Introduction to the IPA: Effects on Sounds

Blackkdark's picture
Written by Blackkdark
on


Level: Basic
Time taken to Complete: 200 minutes

Activity:

 There are a lot of other symbols in the IPA.  The clicks used in some African langauges, the sounds that qualify as two different things (like /w/ which is velar and bilabial), and some weird ones (like /ɧ/ which is /ʃ/ and /x/ at the same time), symbols for stress and tone.  This activity is going to focuse on some of the extra features of consonants.  Not all of it is easy to explain, and some of it I have never used, but I will do my best with the knowledge I have.  Warning that a lot of the symbols don't work on here, so I'll have to describe them as I see them.

The first they have is voicelessness.  This is where a normally voiced sound becomes devoiced and they don't want to use the voiceless symbol (there are reasons, sometimes there is no voiceless version or even vowels).  The symbol is / ̥̥b/.  They draw it as the top half of a circle (like a semicircle), but I usually use a little circle as with the example given.  By definition the sound has to be voiced to begin with otherwise it's pointless.  The next one is getting voiced from a normally devoiced sound.  The box shows the symbol as the bottom part of the circle (in a semicircle).  The only really cases this might come up are when two consonants combine which are of two different voicing, though I just use the voiced or devoiced symbol.

The next one is important.  This is aspiration.  This involves a large puff of breath when we have certain consonants.  Usually it is for stops and affricates.  To show you the different, say the follow two words /spɪt/ and /pɪt/ and while having your hand in front of your mouth.  You'll notice that the puff of air from /pɪt/ will be stronger while /spɪt/ will not be.  The first one is aspirated and can be described as /pʰɪt/.  In Icelandic and Chinese pinyin the letters d /t/ verse t /tʰ/, b /p/ verse p /pʰ/ etc.

The next two I've never used but it's says more rounded or less rounded, which means the lips are going to be rounded a bit more or less than normal.

Advanced is short for advanced tongue root, which involves the location of the tongue.  The ones around it are similar and involve the location of the tongue.

The next one is syllabic.  That is one when we have a consonant that makes a syllable all in itself.  I prefer to right a schwa but some people prefer to just write syllabic.  For example sometimes people might write the /n/ in listen or the /l/ in syllable as syllabic.

The next one is Rhoticity.  The most common is /ɚ/ which is the <er> in dancer, writer, worker, etc.  Though the ˞ can be attached to a few other vowels as well.  I prefer to use /əɹ/ instead though.

The next three are exotic and I haven't used them.  The Breathy and Creaky voice are voice sounds and techniques we don't use save in times when we which to scare people.  The linguolabial probably involves both the tongue and lips.

Labalized sound /ʷ/ is when we have a /w/ like sound when combined with other consonants.  Because the vowel-like qualities of /w/ it can be combined thusly into the /ʷ/ we see.  It might be the /w/ in entwinded.  But I prefer to use a /w/ or /ʍ/.

The next one, palatization is very common.  The symbol is a subscript /j/ so it's /ʲ/.  This is so common in Slavic languages it has it's own letter.  This involves having a <y> like sound at the end of the consonant.  This happens a bit in English, but not very often.

The next one is /ˠ/ which is when the sound is brought back and becomes velarized.  I can't think of any examples in English.

The next one I don't know much about save that it's pharyngeal.

The symbol under it I have only seen in /ɫ/.   This is the dark <l> of English.

The others until the bottom involve the location of the tongue. 

The next one is dental.  This involves the sound going around your teeth.  This is the /t/ and /d/ in Spanish and Italian (the symbol won't show up in this box).  That is why in Spanish when the /d/ is between two vowels you get a /ð/.  The symbol looks like a little tooth that's why it is dental.

I'll be honest, I have no clue what the next too are, but I can find out.

The next one is big.  It is nasalization.  An example of which is /̃̃õ/ which is the French <on> in Bon.  This means be nasal but don't pronounce the /n/.  In Portuguese, the letters ̃̃ã, ̃̃õ, etc are nasal sounds.

The last important one is the unreleased symbol. The symbol won't show up on here, but it is important.  Think about when you say a word like hat.  Do you fully pronounce to /t/? or do you kind of do it halfway?  This is very common in English.  This is why an and and are sometimes pronounced the same.  It is also why we will write things like an' instead.

This is the last IPA lesson, but remember there are more sounds and things,  I can help with most if not all, but some I cannot.  I'll try to, so feel free to come to me.  I will start next with Phonology.


login or register to post comments | 385 reads
Tags: ( | | )