lecture 4

Lecture 4 Subject-verb Concord (1) Subject-verb concord refers to agreement in number between the subject and the predicate verb.4.1 Guiding principlesThere are three principles guiding subject-verb concord of grammatical concord, principle of notional concord and principle of proximity.1) Grammatical concordThe principle of grammatical concord refers to the rule that the verb must match its subject in number. If the subject plural, the verb should take the plural form; if, on the other hand, the subject is singular or is a mass noun, the verb should take the singular form, e.g.:Both boys have their own merits.Every girl comes on time.Much effort is wasted.Difficulties arise when this principle comes into conflict with the other twoprinciples: principle of notional concord and principle of proximity.2) Notional concordThe principle of notional concord refers to the rule that the verb can sometimes agree with the subject accoridng to the notion of number rather than to the actual presence of the grammatical marker for that notion, e.g.: The government have asked the country to decide by a vote.Fifteen miles seems like a long walk to me.3) ProximityThe principle of proximity denotes agreement of the verb with a closely preceding noun phrase in preference to agreement with the head of the noun phrase that functions as subject, e.g.:Either my brothers or my father is coming.Neither Julia nor I am going.Note that grammatical concord is the basic principle, but when the subject is realized by acollective noun, a coordinate form or an expression of quantity, the other two principles will have to be considered.4.2 Problems of concord with nouns ending in –sThere are quite a few nouns that end in –s but which are not countable. Some of these nouns are treated as singular, some as plural, and some either as singualr or as plural. All this can be dealt with as illustrated in the following.1) Disease and game names ending in –sNames of diseases ending in –s are mostly treated as singular, but there are a few such names (as measles and rickets) which can be used either as singular or as plural.Game names ending in –s are generally used as singular with the exception of cards which is usually treated as plural.2) Subject names ending in –icsNames of subjects ending in –ics are generally singular nouns, but some such nounsare treated as plural when used not as subject names. Compare:Acoustics is the science of sound.The acoustics in the new concert hall are faultless.Economics is a required course for all the students.The economics of the project are still being considered.3) Geographical names ending in –sGeographical names such as the names of archipelagos, mountain ranges, straits and falls are generally plural, except for a few that are treated as singular when used as the names of countries, e.g.:The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of plant and animal life.The straits of Gibraltar have not lost their strategic importance.In early January 1976, the Netherlands was hit by its worst storm since 1953.4) Other nouns ending in –sNames of things made of two parts such as scissors, pincers, etc. are usually used as plural. But when they are preceded by such unit nouns as a pair of and two pairs of, the number form of the following verb is generally determined by the number marker of the unit noun.Nouns usually taking plural endings such as archives, arms and clothes are generally used as plural with the exception of whereabouts, dramatics, etc. which may be treated either as plural or as singular.Nouns ending in –ings such as clippings, diggings, etc. are generally used as plural with the exception of tidings which can be used both ways.There are also nouns such as barracks and headquarters whose singular and plural number share the same form. These nouns are treated as plural when used in the plural sense, or vice versa.4.3 Problems of concord with collective nounsas subjectCollective nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning. The choice between the grammatical concord and the notional concord is mostly dictated by usage.1) Collective nouns usually used as pluralThese include people, police, cattle, militia, poultry, vermin, etc.The Chinese people are a great people.Domestic cattle provide us with milk, beef and hides.2) Collective nouns usually used as singularThese include foliage, machinery, equipment, furniture, merchandise, etc.:All the merchandise has arrived undamaged.All the machinery in the factory is made in China.3) Collective nouns used either as plural or as singularThere are collective nouns that can be used either as plural or as singular. The choiceof the verb form following such nouns depends on the exact meaning of the noun in a specific context. When the noun is used in the sense of a collective as a whole, the verb takes the singular form. If, on the other hand, the noun is used in the sense of the individuals that make the collective, the verb takes the plural form. Compare:The anti-crime committee is to make its report tomorrow.The committee are divided in opinion about this problem.That group of soldiers is a top-notch fighting unit.That group of soldiers have the best ratings of individual performance.4) A committee of, etc. + plural nounWhen a plural noun is preceded by a committee of/a board of/a panel of, the verb usually takes the singular form, e.g.:A committee of five men and three women is to consider the matter.The board of directors is responsible for the management of the company.。

语言学笔记陈银2014/3/28Lecture 4Pretest⏹ 1. What is phonetics?⏹ 2. Phonetics can be further divided into three main areas, what are they? What do theystudy respectively?⏹ 3. What do phonology study? What‟s similarity of and the difference between phoneticsand phonology?Answer⏹ 1. Phonetics studies how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived.⏹ 2. They are articulatory, accoustic and auditory phonetics.⏹ARTICULATORY PHONETICS studies the production of speech sounds⏹ACOUSTIC PHNETICS studies physical properties of sounds produced in speech⏹AUDITORY PHONETIC studies perception of speech sounds⏹ 3. Phonology studies the sound patterns and sound systems of languages.⏹Similarity: concerned with the speech sounds.⏹Differences: Phonetics is strictly physical while phonology also pays attention to thefunction or meaning of a sound.⏹Phonetics only asks, “Does this sound go here or not?” Phonology asks, “Does themeaning change if I put this sound here instead of that one?”⏹Phonetics makes a pretty general description of sounds and can be used to describesounds in any language. Phonology makes very detailed descriptions of sounds, so each language has its own unique set of symbols (because no two languages use all of the exact same sounds).⏹(the detailed differences can be got in the e-handouts in QQ group.)Chapter 2 Speech Sounds⏹Generalization of this chapter:Articulatory（发声）Phonetics (Acoustic) （声学）（语音学）Speech (Auditory) （听觉）Sounds（音位学）（音位）（音位变体）Phonology phonemes (allophones)Generalization of this chapter:speechorgansArticulatory consonants broad（发声）speech phoneticsounds transcriptionsvowels narrow（音位学）Phonological processesPhonologyDistinctive featuresIntroduction⏹As human beings we are capable of making all kinds of sounds, but only some of thesesounds have become units in the language system.⏹We can analyze speech sounds from various perspectives and the two major areas ofstudy are phonetics and phonology.Phonetics studies how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived.⏹ A branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech sounds andprovides methods for their description, classification and transcription, e.g. [p]bilabial, stop.Phonetics is the scientific study of speech sounds which are used by all human languages or by a particular language to represent meanings.A speech sound goes through a three-step process as shown below.Speaker A Speaker Bspeech speech speechproduction ---- transmission ---- perceptionArticulatory(acoustic) (auditory)the study of | the study of the physical | concerned withproduction of | properties of the sounds | the perceptionspeech sounds | produced in speech | of speech soundsPhonology is the study of the sound patterns and sound systems of languages.⏹It aims to …discover the principles that govern the way sounds are organizedin languages, and to explain the variations that occur‟ (Crystal, 1997:162).⏹In phonology we normally begin by analyzing an individual language, sayEnglish, in order to determine its phonological structure, i.e. which soundunits are used and how they are put together.⏹Then we compare the properties of sound systems in different languages inorder to make hypotheses about the rules that underlie the use of sounds inthem, and ultimately we aim to discover the rules that underlie the soundpatterns of all languages.2.1 How Speech Sounds Are Made?2.1.1 Speech OrgansSPEECH ORGANS(or VOCAL ORGANS): parts of the human body involved in the production of speech⏹Lung⏹Trachea(or windpipe气管)⏹Throat: pharynx(咽),larynx(喉, including vocal folds/vocal cords)⏹Nose⏹Mouth: tongue, various parts of palate(腭)⏹VOCAL TRACT(声道): pharynx, mouth (oral cavity), nose (nasal cavity)⏹AIRSTREAM (气流): source of energy⏹MOUTHUpper lip, upper teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, soft palate (velum), uvulaLower lip, lower teeth, tongue, mandible (lower jaw)Tongue☐tip(舌尖), blade (舌叶), front, back, root☐CORONAL(舌尖音, tip and blade); DORSAL(舌背音, front and back);RADICAL (舌根音,root)⏹PHARYNX (咽): the larynx opens into a muscular tube⏹LARYNX (喉)Adam‟s apple, V ocal folds (vocal cords, vocal bands)Positions of vocal folds1.Apart: the air can pass through easily — voiceless(清音) e.g., [p, s, t]2.Close together: the airstream causes them to vibrate against each other — voiced(浊音)e.g., [b, z, d]3.Totally together: no air can pass between them — glottal stop(声门塞音) [ʔ]V oiced and voicelessThe level of vibration振动of the vocal cords声带determines whether a sound is voiced or unvoiced.If the vocal cords---apart, the airstream is not obstructed at the glottis and passes through freely. -- voiceless sounds.If the vocal cords are together, the air stream forces its way through and causes them to vibrate. -- voiced sounds.feel the distinction sounds.2.1.1 Speech organsWhat kinds of sounds can we make when the vocal cords are (a) tightly closed; (b) wide open;(c) loosely together and vibrating?(a) no sound or inaudible sound symbolized as /?/;(b) voiceless sound such as /h/;(c) voiced sounds such as /d/.2.1.2 The IPAIPA: the abbreviation（缩写）of International Phonetic AlphabetIt is a standardized and internationally accepted system of phonetic transcriptionThe development of the IPA:The Danish grammarian Otto Jespersen (1860-1943)(叶斯柏生) first proposed the idea in 1886. The first version of IPA was published in August 1888.The latest version was devised in 1993 and corrected in 1996 and 2005.The basic principle: using a separate letter selected from major European languages for each distinctive sound and the same symbol should be used for that sound in any language in which it appears.•In the IPA chart, the sound segments are grouped into consonants and vowels.•The consonants are divided into pulmonic and non-pulmonic consonants.•Pulmonic sounds are produced by pushing air out of the lungs.•Non -pulmonic sounds are produced by either sucking air into the mouth , or closing the glottis and manipulating the air.The Definition of Diacritics•The diacritics are additional symbols or marks used together with the consonant and vowel to indicate nuances of change in their pronunciation.•DIACRITICS(附加符号): to transcribe the minute difference between variations of the same soundE.g.Nasalization:[a] in lamb has some quality of the following nasal is labeled as [ã]Aspiration: [ph] in “peak”, [p=] in “speak”2.2 Consonants and vowels⏹ConsonantConsonants are produced …by a closure in the vocal tract, or by a narrowing which is so marked that air cannot escape without producing audible friction‟.⏹VowelA vowel is produced without such ‘stricture’so that …air escapes in a relatively unimpeded way thr ough the mouth or nose‟.⏹The distinction between vowels and consonants lies in the _____________ ofairstream.2.2.1 ConsonantsCriterion for classification⏹Manner of articulation: the actual relationship between the articulators and thus theway in which the air passes through certain parts of the vocal tract.⏹Place of articulation: where in the vocal tract there is approximation, narrowing orthe obstruction of air. (the point where a consonant is made. )⏹The manner of articulation refers to the ways in which articulation can beaccomplished:⏹the articulators may close off the oral tract for an instant or a relatively longperiod;⏹they may narrow the space considerably; or⏹they may simply modify the shape of the tract by approaching each other.(1) STOP/PLOSIVE : complete closure of the articulators involved so that the airstream cannot escape through the mouthE.g., [p, b, t, d, k, g]⏹Three phases:ClosingHold/compressionRelease (PLOSION)⏹ORAL STOP (or STOP)(2) NASAL STOP (or NASAL): the air is stopped in the oral cavity but the soft palate is down so that it can go out through the nasal cavityE.g., [m, n, ŋ](3) FRICATIVE: close approximation of two articulators so that the airstream is partially obstructed and turbulent airflow is producedE.g., [f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h](4) (MEDIAN) APPROXIMANT ((中)通音): an articulation in which one articulator is close to another, but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is producedE.g., [w, ɹ, j](5) LATERAL: obstruction of the airstream at a point along the center of the oral tract with incomplete closure between one or both sides of the tongue and the roof of the mouthE.g. [l](6) TRILL (ROLL): produced when an articulator is set vibrating by the airstreamE.g., [r] in “red” (Scottish English), “rr” in “perro”(dog)(7) Tap and FlapTap: the tongue makes a single tap against the alveolar ridge to produce only one vibration is produced, e.g., [ɾ], “city, letter” in American EnglishFlap: the tip of the tongue curled up and back in a retroflex gesture and then striking the roof of the mouth in the post-alveolar region as it returns to its position behind the lower front teeth, e.g., [ɽ], “dirty, sorting” in American English(8) AFFRICATIVE: a stop followed immediately afterwards by a fricative at the same position (more than one manner is involved)E.g., [tʃ, dʒ], “ch” in “church”, “j” in “jet”;[tsh] and [ts] in “错” and “做”Note: [ts, dz, tr, dr] are not affricatives.⏹The place of articulation refers to the point where a consonant is made.⏹Practically consonants may be produced at any place between the lips andthe vocal folds.⏹Eleven places of articulation are distinguished on the IPA chart:⏹Bilabial⏹Labiodental⏹Dental⏹Alveolar⏹Postalveolar⏹Retroflex⏹Palatal⏹Velar⏹Uvular⏹Pharyngeal⏹GlottalPlaces of articulation(1) BILABIAL: made with the two lips, as [p, b, m] in “pet”, “bet” and “met”; [w](2) LABIODENTAL(唇齿音): made with the lower lip and the upper front teeth, as [f, v] in “fire” and “via”(3) DENTAL: made by the tongue tip or blade and the upper front teeth, e.g., [θ, ð](4) ALVEOLAR: made with the tongue tip or blade and the alveolar ridge, e.g., [t, d, n, s, z, ɹ ,l](5) POSTALVEOLAR (or palato-alveolar): made with the tongue tip and the back of the alveolar ridge, e.g., [ʃ, ʒ](6) RETROFLEX (卷舌音) : made with the tongue tip or blade curled back (retroflexed) so that the underside of the tongue tip or blade forms a stricture with the back of the alveolar ridge or the hard palate, e.g., [ʂ] in “上海”(7) PALATAL: made with the front of the tongue and the hard palate, [j] in “yes”, and [ç] (for “h”) in “he”(8) VELAR: made with the back of the tongue and the soft palate, e.g., velar stop [k, g] in “cat” and “get”, velar nasal [ŋ] in “sing”, velar fricative [x] in Chinese “和”(9) UVULAR: made with the back of the tongue and the uvular, the short projection of soft tissue and muscle at the posterior end of the velum, e.g., [ʁ] in “Paris, votre”(10) PHARYNGEAL (咽音): made with the root of the tongue and the walls of the pharynx, e.g., “caadi” [ʕaːdi], “xood “ [ħoːd](11) GLOTTAL (声门音): made with the two pieces of vocal folds pushed towards each other,e.g., [h] in “hat, hold”, [ʔ] in “pack, beaten”2.2.2 Vowels⏹Cardinal Vowels, are a set of vowel qualities arbitrarily defined, fixed andunchanging, intended to provide a frame of reference for the description of the actual vowels of existing languages.standard reference points; British phonetician Daniel Jones ; Outline of English Phonetics (1962); “cardinal vowel diagram”, or “cardinal vowel quadrilateral”; V owels produced in these areas constitute the eight cardinal vowels. The secondary cardinal vowels then fit between them.⏹Cardinal vowel diagram (基本元音图, or quadrilateral): a set of standard reference pointsbased on a combination of articulatory and auditory judgment, in which three positions of the tongue (front, center, back) as well as four levels of tongue height (close, close-mid, open-mid, open) are distinguished⏹Pure or monophthong vowels :vowels where the quality remains constantthroughout the articulation .⏹Vowel glides: those where there is an audible change of quality.⏹Diphthong：a single movement of the tongue .⏹way [wei] , tide [taid] , how [hau] ,toy [tɔi], toe [təu]⏹Triphthong：a double movement; …a glide from one vowel to another and thento a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption‟.⏹wire [ˈwaiə], tower [ˈtauə]Criteria of Vowel Description1.the height of tongue raising (high, mid, low);2.the position of the highest part of the tongue (front, central, back);3.the length or tenseness of the vowel (tense vs. lax or long vs. short), and4.lip-rounding (rounded vs. unrounded).2.SCHW A : the tongue position for the neutral vow el [ə] is neither high nor low and neitherfront nor back3.Primary vowels: CV1 [i], CV2 [e], CV3 [ε], CV4 [a], CV5[ɑ] (unrounded), CV6[ɔ] ,CV 7[o], CV 8 [u] (rounded)4.Secondary vowels: reversing the lip-rounding for a given positionDescription of MonophthongsSubdivisions:Vertically:High: [i:] [i] [u:] [u]; Mid: [e] [ə:] [ə] [ɔ:]; Low: [æ] [ʌ] [ɑ:] [ɔ] ; Horizontally: Front: [i:] [i] [e] [æ]; Central: [ə:] [ə] [ʌ] ; Back: [u:] [u] [ɔ:] [ɔ] [ɑ:];Shape of the lips:Rounded: [u] [u:] [ɔ] [ɔ:]; Unrounded: [i:] [i] [e] [æ] [ə:] [ə] [ʌ] [ɑ:]; Tenseness of muscles:Tense: [i:] [u:] [ə:] [ɔ:] [ɑ:];Lax: [i] [u] [e] [ə] [ʌ] [ɔ] [æ].⏹NOTE 1: Abstractness of cardinal vowels: cardinal vowels represent extreme point of atheoretical vowel space, i.e. they are as remote as possible from the neutral position of schwa; approximation the articulators beyond this vowel space would involve frication or contact.⏹NOTE 2: All cardinal vowels are monophthongs and their quality does not change duringtheir production.⏹PURE VOWELS(纯元音or MONOPHTHONGS 单元音): Vowels where qualityremains constant throughout the articulation⏹VOWEL GLIDES (元音音渡): V owels where there is an audible change of qualityDiphthongs (双元音): a single movement of the tongue is involved, e.g. way [weI], tide [taId]Triphthongs (三重元音): twice movements of the tongues are involved, e.g. wire [waIə], tower [tauə]2.2.3 The Sound of English⏹Received pronunciation(RP 标准发音) (or BBC English, Oxford English,King‟s/Queen‟s English)RP originates in the southeast of England and is spoken by the upper-middle and upper classes throughout England.⏹General American (GA)[p] voiceless bilabial stop[b] voiced bilabial stop[s] voiceless alveolar fricative[h] glottal fricative[l] (alveolar) lateral⏹ 1. The sound /p/can be described with "_______, bilabial, stop". (北二外2007研)⏹ 2. The sound /b/can be described with "_______, bilabial, stop". (北二外2004研)⏹ 3. The sound /k/ can be described with "voiceless, _______, stop". (北二外2003研)⏹ 4. Consonant articulations are relatively easy to feel. And as a result are mostconveniently described in terms of _______and manner of articulation. (北二外2004,2008研)⏹ 5. Consonants differ from vowels in that the latter are produced without _______.1. Of the consonants /p/ , /t/, /k/, /f/, /m/, /z/ and /g/, which has the features of voiceless and velar? （对外经贸2005研)A. /k/B. /p/C. /g/D. /t/2. The consonant /s/ in the word "smile" can be described as: (对外经贸2006研)A. voiceless oral alveolar fricativeB. voiceless nasal bilabial liquidC. voiced oral alveolar plosiveD. voiced oral bilabial fricative3. Which of the following is the correct description of [v]?A.voiceless labiodental fricativeB. voiced labiodental fricativeC. voiceless labiodental stopD. voiced labiodental stop1. All of the followings are bilabials except __.A. [P]B. [b]C. [m]D.[t]2. Which one is an alveolar?A. [w]B. [t]C. [j]D.[k]3. The only glottal in English is __.A. [n]B. [m]C. [g]D. [h]4. Which one is a palatal?A. [j]B. [l]C. [r]D.[z]5. The voiceless labiodental is __.A. [f]B. [v]C. [w]D. [j]6. The voiceless alveolar fricative is __.A. [f]B. [s]C. [p]D. [k]7. The glottal fricative is __.A. [v]B. [j]C. [h]D. [θ]8. The sound of [m] is a __.A. bilabial nasalB. voiced bilabial nasalC. voiced alveolar nasalD. voiced velar nasal9. The lateral is __.A. [r]B. [l]C. [j]D. [w]10. The palatal glide is __A. [w]B. [r]C. [j]D. [l]11. Which one is different from the others according to places of articulation?A. [n]B. [m]C. [ b ]D. [p]12. Which vowel is different from the others according to the characteristics of vowels?A. [æ]B. [ u ]C. [e]D. [ i ]13. What kind of sounds can we make when the vocal cords are vibrating?A. VoicelessB. VoicedC. Glottal stopD. Consonant⏹ 1.Write down the phones according to the following phonetic descriptions.⏹ 1. voiceless unaspirated bilabial stop⏹ 2. lateral⏹ 3. velar nasal⏹ 4. voiced interdental fricative⏹ 5. voiceless affricate⏹ 6. palatal glide⏹7. voiceless aspirated alveolar stopFour basic requirements for the description of vowels1) the height of tongue raising (high, mid, low)2) the position of the highest part of the tongue (front, central, back)3) the length or tenseness of the vowel (tense vs. lax or long vs. short)4) lip-rounding (rounded vs. unrounded)⏹We can now describe the English vowels in this way:⏹[:ι] high front tense unrounded vowel⏹[Y] high back lax rounded vowel⏹[≅] mid central lax unrounded vowel⏹[Θ] low back lax rounded vowelHomework⏹ 1. Define the following terms:⏹phonetics/ articulatory phonetics/ phonology/⏹speech organs/ voicing/ International Phonetic Alphabet/ consonant/ vowel/ manner ofarticulation/place of articulation/ Cardinal V owels/⏹vowel glide2. Discuss the following questions:1)What organs are involved in speech production?2)Why did George Bernald Shaw say he could spell the word fish as ghoti?3)How is the description of consonants different from that of vowels?Group Work⏹Group 4: 2.5 Suprasegmentals。