S ENDING
- (e)s is pronounced /iz/ (cuando la palabra/verbo en singular acaba en -s, para distinguirlo del plural).
pj. washes, misses, teaches, Alice´s
- (e)s is pronounced s after unvoiced sounds (except those in a).
pj. stops, muy parent’s, books, maths….
- (e) s is pronounced z after voiced sounds (except those in a).
pj. cars, plays, wives, Ken’s, trees….
ASSIMILATION
- A phoneme is realised differently as a result of being nerar some other phoneme belonging to a neighbouring word.
(Sounds become either more similar or identical)
- Assimilation varies according to speaking rate and style: likely to be found in rapid, casual speech and less likely in
slow, careful speech.
- Types:
o Direction of influence
1. If Cf changes to become like Ci in some way, then the assimilation is called REGRESSIVE (the phoneme
that comes first is affected by the one that comes after it). Ex: White pepper / wait’ pepə/ - / waip ‘pepə/.
2. If Ci changes to become like Cf in some way, then the assimilation is PROGRESSIVE. Ex: “on the house”
(mirar en el original).
3. In many cases, there is a two way exchange or articulation features, this is termed RECIPROCAL
ASSIMILATION. Ex.: “behind you” /
o COALESCENT ASSIMILATION
1. The plosives /t, d/ merge regularly with “you” and “your”.
2. The fricatives / s,z/ have similar reciprocal assimilation with any word-initial /j:/.
3. /t/ + / j / /tʃ/: “not yet” /nɒt jet/ is pronounced.
4. /d / + /j/ /d3/: “find your umbrela” /’faind3 ɔ:r ʌm’brel.ə/.
5. /s/ + /j/ /3/: “nice yellow shirt” /naiʃ’3el əʊʃ3:t/.
6. /z/ + /j/ /3 3/: “where’s your cup?” /weə3 3ɔ: kʌp/.
Assimilation tends to be more frequent in:
 unstressed rather than stressed syllables.
 rapid rather than slow tempo.
 informal rather than formal registers.