Phonetics as we know studies the way how sounds are produced and comprehended. The function of sounds is examined by another linguistic discipline phonology. These terms are taken in European linguistics, but Americans use the term phonology to both phonetics and phonology. There are different aspects of sounds:
1. Articulatory phonetics – studies how sounds are organized at which location and in which manner a sound is produced.
2. Acoustic phonetics – examines the length frequency and pitch of sounds. Special instruments are required to measure and analyze the sounds while they travel via the channel.
3. Auditory phonetics – studies what happens inside the ear and brain when sounds are finally received. It is also interested in our ability to identify and differentiate sounds.
Articulatory phonetics
It concentrates on studying how sounds are produced in the human vocal track – that is manner of articulation and place of articulation. The production of any sound involves the movement of ear. Speech sounds are produced by pushing lung air through the opening between the vocal cords. Such sounds are called – pulmonic sounds. Sounds may be produced when the air is pushed out, they are called igressive sounds. The majority of sounds in languages of the world are produced by pulmonic igressive air stream mechanism.
Sounds fall into two major classes consonants and vowels. Sounds differ according to the voicing location and manner of production. Any change of these factors may alter a sound. If the stream of air leaves the vocal cord unhinged the resulting sound is a vowel; if the stream of air is abstracted, gets some obstruction (is blocked) the resulting sound is a consonant. Consonants can be voiced and unvoiced – p t k – unvoiced, b d g – voiced. Sounds like p t k are known as explosives, because they are accompanied by explosure. Fricatives are sounds which may be prolonged in pronunciation as - s f v, and aspirate is a sound made by breathing immediately after explosure. Consonants in both languages are classified according to the organs which take part in their production. They may be made by teeth, the gums, the hard and a soft palate and the lips. The consonant made by both lips – is called bilabial w b p m, бпм. A consonant made by the low lip articulating against the teeth is called labia-dental – f v – ф в. A consonant made by the blade of the tongue which touches upon the upper teeth – is called dental th th –т з д. Vela-consonants are made by the back of the tongue being pressed against the velum – k g – к г. When we pronounce sound “L” the stream of air passes on both sides of the tongue, so this sound is called lateral or side-sound. In both languages sounds M N are nasals, when air passes through the nose.
VOWELS
They are produced when the air passes freely with no friction. They are voiced in both languages. They are classified according to the position of the tongue. We distinguish front vowels, when the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate like fr(ee). We distinguish back vowels when the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate p(ar)ty. And central vowels, when the middle of the tongue is raised towards the middle part of the palate, like b(ir)d м(ы)ло.
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According to the degree of mouth opening the vowels are classified into high (e u,и у) middle(e ea) and low(ae,a) level. If sounds are pronounced with rounded lips they are called rounded – o у. Vowels may be classified into monophthongs, diphthongs and even threephthongs. There is no diphthongs in Russian. There are certain differences in distribution of vowels in two languages. In English at the end of an open syllable with structure consonant-vowel only long vowel may occur and in unstressed position vowel “ae” like potato. Shot vowels “E a “never occur at the end of an open syllable in the structure consonant-vowel. In Russian there are no such restriction, only sound “ы” can’t occur in the initial position.
THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES IN the ARTICULATION OF SOUNDS:
Consonant phonemes in English which have no counterparts in Russian are the following:
1. the bilabial sonorant /w/,
2. the dental fricative consonants / q, ð /
3. the voiced bicentral affricate /dЗ-jam /,
4. the post- alveolar sonorant /r/,
5. the backlingual, nasal sonorant / h /,
6.the glottal fricative /h/,
Consonant phonemes in Russian which have no counterparts in English are the following:
1. The palatalized consonants / п’, б’, т’, д’,к’,г’, м’, н’, ф’, в’, с’, з’, р’.
2. the voiceless affricate /ц/,
3. the rolled post-alveolar sonorant /р/,
4. the backlingual fricative voiceless /x/,
The most common mistakes that may result from the differences in the articulation bases of the English and Russian languages are the following:
- dorsal articulation of the English forelingual apical / t,d/,
- the use of the Russian rolled /р/ instead of the English post-alveolar /r/,
- the use of the Russian /x/ instead of the English glottal, fricative /h/,
- mispronunciation of the English interdental / q, ð /, the use of / s, f/ for / q /, and /d,z/ for / ð /.
- The use of the forelingual /n/ instead of the backlingual velar / η /,
- The use of the Russian dark /ш,ж / instead of the soft English /j, з /.
- The use of the labio-dental /v,b/ instead of the bilabial /w/.
- Absence of aspiration in / p,t,k/ when they occur initially,
- Weak pronunciation of voiceless /p,t,k,f,s, tV/,
- Devoicing of voiced /b,d,g,v,z, ð, /in their terminal position.
In articulating English vowels Russian students are apt to make the following mistakes:
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1. They do not observe the quantitative character of long vowels;
2. they do not observe the qualitative difference in the articulation of such vowels as / i-i:/,
/ u –u: /, / o-o: /.
3. they replace the English vowels / i:,o:, u:, a; æ, / by the Russian vowels /и,о, у, а, э/;
4. they pronounce / I, e, ei / without the ‘flat position’ of the lips;
5. they soften consonants which procede front vowels as a result of which the latter become more narrow and the consonants are palatalized;
6.they articulate /o, u, ou / with the lips too much rounded and protruded;
7. they make the sounds / æ, ə / more narrow because they don’t open the mouth properly, similarly to the Russian / э, о/.
8. they do not observe the positional length of vowels,
9. they make both elements of the diphthongs equally distinct.