PHONETICS PROCEDURES

1. Watch your LANGUAGE HELPER’s (LH) mouth. Get close! How does their tongue
move? How far does it come forward or go backward? How rounded are their lips?
2. Listen intently. You will not be able to produce a sound until you hear it right.
3. English is “lip lazy.” We tend to glide into our vowels (more about this later) thereby
producing more than one vowel sound. Many languages shape their vowels before they
say them, producing what we call pure vowels. Concentrate on producing pure vowels.
4. Isolate those sounds you find difficult, and set up drills. If possible, find words where the
difficult sounds occur at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of words. The
exercises on the following pages will demonstrate this.
5. Record your LH reading children’s stories slowly and with feeling. That kind of reading
highlights individual sounds.
6. Record yourself trying to read the same stories. Doing so enables you to compare your
pronunciation with that of your LH.
7. You must learn to listen to yourself speak, and then self-correct.
8. Don’t be confused by the way a language is written. Often, letters in the alphabet cover
more than one sound. Remember, English has twenty-six letters which, alone or in
combination with others, represent forty-four sounds.
9. When you sat down at your table, you found a small mirror along with your notebook.
Whenever necessary, use it during the session to see what’s going on in your mouth.

When you speak a foreign language

When you speak a foreign language

When you speak a foreign language, your pronunciation is not a factor of
fluency…unless...you speak so poorly no one can understand you. But your pronunciation is
the first thing native speakers notice; in spite of dialectical differences, they are all agreed on
what is acceptable speech. When you speak their language, is your speech
acceptable? This should be possible – after all, we all possess the same kind
of vocal “hardware” (mouth, tongue, teeth, lips, nose, etc.), and can produce
the same sounds. So, “I can’t make that sound” is not really the case. Yes
you can! And why would you not want to?
Becoming aware of what your mouth is doing in the pronunciation of words is the first step
toward becoming a better speaker of another language as you learn it. As you pronounce each
of the following words in the right column, pay attention to how the initial consonant of each
word is being produced. Then write that consonant in a blank next to the proper description.
PHONETICS is the linguistic discipline which addresses the recognition, production and
recording of the different speech sounds. Questions like “How and where are those sounds
produced?”, “Are there different categories of sounds that share certain features?”, and “How
can they all be written?”…these questions come to mind.
There are about 700 speech sounds in the world. When you were born, you were able to
produce any of them, but since you only needed a few, your mouth locked onto those sounds
it needed to make you sound like everyone else around you. Even though you are still able to
produce those hundreds of other speech sounds, you are no longer working with a “clean
slate.” This is where phonetics training comes in along with the practice necessary to result in
good pronunciation.
VOICED sounds occur when the vocal folds in the larynx (i.e. the GLOTTIS) are close
together and vibrating. VOICELESS sounds occur when the vocal folds are apart and are
stationary.

language

language

Investigations in historical aspects of languages and the field of
dialectology would be impossible without an understanding of phonetics. The
practical aspect of Phonetics is no less important. Teaching of reading and
writing is possible only when one clearly understands the difference between the
sounds and written forms of the language and the connection between them.
Phonetics is also widely used in teaching correct pronunciation and allocution of
actors, singers, TV announcers on the basis of established orthoepical norms.
Orthoepy is the correct pronunciation of the words of a language. Phonetics is
important for eliminating dialectical features from the pronunciation of dialect
speakers; in logopedics (in curing various speech defects); in surdopedagogics (in
teaching normal aural speech to deaf and dumb people). Acoustic Phonetics and
Phonology are of great use in technical acoustics or sound technology that is the
branch of science and technology which is concerned with the study and design of
techniques for the recording, transmission, reproduction, analysis and synthesis of
sound by means of various devices such as microphone, loud-speaker, radio and
television sets, speech synthesizers etc.

Communication and Power

Communication and Power

Communication is also the most powerful input resource in an enterprise. The various resources, just to recount, are as below:
1 Men
2 Money
3 Materials
4 Machines
5 Methods
6 Management
7 Measurement
8 Message covering both information and communication flows
9 Motive Power
10 Motivational Leadership
Messaging has emerged as the most important resource for, without it, nothing can be transacted anywhere. It is the lifeline of any society. It is the glue that holds companies, communities and countries together.
There is another process that is also used to influence others – it is the use of authority or power. They say if person has power it shows because it quickly shows his influence or hold on others‟ opinion. However, it must be understood in its proper perspective. Power has been described as „a process of influencing others to do some

thing that, left to themselves, they will not do‟. This process is, then, quite different from that of communication where we influence others as equals - members of the family, members of the inter-departmental teams or customers or fellow members of an association. The process of communication is greatly dependent on the skill of individuals who, as equal members, are in a position to influence others so as to compel, propel or impel them to work together to achieve common goals!

SCOPE OF COMMUNICATION

SCOPE OF COMMUNICATION

Communication as a subject of study has a very vast canvas. To different people, communication implies various areas of study, research and application:

(1) It is a means of transportation from one place to another viz., moving men, machines, materials etc by surface transport like railways, roadways or by air or by sea. It is not uncommon to describe a region or a country backward in terms of means of communication because it is not serviced or well connected by railways, roadways, airways or seaways.

(2) It also relates to means of sending / receiving messages, packets or parcels through post, telephone, telegram, radio, wireless or Internet. These means of communications have undergone rapid changes during the last few decades. Postal services have been revolutionized by courier services – same-day delivery, next-day delivery etc. Telephone services have become commonplace – one can talk to a person anywhere even one orbiting in a satellite without shouting. The mobile telephony and use of Internet has changed the way people talk and communicate with one another. They are changing the way business is done.

(3) Communication is a major focus of attention for artists – singers, dancers, actors, painters, sculptors etc are all trying to communicate with their audiences. They endeavour to win their attention and appreciation so as to secure attractive returns for their efforts.
In managerial or business context, it is the science and art of communicating. Etymologically, communication as a word is derived from the word „common‟ in English or „Communis‟ from Latin. It means „shared by‟ or „concerning all‟. Thus communication is a process of „influencing others‟ to achieve common, shared objectives. These goals could be that of individuals, families, teams, departments / functions and companies.
Communication has emerged as a very powerful personal skill that individuals must acquire to be able to perform their duties and become efficient managers and effective leaders.

Prosodic features in phonetics

Prosodic features in phonetics

It is generally considered sufficient to transcribe three levels of stress on syllables: primary
(marked " ), secondary (marked Æ ) and unstressed (no mark). The use of these marks in
the example text should be taken to record the transcriber’s impression of the degree of
prominence heard. It has often been remarked that English stress is both FREE (in that any
syllable is capable in principle of receiving stress) and FIXED (since it only rarely happens
in a particular context that more than one stress placement is acceptable). Many attempts
have been made to produce rules for the placement of stress, either within the word or in
higher-level units, but such rules have frequent exceptions.
Many transcription systems for English intonation have been proposed, but no accepted
standard exists. There is general agreement that English speech may be divided into
intonational units of one or more syllables, each of which contains one major accent, and that
different pitch-accents or tones correspond to various attitudinal or syntactic functions, but it
is difficult to identify any intonational features that are unique to English, and the nature and
the number of pitch-patterns or pitch-accents is still a matter of dispute.
English RHYTHM is said to be STRESS-TIMED, i.e. the intervals between stressed syllables
tend to be constant and unstressed syllables are compressed to preserve the isochrony of the
inter-stress intervals. While the evidence for this is not completely conclusive, it is clear that
in RP there is a very marked difference between weak, unstressed syllables which in some
contexts may be almost undetectable and strong syllables (stressed or unstressed) which are
fully pronounced.

Communication

Communication

Communication skills are important to everyone - they are how we give and receive information and
convey our ideas and opinions with those around us.
Communication comes in many forms:
• verbal (sounds, language, and tone of voice)
• aural (listening and hearing)
• non-verbal (facial expressions, body language, and posture)
• written (journals, emails, blogs, and text messages)
• visual (signs, symbols, and pictures)
It is important to develop a variety of skills for both communicating TO others and learning how to
interpret the information received FROM others. Knowing our audience and understanding how they
need to receive information is equally important as knowing ourselves.
To an employer, good communication skills are essential. In fact, employers consistently rank good
communication skills at the top of the list for potential employees.
During an interview, for example, employers are impressed by a job candidate who answers questions
with more than one-word answers (such as yeah…nah…dunno), demonstrates that he or she is listening,
and shares information and ideas (by asking questions for clarification and/or follow-up). The
interview can be an indication to employers of how the candidate or employee will interact with
supervisors, co-workers, and customers or resolve conflicts when they arise. Remember, non-verbal
communication is also critical in an interview. Employers expect good eye contact, good posture, and
“active” listening.
One of the challenges in the workplace is learning the specific communication styles of others and how
and when to share your ideas or concerns. Though some supervisors may specifically ask for your
opinion, others may assume if there is something important they need to know, you will bring it to
their attention – or if there is something you are unsure about, you will ask. Knowing how to listen
carefully and when to ask for help is important. If an employee and a supervisor learn to communicate
well (in whatever method that works), there is a greater likelihood of job retention and promotion.
The activities in this section will not only help participants practice and recognize how they provide
information to others, but also help them consider how others may prefer to receive information. It is
important to reinforce with participants that communication skills involve give and take – and they
can, indeed, be learned and strengthened over time.


Note to facilitators: Communication skills are necessary for the development of self-advocacy and
self-determination, important skills for lifelong success. To that end, the activities in this section
offer many opportunities for youth to practice communicating their strengths and assets while
learning how to minimize any perceived barriers to employment. Please take the opportunity to add
to or tweak any of the activities to better focus on the needs of your particular group.
For example, if working with youth with disabilities, create opportunities to practice communicating
how, when, and to whom to disclose a disability on the job or in post-secondary education and/or
different ways to communicate a request for a reasonable accommodation. If you support youth
involved in the juvenile justice system, enhance this section’s extension activities to include
practicing how to communicate the proactive changes they are making in their lives, what they have
learned from previous experiences, and how any mistakes of the past have helped them to become
more focused and dedicated young adults.

Phonetics:Place and Manner-3

Phonetics:Place and Manner-3

When you speak a foreign language, your pronunciation is not a factor of
fluency…unless...you speak so poorly no one can understand you. But your pronunciation is
the first thing native speakers notice; in spite of dialectical differences, they are all agreed on
what is acceptable speech. When you speak their language, is your speech
acceptable? This should be possible – after all, we all possess the same kind
of vocal “hardware” (mouth, tongue, teeth, lips, nose, etc.), and can produce
the same sounds. So, “I can’t make that sound” is not really the case. Yes
you can! And why would you not want to?
Becoming aware of what your mouth is doing in the pronunciation of words is the first step
toward becoming a better speaker of another language as you learn it.
PHONETICS is the linguistic discipline which addresses the recognition, production and
recording of the different speech sounds. Questions like “How and where are those sounds
produced?”, “Are there different categories of sounds that share certain features?”, and “How
can they all be written?”…these questions come to mind.
There are about 700 speech sounds in the world. When you were born, you were able to
produce any of them, but since you only needed a few, your mouth locked onto those sounds
it needed to make you sound like everyone else around you. Even though you are still able to
produce those hundreds of other speech sounds, you are no longer working with a “clean
slate.” This is where phonetics training comes in along with the practice necessary to result in
good pronunciation.
VOICED sounds occur when the vocal folds in the larynx (i.e. the GLOTTIS) are close
together and vibrating. VOICELESS sounds occur when the vocal folds are apart and are
stationary.
“Phonetics training” has one target: you; that is, your ears and mouth. The goal is to finetune
your hearing and to help you regain as much conscious control of your vocal apparatus
as possible. “Pronunciation practice” has an altogether different target: your new language,
specifically the unfamiliar sounds. The goal is mastery – hearing those sounds correctly and
producing them accurately. Phonetics training precedes pronunciation practice and helps you
bring more in ear-sensitivity and mouth-control to that practice.................

Phonetics:Place and Manner-2

Phonetics:Place and Manner-2

Phonetic Preliminaries

Two phonetic systems:
“the talker” : articulation, aerodynamics
“the listener” : acoustics, perception
Two types of patterns in linguistic sound systems:
“Processes”: sound alternations, conditioned changes,
e.g. s > S / _i.
“Inventory” : set of contrastive sounds in a language, e.g. stops in
French (/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/).

Consonants are distinguished in terms of place of articulation,
manner of articulation, and voicing.
Vowels are distinguished in terms of height, backness, and rounding.
Secondary articulations are also used in many languages (phonation
type, nasality, strength, airstream mechanism, etc)

Speech Parameters

Three structures: pulmonic system, laryngeal cavity, and the oral cavity
All languages have sounds which involve a pulmonic airstream.
Three airstream sources:
1 Pulmonic: compression of the lungs by intercostal muscles causes air
to pass upward through the trachea.
2 Glottalic: a trapped air column between an oral constriction and a
closed glottis is used as an airstream source.
3 Velaric: a trapped air pocket between a velic closure and an anterior
constriction is used as an airstream source.

Voicing

When the vocal folds are spread apart (abducted, air passes through
the folds without causing vibration. When the folds are brought
together adducted, passing air causes vibration.
Voicing occurs when the air passing between the vocal folds causes
vibration.
All languages have voiced and voiceless sounds.
All languages have vowels and at least a few consonants which are
voiced and all languages have some voiceless consonants too

Any consonant can be devoiced, but certain consonant types can never
be voiced. Ejectives and glottal stops can not be voiced because they
involve closure of the glottis. By their nature, voicing is impossible

Phonetics:Place and Manner-1

Phonetics:Place and Manner-1

Descriptive phonetics seeks to understand the speech articulations
used in the production of sounds in individual languages/dialects and
the corresponding acoustic properties of such sounds.
Explanatory phonetics seeks to explain linguistic patterns in terms of
phonetic principles.
Phonetics                                                          Phonology
 - Speech anatomy                                               - Sound patterns in
   & mechanics                                                          language.
- Speech acoustics  & perception
- Sounds as physical,                                       - Structure of sounds
  decomposable entities.                                       in the linguistic system.
                                                                            - Sounds as discrete,
                                                                            cognitive entities
Phonetic constraints on speech can explain phonological patterns.
Mechanical constraints on speech production or general cognitive
biases in perception of sound types will constrain phonology.
If the biological characteristics of the speech anatomy determine what
is possible in phonology, then this is a simpler explanation for
phonological patterns than one relying on abstract rules or constraints
pertaining only to language.
In science, we should rely on general explanations before looking to
create specific ones.

                                                                         
                                                                             

Speech Perception

Speech Perception

 I propose here a speech perception model based on
the assumption that both a bottom up and a top down system play a role in perception and on the
idea that production in the top down system plays a fundamental role in perception of new
words/utterances. To do this I turn to the analysis-by-synthesis model of speech recognition
proposed by Halle and Stevens (1962 ) and adopted by Mattingly and Liberman in their motor
theory of speech perception.
According to this analysis-by-synthesis model, the listener analyzes the acoustic input by
deriving how it is produced by the speaker, synthesizes a virtual acoustic signal based on the
output of this derivation, and matches the virtual to the actual signal. Given a sufficiently close
match, the listener achieves a mental representation of the percept that corresponds to the
invariant motor commands sent to the musculature underlying the vocal tract actions that
produced the acustic signal. The analysis-by-synthesis component is part of the top down
system. 

Planning

Planning

Simply telling students about the language is not usually enough to help them to learn it. In order for students to be able
to develop their use of English, they need to be given the chance to produce it. In an Activate stage the students are given
tasks, normally writing and or speaking activities which require students to use not only the language they are studying that
day, but also other language that they have learnt.
Here are some reasons why it’s important to let students have this kind of practice:
• It gives students the chance to rehearse English, as if they were doing it in the real world but in the safe
environment of the classroom.
• Some theories of language learning suggest that by giving students this kind of practice, it helps them to
‘switch’ language they have been studying, into language which they can use instinctively without having to
think about it.
• These kind of activities are often fun for the students. As we have mentioned before, providing an
enjoyable classroom experience for students helps the learning process.
• This kind of activity, because it does not restrict the students to using only a particular area of language, is
an effective way for both students and the teacher to assess how well the class is progressing.
• Providing suitable tasks which the students can achieve using lots of different language has a positive
motivational effect on students. Motivated students tend to learn better.
Engage, Study and Activate - three important considerations for any lesson. Every activity, every exercise, every part of a
lesson should fit into one of these categories. Although ESA is a guide to what should go into a lesson, it is not necessarily
a guide as to what order activities should come in a lesson. For example, it is possible to have an Activate stage before a
Study stage. In this order the teacher can monitor the activity to find out what it is that the students need to know. In other
words, the Activate stage helps the teacher to decide the content of the Study stage.

LINGUISTIC POSTMODERNITY

LINGUISTIC POSTMODERNITY

Europe, in which modernity was invented,
is now providing a source of new ideas
about how to adapt to a globalised world:
the pooling of sovereignty combined with
the principle of ‘subsiduarity’ (i.e. local
determination); free movement of goods
and citizens within well-guarded collective
boundaries; standardised approaches to
the teaching and learning of languages; and
new forms of multilingualism. The growth of
multilingualism in Europe represents the
unravelling of a key component of modern
identity. Monolingualism is also declining in
the USA, where Hispanifi cation is bringing
new linguistic realities and expectations.
Although the world’s population is still increasing fast,
different countries – and languages – are affected in very
different ways. Some languages are ‘demographically
challenged’ whilst others are rapidly acquiring new native
speakers.
Demographic change is one of the most important factors
affecting languages – and to a much greater extent than
other key trends affecting English – they can be predicted.

MODERNITY OF LANGUAGE

MODERNITY OF LANGUAGE

From a western point of view, there
have been three major phases in
human history: premodern, modern,
and postmodern. Each phase (shown
opposite) is associated with different
forms of social and economic organisation,
different beliefs, and different
ideas about expected forms of change.
The changing relationships between
languages now taking place may refl ect
the decline of modernity in the world

Modernity spread from Europe across
the world. Its roots were in the
Renaissance and its development can be
charted through the centuries – the emergence
of capitalist economies, colonial
expansion, protestant non-conformism
in northern Europe, territorial wars, the
Enlightenment and the industrial and urban
age of the 19th century. Languages in
Europe during this period became ‘modern’:
codifi ed, standardised, languages which
symbolised and helped unify national identity
– often at the cost of other language
varieties spoken within national borders.
The rise of modern languages brought with
it modern concepts of the ‘native speaker’
and its counterpart: the notion of a ‘foreign
language’. Before the 18th century there
was no concept of ‘foreign language’ as we know it today.

THE END OF MODERNITY
Many of the extraordinary and rapid
changes we have seen recently in the
world can be understood as the old order,
as represented by modernity, being swept
away by a new one – as equally powerful
as modernity was. The structures, attitudes
and needs of modernity have been undermined
by globalisation, new technologies
(especially those related to communication),
and the changing demographic shape
of the world.
In many cases since the start of the
21st century. It, of course, is in the nature of
things that precursors can always be found.
Major trends now were minor trends at some
earlier stage, though their importance may
not have been recognised. Some argue, for
example, that globalisation started in the
15th century with the development of capitalist
economies, nation states and national
languages. By the 19th century, scholars
were well aware of the potential impact
of new technologies, such as the electric
telegraph, on social, political and economic
life. Some analysts prefer to talk about ‘late
modernity’ rather than ‘postmodernity’
– emphasising the continuity with the past
rather than the novelty of the present. But
there comes a moment where one has to
pause and conclude that a new framework
is required to understand the events now
unfolding before us, to comprehend why
they are happening, and to speculate on
what might happen next. We need a ‘paradigm
shift’ – like the scientific  revolutions

we have reached such a moment in relation
to the status of global English: the world has
changed and will never be the same again.
As ever increasing numbers of people learn
English around the world, it is not just ‘more
of the same’. There is a new model. English
is no longer being learned as a foreign
language, in recognition of the hegemonic
power of native English speakers.

Elements of Verbal Communication

Elements of Verbal Communication

When we communicate verbally not only the words which we used are listened but also vocal elements of speech play very important role. These vocal elements are voice inflections, rate of speech, volume, and tone. These add interest and meaning to our messages. For example the line “See you later” said respectfully has a different meaning and same line said in anger has totally different meaning. We can use these vocal elements to make our verbal communication more effective. These are:

1. Change the speed of your voice: A consistent pace of voice can make your speech dull and ineffective. Thus we should vary our speed of voice depending upon the audience and purpose of our communication. When you have to gain attention and excite your audience speak quickly and enthusiastically. When you want that audience pay attention to your words speak slowly.

2. Shift the pitch of your voice: Frequency of speech is called pitch of voice. Again depending upon the aim of the speech you can use high and low pitches at times .Using extremes can tarnish the success of your verbal communication.

3. Control the volume of your voice: Volume of voice creates a direct impact on the audience .One should use an average volume in general .But again depending upon the aim of your communication you can be loud or soft. When you use a combination of loudness and softness in your communication it adds special effect to your communication.

4. Punctuate with pauses: It is important in your communication to break the flow of information so that listeners can comprehend what they have listened .Generally pause in communication is taken when you have conveyed an important point or you want that now listeners should anticipate.

5. Articulate clearly: It is very important that what you communicate is clear to the audience. For this you should have expertise in pronunciation and articulate each word clearly .When you speak in such a manner you gain more confidence and clarity.

Complexity of community

Complexity of community

To answer this question, it is important to move away from the traditional one-culture-one language
model and consider instead a more complex picture of culture. A social-action model of culture shows us a creative dialogue between individuals and the structures of their societies. While different
societies and communities do have specific contexts and particular features that make us, our cultural
practices and our languages different, they do not necessarily prevent individuals from moving
creatively beyond their boundaries. Our daily manipulation of social rules, in our on-going struggle to
be ourselves and succeed in our agendas is something we share across nations and communities.
There is a broad and significant domain of underlying universal cultural processes which enables all of us to read and engage creatively with culture and language, wherever we find it. This is evidenced by the way in which we can read each other’s literature. One does not have to go to a foreign country or into a foreign language to find unfamiliar behavior and expression. We find this in the family next door; and young people face it every day as they engage with the diverse worlds of family, school,
classrooms, sports groups and so on. We can also make huge sense of other cultural realities if we open our minds to them.

There are several important implications here. Underlying universal cultural processes give language
learners the potential to apply the experience of how language and culture operate in their own
communities to new language. This enables them to stamp their own cultural identity on the language.

However, for them to be motivated to do this, the content with which they are presented has to be
sufficiently meaningful to resonate with and activate this experience. It is this authentic relationship,
between where they come from and new domains, which encourages language learners to be
cosmopolitan and to claim the world through new language experience.
It is hard to stop young people from learning creatively. This learning can, however, be inhibited or
diverted into less productive areas by powerful and popular ways of thinking about things in everyday life and within the ELT profession. These ways of thinking seduce us with the false, modernist certainty that relationships between language, culture and types of speakers are fixed, neat and measurable. For this reason, teachers everywhere, even in India, are still telling their students that the only correct forms of English are British or American and that to learn them they have somehow to leave behind the cultural realities of their communities. Our major task is to overturn these ways of thinking and move on to a new paradigm). Because these discourses have pushed the rich
contribution of students and their communities to the margins, it is from the margins that we must learn