The articulation basis of the English and the Russian languages

Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации

Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное

учреждение высшего профессионального образования

 «Ярославский государственный педагогический университет

им. К.Д. Ушинского»

 

Кафедра английского языка

 

Направление подготовки 44.03.05 Педагогическое образование

 

 

 

 

РЕФЕРАТ

 

На тему: «The articulation basis of the English and the Russian languages»

 

 

 

Работа выполнена студенткой

2 курса, 421б группы

Кореляковой Анной 

 
Научный руководитель

кандидат педагогических наук,  
старший преподаватель

Слободская Юлия Владимировна

 

 

 

 

 

Ярославль

2015

 

Content

1. Introduction

2. Aspects of articulatory basis

3. The English articulatory basis

3.1 The main peculiarities of the English articulatory basis

3.2. Articulatory classification of consonants

3.3. Articulatory classification of vowel

4. The Russian articulatory basis

4.1 Articulatory classification of consonants

4.2. Articulatory classification of vowel

5. Differences in the articulatory  bases of the English and Russian sounds.

5.1. Differences in the pronunciation of consonants

5.2 Differences in the pronunciation of vowels

5. Conclusion

6. Bibliography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

In phonetics the basis of articulation is the default position or standard settings of a speaker's organs of articulation when ready to speak.

Different languages each have their own basis of articulation, which means that native speakers will share a certain position of tongue, lips, jaw, possibly even uvula or larynx, when preparing to speak. These standard settings enable them to produce the sounds and prosody of their native language most efficiently. Different accents within a given language may have their own characteristic basis of articulation.

Non-native speakers typically find the basis of articulation one of the greatest challenges in acquiring a foreign language's pronunciation. Speaking with the basis of articulation of their own native language results in a foreign accent, even if the individual sounds of the target language are produced correctly.

This subject is very actual for people learning foreign languages. It is very important for learners of foreign language to pronounce   sounds correctly and to see a difference between an articulation of sounds of foreign and native languages. For this reason we chose this subject of research.

In this paper we will contempt some peculiarities of English and Russian articulatory systems. At the same time we will analyze  the differences and similarities in the articulatory bases of  these two languages.

The subject of research: the articulation basis of the English and Russian languages.

The aim of research: to study and to show main peculiarities and differences in the English and Russian articulatory system.

The tasks of research:

1. To analyze literature and to systematize the materials on the term of the research.
2. To determine the concept of articulation basis.
3. To study the articulatory classification of English and Russian sounds.
4. To identify the differences between English and Russian articulatory basis.
5. To draw the conclusion on the done research.

Following methods of research were used during the writing  or reading  of the work: research  and  analysis  of  English and Russian articulatory languages  system, determined  observation on usage of studying materials.

This paper consists of 65 papers. It has introduction, two parts, conclusion, list of references and appendix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Aspects of articulatory basis

Phonetic basis suggests a number of the most typical pronunciation tendencies of the language. These tendencies are perceived by listeners as a certain “colouring” of the language under consideration.

Since phonetics deals with sounds and intonation, we distinguish between:

• articulatory (or organic) basis;
• intonational (prosodic) basis.

Articulatory basis has 2 aspects:

1) the static aspect;

2) the dynamic aspect.

The static aspect is the position of the organs of speech provided a person does not speak (or when he is about to speak) and when an isolated sound is uttered. This position of the organs of speech is usually called articulatory settings.

General tendencies of the articulatory setting of English:

1. The lips are spread and pressed tightly against the teeth.

2. The tip of the tongue is slightly curled back and is opposite the alveoli (but does not touch them). So the tongue is drawn back from the teeth.

3. The middle and the back parts of the tongue are flattered and lowered (the back part in particular).

4. The soft palate is raised, as in yawning. Such a position of the soft palate in combination with the lowered position of the back part of the tongue contributes to the increase of the mouth resonator.

General tendencies of the articulatory setting of Russian:

1. The lips are slightly rounded and with some speakers even protruded. The lips are not pressed against the teeth.

2. The tip of the tongue is put forward and touches the teeth.

3. The middle and the back parts of the tongue are slightly raised.

These differences in the articulatory settings of English & Russian are quite obvious, and Russian learners of English must be constantly aware of them when speaking English.

The dynamic aspect of the articulatory basis is the manner of transition from a consonant to a vowel or from a vowel to a consonant within a syllable or at the junction of syllables/words. This aspect also suggests the dynamics of the articulation of vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables.

For ex., the manner of transition from a consonant to a vowel may be characterized either as loose or as close. In different languages it is difficult. In English it is loose, while in Russian it is close. Cf.: “niece” (n + i : s) and “низ” (нис). Of in the English the first pretonic vowel has a high degree of reduction, while in Russian it has a very low degree of reduction. Cf.: “suppose” – “сапок”.

The differences in the articulation bases between the two languages-are "in the general tendencies their native speakers have, in the-way they move and hold their lips and the tongue both in speech and in silence, in the way they coordinate the work of the obstructor and vibrator mechanisms (lenis and fortis articulations), in the way they effect CV, VC and CC transitions (close and loose transitions)."

3. The English articulatory basis

3.1 The main peculiarities of the English articulatory basis

The English articulation basis is the specific position of the main organs of speech which makes English sound different from other languages of the world.

In contrast with Russian, the articulation basis of English language is characterized by the following rules:

1) The tongue is flat and drawn back from the teeth, which it scarcely ever touches. The front part of the tongue is lowered and slightly hollowed out.

2) In English lips are passive, they never go forward the way they do in Russian. The upper lip is practically immovable. Only the lower jaw goes freely up and down.

3) Lips are slightly spread in the so-called "phonetic smile".

4) The distance between the upper and the lower teeth should be very small, so that you can place the tip of a well-sharpened pencil between them. However, the main attention must be transferred to the glottis, because this is the mainstay of the English articulation basis. Only by learning to manipulate it we may hope to make real progress in the acquisition of literary English.

3.2Articulatory classification of consonants

In the English consonant system there are 24 consonants. The articulatory classification of consonants includes several aspects: 1. manner of articulation; 2 place of articulation.; 3. the work of the vocal cords; 4. the force of the articulation.

1. According to the manner of articulation 2 classes of consonants are distinguished: a) occlusive, in the production of which a complete obstruction is formed [t, d, b, p, g, k, ŋ ]; b) constrictive, in the production of which an incomplete obstruction is formed.[s, z, f, v, ӡ, ð, θ ]; c) occlusive-constrictive (affricates) in the pronunciation of which the sounds produced with a complete obstruction which is slowly released and the air escape from the mouth with some friction [t∫, dӡ].

2. Another principle is the place of articulation. Consonants are classed into 1) labial made by the lips. They may be bilabial [ p, b, m, w] and labio-dental [f, v]. 2) lingual: a) forelingual or apical, articulated with the tip of the tongue [l, t, d, n, s, z, ð, θ ]; b) mediolingual produced with front part of the tongue [j, ŋ], c)back lingual produced with the back part of the tongue [k, g,];  d) pharyngeal [h]; 3) glottal articulated in the glottis. Forelingual sounds are subdivided into 5 groups: a) interdental which are made with the tip of the tongue projected between teeth [ð, θ]; b) dental produced with the blade of the tongue against the upper teeth [t, d]; c) alveolar articulated with the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth ridge [s, z, n, l]; d) post-alveolar made when the tip of the tongue is against the back part of the teeth ridge [r]; e) palato-alveolar which have two place of articulation – teeth ridge and hard palate [t∫,  ∫]

3. The next principle the work of the vocal cords. According to it consonants can be voice and voiceless. In the articulation of the voice consonants the vocal cords are brought together and vibrate. When voiceless sounds are produced the vocal cords are kept apart.

4. According to the force of articulation consonants may be fortis and lenis. This characteristic is connected with the work of the vocal cords: voiceless consonants are strong and voiced are weak.

3.3. Articulatory classification of vowel

In the E. vowel system there are 12 vowel monophthongs and 8 or 9 diphthongs. Articulatory classification of vowel includes: the tongue position and lip position.

According to the position of the tongue vowels are classed from vertical and horizontal planes. From the horizontal plane vowels are divided into : 1. front when the tongue in the front part of the mouth [i:, e, æ]; 2. front-retracted are made when the tongue in the front part of the mouth but slightly retracted [i] ; 3.central pronounced when the front of the tongue is raised towards the back part of the hard palate[Λ, ə:, ə]; 4. back articulated when the tongue in the back part of the mouth and it is raised to the soft palate[a:, o, o:, u:]; 5. back-advanced in production of which the tongue in the back part of the mouth but slightly advanced and the central part of it is raised towards the front part of the soft palate [u].

From the vertical plane E. vowels are divided into: 1. close made when the front or back of the tongue is raised towards the palate[ i:, i, u, u:]; 2. mid articulated when the tongue occupies the position intermediate between the close and the open one[e, Λ, ə:, ə]; 3. open produced when the front or back of the tongue is as low as possible in the mouth cavity[ǽ, a:, o, o:]. Each class has wide and narrow variations.

According to the lip rounding vowels have 3 positions: spread [i:, i, e, ǽ, a:, Λ, ə:, ə], neutral, rounded [o, o:, u, u:].

4. The Russian articulatory basis

4.1 Articulatory classification of consonants

In the Russian languages there are 37 consonants. Articulation characteristic for classification Russian consonants are the manner of articulation and the place of articulation.

       1. According to the place of articulation and work of the organ of speech sounds divided into labial and lingual.

a) Labial consonants are the sounds in the articulation of which the abstruction is made by means of lips or a lower lip and upper teeth. They could be bilabial [б], [п], [м], [б'], [п'], [м'] and labia-dental [в], [в'], [ф], [ф'].

b) Depending on what part of the tongue make an abstruction consonants could be forelingual[д], [т], [н], [з], [с], [л],[д'], [т'], [н'], [з'], [с'], [л'], mediolingual [j] and backlingual[г], [к], [х], [г'], [к'], [х'].

Forelingual sounds are divided into:

1) dorsal: [т], [т'], [д], [д'], [с], [с'], [з], [з'], [ц], [н], [н'], [л], [л'];

2) palato-alveolar: [ш], [ ш̅' ], [ж], [ ж̅' ], [р], [р'], [ч'].

2. According to the manner of articulation consonants are divided into:

A) Plosive (occlusive) in pronunciation of which the organs of speech are closed up completely[б], [п], [д], [т], [г], [к][б'], [п'], [д'], [т'], [г'], [к'].

B) Constrictive (fricative) at which pronunciation organs of speech are closed up not completely and form the air passage[в], [в'], [ф], [ф'], [з], [з'], [с], [с'], [ж], [ ж̅' ], [ш], [ ш̅' ], [х].

C) Affricates. In the pronunciation of these consonants organs of speech are closed, forming an obstruction which then is broken off by air therefore the narrowing is formed.  These are sounds [ч'] and [ц]. In the pronunciation of sounds [ч'] and [ц] at first the tip of the tongue is closed with the teeth (in the sound [ц]) or with the front part of the palate (in the sound [ч']), then air stream open the organs of speech producing the narrowing in which air with noise comes out. Therefore the sound [c] consists of the sounds [т] and [с], and a sound [ч'] – the soft sounds [т'] and [ш ̅'].

D) Rolled consonants or vibrating in the articulation of which  active organs of speech vibrate. In Russian it is sounds [р] and [р'].

E) Complete closure consonants in the pronunciation of which organs of speech are completely closed, but are not opened by the  air stream as air passes through a nasal or a mouth cavity. These are sounds [л], [л'], [м], [м'], [н], [н']. In the articulation of the sounds [л] and [л'] the front part of the tongue is closed with upper teeth, but between lateral edges of tongue and teeth narrowing are formed through which the air stream passes. Therefore sounds [л] and [л'] are called lateral. In the pronunciation of sounds [м] and [м'] lips are completely closed, and in the sounds [н] and [н'] tongue side with upper teeth; but the air stream passes through a nose. Therefore sounds [м], [м'], [н], [н'] are called nasal.

4.2. Articulatory classification of vowel

Vowels are sounds of the speech which are made with the air stream that meets no abstruction in the mouth or nasal cavity.

In Russian there are 6 vowels: [а], [о], [э], [и], [ы], [у]. They are most distinctly heard under the stress.

During the pronunciation of vowels the shape of a mouth cavity can change. These changes depend on lip position and the vertical horizontal movement of the tongue.

According to the lip position all vowels are divided into two groups: labial – [о], [у] and illabial – [и], [э], [ы], [а].

In the articulation of sounds [о], [у] a lip are rounded and extended forward. In the articulation of sounds [а], [э], [и], [ы] lips are spread. The sound [о] differs from [у] with smaller degree of a lip rounding.

According to the vertical movement of the tongue the vowels divided into three groups: low [а], central [э], [о] and high [и], [ы], [у] tongue position.

According to the horizontal movement of the tongue vowels are classified into three groups: front or palatal[и], [э], central or medial[ы], [а] and back or velar[у], [о].

In the pronunciation of front vowels front part of the tongue moves to a hard palate.

In the pronunciation of back vowels the back of the tongue moves to a soft palate.

Central vowels are intermediate between front and back vowels. In this case the front part of the tongue is raised to the back part of the hard palate.

5. Differences in the articulatory bases of the English and Russian sound.

5.1. Differences in the pronunciation of consonants

The peculiarities of the articulation bases which give rise to the differences in the system of consonants in English and in Russian are-the following:

1. The English forelingual consonants are articulated with the apico-alveolar position of the tip of the tongue. The Russian forelingual consonants are mainly dorsal: in their articulation the tip of the tongue is passive and lowered; the blade is placed against the upper teeth. The Russian forelingual apical consonants are only: [л, л ', ш, Ш', ж, ж `].

2. Russian students often use the hard / ш, ж / phonemes instead of the soft English [ ∫, ӡ ]. Palatalization is a phonemic feature in Russian. There is no opposition between palatalyzed - non-palatalyzed consonants in English. The soft colouring of the English [ ∫, t ∫, dӡ, l, ӡ ] is non-phonemic.

3. In the articulation of [ w ] the primary focus is formed by the lips, which are rounded but not protruded, as it happens when the Russian [ y ] is pronounced. The bilabial [ w ] which is pronounced with a round narrowing is very often mispronounced by Russians. They use the labiodental [ в ] which is pronounced with a flat narrowing instead of the English [ w ].

The primary focus in the articulation of "dark" is formed by the tip of the tongue pressed against the teeth ridge in the initial position.

English voiceless plosives [ p, t, k ] are aspirated, when followed by a stressed vowel and not preceded by [ s ].

5. The English voiceless fortis [ p, t, k, f, s, ∫, tʃ ] are pronounced more energetically than similar Russian consonants. The English voiced consonants [ b, d, g, v, d, z, ӡ, dӡ ] are not replaced by the corresponding voiceless sounds in final positions and before voiceless consonants.

6. Consonant phonemes in English which have no counterparts in Russian are the following:

1. the bilabial sonorant [ w ],

2. the dental consonants [ ð, θ ],

3. the voiced affricate [ dз ],

4. the post-alvcolar sonorant [ r ],

5. the backlingual nasal sonorant [ ŋ ],

6. the glottal [ h ].

Consonant phonemes in Russian which have no counterparts in English are the following;

1. the palatalized consonants [ п `, б ', т', д` ].

2. the voiceless affricate [ ц ],

3. the rolled sonorant [p ],

4. the backlingual voiceless [x ].

The most common mistakes that may result from the differences in the articulation bases of the English and Russian languages are the following:

- Dorsal articulation of the English [ t, d ],

- The use of the Russian rolled / p / instead of the English [r ],

- The use of the Russian [ x ] instead of the English glottal /[h ],

- Mispronunciation of the English interdental [ð, θ]

- The use of the forelingual / n / instead of the backlingual velar [ŋ ].

- The use of the Russian dark / ш, ж / instead of the soft English [ ∫, ӡ ],

- The use of the labio-dental [v, в ] instead of the bilabial [w ],

- Weak pronunciation of voiceless fortis [p, t, k, f, s, ∫, t∫ ],

- Devoicing of [ b, d, g, v, ð, z, ӡ, dӡ ] in the terminal position 

5.2 Differences in the pronunciation of vowels