MORE ON VOWELS

1
MORE ON VOWELS

• LING 3330
• SPRING 2009
• Feb 10, 2009

2
Some Practice workWhat do you know about
Tweedle Beetles?

• In groups of 2 or 3
• Transcribe the following portion of Dr. Seuss
  Fox in Socks (on your handout)
• The Tweetle Beetle Battle
• Focus on the VOWELS and STOPS
• If you like you may use syllabic form of l

3
Some Practice workWhat do you know about
Tweedle Beetles?

• When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with
  their paddles and the bottles on a poodle and
  the poodles eating noodles
• They call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle
  beetle noodle bottle paddle battle,

4
Some Practice workWhat do you know about
Tweedle Beetles?

• When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with
  their paddles and the bottles on a poodle and
  the poodles eating noodles

5
Some Practice workWhat do you know about
Tweedle Beetles?

• They call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle
  beetle noodle bottle paddle battle,

6
Some Practice workWhat do you know about
Tweedle Beetles?

• When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle
  beetles battle with their paddles in a puddle on
  a noodle-eating poodle.
• THIS is what they call
• A tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottles paddled
  muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks, sir!

7
Some Practice workWhat do you know about
Tweedle Beetles?

• When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle
  beetles battle with their paddles in a puddle on
  a noodle-eating poodle.
• whw?n ? faks ?z ?n ð? badl? wh? ð? twidl? bidl?s
  bædl? w?? ð? pædls ?n ? pudl an ? nudl?-it?? pudl.

8
Some Practice workWhat do you know about
Tweedle Beetles?

• THIS is what they call a tweetle beetle noodle
  poodle bottles paddled muddled duddled fuddled
  wuddled fox in socks, sir!
• THIS is what they call ? twidl? bidl? nudl?
  pudl? badl?s pædl?d m?dl?d d?dl?d f?dl?d w?dl?d
  faks ?n saks, s?!

9
Review

• The vocal tract (VT) is a complex filter with
  many setting variables
• Imagine a graphic equalizer
• The various resonances of the VT filter out the
  energy in some freq regions of the input spectrum
  and leave other freq regions unaffected.
• THUS, the produced output spectrum has peaks and
  troughs of energy
• The energy Peaks are called FORMANTS
• The Most important property of a formant is its
  Frequency
• Formant frequencies in the output spectrum are
  crucial in distinguishing vowels from one
  another. (particularly F1 F2 but sometimes also
  F3)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
10
Review

• The vocal tract (VT) is a complex filter with
  many setting variables
• Imagine a graphic equalizer
• The various resonances of the VT filter out the
  energy in some freq regions of the input spectrum
  and leave other freq regions unaffected.
• THUS, the produced output spectrum has peaks and
  troughs of energy
• The energy Peaks are called FORMANTS
• The Most important property of a formant is its
  Frequency
• Formant frequencies in the output spectrum are
  crucial in distinguishing vowels from one
  another. (particularly F1 F2 but sometimes also
  F3)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
11
Review

• The vocal tract (VT) is a complex filter with
  many setting variables
• Imagine a graphic equalizer
• The various resonances of the VT filter out the
  energy in some freq regions of the input spectrum
  and leave other freq regions unaffected.
• THUS, the produced output spectrum has peaks and
  troughs of energy
• The energy Peaks are called FORMANTS
• The Most important property of a formant is its
  Frequency
• Formant frequencies in the output spectrum are
  crucial in distinguishing vowels from one
  another. (particularly F1 F2 but sometimes also
  F3)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
12
Review

• The vocal tract (VT) is a complex filter with
  many setting variables
• Imagine a graphic equalizer
• The various resonances of the VT filter out the
  energy in some freq regions of the input spectrum
  and leave other freq regions unaffected.
• THUS, the produced output spectrum has peaks and
  troughs of energy
• The energy Peaks are called FORMANTS
• The Most important property of a formant is its
  Frequency
• Formant frequencies in the output spectrum are
  crucial in distinguishing vowels from one
  another. (particularly F1 F2 but sometimes also
  F3)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
13
Review

• The vocal tract (VT) is a complex filter with
  many setting variables
• Imagine a graphic equalizer
• The various resonances of the VT filter out the
  energy in some freq regions of the input spectrum
  and leave other freq regions unaffected.
• THUS, the produced output spectrum has peaks and
  troughs of energy
• The energy Peaks are called FORMANTS
• The Most important property of a formant is its
  Frequency
• Formant frequencies in the output spectrum are
  crucial in distinguishing vowels from one
  another. (particularly F1 F2 but sometimes also
  F3)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
14
Review

• The vocal tract (VT) is a complex filter with
  many setting variables
• Imagine a graphic equalizer
• The various resonances of the VT filter out the
  energy in some freq regions of the input spectrum
  and leave other freq regions unaffected.
• THUS, the produced output spectrum has peaks and
  troughs of energy
• The energy Peaks are called FORMANTS
• The Most important property of a formant is its
  Frequency
• Formant frequencies in the output spectrum are
  crucial in distinguishing vowels from one
  another. (particularly F1 F2 but sometimes also
  F3)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
15
Review

• The vocal tract (VT) is a complex filter with
  many setting variables
• Imagine a graphic equalizer
• The various resonances of the VT filter out the
  energy in some freq regions of the input spectrum
  and leave other freq regions unaffected.
• THUS, the produced output spectrum has peaks and
  troughs of energy
• The energy Peaks are called FORMANTS
• The Most important property of a formant is its
  Frequency
• Formant frequencies in the output spectrum are
  crucial in distinguishing vowels from one
  another. (particularly F1 F2 but sometimes also
  F3)
• NOTE The rate of vibration of the air in the
  vocal tract is independent of the rate of
  vibration of the vocal folds.
• The vocal ford ay vibrate faster or slower,
  giving the sound a higher or lower pitch, but the
  formant frequencies will remain the same as long
  as there are no changes in the shape of the vocal
  tract. (Lad ACiP p. 183)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
16
Review

• Vowels are measured in what 3 dimensions?
• height,
• front/back (also considered location)
• round (or Lip Position)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
17
Review

• Vowels are measured in what 3 dimensions?
• height,
• Refers to the relationship between the highest
  point of the tongue and the roof of the oral
  cavity
• F1 freq low for high and high for low Vs
• front/back (also considered location)
• round (or Lip Position)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
18
Review

• Vowels are measured in what 3 dimensions?
• height,
• front/back (also considered location)
• Refers to the part of the tongue wh/ is highest
  in the production of the vowel. i is toward the
  hard palate, while u is toward the soft palate.
  (a ? would be at the junction of the two.
• F2 is high for front and low for back
• round (or Lip Position)

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
19
Review

• Vowels are measured in what 3 dimensions?
• height,
• front/back (also considered location)
• round (or Lip Position/posture)
• Refers to the amount of rounding of the lips and
  can be applied to all heights and locations
• Rounding can lower all Formant Freqs. but does so
  particularly to F2 F3

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
20
Quick intro/review to/of Airstream

• Vs Cs P104-105
• egressive pulmonic,
• where the air is pushed out of the lungs by the
  ribs and diaphragm all human languages employ
  such sounds (such as vowels), and many, such as
  English, use them exclusively.
• egressive glottalic,
• where the air column is pushed upward by the
  glottis. Such consonants are called ejectives.
• ingressive glottalic,
• where the air column is rarefied as the glottis
  moves downward. Such consonants are called
  implosives.
• ingressive lingual, AKA ingressive velaric,
• where the air in the mouth is rarefied by a
  downward movement of the tongue. These are the
  clicks.

adapted from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airstream_mecha
nism
21
Review

• Vowels are measured in what 3 dimensions?
• height,
• Refers to the relationship between the highest
  point of the tongue and the roof of the oral
  cavity
• F1 freq low for high and high for low Vs
• front/back (also considered location)
• Refers to the part of the tongue wh/ is highest
  in the production of the vowel. i is toward the
  hard palate, while u is toward the soft palate.
  (a ? would be at the junction of the two.
• F2 is high for front and low for back
• round (or Lip Position)
• Refers to the amount of rounding of the lips and
  can be applied to all heights and locations
• Rounding can lower all Formant Freqs. but does so
  particularly to F2 F3

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
22
Review

• Rather than measure Vs in the 3 dimensions above,
  an alternative is to relate them one of a set of
  language-independent, reference vowel qualities
  known as Cardinal Vowels.
• Essentially these are Landmarks in auditory
  space provided by the vowel quadrilateral CVs
  are independent of particular languages and
  must be learnt p.78
• (a primary set and a secondary set)
• Primary including front unrounded back rounded
• Secondary set includes front rounded back
  unrounded

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
23
Review

• Vowel systems
• Probably the most common is the 5V system
  (Spanish)
• There are 5-V systems in all parts of the world
• Can include over 10 (French), 14 or 15 (Am Eng)
  or even up to 20 (BBC Eng) or as few as 3 (Some
  Indigenous Australian Lgs).

Review adapted from Ashby Maidment 2005
24
V dispersion Principle

• We generally view the vowel quadrilateral (or
  trapezoid) as a Perceptual space in which Vs
  are located.
• The vast majority of vowels systems conform to
  the so-called Vowel Dispersion Principle.
• The idea that vowels tend to be evenly
  distributed in the perceptual space and or at
  least that they are widely distributed w/i the
  limitations of a particular system
• For instance a system with i e u is quite
  unlikely

Ashby Maidment 2005
25
V dispersion Principle

• The vast majority of vowels systems conform to
  the so-called Vowel Dispersion Principle.
• For instance a system with i e u is quite
  unlikely
• However there do seem to be systems known as
  Defective vowel systems in existance.
• One where either there is no open vowel and/or
  for mid and high regions there is at least one
  vowel that is not matched by a vowel on the
  opposite side of the space.
• Approximately14 of languages may have systems
  that count as defective.

Ashby Maidment 2005
26
Long and Short Vowels

• In some systems there are also contrast in vowel
  length.
• The quality of the vowels is acoustically equal
  
• length is not
• Choctaw is a modern example where this is true.
• Old English is another example.
• Over time the English Long vowels shifted up with
  high vs changing into into diphthongs.
• For instance time of Chaucer ? Shakespeare
• moon mon o ? u mu
• house hus u ? ou hous

example from Ashby Maidment 2005 p. 81
27
Long and Short Vowels

• Length is generally a phonological term
• Duration is generally a phonetic term
• consider the terms wooed and wood
• However, it is usually the case that length is
  not systematically indicated in transcription.
• one reason is the belief that there are some Vs
  that are inherently longer or shorter by
  definition.

Ball and Rahilly 99 p107
28
Long and Short Vowels

• Length of a vowel depends on a number of things
• its own natural length
• i in heed vs. ? in hid long short
• whether the V is stressed or not
• PERsonal vs. perSONify long short
• number of syllables in the word
• wit vs. witty long short
• the syllable coda
• stray vs. strayed vs. straight long, med, short
• also sigh, side, sight long, med, short

Ladefoged 05 p73
29
Long and Short Vowels

• Another example
• Maori (New Zealand)
• a vs. a
• taha side a calabash
• o / o
• hoko 20 times hoko to buy
• i / i
• ki at ki to say

Ashby Maidment 2005 p. 75
30
Oral and Nasalized

• In other cases there is a contrasts between oral
  nasal vowels
• An oral V is produced with the soft palate (or
  velum) in a raised position, so there is no
  airflow through the nasal passage
• A Nasalized V is produced with a lowered velum
  allowing airflow through both cavities
  simultaneously.
• indicated as a nas ã nas
• Adding the resonance of the nasal cavity to the
  rest of the vocal tract
• French is known for this
• as in fo faux fõ (they) do
• Choctaw also makes a distinction in meaning
  between nasal and non nasal vowels

Ashby Maidment 2005 (cf Ladefoged ACiP p226)
31
Mono- vs Di- phthong

• In some languages (e.g. English) the vowel
  quality can change within a single syllable
• Sometimes Diphthongs are called vowel-glides
• examples
• tie
• toy
• town

Ashby Maidment 2005 p. 82
32
Tense /Lax ???

• The notion of a tense/lax distinction is
  controversial
• Tenseness is generally described as
• an overall tightening of vocal tract musculature
• combining with definite or forceful
  articulatory action.
• There are phonetic differences between the two
  groups.
• To some extent the difference b/t them, in
  English, are due to historic processes
• i.e. tense Vs occur in words with final silent
  e
• e.g. mate, kite, cute etc.
• lax Vs occur in mat, kit, cut.
• Other distinctions can be made based on syllable
  formation closed (for more see Lad. Table 4.2)

Clark, Yallop, Fletcher 2007 Ladafoged 2006
ACiP
33
Rhotacized

• As weve discussed many varieties of American
  English use rhotacized Vs.
• Those with r-coloring like
• sir, bird, cur, etc.
• Rhotacization is an auditory quality which like
  height and backness is best defined in acoustic
  terms.
• (well discuss this in more detail when we talk
  about laterals and approximants see. Ladafoged p
  225 for more details)

Ladafoged 2006 ACiP p224
34
Questions?

• quiz 2

35
(No Transcript)
36

• V reduction /Stress

37
Semi Vowels
38
ATR ACiP 223