Phonology 1 11

University of Duhok – UoD
Science & Education – Akre
English Department
Phonology
English Phonetics
and Phonology
chapter 1 – 11
Produced by:
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Teacher:
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Chapter 1
Introduction ( Phonetic Vs. Phonology )
Phonology: is the science which studies the system of sound it is
conserved sounds pattern.
Phonetic: is the science which studies how speech sound are
produced, Transmitted and received (Interpreted).
 Type of phonetic:
1.Articulatory Phonetic: is the science which studies how
speech sound are produced and it is called (Articulatory
Phonetic).
2.Acoustic Phonetic: is the science which studies how speech
sound are transmitted; is called (Acoustic Phonetic).
3.Auditory Phonetic: is the science which studies how speech
sound are interpreted is called (Auditory Phonetic).
Articulatory .Ph Auditory .Ph
Acoustic .Ph
Speaker Listener
1

British Vs. American
British English: is the form of English used in the UK. It includes
all English dialects used within the UK.
American English: is the form of English used in the USA. It
includes all English dialects used within the USA.
Dialect And Accent:
What is the dialect?
- A variety of a language spoken by a group of people
characterized by systematic feature, E.G (phonology, lexical,
grammatical) from other varieties of that same language.
- Everyone speak dialect.
- Idiolect: the speech variety of an individual speaker.
 Factors affecting dialect variation:
1.Geographical location.
2.Social Class.
3.Education Background or Occupation.
What is the Accent?
- A form of language spoken by a sub group of people that is
different only in phonology.
2

Ways Dialect Vary British (BrE) Vs. American (AmE):
1.Vocabulary: different spelling same pronunciation.
E.G: BrE AmE
Colour Color
Realise Realize
Centre Center
2.Pronunciation: Try to pronounce the following words in both
BrE and AmE:
E.G: BrE AmE
Twenty /twenti/ /tweni/
Schedule /ʃedju:l/ /skeʤu:l/
Vitamin /vItǝmIn/ /vaItǝmIn/
3.Grammar: Verb (to have) .
E.G: - BrE: Have you got any sisters or brothers?
Yes, I have.
- AmE: Do you have any sisters or brother?
Yes, I do.
4.Preposition:
E.G: -BrE: Someone is knocking at the door.
-AmE: Someone is knocking on the door.
3

Chapter 2 ( The Production of speech sound )
 Articulators above the larynx
1.The Pharynx
2.Soft palate (velum)
3.Hard palate
4.Alveolar ridge
5.Tongue
6.Teeth
7.Lips
 Part of the Tongue:
1.Tip
2.Blade
3.Front
4.Back
5.Root
 Vowel and Consonant
All consonants have Obstruction because when one articulator or
two articulators moved against another no air escape to the out and
they are called Obstruction, And the vowels haven‟t obstruction
because the articulators don‟t touched each other and we are called
Distribution .
Note: Two consonant (j , w) haven‟t Obstruction because they are
pronounced as a vowel and they are called Distribution.
4

 Vowels
Why we studying International Phonetic Association (IPA)?
A/ We studying (IPA) for Describing, Classifying, Comparing
vowels.
Describing Vowels:
- Position of the tongue (Front, Central, Back).
- Height of the tongue (Close, Close-mid ,Open-mid, Open).
- State of the lips (Spread, Rounded, Neutral).
 English short vowel ( 6 + ǝ )
- /I/ Front, near close-mid, The lips
Are slightly spread(bit).
- /e/ Front, near open-mid,
The lips are slightly spread
(bet).
- /æ/ Front, near open, The lips
Are slightly spread (bat)
- /ʌ/ Central, near open-mid,
Neutral (cut).
- /ɒ/ Back, Between open-mid and open, the lips are rounded (pot).
- /ʊ/ Back, near close-mid, the lips are rounded (push).
- /ǝ/ Central, between close-mid and open-mid and the lips are Neutral
(about).
5

Chapter 3 (Long vowels, Diphthongs And Triphthongs)
 English Long Vowels ( 5 )
- /i:/ Front, close, the lips are
Spread (mean).
- /з:/ Central, between close-mid
and open-mid, the lips are
Neutral (fern).
- /u:/ Back, close, the lips are
Rounded (soon).
- /ͻ:/ Back, near close-mid
The lips are rounded (torn).
- /ɑ:/ Back, open, the lips are neutral(pass).
 Diphthongs ( 8 )
6

Centering Diphthongs:
- /Iǝ/ E.G: beard
- /eǝ/ E.G: cairn
- /ʊǝ/ E.G: lure
 Closing Diphthongs:
 Ending in /I/
- /eI/ E.G: paid
- /aI/ E.G: time
- /ͻI/ E.G: loin
 Ending in /ʊ/
- /ǝʊ/ E.G: home
- /aʊ/ E.G: house
Note: All diphthongs are long because they need more time to
pronounce them.
 Triphthongs ( 5 )
Closing Diphthongs + ǝ = Triphthongs
- eI + ǝ = eIǝ E.G: Player
- aI + ǝ = aIǝ E.G: fire
- ͻI + ǝ = ͻIǝ E.G: royal
- ǝʊ + ǝ = ǝʊǝ E.G: lower
- aʊ + ǝ = aʊǝ E.G: power
7

Chapter 4 ( Voicing And Consonants )
 The Larynx
Note: The larynx has another name and it‟s called Adam‟s Apple.
And inside the larynx has a Vocal Folds, and inside vocal folds has a
space and it‟s called Glottis.
Glottis: It is a space between vocal cords.
State of the Glottis:
1.Wide apart: The vocal folds are wide apart for normal
breathing and usually during voiceless consonants like a
(p,t,s…).
2.Narrow glottis: If the air passed through the glottis when it is
narrowed the result is a fricative sound like a (h).
3.Position of vocal fold vibration: when the edges of the vocal
folds are touching each other or nearly touching, air passing
through the glottis will usually cause vibration (voiced sound)
like a (z,ð,d…).
4.Vocal folds tightly closed: The vocal folds can be firmly
pressed together so that air cannot pass between them, when this
happens in speech we call it a glottal stop or glottal plosive and
we use this symbol (ʔ).
8

 Plosive
A Plosive is a consonant articulation with the following
characteristic:
a) One articulator is moved against another, or two articulators are moved
against each other, so as to from a stricture that allows no air escape
from the vocal tract.
b) After this stricture has been formed and air has been compressed
behind it, it is released-that is, air is allowed to escape.
c) If the air behind the stricture is still under presser when the plosive is
released, it is probable that the escape of air will produce noise loud
enough to be heard this noise is called plosive.
d) There may be voicing during part or all of the plosive articulations.
To give complete description of a plosive consonant we must describe what
happens at each of the following four phases in its production:
i) The first phases is when the articulator or articulators move to from the
stricture for the plosive. We call this the closing phase.
ii) The second phase is when the compressed air is stopped from escaping.
We call this the compression phase.
iii) The third phase is when the articulators used to from the stricture are
moved so as to allow air to escape. This is the release phase.
iv) The fourth phase is when happens immediately after (iii), so we call it
the post-release phase.
9

 English Plosive
Note: English has six plosive consonants: (p, t, k, b, d, g).
- /P/, /b/: called bilabial, because they are pronounced by the lips
and any consonants pronounced by the lips we called bilabial.
- /t/, /d/: called alveolar, because they are pronounced by the tip
of the tongue and alveolar ridge.
- /k/, /g/: called velar, because they are pronounced by the back of
the tongue and soft palate.
Criteria of describing consonants:
- Place of articulation.
- Manner of articulations.
- Voicing.
Notes:
We don‟t talk about place of vowels because the vowels haven‟t
obstruction.
Manner is the way to produce the sound.
Voicing it means the sound is voiceless or voiced.
 Fortis and Lenis
Fortis it means “Voiceless” sound.
Lenis it means “Voiced” sound.
10

Chapter 5
Phonemes and Symbols
The Phoneme: is the smallest (basic) sound unit in phonology
which can distinguish between two meaning words.
E.G: Pat Pet
Try Cry
 The Phoneme are 44 and 24 of them are the consonants and 20
of them are vowels.
Segmentation: it is the process of cutting speech into smaller
segment.
e.g. Man ( /m/ is a segment, /æ/ is a segment, /n/ is a segment ).
Allophone: is the different pronunciation of the same phoneme.
e.g. Part /pɑ:t/ [ph
ɑ:t] /p/ is aspirated
Sport /spͻ:t/ [spͻ:t] /p/ no aspirated
Complementary distribution: is a relationship between two
phonetically similar segment, It exists when one segment occurs in
an environment (initially) where the other segment never occurs.
e.g. Tea /ti:/ [th
i:] /t/ occur in an environment
Eat /i:t/ [i:t] /t/ never occur
11

Symbols and Transcription
Transcription
Phonemic transcription Phonetic transcription
(Broad) (Narrow)
1- Phonemic Transcription(Broad): Representing speech by using
phonemic symbols enclosing them by slashes, / / .
E.G: Soon /su:n/ just slashes / /
2- Phonetic Transcription(Narrow): Representing speech by using
phonemic symbols plus diacritics enclosing them by slashes and
square brackets, [ ].
E.G: Tea /ti:/ [th
i:] slashes, square brackets, [ ] and
diacritics.
Diacritics: Are small marks used to give more details about the
transcription, such as ( h
, º , ˅ ,…etc ).
E.G: Part /pɑ:t/ [ph
ɑ:t]
Bad /bæd/ [bæd]
12

(º): this mark make the voiced sound less voice (losing vibration)
And it is called Devoicing .
 The strong consonants make the vowel shorter and used (˅), the
weak consonants make the vowel longer and used (º).
E.G: Bat Bad
/bæt/ /bæd/
[bæt] [bæd]
13

Chapter 6 ( Fricative and Affricates )
 Production of Fricative and Affricates
Fricative: are consonants with the characteristic that air escape
through a narrow passage and make a hissing sound.
Affricates: are rather complex consonants. They begin as plosives
and end as fricative.
 Notes:
Fricative sound are continued air, but plosive are stopped air.
Affricates started like a plosive, and ends like a fricative.
English has two affricates and they are ( ʧ, ʤ ),
t + ∫ = ʧ and d + ӡ = ʤ
In the word (breakfast) the sound /k, f/ aren‟t homorganic, /t, d/
and /∫, ӡ/ being made with the tongue blade against the alveolar
ridge, are homorganic.
 The fricative of English ( 9 )
PLACE OF ARTICULATION
Labiodental Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Glottal
Fortis (“voiceless”) f θ s ∫
h
Lines (“voiced”) v ð z ӡ
14

 Examples
- f, v fan van
- θ, ð thump thus
- s, z sip zip
- ∫, ӡ ship garage
- h help
Special note: /h/ is voiceless and voiced:
 Phonetically it is voiceless with quality of the following voiced
vowel.
 Phonologically it is a consonant. It take the position of
consonant.
E.G: hit hot hat
 Fortis consonants
Fortis consonants are usually articulated with open glottal – that is,
with the vocal folds separated. This is always the case with
fricatives.
However, with the plosive an alternative possibility is to produce the
consonant (plosive and affricates) with completely closed glottis.
This type of plosive articulation, known as glottalisation.
E.G: with glottalisation without glottalisation
Affricates: Nature /neIʔʧǝ/ /neIʧǝ/
Plosive: Actor /æʔktǝ/ /æktǝ/ 15

Chapter 7 (Nasal and other consonants)
 Nasal
English language have three nasal and They are (m, n, ŋ).
Why called those sound nasal?
Because the air escape through the nose and in this way we are
called nasal.
Morphology: the science which is studies a stricture of words.
E.G: happy unhappy unhappiness
Morpheme: is a smallest unit from Morphology.
E.G: unhappy (un = morpheme and happy = morpheme)
 Notes
(m, n) they comes in initially, medially and finally.
E.G: /m/ initial: machine /məʃin/, medial: smile /smaɪl/,
final: cream / krim/
/n/ initial: nail / neɪl/, medial: snow /snəʊ/,
final: twin /twɪn/.
/ŋ/ doesn‟t occur in initially but it occur in medially and finally.
E.G: /ŋ/ initial: -----, medial: banger /bæŋə/,
final: king /kɪŋ/.
(nk) it will be (ŋk) in medial and final position.
E.G: medial: thinker /θɪŋkǝ/ , final: think /θɪŋk/
(ng) in finally it will be just /ŋ/.
E.G: long /lɒŋ/ 16

(ng) in medially it will be (ŋ), if the word consist two
Morpheme but if consist one Morpheme it will be (ŋɡ).
Exception comparative and superlative.
E.G:
E.G: Superlative and comparative (ng = ŋɡ).
Longer /lɒŋɡə/
 Criteria of describing nasal
Nasals
Place of
articulations
Manner of
articulations
Voicing
m Bilabial Nasal voiced
n Alveolar Nasal voiced
ŋ Velar Nasal voiced
 The consonant l
Why called /l/ lateral approximant?
Because the air escape through the side of the tongue, that‟s way
called lateral approximant.
Approximant: as a type of consonant, is rather difficult to describe;
informally we can say that it is an articulation in which the articulators
approach each other but don‟t get sufficiently close to each other to produce
a “complete” consonant such as a plosive or fricative.
A (one morpheme) B (two morpheme)
finger /fɪŋɡə/ singer /sɪŋə/
17

 Realization of consonant l
1- Dark:
* /l/ + Consonants = Dark E.G: milk /mIlk/
* /l/ in finally is dark E.G: full /fʊl/
2- Clear:
* /l/ + Vowel = Clear E.G: leaf /li:f/
 Criteria of describing lateral approximant
lateral
approximant
Place of
articulations
Manner of
articulations
Voicing
l alveolar
lateral
approximant
Voiced
 The consonant r
Why called /r/ approximant?
Because the articulator comes very close (approach) to each other
without real contact with each other.
 Rule of /r/ in BBC
- r + a vowel = pronounced E.G: read /riːd/
- r + a consonant = not pronounced E.G: hard /hɑːd/
- not pronounced in finally E.G: better /betǝ/
/r/ is a retroflex
Retroflex: the tongue is in fact usually slightly curled backwards
with the tip raised; consonant with this tongue shape are usually
called retroflex.
18

 Criteria of describing approximant /r/
Approximant
Place of
articulations
Manner of
articulations
Voicing
r Post-alveolar Approximant Voiced
Rhotic: is an accent which is /r/ pronounced in all position such as
(American, Scots and west of England accents).
Non-rhotic: is an accent which is /r/ pronounced only before vowel
such as (BBC accent).
 The consonant j and w
Why called /j/ and /w/ approximant?
Because the articulator comes very close (approach) to each other
without real contact with each other.
- Notes
Phonetically they are vowel.
Phonologically they are consonant.
Both of them doesn‟t occur finally.
 Criteria of describing approximant /j/, /w/
Approximant
Place of
articulations
Manner of
articulations
Voicing
j Palatal Approximant Voiced
w Bilabial Approximant Voiced
19

Chapter 8 (The syllable)
 The nature of the syllable
Syllable (phonologically): is a unit usually occupied by vowels;
preceded and followed by an optional number of consonants.
E.G: Red /ri:d/
Initially Finally
Obstruction Obstruction
No Obstruction
Syllable (phonetically): syllables are usually described as
consisting of a center which has little or no obstruction to airflow
and which sound comparatively loud; before and after this centre.
Phonotactics: the study of the possible phoneme combination of a
language is called Phonotactics.
 Note:
at the beginning and end of the syllable, there will be greater
obstruction to airflow and or less loud sound.
Vowels and consonants having different distribution.
No word begins with more than three consonants.
- No current word ends with more than four consonants.

 Types of the syllable:
i) Minimum syllable: is a single vowel in isolation ( e.g. the
words are /ɑ:/, or /ͻ:/, err /ᴈ:/ ). These are preceded and
followed silence.
ii) Some syllables have an onset – that is, instead of silence, they
have one or more consonants preceding the center of syllables:
bar /bɑ:/ key /ki:/ more /mͻ:/
iii) Syllables may have no onset but have a coda – that is, they end
with one or more consonants:
am /æm/ ought /ͻ:t/ ease /i:z/
iv) Some syllables have both onset and coda:
ran /ræn/ sat /sæt / fill /fIl/
 The structure of the English syllables.
Consonant Cluster: when we have two or more consonants
together we will call them consonant cluster.
 Initial two-consonant clusters are of two sorts in English:
i) One sort is composed of /s/ followed by one of a small set of
consonants s + consonants = consonant cluster.
e.g: sting /stIŋ/ smoke /smǝʊk/
s in these clusters is called the pre-initial and the other
consonants after s are initial consonant.

ii) The other sort begins with one of a set of about fifteen
consonants, followed by one of the set /l, r, w, j/.
consonants + l, r, w, j = consonant cluster
e.g: Play /pleI/ few /f ju:/
the first consonant of these clusters the initial consonant and
the second the post-initial.
/s/ = pre-initial
Other consonants = initial
/l, r, w, j/ = post-initial
POST-INITIAL
l r w j
P „splay‟ „spray‟ ‒ „spew‟
s plus initial t ‒ „string‟ ‒ „stew‟
k „sclerosis‟ „screen‟ „squeak‟ „skewer‟
- Notes:
 If the first syllable of the word in question begins with a vowel
(any vowel may occur, though ʊ is rare) we say that this initial
syllable has a zero onset.
 If the syllable begins with one consonant, that initial consonant
may be any consonant except ŋ;ӡ is rare.

 Final Consonant Clusters in English:
- One begins a final consonant preceded by a pre-final consonant
and the other a final consonant followed by post-final
consonant.
pre-final + final + Post-final = consonant clusters
e.g: helped /helpt/
/m, n, ŋ, l, s/ = pre-final
Other consonant = final
/s, z, t, d, θ/ = post-final 1 & 2 & 3
 There are two type of three-consonant clusters:
i) pre-final + final + post-final
pre-final final post-final
„helped‟ he l p t
„banks‟ bæ ŋ k s
„bonds‟ bɒ n d z
„twelfth‟ twe l f θ
ii) final + post-final1 + post-final2
pre-final final post-final1 post-final2
„fifths‟ fI ‒ f θ s
„next‟ ne ‒ k s t
„lapsed‟ læ ‒ p s t

 There are two type of four-consonant clusters:
i) pre-final + final + post-final1 + post-final2
pre-final final post-final1 post-final2
„twelfths‟ twe l f θ s
„prompts‟ prɒ m p t s
ii) final + post-final1 + post-final2 + post-final3
pre-final final post-final post-final2 post-final3
„sixths‟ sI ‒ k s θ s
„texts‟ te ‒ k s t s
To sum up, we may describe the English syllable as having the
following maximum phonological structure:
Pre- post- pre- post- post- post-
initial initial final final final final
ONSET CODA
Syllable
rhyme
onset peak coda
initia
l
VOWEL final
1 2 3

 Notes:
 If there no final consonant we say that there is a zero coda.
 When there is one consonant only, this is called the final
consonant.
 Any consonant may be a final consonant except /h, w, j, r/.
 Sometimes we don‟t have pre-final.
 The rhyme may have no coda like a „me‟.
 Syllable division.
Maximal onsets principle: this principle states that where tow
syllable are to be divided, any consonants between them should be
attached to the right-hand syllable, not left.
Q/ How we can divide the word „extra‟?
i) e.kstrǝ
ii) ek.strǝ
iii) eks.trǝ
iv) ekst.rǝ
v) ekstr.ǝ
if we just followed the rule of maximal onsets principle, we should
divide extra as (i) e.kstrǝ, but we know that an English syllable
cannot begin with „kstr‟.We must reject (i) e.kstrǝ because of its
impossible onset, and (v) ekstr.ǝ because of its impossible coda. We
then have to choose between (ii), (iii) and (iv). So the maximal
onsets rule makes us choose (ii) ek.strǝ .

Q/ How should we divide words like a „better‟ /betǝ/ ?
The maximal onsets principle tell us to put the „t‟ on the right-hand
syllable, giving be.tǝ, but that means that the first syllable is
analysed as „be‟. However, we never find isolated syllables ending
with one of the vowels I, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ, so this division is not possible.
The maximal onsets principle must therefore also be modified to
allow a consonant to be assigned to the left syllable if that prevents
one of the vowel I, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ, from occurring at the end of a
syllable.
 Notes.
 The number of vowels are the number of syllabels in the words.
e.g: happy /hæ.pi/ two vowels = two syllables
 Most English speakers feel that the word „morning‟ /mͻ:nIŋ/
consists of two syllables /mͻ:.nIŋ/ or /mͻ:n.Iŋ/ but according to
maximal onsets principle should be divided as /mͻ:.nIŋ/.
 The word „carry‟. If we divide the word as kæ.ri, we get a
syllable-final æ, but if we divide it as kær.i we have syllable-
final r, and both of these are non-occurring in BBC
pronunciation.

Some question about the structure of English syllable:
Q1/ Analyse the structure of the syllable in the following word:
Strong, students
A/ strong /strɒŋ/
(s = pre-initial, t = initial, r = post-initial, ɒ = vowel, ŋ = coda).
Students /stju:dnts/
(s = pre-initial, t = initial, j = post-initial u: = vowel d = final, n =
post-final1, t = post-final2, s = post-final3).
Q2/ provide one syllable word for the following structure:
pre-initial + initial + post-initial + vowel + final, + post-final1+
post-final2, + post-final3)
A/ Students /stju:dnts/
(s = pre-initial, t = initial, j = post-initial u: = vowel d = final, n =
post-final1, t = post-final2, s = post-final3).

Chapter 9 (Strong and Weak Syllable)
 Strong and weak
Q/ What do we mean by “strong” and “weak”?
A/ When we compare weak syllables with strong syllables, we find
the vowel in a weak syllable tends to be 1
shorter, of 2
lower intensity
(loudness) and different in 3
quality.
e.g: in the word „data‟ /deItǝ/ the second syllable, which is weak, is
shorter than first, is less loud and has a vowel that cannot occur in
strong syllables.
 Notes:
 In a word like a „bottle‟ /bɒtḷ/ the weak second sellable contains
no vowel at all, but consists entirely of the consonant ḷ. We call
this a syllabic consonant.
 When we don‟t have a vowel with weak syllable the consonant
will be syllabic consonant e.g: „bottle‟ /bɒtḷ/
 Usually strong syllables are stressed and weak syllables are
unstressed.
 The most important thing to note at the present is that any
strong syllable will have as its peak one of the vowel phonemes
(or possible a triphthong), but not ǝ, i, u.
 If the vowel is one of I, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ, then the strong syllable will
always have a coda as well.
e.g: better /betǝ/ t = coda
 /i, u/ are non-phonemic symbols.

 Type of weak syllable.
i) The vowel ǝ (“schwa”).
e.g. better /betǝ/
ii) a close front unrounded vowel in the general area of i:, I
symbolized i.
e.g. happy /hæpi/
iii) a close back rounded vowel in the general area of u:, ʊ
symbolized u.
e.g. thank you /θænk ju/
We also find weak syllable in word-final position with a coda if
the vowel is ǝ. e.g. open /ǝʊpen/
Inside a word, we can find the above vowels acting as peak
without codas in weak syllable; look at the second syllable.
e.g. photograph /fǝʊtǝgrɑ:f/
The vowel I can act as a peak without a coda if the following
syllable begins with a consonant.
e.g. architect /ɑ:kItekt/
„schwa‟ ǝ is the weakest vowel.

 The ǝ vowel (“schwa”).
 The spelling of /ǝ/ in English words:
i) Spelt with „a‟; strong pronunciation æ
e.g. „ɑttend‟ /ǝtend/
ii) Spelt with „ar‟; strong pronunciation ɑ:
e.g. „molɑr‟ /mǝʊlǝ/
iii) Adjective endings spelt „ate‟ strong pronunciation would have eI
e.g. „intimɑte‟ /IntImǝt/
iv) Spelt with „o‟; strong pronunciation ɒ or ǝʊ
e.g. „carrot‟ /kærǝt/
v) Spelt with „or‟; strong pronunciation would have ͻ:
e.g. „forget‟ /fǝɡet/
vi) Spelt with „e‟; strong pronunciation would have e
e.g. „violet‟ /vaIǝlǝt/
vii) Spelt with „er‟; strong pronunciation would have з:
e.g. „perhaps‟ /pǝhæps/
viii)Spelt with „u‟; strong pronunciation would have ʌ
e.g. „support‟ /sǝpͻ:t/
ix) Spelt with „ough‟(there are many pronunciations for the letter-
sequence „ough‟)
e.g. „thorough‟ /θʌrǝ/
x) Spelt with „ou‟; strong pronunciation might have aʊ
e.g. „callous‟ /kælǝs/

Q/ why ǝ is halfway between close and open and central, and
halfway between front and back?
A/ Because it is generally described as lax – that is, not articulated
with much energy.
 Notes:
 The most frequently occurring vowel in English is ǝ, which is
always associated with weak syllable.
 The quality of ǝ is not always the same.
 Not all weak syllables contain ǝ.
 Close front and close back vowels.
i) (i, u) are not phonemic symbol and they are used in BBC accent
but they don‟t use in other accent like a „Welsh accents‟ and
„Yorkshire accents‟.
e.g. „easy‟ „busy‟
Welsh accents /i:zi:/ /bIzi:/
Yorkshire accents /i:zI/ /bIzI/
BBC accents /i:zi/ /bIzi/
So i vowel is neither the i: of „beat‟ nor the I of „bit‟, and is not in
contrast with them. Also vowel u that is neither the u: of „shoe‟ nor
the ʊ of „book‟.
If we use I, u in our transcription as well as i:, I, u:, ʊ, it is no longer
a true phonemic transcription in the traditional sense.

 The spelling of close front unrounded (i) in English
words:
i) In word-final position in word spelt with final „y‟ or „ey‟ after
one or more consonant letters e.g. happy /hæpi/ , valley /væli/
and in morpheme-final position, when such words have suffixes
beginning with vowels e.g. happier /hæpiǝ/ , easiest /i:ziǝst/.
ii) In a prefix such as those spelt „re‟, „pre‟, „de‟ if it precedes a
vowel and is unstressed e.g. react /riækt/, deodorant
/diǝʊdǝrǝnt/.
iii) In the suffixes spelt „iate‟, „ious‟ when they have two syllables
e.g. appreciate /ǝpri:∫ieIt/ , hilarious /hIleǝriǝs/.
iv) In the following words when unstressed: „he‟, „she‟, „we‟, „me‟,
„be‟ and the word „the‟ when it precedes a vowel.
We find u most frequently in the words „you‟, „to‟, „into‟, „do‟
when they are unstressed immediately preceding consonant, and
„through‟. „who‟ in all positions when they are unstressed. This
vowel is also found before another vowel within a word, as in
evacuation /IvækjueI∫ṇ/.
 Syllabic consonants.
Syllabic: it means deleting schwa „ǝ‟ from weak syllable.
e.g. bottle /bɒtḷ/
English has 5 syllabic consonants and they are /l, m, n, ŋ, r/, and „l‟
is the most common syllabic consonant.

 Syllabic
„l‟ after „t‟ or „d‟ it will be lateral release. (t, d + l = lateral release)
Lateral release: is the release of the closure of /t, d/ when preceding
/l/ by lowering the side of the tongue so that the compressed air
escape to the outside along a side of the tongue.
 The occurring syllabic / / in English:
i) With alveolar consonant preceding (t, d)
e.g. „cattle‟ /kætḷ/ „muddle‟ /mʌdḷ/
ii) With non-alveolar consonant preceding (all consonants, not t, d)
e.g. „couple‟ /kʌpḷ/ „struggle‟ /strʌɡḷ/
such words usually lose their final letter „e‟ when a suffix
beginning with a vowel is attached, but the l usually remains
syllabic.
e.g. „bottle‟ – „bottling‟ bɒtḷ – bɒtḷIŋ
„muddle – „muddling‟ mʌdḷ – mʌdḷIŋ
We also find syllabic l in words spelt, at the end, with one or
more consonant letters followed by „al‟ or „el‟
e.g. „panel‟ /pætnḷ/ „petal‟ /petḷ/
„kernel‟ /kз:nḷ/ „papal‟ /peIpḷ/

 Syllabic n
Of the syllabic nasals, the most frequently found and the most
important is n.
Q/ when should it (n) be pronounced?
A/ a general rule could be made that weak syllables which are
phonologically composed of a plosive or fricative.
 Notes:
 Consonant plus ǝn are uncommon except in initial position in
the words e.g. tonight /tǝnaIt/ fanatic /fǝnætIk/.
But in medially and finally, consonant plus ǝn are common
e.g. threaten /θretṇ/ threatening /θretṇIŋ/.
 Syllabic n is most common after alveolar plosives and
fricatives; in the case of t, d, s, z followed by n the plosive is
nasally released.
 Syllabic n after non-alveolar consonants is not nasally released
e.g. toboggan /tǝbɒɡǝn/ wagon /wæɡǝn/.
 After bilabial consonants, we can consider it equally acceptable
to pronounce them with syllabic n
e.g. with syllabic n happen /hæpṇ/ ribbon /rIbṇ/
with (ǝn) happen /hæpǝn/ ribbon /rIbǝn/.
 After f, v syllabic n is more common than ǝn ( except in word-
initial position as we talked about it in first point above)
e.g. with syllabic n seven /sevṇ/ often /ɒfṇ/
with (ǝn) seven /sevǝn/ often /ɒfǝn/
 l + t + n = ṇ e.g. Wilton wIltṇ, with ǝn is also possible wIltǝn
but s + t + n = is less frequent as in Boston.
 Nasal + plosive + syllabic nasal are very unusual
e.g. London lʌndǝn, Minton mIntǝn .

 Syllabic m,
We find m, ŋ in sometimes in word like „happen‟ which can be
pronounced hæpṃ though hæpṇ and hæpǝn are equally
acceptable, and „uppermost‟ which could be pronounced as
ʌpṃǝʊst would be more usual.
Example for possible syllabic velar nasals would be „thicken‟
θIkῃ and θIkǝn is also possible.
Nasal release: is the release of closure of plosive, when
followed by homorganic nasal by lowering the velum (soft
palate), so the air escape through the nose.
 Syllabic r
The word „particular‟, for example, would probably be
pronounced pṛtIkjǝlṛ in careful speech by most Americans,
while BBC speakers would pronounce this word pǝtIkjǝlǝ, so r
is less common in BBC pronunciation.
There are a few pairs of words (minimal pairs) in which a
difference in meaning appears to depend on whether a particular
r is syllabic or not.
e.g. „hungry‟ /hʌŋɡri/ „Hungary‟ /hʌŋɡṛi/
 Combinations of syllabic consonants.
It is not unusual to find two syllabic consonants together.
e.g. literal /lItṛḷ/ visionary /vIӡṇṛi/ veteran /vetṛṇ/
national /næ∫ṇḷ/ .

Chapter 10 (Stress in simple words)
We can study stress from the points of view of production
(speaker) and of perception (listener).
Production of stress: its depend on the speaker using more
muscular energy than is used for unstressed syllables.
Perception of stress: all stressed syllables have one characteristic in
common, and that is prominence.
Stress (phonologically): is a supra segmental feature that has a
linguistic function in language i.e. differentiate meaning.
e.g. (v.)
„object‟ /ǝbˈʤekt/ (n.)
„object‟ /ˈɒbʤekt/
Stress (phonetically): is the production of stress that the speaker
using more muscular energy and all stressed syllables have one
characteristic in common, and that is prominence, the loudness,
length, pitch movement and quality makes the syllable prominent.

 All stress syllables have one characteristic in common, and that
is prominence.
Q/ what makes the syllable prominent?
i) The stress syllables are louder (loudness) than unstressed
syllables. e.g. bɑ: bɑ: bɑ: bɑ:
ii) The length of syllables has an important part to play in
prominence. If one of the syllables in our “nonsense word”
bɑ: bɑ: bɑ: bɑ: is made longer than the others, there is quite a
strong tendency for that syllable to be heard as stressed.
iii) Every voiced syllable is said on some pitch (pitch movement);
pitch in speech is closely related to the frequency of vibration of
the vocal folds and to the musical notion of low-and high-
pitched notes.
iv) A syllable will tend to be prominent if it contains a vowel that is
difference in quality from neighbouring vowels. If we change
one of the vowels in our “nonsense word” bɑ: bi: bɑ: bɑ: the
“odd” syllable bi: will tend to be heard as stressed.
 Level of stress
i) Primary stress: is the strongest type of stress, which resolute
from pitch movement.
e.g. „around‟ /ǝˈraʊnd/
ii) Secondary stress: is weaker than primary stress and not
companies with pitch movement and its stronger than zero
stress.
e.g. „photographic‟ /ˌfǝʊtǝˈɡræfIk/
iii) Zero stress (unstressed): it means no stress, i.e. unstressed
syllable containing type of weak syllable (ǝ, I, i, u).
e.g. „photographic‟ /ˌfǝʊtǝˈɡræfIk/

 Notes:
 We will mark a stressed syllable in transcription by placing a
small vertical line (ˈ) high up.
 We have stress in initial and medial and final position.
e.g. initially medially finally
ˈfɑ:ðǝ rIˈleI∫ṇ ǝˈbaʊt
 We will mark a secondary stress in transcription by a low
mark (ˌ).
 Just primary stress has a pitch movement.
 Usually the second syllable is a primary stress.
 Placement of stress within the word
 Special note:
Nevertheless, practically all the rules have exceptions and
readers may fell that the rules are so complex that it would be
easier to go back to the idea of learning the stress for each word
individually.
In order to decide on stress placement, its necessary to
make use of some or all the following information:
i) Whether the word is morphologically simple, or whether is
complex as a result either of containing one or more affixes
(i.e. prefixes or suffixes) or of being compound word.
ii) What the grammatical category of the word is (noun, verb,
adjective, etc…).
iii) How many syllables the word has.
iv) What the phonological structure of those syllables is.

 Notes:
 The first point (i) a syllable peak which is a long vowel or
diphthong, with or without a following consonant (coda).
e.g. die /daI/ without coda heart /hɑ:t/ with coda
 And for second point (ii) a syllable peak which is a short vowel,
one of I, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ, followed by at least one consonant.
e.g. bat /bæt/
 A weak syllable has a syllable peak which consist of one of the
vowels ǝ, i, u and no coda except when the vowel is ǝ. syllabic
consonants are also weak.
e.g. „fa‟ in „sofa‟ /ˈsǝʊfǝ/ „zy‟ in „lazy‟ /ˈleIzi/
 The vowel I may also be the peak of a weak syllable if it occurs
before a consonant that is initial in the syllable that follows it.
e.g. „bi‟ in „herbicide‟ /ˈhᴈ:bIsaId/ „e‟ in „evennt‟ /Iˈvent/
 Two-syllable words
There is a general tendency for verbs to be stressed nearer the end of
a word and for nouns to be stressed nearer the beginning.
 Verbs.
(in general tendency for verbs to be stressed nearer the end).
e.g. According the rule Exception
attract /ǝˈtrækt/ enter /ˈentǝ/
so in the word „enter‟ the first syllable is stressed because the
final syllable is weak. A final syllable is also unstressed if it
contains ǝʊ (e.g. „follow‟ ˈfɒlǝʊ, „borrow‟ ˈbɒrǝʊ).
If the final syllable is strong, then that syllable is stressed even
if the first syllable is also strong.
e.g. apply /ǝˈplaI/ attract /ǝˈtrækt / rotate /rǝʊˈteIt/

 Adjectives.
Tow-syllable simple adjectives are stressed according to the
same rule of verbs.
lovely /ˈlʌvli/ divine /dIˈvaIn/
As with most stress rules, there are exceptions; e.g. „honest‟
ˈɒnest, „perfect‟ ˈpᴈ:fIkt, both of which end with strong syllables
but are stressed on the first syllable.
 Nouns.
(in general tendency for nouns to be stressed nearer the beginning).
money /ˈmʌni/ design /dIˈzaIn/
Other two-syllable words such as adverbs seem to behave like
verbs and adjectives.
 Notes:
 Either the first syllable or the second syllable will be stressed –
not both.
 Noun + ly = adjective
 Adjective + ly = adverb
 the rules it isn‟t always true so look at the vowels each vowel is
stronger than another it will be stressed.
e.g. „honest‟ ˈɒnest the first syllable is stressed (ɒ) because
it is stronger than (e).

 Three-syllable words
 Verbs.
i) (in simple verbs. If the final syllable is strong, then it will
receive primary stress).
e.g. entertain /ˌentǝˈteIn/ resurrect /ˌrezǝˈrekt/
ii) (if the last syllable is weak, then it will be unstressed, and stress
will be placed on the preceding (penultimate) syllable if that
syllable is strong).
e.g. encounter /Iŋˈkaʊtǝ / determine /dIˈtᴈ:mIn/
iii) (if the second and third syllables are weak, then the stress falls
on the initial syllable)
e.g. parody /ˈpærǝdi / monitor /ˈmɒnItǝ/
 Nouns
i) (the general tendency is for stress to fall on the first syllable
unless it is weak).
e.g. quantity /ˈkwɒntǝti/ emperor /ˈempǝrǝ/
ii) (in words with a weak first syllable the stress comes on the next
syllable).
e.g. mimosa /mIˈmǝʊzǝ/ disaster /dIˈzɑ:stǝ/
iii) (when a three-syllable noun has a strong final syllable, that
syllable will not usually receive the main stress).
e.g. intellect /ˈIntǝlektǝ/ marigold /ˈmærIɡǝʊld/

 Adjectives
(adjectives seem to need the same rule, to produce stress
patterns).
e.g. opportune /ˈɒpǝtju:n/ insolent /ˈInsǝlǝnt/
One problem that is the fact that there are many cases of English
words with alternative possible stress patterns.
e.g. controversy /ˈkɒntrǝvᴈ:si/ or /kǝnˈtrɒvǝsi/
 Some Definitions
- Pure vowel: a vowel which remains constant and does not glide
is called pure vowel.
- Diphthongs: sounds which consist of a movement or glide from
one vowel to another.
- Triphthongs: a triphyhong is a glide from one vowel to another
and then to third, all produced rapidly and without interruption.
- Aspiration: short period after the explosion of p, t, k when air
leaves the mouth without voice.
- Homorganic: the plosive and the following affricative must be
made with the same articulators – the plosive and affricative
must be homorganic.
- Larynx: structure at the top of the wind-pipe from the lungs,
which contains the vocal cords.
- Manner of articulations: is the way to produce the sound.
- Place of articulations: is the place that the articulators touching
each other.
- Syllabic consonant: normally a syllable contains a vowel;
sometimes /n/ or /l/ replace the vowel – they are then syllabics.
- Q/The difference between alveolar and alveolar ridge?
- A/ alveolar is a sounds such as (t, d, s, … etc) and alveolar ridge is a
place of articulations. 43

Chapter 11 (Complex word stress)
 Complex words.
 Simple Vs. Complex Words
Simple words: it means not composed of more than one
grammatical unit.
e.g. care
Complex words: being composed of two or more grammatical
units. e.g. careful two grammatical units
carefully, carelessness three grammatical units
Polysyllabic words: the majority of English words of more than one
syllable, polysyllabic words have come from other languages.
e.g. permit, submit from Latin
catalogue, analogue, monologue from Greek
 Types of Complex Words
i) Stem + affix
Affixes are two sorts in English:
1- Stem + suffixes e.g. good + ness = goodness
2-Prefixes + stem e.g. un + pleasant = unpleasant
ii) Compound words: which are made of two (or occasionally
more) independent English words.
e.g. ice cream armchair
Stem: it means the words made from a basic word from which we
call the stem.
44

 Effects of Affixes on word stress:
i) The affix itself receives primary stress.
e.g. „semi‟ + „circle‟ /ˈsᴈ:kḷ/ = semicircle /ˈsemIsᴈ:kḷ/
ality + person /ˈpᴈ:sṇ/ = personality /pᴈ:sṇˈælǝti/
ii) The affix has no effect on word stress.
e.g. Pleasant /ˈplezṇt/ unpleasant /ʌnˈplezṇt /
iii) The stress remains on the stem, not the affix, but it is shifted to
a different syllable.
e.g. Magnet /ˈmæɡnǝt/ Magnetic /mæɡˈnetIk/
 Suffixes
- Suffixes carrying primary stress
If the stem consists of more than one syllable, there will be a
secondary stress on one of the syllables of the stem:
e.g. Japan /ʤǝˈpæn/ without suffixes
Japanese /ˌʤǝpæˈni:z/ with suffixes
- Suffixes that do not affect stress placement
 „-able‟: „comfort‟ /ˈkʌmfǝt/ ; „comfortable‟ /kʌmfǝtǝbḷ/
 „-age‟: „anchor‟ /ˈæŋkǝ/ ; „anchorage‟ /ˈæŋkṛIʤ/
 „-al‟: „refuse‟ (verb) /rIˈfju:z/ ; „refusal‟ /rIˈfju:zḷ/
 „-en‟: „wide‟ /ˈwaId/ ; „widen‟ /ˈwaIdṇ/
 „-ful‟: „wonder‟ /ˈwændǝ/ ; „wonderful‟ /ˈwændǝfḷ/
 „-ing‟: „amaze‟ /ǝˈmeIz/ ; „amazing‟ /ǝˈmeIzIŋ/
 „-like‟: „bird‟ /ˈbᴈ:d/ ; „birdlike‟ /ˈbᴈ:dlaIk/
 „-less‟: „power‟ /ˈpaʊǝ/ ; „powerless‟ /ˈpaʊǝlǝs/
 „-ly‟: „hurried‟ /ˈhʌrId/ ; „hurriedly‟ /ˈhʌrIdli/
 „-ment‟(noun): „punish‟ /ˈpʌnIʃ/ ; „punishment‟ /ˈpʌnIʃmǝnt/
45

 „-ness‟: „yellow‟ /ˈjelʊǝ/ ; „yellowness‟ /ˈjelʊǝnǝs/
 „-ous‟: „poison‟ /ˈpͻIzṇ / ; „poisonous‟ /ˈpͻIzṇǝs/
 „-fy‟: „glory‟ /ˈglͻ:ri/ ; „glorify‟ /ˈglͻ:rIfaI/
 „-wise‟: „other‟ /ˈʌðǝ/ ; „otherwise‟ /ˈʌðǝwaIz/
 „-y‟ (adjective or noun): „fun‟ /ˈfʌn/ ; „funny‟ /ˈfʌni/
 („-ish‟ in the case of adjective does not affect stress placement:
„devil‟ /ˈdevḷ/; „devilish‟ /ˈdevḷIʃ/; however, verbs with stems of
more than one syllable always have the stress on the syllable
immediately preceding „ish‟ – for example, „replenish‟
/rIˈplenIʃ/, demolish‟ /dIˈmɒlIʃ/).
- Suffixes that influence stress in the stem
 „-eous‟: „advantage‟ /ǝdˈvɑ:ntIʤ/; „advantageous‟
/ˌædvǝnˈteIʤǝs/
 „-graohy‟: „photo‟ /ˈfʊǝtʊǝ/ ; „photography‟ /fǝˈtɒɡrǝfi/
 „-ial‟: „proverb‟ /ˈprɒvᴈ:b/ ; „proverbial‟ /prǝˈvᴈ:biǝl/
 „-ic‟: „climate‟ /ˈklaImǝt/ ; „climatic‟ /klaIˈmætIk/
 „-ion‟: „perfect‟ /ˈpᴈ:fIkt/ ; „perfection‟ /pǝˈfekʃṇ/
 „-ious‟: „injure‟ /ˈInʤǝ/ ; „injurious‟ /Inˈʤʊǝriǝs/
 „-ty‟: „tranquil‟ /ˈtrænŋkwIl/ ; „tranquillity‟ /trænŋˈkwIlǝti/
 „-ive‟: „reflex‟ /ˈri:fleks/ ; „reflexive‟ /rIˈfleksIv/
 Prefixes
Their effect on stress does not have the comparative regularity
of suffixes.
They don‟t have the same effect on stress placement as
suffixes.
46

 Compound words
Compound words: It can be analyzed into two words, both can
exist independently.
 Compound wordsare written in different ways:
1.as one word: e.g. armchair, sunflower.
2.Words separated by a hyphen: e.g. open-minded, cost-effective.
3.Two words separated by a space: e.g. desk lamp, battery
charger.
 Stress in compound words
1.Two nouns normally has stress on the first element.
e.g. ˈtypewriter
2.Adjectival first element and –ed second, the first has secondary
stress.
e.g. ˌbad-ˈtempered
3.The first element is a number, the same rule.
e.g. ˈthree-ˌwheeler
4.Compounds functioning as adverbs (the previous rule).
e.g. ˌhead ˈfirst, ˌsouth-ˈeast
5.Compounds functioning as verbs.
e.g. ˌdown ˈgrade, ˌback-ˈpedal
 Variable stress
Stress position may vary for one of two reasons:
1-Stress on other words occurring next to the word in question.
e.g. ˌbad-ˈtempered but ˌbad-tempered ˈteacher
2-Not all speakers agree on the placement of stress in some words.
e.g. Controversy /ˈkɒntrǝvᴈ:si/ or /kǝnˈtrɒvǝsi/
47

 Word-class pairs
- There are several pairs of two-syllable words with identical
spelling which differ in stress placement according to word
class.
 Nouns and adjectives are stressed on the first syllable
whereas verbs on the second.
e.g. abstract /ˈæbstrækt/ (A) /æbˈstrækt/ (V)
conduct /ˈkɒndʌkt/ (N) /kɒnˈdʌkt/ (V)
present /ˈprᴈ:zṇt/ (N, A) /prIˈzent/
* For more examples look page 87.
48

Phonology 1 11

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