The sounds of language
Sounds of language, Edward Sapir (1939),
Chapter Three
Powe point presented by Aseel kazum
Mahmood
5th.nov.2013

The Sounds of Language
 The two terms ‘language’ and ‘sound’ are so
common in introductory textbooks about
language and linguistics and wherever there is a
need to talk about communication. Sounds are
essential to speech. We use speech for
communication and sounds of speech are the
fundamental elements of such a communication
system. We consider sounds to be the basic
components of speech, The ability to produce
sounds is not sufficient for communication.

The production of sound
 We can define the formulation of speech sound in
terms of three stages:

Accent and
Sounds
 We can summarize all issues related by answering
the question below:

Accent
Roch definition(2009).
Sapir definition(1933).
Language can take various forms:

Accent
how this definition relates to language
and sound in far than the different
pronunciation of the same language
itself, more likely, of that of speakers of
other languages?
What makes the speaker sense a
mysterious accent in the way foreign
speakers produce their native
language?

Variability of speech
 The main goal of the phonological research
community is to understand the variation in the
sound structure of language. A focus of this
feature that sets it apart from other variation is the
emphasis on understanding how knowledge of
variation might be presented cognitively, a
growing consensus among researchers is that at
least some aspects of acoustic and articulatory
variations are represented cognitively, rather than
being derived by universal principles
(munson2009).

Variability of speech

The possibilty of aquiring new
sounds
Of course the power to produce these
inhibited adjustments is not entirely lost, but
the extreme difficulty we experience in
learning the new sounds of foreign
languages is sufficient evidence of the
strange rigidity that has set in for most
people in the voluntary control of the
speech organs.

Organs of speech

Organs of speech
 A detailed account of the organs mentioned
below:

Consonant
a consonant is a speech sound that is
articulated with complete or partial closure of
the vocal tract. Examples are [p],
pronounced with the lips; [t], pronounced
with the front of the tongue; [k], pronounced
with the back of the tongue; [h], pronounced
in the throat; [f] and [s], pronounced by
forcing air through a narrow channel
(fricatives); and [m] and [n], which have air
flowing through the nose (nasals). Contrasting
with consonants are vowels.’’

Vowels
 Vowel: Is a speech sound produced with the air
going out freely, without any obstruction in the vocal
tract .There are three kinds of vowels.
 Simple(pure) vowels.
 Diphthong
 Triphthong
 Pure vowels are described according to four
principles.
 The height of the tongue in the month
 The part of the tongue which is raised to pronounce
the vowel.
 Lip rounding
 The length

Sound differences
 Speech sounds can differ from one
another in three ways:

Organic Classification of
speech sound
we can put any sound into its proper place by the
appropriate answer to four main questions:
 What is the position of the glottal cords during its
articulation?
 Does the breath pass into the mouth alone or is it
also allowed to stream into the nose?
 Does the breath pass freely through the mouth or
is it impeded at some point and, if so, in what
manner?
 What are the precise points of articulation in the
mouth?

Factors influencing
sound understanding and
recognition
understanding and recognizing the message
delivered by the sound or sound sequence is
influenced by other factors

Thank you