Phonology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Phonology - Assignment Example A consonant may be defined to be an interruption of the effusion of vocal sound, arising from the application of the organs of speech to each other (Walker: 2008: 6). In order to identify consonant sound, one should understand a vowel. The words of Trofimov et al (2002: 22) are significant in this sense when they define vowel and consonant as follows: â€Å"A vowel (in normal speech) is defined as a voiced sound in which the air passes in a continuous stream through the pharynx and mouth, there being no obstruction and no narrowing such as would produce audible friction.† They further write, â€Å"All other sounds [expect the previously stated] (in normal speech) are called consonants.† Therefore, one can infer that in the production of consonant sounds, there may be an obstruction in the air passage causing for an audible friction. Consonants therefore include (i) all sounds which are not voiced (eg: p, s, ?), (ii) all sounds in which the air has an impeded passage thr ough the mouth (b, l, rolled r), (iii) all sounds in which air does not pass through the mouth (eg: m), (iv) all sounds in which there is audible friction (eg: f, v, s, z). (iv) may be regarded as a particular case of (ii) (Trofimov et al: 2002: 22). To describe the consonant sound, the following pieces of information will be really helpful: a) the air stream mechanism, b) the state of the glottis, c) the position of the soft palate, d) the articulating organs or points of articulation, and e) the manner of articulation or the stricture involved (McMahon: 2002: 30). Various studies have identified that all English sounds are produced with a pulmonic egressive air stream mechanism, that is, the air stream expelled from the lungs is modified to form speech sounds. The sounds produced with the glottis open are voiceless and those produced with the glottis closed are voiced. According to the position of the soft palate the sounds may be nasal or oral. Place of articulation is defined in terms of the articulators involved in the speech gesture (Manell: 2002). The points or places of articulations can be identified by referring to a speech gesture in terms of an active articulator and a passive articulator. b. monophthong Vowels in English language have been divided into two categories, namely, monophthongs and diphthongs. Monophthongs are also called as pure vowels. Bloomer et al writes, â€Å"...there are 20 vowel sounds in RP English. Twelve of these are monophthongs, that is, pure vowels and eight are diphthongs, that is, two vowel sounds run together so that the first glides into the second† (2005: 251). Therefore it is evident that â€Å"A monophthong is a vowel sound which involves no movement of the tongue during its production - there is no glide, as there is in a diphthong† (The university of Hull). Thus, monophthongs are identifiable in the words like; tap, clip, hit, and bee. Similarly, diphthongs are identifiable in the words, cake, boy, p aper, and tape. c. affricate Consonants in English language can be properly understood by understanding the stricture involved, that is, the manner in which the air passage is restricted and sounds produced. Based on the manner of articulation, consonants can be classified in different ways where affricate being one among them. In the production of the