Week 4 - Transcription and Variation

Question 1

Phonetic Transcription Definition

Answer 1

Use of a CONVENTIONAL SET of SYMBOLS to REPRESENT Phonetic PROPERTIES of part or all of an utterance, INCLUDING a PHONE in insolation

• can provide record of utterance
• inc. “AVERAGE” pronunciation

Question 2

Phonetic Description definition

Answer 2

• draws on RANGE of PARAMETERS to DESCRIVE phonetic properties of a Phone OR Sequence of Phones.
  A. A. A.
  artic, acou, aud

Question 3

Selecting a Symbol - What is the IPA and how is it used?

Answer 3

IPA = type of SHORTHAND for Phonetic DESCRIPTIONS
(place, manner, phonation, etc)

• Provides set of REFERENCE phones + symbols for transc of vs n cs

Work out by:

• OBSERVATION of ARTICULATION
• AUDITORY and ACOUSTIC COMPARISON to REF PHONES
• Symb CLOSEST to phone/area of “PHONETIC SPACE” = used as Rep.
• Diacritics can b used to alter

Question 4

Process of Selecting a Symbol

Answer 4

1. Work out Range
   
   • COMPARING to known ref sounds
   • REFINING as much as req

skill that can be developed

Question 5

Using Reference Points in The Symbol Selection Process

Answer 5

• Can be done with VARYING PRECISION, depending WHICH REFERENCE POINTS
• its about NARROWING DOWN POSSIBILITIES (zooming in)
• choosing symbol BEST CAPTURES PHONETIC PROPERTIES we think sound has

Question 6

Precision of the Selection - narrow(er) vs. broad(er)

Answer 6

• IPA - enough to divide phonetic space 2 relatively small divisions, but still limited

DIACRITICS permit FINER SPECIFICATION if purpose req. it
- advanced, retracted, raised, lowered, etc

BROADER - Less precise/detailed

NARROWER - More precise/detailed

Question 7

Broader Transcription

Answer 7

• Just use symbol of nearest appropriate ref point 4 characterisation of phonetic property
  
  • NOT focus much on exactly where phone is in relation 2 it

Question 8

Narrower Transcription

Answer 8

focus more on exactly where the phone is in relation to the reference sound - use DIACRITICS

eg. B: [æ] vs N: [æ( MORE EXPLICIT DESCRIPTION IF NECESSARY

Question 9

Conventional broad transcriptions

Answer 9

[a] = broad for LOW UNDROUNDED VOWELS
eg; [a] [ɐ] [ɑ] and even sometimes [æ]

[r] = broad for any APICAL RHOTIC
eg; [r] [ɾ] [ɹ] [ɻ]

Question 10

Phonetic Variation

Answer 10

A LINGUISTIC ELEMENT (word,phrase,etc) can b realised in phonetically diff ways
> diff speakers
> diff OCCASIONS by SAME speaker

Some pronon. variants recognised as “ideal, clear”
- [dʒəlɛdɪmfæɪllətɛst]
VS
- [dɪdjʉlɛthɪmfæɪlðətɛst]

Question 11

Factors in Phonetic Variation

Answer 11

- Socio-linguistic factors
       > Dialect
       > social identity
       > social context
       > style/register: Formal or Informal
- Speed of Speech
- Phys/Emotional State
- Ling and Phon context
      > citation forms vs connected speech

AND MORE !!!!

Question 12

What is some common phonetic variation in connected/natural speech in English

Answer 12

• typically characterised “divergences” from “ideal” variant

1. Liaison / Epenthesis
2. Assimilation
   
   • Place of Artic.
   • Manner of Artic.
   • Voicing
3. Elision (absence)

Question 13

English r-liaison

Answer 13

LINKING R:
where it occurs BETWEEN words in R-Less Dialects and the first orthographic word (spelling of) has a final ‘r’

> “sooner or later” = [sʉnəɹo:læɪtə] whereas usually ‘sʉnə’ soona
“sure enough” = [ʃo:ɹənɐf] whereas usually ‘ʃo:’ shoa

INTRUSIVE R:
where it occurs BETWEEN words but first orthographic word does NOT end in ‘r’

> “Law and Order”
= [lo:ɹəno:də]
“We saw a film” = [wiso:ɹəfɪlm]

Question 14

INTRUSIVES

R, ʔ, j/w (transitional glide

Answer 14

• Intrusive R is RESTRICTED to WORD-FINAL
  > [o:] [ɐː]
  > [ə] and centring diphthongs ending in [ə]
• SOME speakers alt. sometimes have INTRUSIVE [ʔ] or make CLEAR VOWEL BREAK
  > “we saw a film” = [wiso:ʔəfɪlm] vs [wiso:əfɪlm]
• Other vowels, r-liaison NOT possible, BUT some combos = TRANSITIONAL GLIDE [j], [w]
  > “Let’s see a film” = [lɛtssi:jəfɪlm] vs [lɛtssi:əfɪlm]
  > “do it” = [dʉwət] vs [dʉət]

Question 15

Assimilation definition

Answer 15

a SEGMENT is REPLACED by one PHONETICALLY SIMILAR or /identical/ with a NEIGHBOURING SEGMENT

Question 16

WHERE PLACE OF ASSIMILATION OCCURS IN ENGLISH?

Answer 16

• mostly affects ALVEOLAR CONSONANTS

alv to beevee, peafpea

alveolar -> bilabial
alveolar -> velar
alveolar -> post-alveolar
alveolar FUSION -> postalveolars

Question 17

Alveolar assimilates to bilabial

Answer 17

[t] > [p] 
  - footpath = [foppɐ:θ]	
[d] > [b]  
  - madman = [mæbmən]	
[n] > [m] 
  - in melbourne = [ɪmmɛlbən]
  - sandwich = [sæmwɪʤ]

Question 18

Alveolar assimilates to velar

Answer 18

[t] > [k] 
  - gatecrash = [gæɪkkɹæʃ]
[d] > [g] 
  -bad guys = [bæggɑɪz]
[n] > [ŋ] 
  - painkiller = [pæɪŋkɪlə]

Question 19

Alveolar assimilates to post-alveolar

Answer 19

[s] > [ʃ]
- spaceship = [spæɪʃʃɪp]
[z] > [ʒ]
- news sheet = [njʉʒ|i:t]

train -> [tʃɹæɪn]

Question 20

Alveolar FUSES with Post-Alveolar

Answer 20

[tj] > [tʃ]	
   - suit yourself = [sʉtʃəsɛlf]
[dj] > [dʒ]	
   - did you = [dɪdʒʉ]	
[sj] > [ʃʒ]	
   - nice yellow = [nɑɪʃʒɛlɐʊ]
[zj] > [ʒʒ]
   - where's yours = [wɛʒʒo:z]

Question 21

Manner Assimilation

Answer 21

lookup definition?

• Ass with PRECEEDING sound
• MOSTLY affecting [ð]
• mostly affect grammatical words, of which many in ENG have initial [ð]

on the shelves = [ɔnnəʃelvz]
fail the test = [fæɪllətest]
will they do it =[wɪllæɪdʉːət]
was that it? = [wɔzzædɪt]

Question 22

Voicing Assimilation

Answer 22

• voiced [b] [d] [g] [z] [ʒ] [v] [ð]
  
  • voiceless [p] [t] [k] [s] [ʃ] [f] [θ]

NewZ > NewSPaper
HaVe > HaFTo
AbSorb > AbZorb

Question 23

Other Assimilation Phenomena

Answer 23

• Absence of [h] from “he” and “him” = in WIDE range of dialects (SPECIFIC CONTEXTS)
  > even in dialects where w-i [h] aint typically lost
  > absent when relatively UNSTRESSED, NOT beginning of an utterance

NB - Pronoun so classed as grammatical word

I think he will have. = [ɑeθɪŋkiwɪləv]

Question 24

What are conventionalised variants?

Answer 24

Variant forms of some words = often conventionalised as STRONG and WEAK/reduced forms
- GRAMMATICAL words typically high freq use, often relatively UNSTRESSED
- some reduced vrnts = recog by speakers
> conventional rep in orthography; “contractions”
OF: [ɔv] = [əv] [ə]
HAVE: [hæv] = [həv] [əv] [v]
AND: [ænd] = [ənd] [ən] [n̩]
WOULD: [wod] = [wəd] [əd] [d]
NOT: [nɔt] = [nt] [n]

Question 25

What is the Social Variation in Aus Eng Accents

Answer 25

Socio-linguistic variation (Aus Eng) 3 MAJOR ACCENTS:
- broad
- general
- cultivated
but they are focal areas on CONTINUUM

(Dont cover all, Aboriginal English, Lebanese Australian, etc)

Question 26

Realisational Variation

Answer 26

Gen, Broad + Cult = similar set of contrasts, SO: corresponding phonemes √
- Phonemes = diff allophones in diff accents
- convenience to use same phoneme symbol for corresponding phonemes in diff accents
EG:

CULTIV - [lɐɔ̟d] (majr allophone: [ɐɔ̝])
BROAD - [læɔ̟d] (majr allophone: [æɔ̟]

Phoneme for both: /ɐɔ/

Question 27

How do we distinguish between a pure vowel or dipthong?

Answer 27

• can be of degree (Larger or Smaller transition between targets)

example:
vowel in English ‘see’ typically involves at least a small degree of diphthongisation:
- NARROWER = [sɪi]
- BROADER = [si:]

AUS ENGLISH can have GREATER DIPTHONGISATION:
- [sɨi], [səi]

Question 28

Dipthongs in Non-rhotic dialects of English

Answer 28

• AusEng mostly “r-less”
  > no [ɹ] at end of syllable after vowel

So; AusEng has CENTRING DIPTHONGS that move towards [ə]
(certain contexts) NOT [r]

• [ɪə] as in ‘fear, beer’
• [eə] as in ‘air, fare, mayor (~ [e:])
• [ʉə] as in ‘tour, pure’ (~ [o:])
• [o:ə] as in ‘score, four’ (~ [o:])