THE PHONEME:

When we speak, we produce a continuous stream of sounds. In studying speech, we divide

this stream into small bits called segments. Thus, bed has three segments /b/, /e/, /d/. These
are distinct sounds such that the moment one sound is substituted for another, there will be a
change in meaning. For example, if we substitute /e/ in bed with /æ/, we will have a different
word. Therefore, each segment in the word bed is an abstract sound. These are phonemes.
Phonemes are abstract sounds that form the basis of speech. A PHONEME can be defined as
the smallest significant unit of speech. It is not a real sound but a summary of closely related
sounds that could have the same place and manner of articulation, even same voicing. The
phonemes of a language are discovered through the process such as minimal pairing and
research for complementary distribution. Therefore, they are a contrastive unit of sound that
can be used to change meaning in a particular language, and that is why they are called
abstract representation of sounds; symbols used to represent individual sound segment. They
are significant because they are capable of distinguishing words of different meaning.
Phonemes appear between two slashes, and are conventionally represented by IPA symbols.
Example: /k/, /p/, /d/, /z/ etc. A complete set of these units is called the PHONEMIC
SYSTEM.

PHONE

The term phone has been used for a unit at the phonetic level. Therefore, it is a unit of
phonetic description. Phones are real sounds produced in real contexts. It refers to the exact
realisation of a particular phoneme in actual production of speech sounds in a specific
phonetic environment. A phone is an actual realisation of a phoneme in different
environments. Examples: pot, pop, etc. They are produced exactly the way they are supposed
to be pronounced with the application of appropriate phonological rules that agree with the
contexts of production at the phonetic level of representation. Phones are represented in
square brackets [ ]. Examples:

/p/- [ph], [pL], [po] etc.

ALLOPHONES
Allophones are contextual variants of a phoneme. They are variants of the phoneme as
realised in specific environment. For example, /p/ is the phoneme which is realisable in
different forms depending on the context. When it occurs in stressed syllable initial position
in English, it is realised as the aspirated variant [p h]; and when it is occurs before another
plosive in a word, it is realised as unreleased variant, e.g. topcoat [p o]. Another instance is
when it occurs before a syllabic nasal, it is realised as the nasalised variant, e.g. happen
[hæpNn]; when it occurs before a syllabic lateral, it is realised as a lateralised variant, e.g.
apple: [æpL(ə)l], little
Also, these plosives are unaspirated after /s/, e.g. stare, span, scan and at the ends of syllables.
Other phonetic realisations include:
Vowel Nasalisation: man [mæn], name, can’t etc.
Labialisation: Rounding of the lips and raising of the back of the tongue. Quick [k wwɪk], twist
[twwɪst], quiet [kwwaɪət].
Although allophones are all alternative pronunciations for a phoneme, the specific allophone
appropriate in a phonetic environment is often predictable. Changing the allophone used by
native speakers for a given phoneme in a specific context usually does not change the
meaning of the word but may sound non-native.
/t/[th] word-initally and in front of stressed syllable stable, treat, attend, until, attack
/t/ [R] intervocalically, when second vowel is unstressed: better, Betty, butter, cutie, buttocks
/t/ [to] (non- audible realise or unreleased) word-finally set, right, caught, pit
/t/ [t] elsewhere e.g. stop, street, antics, Baltic

PHONETIC AND PHONEMIC TRANSCRIPTION

Phonemic transcription involves the use of phonemic symbols (phoneme) to represent the
sound speech of a language. It is an abstract representation of sounds. It consists of
sequences of phonemes transcribed between slash brackets. There is a one-to-one mapping
between the sounds and written symbols. Phonemic transcription is limited to one symbol per
phoneme which can be one written character or two. Examples: cart /k/ represents the first
sound, /ɑː/ represents the second, and/t/ represents the last sound.
Phonetic transcription occurs when the actual sound produced is represented, hence
transcribing the phones of actual pronunciation. This involves the use of phonetic symbols
which are phones. Here, symbols are used to represent precise phonetic values. This type of
transcription is enclosed in a square bracket [ ].
For example, pin
/pin/- phonemic transcription
[phɪn]- Phonetic transcription

Minimal pairs
These are words pairs that differ only in one segment. This change in one segment also
accounts for a change in meaning of the words. As phonemes serve to differentiate words,
importance is attached to pair of words, differing in only one phoneme. These pairs provide
solid phonemic contrasts in a way that contrasts meaning. Hence, any two words that help us
discover which sounds have a contrastive value in a given language are said to form a
minimal pair. The two words that constitute a pair differ only by one sound segment. They
should have the same number of sounds, and these sounds should be identical, with the only
exception of the contrasting sound that should be distributed in the same context in both
words. The contrasting sound can be at the beginning, middle or final position
Examples are:
Minimal pairs with contrast at the beginning
Pot cot
Cat fat
Bad bed
Pin pen
Feel feet
Fool pool
Hill pill

Complementary distribution:
Sounds are said to be in complementary distribution when they appear in mutually exclusive
environment. Hence, they never occur in the same context. Allophones of the same phoneme
are always in complementary distribution. They do not occur in the same environment. A
good example is provided by the allophones of /p/ which occurs aspirated at the initial
position of a syllable, the unreleased at the final position of a syllable, and the one that occurs
elsewhere
Free variation
It refers to the different realisation of a phoneme in the same environment. When two sounds
appear in the same context without causing any change in meaning, both phones/phonemes
are in free variation. The variation is not context bound and is unpredictable. Hence, both
sounds can be substituted for one another in the same phonological context. Examples: /i/
and /e/ in economics and example, finance /fainans/, /finans/, /f∂nans/, /eigein/ /∂gein/,
/ek.str∂/; /Ik.stra/

Syllabic Consonants
A syllabic consonant is a phonetic element that normally patterns as a consonant, but may fill
a vowel slot in a syllable. Where a syllabic consonant appears, the schwa has been deleted
and the consonant is allowed to fill the position normally reserved for vowels in the syllable.
That is the peak position. Syllabic / n / and / l / typically occur in an unstressed syllable
immediately following the alveolar consonants, / t, s, z / as well as / d /.
Consonant Clusters: consonant clusters refer to a situation where more than one consonant
sounds are used together in a word. The consonant sounds could be two, three etc. note that
this does not refer to the use of consonant letters, but consonant sounds. The cluster might be
at the word initial position, medial or final position. Examples: student, new, shrink, slot,
spread, sceptical, sceptre, prompts etc.
Silent letters: some letters are represented when writing a word but are silent in
pronunciation. Such letters are referred to as silent letters. Examples: bomb, apostle, column,
pneumonia, know, sign, honest, yolk etc. These silent letters are deleted through phonological
rules.

Inflected endings:

Inflection is the name for the extra letter or letters added to nouns, verbs and adjectives in
their different grammatical forms. Nouns are inflected in the plural, verbs are inflected in the
various tenses, and adjectives are inflected in the comparative/superlative. In relation to
pronunciation, the sounds of the inflections are determined by the sounds preceding them.
When –s, es, inflection appears

1) After voiceless consonant (except sibilant) = /s/:

3rd. person singular affirmative of present simple verb. Plural of regular nouns
p Pops Pups
t Hits Hats
k Cooks Ducks
 f Laughs Laughs
θ Unearths Sheaths

After vowel/voiced consonant (except sibilant such as s, z, ts, dz, ʒ, ʃ) = /z/:

b rubs, ribs,
d rids, pads
g Hugs, rags
v loves, gloves, wolves
ð breathes, wreathes, clothes
l lulls, dolls
m Hums, combs,
n sins, sons,
ŋ Sings, songs

3) After word ending in sibilant= /ɪz/:

3rd. person singular affirmative Plural of regular

of present simple verb nouns
dʒ dodges, badges badges
tʃ Hatches, matches, churches
z gazes, blazes blazes
s passes, places Places, prices
ʒ rouges, beiges Beiges
ʃ wishes, flashes Flashes

The –ed inflection is the regular past tense, it is represented as /t/ after voiceless sounds
except /t/. Examples: passed, kicked, laughed, walked etc.
When the verb ends in /t/ or /d/ the inflection is pronounced /id/ or /ed/. Examples: chatted,
waded, added, crowded, shouted, mounted etc.

When the verb ends in voiced sounds other than /d/, the inflection is pronounced /d/.
Examples: cried, loved, robbed, viewed, grabbed