Phonetics & Phonology

Phonetics & Phonology John Corbett: USP-CAPES International Fellow Session 8: Contrastive analysis: consonants Todays session This session: English and Brazilian phonological systems Consonants Source of information Consonants RP English has 24 consonants The unshaded consonants have near equivalents or equivalents in Brazilian Portuguese. When pronouncing English the red consonants can cause most problems, though others can raise issues. General p b f

v t d s z k m n

l r j w h When pronouncing English the red consonants can cause most problems, though others can raise issues. // and // are pronounced /s/ and /z/ or /t/ and /d/. Try saying... think sink thinker tinker breathes breeds breathes breezes // and // p b

f v t d s z k m n

l r j w h When pronouncing English the red consonants can cause most problems, though others can raise issues. // and // can be realised as // or // Initial /t/ and /d/ before /i:/ or // or // may be pronounced // or // Try saying... chair share pledger // and // tease cheese

Deans jeans pleasure p b f v t d s z

k m n l r j w h When pronouncing English the red consonants can cause most problems, though others can raise issues. An initial /r/ in Portuguse can be realised as an unvoiced trill and can be confused with the fricative / h/. Initial /h/ in English has no Portuguese equivalent and is often elided. Sometimes it is added unnecessariy (eg ham for am)

Try saying: /r/ and /h/ read head right height heat eat p b f v t d s z

k m n l r j w h In Brazilian Portuguese, final /s/ and /z/ are generally pronounced /s/.

Try saying: rice rise dross draws peace peas Other issues Note that in Europe (and Rio) final /s/ and /z/ can be / s/ or // p b f v t d

s z k m n l r j w

h Vowels before /m/, /n/, // are nasalised, and so the consonant itself may be practically elided. Try saying: Other issues John calm ring p b f v t d s

z k m n l r j w h Dark /l/ in final position or before a consonant is often

vocalised, that is, it becomes a vowel like //. This happens in some English accents (eg in London) too. Try saying: milk bottle Other issues heel p b f v t d s z

k m n l r j w h The range of consonant clusters in English is much wider than it is in Portuguese and so epenthetic or extra unstressed vowels might be added, especially in clusters with initial /s/. This also happens when

the same consonant ends one word and starts another (juncture) Consonant clusters (especially with /s/) & juncture Try saying: I need space. I need a nice big steak. I get off at this stop. At that time well be ready. Initial clusters that dont occur at all in Portuguese are /str/, /skr/, /spl/ and /spr/. Try saying: Were going to be on strike. It makes me want to scream. There was an almighty splash! I wont see her again until spring. English and European Portuguese are stress-timed languages. Brazilian Portuguese (and some World Englishes) are syllable-timed. This has effects such as:

Rhythm Misplacement of stress on compound nouns, such as a tea cup. Misplacement of stress on longer words, e.g. demonstrators. More weight is given to weak forms, sometimes suggesting unintended emphasis or aggression, e.g. I wanted his book, not his bag. FOCUS ON YOUR OWN ACCENT In groups of 2-3 try transcribing ALL of the following passage in your own accent. Are there disagreements in the group about any of the sounds you produce? Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. http://accent.gmu.edu/ The Speech Accent Archive

Brazilian speakers of English http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&spea kerid=558 Narrow transcription (phonetic, not phonemic) Obstruent = fricative or plosive Portuguese speaker 14 http:// accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid =144 Another Scottish accent Listen to some other accents too, and check the transcriptions and notes Full passage Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five

thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station. Next week Teaching pronunciation: turning knowledge into action