Place of Articulation

1. Place of Articulation October 4, 2010

2. The Agenda • Homeworks are due. • By Wednesday: backwards name exercise • On Friday: more transcription practice (place of articulation)

3. Moving On • Hitherto: rapidly running through the vocal tract • for English only • From here on out: • go back through the whole process in slow motion • building up our understanding of how speech sounds are made in the process… • for all the languages of the world. • Goal: get from what we know about articulation to acoustics • i.e., how speech sounds are transmitted through the air

4. Back to the Big Picture • Through combinatorics… • languages can make a large number of distinctions out of a small number of articulatory dimensions • However--consider the gaps in the IPA chart • Not all combinations of gestures are possible • Not all combinations of gestures are likely • Why? • The dimensions interact • They’re based on physical realities • i.e., they are not abstract

5. Another Perspective • Note: all speech sounds involve the flow of air. • Articulation and acoustics are linked through aerodynamics • = the study of the flow of air (in speech sounds) • Aerodynamics can also limit the combinatorial possibilities of speech.

6. An Aerodynamic Exception • Stops • Stop the flow of air through the articulatory tract • How is this done? • By making an airtight seal between articulators • Are there some places in the articulatory tract where this is easier than others? • Try the tongue experiment. • An easy place: between the lips • A difficult (impossible?) place: between the teeth and lips

7. IPA Chart:Stops • You are already familiar with Bilabial, Alveolar, Velar • = the 3 most common places of articulation for stops • UPSID Database (in Maddieson’s Patterns of Sounds, 1984) • surveys 317 languages • 314 have bilabial stops (Wichita, Hupa, Aleut) • 316 have alveolar/dental stops (Hawaiian) • 315 have velar stops (Hupa, Kirghiz)

8. Bilabials-Alveolars-Velars

9. Palatals

10. Palatal Stops • Peter says: • 59 languages in UPSID database have palatal stops • Palatals vs. Velars in Ngwo (spoken in Cameroon)

11. Also: Palatal Nasals • symbol: • not to be confused with the velar nasal: • PL: • Examples from Hungarian 

12. Uvulars

13. Uvular Stops • Peter says: • 47 languages in UPSID database have uvular stops • Uvular nasal: • Peter, again: • Japanese: ‘Japan’

14. Quechua Contrasts • Quechua is spoken primarily in Bolivia and Peru.

15. Pharyngeals

16. Epiglottals, Glottals • There are no pharyngeal stops. • However, there is an epiglottal stop: • Peter says: • Check out Stefan’s epiglottis • There are also glottal stops: • As in English: “uh-oh”, “bottle”, “kitten” • More on these later

17. Epiglottals in Agul • Agul is spoken in Dagestan, near the Caspian Sea, in Russia • Note: no nasal pharyngeals, epiglottals, or glottals. • Why?

18. Back to the Coronals

19. Back to the Coronals • Two parameters to consider here: • The active articulator • The tongue tip (apical) • The tongue blade (laminal) • The passive articulator or target • The upper lip (linguo-labial) • Between the teeth (interdental) • The upper teeth (dental) • The alveolar ridge (alveolar) • Behind the alveolar ridge (post-alveolar)

20. Coronal Basics • Coronal stops are usually dental or alveolar. • Dental stops are usually laminal • produced with the blade of the tongue • as is typical in, e.g., French, Spanish • Alveolar stops are usually apical • pronounced with the tip of the tongue • as is typical in English • Dental ~ Alveolar contrasts are rare, but they do exist.

21. Laminal Dentals • check out the labio-dental flap file

22. Apical Alveolars

23. Yanyuwa Coronal Contrast • Yanyuwa is spoken in the Northern Territory of Australia • UPSID data-- • Languages with the following number of stop place contrasts: • 2 -- 2 3 -- 171 4 -- 103 • 5 -- 35 6 -- 6 <-- 5 of these languages are from Australia! • Yanyuwa has 7 stop place contrasts!

24. Retroflex Stops • Retroflex stops are produced in the post-alveolar region, by curling the tip of the tongue back. • Common in south Asian languages. • Peter says:

25. Sindhi place contrasts

26. Malayalam Place Contrasts

27. Palatography + Linguography

28. Yanyuwa, again

29. Two Places at Once • Labial-velar stops are not uncommon, especially in African languages. • Examples from Idoma (spoken in Nigeria):

30. Linguolabials • Linguolabials are formed by touching the blade of the tongue to the upper lip. • Examples from V’enen Taut, a language spoken in Vanuatu (the South Pacific):

31. Place Contrast Round-up • Most languages have three stop places: • bilabial • dental/alveolar • velar • If a language has a fourth stop place, it is usually • palatal or uvular • If a language has a fifth stop place, it is usually • retroflex • sometimes labial-velar