A Course in Phonetics by Peter Ladefoged

Author:Peter Ladefoged
Language: eng
Format: mobi, pdf
Tags: Linguistics, Non fiction
Published: 2012-12-07T00:41:45+00:00

Articulatory Targets 165

TABLE 7.1 Contrasting bilabial and labiodental fricatives in Ewe.

Voiceless bilabial fricative

e!Fa!

e!Fle~

‘he polished’

‘he bought’

Voiceless labiodental fricative

e!Fa!

e!fle!‡

‘he was cold’

‘he spit off’

Voiced bilabial fricative

”~B”~

e!Blo!

CD 7.1

‘Ewe’ (the language)

‘mushroom’

Voiced labiodental fricative

”~v”~

e!vlo!

‘two’

‘he is evil’

(2) Many languages are like English in having the labiodental fricatives [ f, v ].

But probably no language has labiodental stops or nasals except as allophones

of the corresponding bilabial sounds. In English, a labiodental nasal, [ M ], may

CD 7.2

occur when / m / occurs before / f /, as in emphasis or symphony. Say these words in a normal conversational style and see if your lower lip ever contacts your u pper lip during the nasal.

Some languages have affricates in which the bilabial stop is released into a

labiodental fricative. Practice these sounds by learning to say the German words

Pfanne [ "pfanE ] “bowl” and Pflug [ pfluk ] “plough.”

(3) Most speakers of both British and American English have dental fricatives [ T, D ] but no dental stops, nasals, or laterals except allophonically before

[ T, D ], as in eighth, tenth, wealth [ eIt 1T, tEn1T, wEl 1T ]. Many speakers of French, Italian, and other languages typically have dental stops, nasals, and laterals. In these languages, [ t1, d1, n1 ] are not just coarticulated allophones that occur only before [ T, D ], as in English. However, there is a great deal of individual variation in the pronunciation of these consonants in all these languages. According to a careful palatographic study, around one-third of Californian English speakers

have dental stops, and many French speakers have alveolar rather than dental

consonants—well over half of them in the case of the lateral / l /. Say words such

as tip, dip, nip, lip and try to feel where your tongue touches the roof of your mouth.

Some languages, such as Malayalam, a Dravidian language spoken in southern India, contrast dental and alveolar consonants. Examples of contrasting

Malayalam nasals are shown in Table 7.2. The table also includes other consonantal gestures that are used in Malayalam but not in most forms of English. We

will discuss these in subsequent paragraphs.

(4) Alveolar stops, nasals, and fricatives all occur in English and in many

other languages. They need no further comment here.

(5) Retroflex stops, nasals, and fricatives do not occur in most forms of

English. The outstanding exception is the English spoken in India. Retroflex sounds are made by curling the tip of the tongue up and back so that the

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31269_07_Ch07_pp163-186 pp2.indd 165

11/10/09 3:00:53 PM

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