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ENGLISH PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY

Daniel Jones. Edited by Peter Roach, James Hartman and Jane Setter. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Scanned by Maung Kan Tun and edited by U Kyaw Tun, M.S. (I.P.S.T., U.S.A.). Not for sale. Prepared for students of TIL Computing and Language Center, Yangon, MYANMAR.

Information panels A to B
01. Abbreviations | 02. Accent | 03. Acronyms | 04. Affricate | 05. Allophone | 06. Alveolar | 07. Approximant | 08. Articulation | 09. Aspiration | 10. Assimilation | 11. Bilabial

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01. Abbreviations

p2. The pronunciation of individual abbreviations is not predictable and must be treated on a word-by-word basis.

Examples

Some good examples of abbreviations which are spoken in full are to be in titles used for people, e.g.:

Some words or phrases are abbreviated to initial letters. In this case, the item may be pronounced as the initial letters, or in full. This is not the same as an ACRONYM, in which the letters are pronounced as a word (see, for example NATO), e.g.:

Abbreviations derived from Latin words and phrases are common, but do not all follow the same pattern, some being pronounced in full, some as letters, and some as they are spelt, e.g.:

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02. Accent

p4. Accent may refer to prominence given to a syllable (see STRESS), or to a particular way of pronouncing. This panel concentrates on the latter definition.

Examples for English

Speakers may share the same grammar and vocabulary, but pronounce what they say with different accents. In Britain, for example, there are accents such as Scots, Cockney (in London), and Scouse (in Liverpool), and in the United States the New York accent differs considerably from that commonly heard in Texas. There are also different standard English accents, such as British, American, Australian, Indian or Singaporean.

Major differences between British and US English include the vowel in words such as <glass>, the used of a flapped /t/ in words like <butter>, and the fact that US English is RHOTIC while British English is non-rhotic, that is, an <r> in the spelling is always pronounced in US English, but only where a vowel follows in British English, e.g.;

More information on the accents chosen to represent British and American English is given on pp xx.

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03. Acronyms

p7. Acronyms are words or phrases written in an abbreviated form, usually with their initial letters, and pronounced as if they were words, usually with the most obvious pronunciation. However, it is best to treat them on a word-by-word basis, since there are exceptions.

Examples

Many organisations, particularly those to do with government, charities and trade unions, use acronyms. Phrases can also be reduced to acronym form. Acronyms are usually written using capital letters, although there are exceptions. Where there is a letter <E> at the end of an acronym, it is usually pronounced /iː/, e.g.:

Some words or phrases are abbreviated to initial letters but do not become acronyms. See ABBREVIATIONS.

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04. Affricate

p11. A type of consonant consisting of a PLOSIVE followed by a FRICATIVE with the same place of ARTICULATION.

Examples for English

Examples are the /ʧ/(U02A7) {ch.} and /ʤ/(U02A4) {ja.} sounds (sometimes symbolised /č/ (U010D) / ǰ / (U01F0) by American writers) at the beginning and end of the words <church> and <judge>, where the first of these sounds is voiceless and the second voiced (see VOICING), e.g.:

UKT: There are six plosives in English:  /p , b/ (labial) ; /t , d/ (alveolar) ; /k , g/ (velar), but 13 in IPA. In English there are also 10 fricatives: /f, v/ (labio-dental) ; /θ , ð/ (dental) ; /s , z/ (alveolar); /ʃ , ʒ/ (post-alveolar); /x/ (velar); /h/ (glottal). According to the above definition, the plosive and the fricative must have the same POA. Thus, /t/ and /ʃ/ can give an affricate. Similarly, /d/ and /ʒ/ form an affricate.
   If we follow the above rule strictly, B-Myanmar {ch.} formed from /k^h/ and /j/ and /g^h/ and /y/ cannot be /ʧ/(U02A7) and /ʤ/(U02A4) respectively, because /k^h/ and /g^h/ are velar where as /j/ is palatal. However, since POA of velar and palatal are next-to each other, English-speakers might "hear" {ch.} as /ʧ/ and {ja.} as /ʤ/.

• Myanmar script like the Indic scripts is derived from the ancient Brahmi script. It shares so many common features that a side-by-side comparison of a few will often reveal structural similarities even in the modern letterforms. • Myanmar together with Indic scripts are all abugidas (also called: alpha-syllabary; syllabic- alphabet; semi-syllabary) in which most symbols stand for a consonant plus an inherent vowel (usually the sound /a/). • Since Burmese and Pali are written in Myanmar (M-Pali), it is interesting to compare M-Pali to English Pali (E-Pali) which is based on Devanagari and the Sri Lanka scripts. (I am basing this comparison on An Elementary Pali Course, by Ven. Narada Thera http://www.tipitaka.net/pali/course/)

The position occupied by [ca] (pronunciation: /ʧ/ as in <church> {ch.}) is occupied by Myanmar {sa.} (pronunciation: /s/ as in <sit>) resulting in different pronunciations: Example:
 • canda (meaning: Moon) = {san~da}
The position occupied by [cha] is occupied by Burmese {hsa.} resulting in different pronunciations: Example:
• chanda (meaning: intention) = {hsanda.}

The problem actually boils down to the question which pronunciation is more authentic: M-Pali or E-Pali?

It is often difficult to decide whether any particular combination of plosive plus a fricative should be classed as a single affricate sound or as two separate sounds, and the question depends on whether these are to be regarded as separate PHONEMES or not. It is usual to regard /ʧ/ and /ʤ/ as affricate phonemes in English; /ʦ ʣ tr dr/ also occur in English but are not usually treated as clusters. The two phrases <why choose> and <white shoes> are said to show the difference between the /ʧ/ affricate (in the first example) and separate /t/ and /ʃ/ (in the second), e.g.:

UKT: Note the use of digraphs: /ʦ/ (U02A6), /ʧ/ (U02A7) , /ʣ/ (U02A3), /ʤ/ (U02A4) .

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05. Allophone

p18. A variant of a phoneme.

Examples for English

Central to the concept of the PHONEME is the idea that it may be pronounced in many different ways. In English we take it for granted that the /r/ sound in <ray> and <tray> are the "the same sound" (i.e. the same phoneme), but in reality the two sounds are very different -- the /r/ in <ray> is voiced and non-fricative, while the /r/ sound in <tray> is voiceless and FRICATIVE. In phonemic transcription we use the same symbol /r/ for both (the slant brackets indicate that phonemic symbols are being used), but we know that the allophones of /r/ included the voiced non-fricative sound and the voiceless fricative one. Using the square brackets that indicate PHONETIC (allophonic) symbols, the former is [ɹ] (U0279) and the latter [ɹ̥]  (U0279 U0325), e.g.:

In theory a phoneme can have an infinite number of allophones, but in practice for descriptive purposes we tend to concentrate on the ones that occur most regularly and recognizably.

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06. Alveolar

p19. Alveolar sounds are made with a place of articulation behind the upper front teeth, against the hard, bony ridge called the alveolar ridge (the bony structure with alveoli or tooth sockets); the skin covering it is corrugated with transverse wrinkles.

Examples for English

The tongue comes into contact with the alveolar ridge in some of the consonants of English and many other languages; sounds such as [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], [l] are consonants with alveolar place of articulation. Some examples for English follows, e.g.:

UKT: Though the examples are from DJPN16, I've rearranged them (except <lip>) to reflect the way the Myanmar consonants are arranged:
English [t d n] = Myanmar {ta.} {da.} {na.}
English [s z] = Myanmar {sa.} {za.}
English [n] = Myanmar {na.}
English [ l ] = Myanmar {la.}

Although /r/ is described as alveolar or post-alveolar in British English, in US English it is in fact nearer to RETROFLEX, e.g.:

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07. Approximant

p30. A phonetic term of comparatively recent origin, used to denote a consonant which makes very little obstruction to the airflow.

Examples for English Traditionally approximants have been divided into two groups. Sounds in the first group are known as 'semivowels' such the /w/ {wa.} and / j / {ya.}, which are very similar to 'close vowels' such as [u] and [ i ] but are produced as a rapid glide. e.g.:
	<wet>	/wet/
	<yet>	/jet/

UKT: When I pronounce the B-Myanmar {wa.} and {ya.} slowly, I find {wa.} is pronounced with a front vowel and {ya.} with a back vowel. Therefore {wa.} corresponds with [ i ] and {ya.} corresponds with [u].

Liquids are sounds which have an identifiable constriction of the airflow but not one that is sufficiently obstructive to produce fricative noise, compression or the diversion of the airflow through another part of the vocal tract as in nasals. This category includes laterals such as / l / {la.} and non-fricative /r/ (phonetically [ɹ] in the British English and [ɻ] in US English) {ra.}, e.g.:

Approximants therefore are never fricative and never contain interruptions to the airflow.

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08. Articulation

p35. The movement of the vocal organs to produce speech sounds. The vocal organs ( speech organs) are often referred to as 'articulators', and these include the tongue, the lips, the hard palate, soft palate, the teeth, the pharynx and the larynx. In classifying CONSONANTS, phoneticians note the 'place of articulation' (the point in the vocal tract where the obstruction to the airflow is made) and the 'manner of articulation' (the type of obstruction made by the articulators). Thus the sound [s] is classifieds as ALVEOLAR (because the place of articulation is at the alveolar ridge, just behind the upper front teeth) and FRICATIVE (because the obstruction is one which allows air to escape with difficulty, creating a hissing noise).

UKT: Speech Organs | Alveolar fricative | Alveolar hisser (fricative).
-- from: Department of Linguistics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
http://www.unil.ch/ling/english/phonetique/table-eng.html | www.unil.ch/ling/phonetique

Place of Articulation and Manner of Articulation
Department of Linguistics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
http://www.unil.ch/ling/english/phonetique/table-eng.html | www.unil.ch/ling/phonetique

The distinction between manner of articulation and place of articulation (POA) is particularly important for the classification of consonants.

The manner of articulation is defined by a number of factors:
• whether there is vibration of the vocal cords (voiced vs. voiceless);
• whether there is obstruction of the airstream at any point above the glottis (consonant vs. vowel);
• whether the airstream passes through the nasal cavity in addition to the oral cavity (nasal vs. oral);
• whether the airstream passes through the middle of the oral cavity or along the side(s) (non-lateral vs. lateral).

The place of articulation (POA) is the point where the airstream is obstructed. In general, the place of articulation is simply that point on the palate where the tongue is placed to block the stream of air.

The place of articulation can be any of the following (See Speech Organs):
• the lips (labials and bilabials),
• the teeth (dentals),
• the lips and teeth (labio-dentals -- here the tongue is not directly involved),
• the alveolar ridge (that part of the gums behind the upper front teeth -- alveolar articulations),
• the hard palate (given its large size, one can distinguish between palato-alveolars, palatals and palato-velars),
• the soft palate (or velum -- velar articulations),
• the uvula (uvulars),
• the pharynx (pharyngeals),
• the glottis (glottals).

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09. Aspiration

p37. Noise made when the constriction of plosive consonant is released and air is allowed to escape relatively freely.

Examples for English

English /p t k/ at the beginning of a syllable are aspirated in most accents. In words like <pea>, <tea>, <key>, there is a silent period during which the compressed air is prevented from escaping by the articulatory closure; this is followed by a sound similar to /h/ before the VOICING of the vowel begins, the result of the vocal folds being widely parted at the time of the of the articulatory release. Aspiration is an important factor in whether we perceive a sound to be /p t k/ or /b d g/ in syllable-initial position. (UKT: See VOICE ONSET TIME or V.O.T.)

UKT: To fully appreciate "aspiration" involved in Burmese pronunciation, Burmese-speaking Myanmars should pronounce {pa.} {ta.} {ka.} slowly. You will notice the POA moving from the front of the mouth to the back. Then pronounce {ba.} {da.} {ga.}. You will notice that your vocal cord is vibrating showing that these three are "voiced". You will notice the same front to back movement of the POA.
   Repeat the pronunciation of {pa.} {ta.} {ka.} and pronounce {hpa.} {hta.} {hka.}. You will notice that there is a strong aspiration at the beginning of all {hpa.} {hta.} {hka.} because of the inherent vowel /a/ present in the Burmese aksharas (syllables).
   Myanmars who have been exposed to native-English pronunciation would notice that when you pronounce <pin> the pronunciation of [p] is in between {pa.} and {hpa.}. Similarly, the [t] in my Myanmar name Tun is in between {ta.} and {hta.} -- in fact more closer to {hta.}. If you pronounce the [t] close to {ta.} the Burmese word means "to push", whereas if you pronounce it close to {hta.} it means "to shine" or "to give light".

/p t k/ are aspirated at the beginning of a syllable containing a full vowel, e.g.:

When followed by /l r w/ or / j / in initial consonant clusters, the release of the PLOSIVE gives the following sound a voiceless quality, e.g.:

UKT: You will notice that /l r w/ {la.} {ra.} {wa.} and / j / {ya.} are classified as non-Vargs in Burmese-Myanmar consonants together with /h/ {ha.} the aspirate. With the exception of {la.}, {ya.} {ra.} {wa.} {ha.} can form conjuncts {ya.pin.} {ra.ris} {wa.hswè:} and {ha.hto:}. To test what has been said above about "the release of the PLOSIVE (giving) ... a voiceless quality, we will experiment with the three voiced plosives /b d g/. Pronounce /g/ {ga.}. You will notice that it is voiced strongly. Pronounce   {gya.} (the conjunct of {ga.} with {ya.}). It is now voiceless.

It is noticeable that when /p t k/ are preceded by /s/ at the beginning of a syllable they are not aspirated. This makes them very similar to /b d g/ , and is an example of NEUTRALISATION – the distinctive difference between /p t/ /k/ and /b d g/ is lost when there is a preceding /s/, e.g.:

UKT: There are no Burmese syllable that has [sp] [st] and [sk] cluster as the onset. The only cluster allowed is [sw] in {swa} . Because of this, transliteration of <spin> <stick> <skin> becomes [sa-pin] [sa-tick] and [sa-kin].

Word final /p t k/ may be aspirated or not, for stylistic reasons.

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10. Assimilation

p38. Assimilation is what happens to a sound when it is influenced by one of its neighbours; essentially it becomes more similar to a neighbour.

UKT: See also Assimilation in the Introduction.

Examples for English

Assimilation is said to be 'progressive' when a sound influences a following sound, or 'regressive' when a sound influences one which precedes it. The most familiar case of regressive assimilation in English is that of ALVEOLAR consonants (e.g. /t  d s z n/) which are followed by non-alveolar consonants: assimilation results in a change of place of articulation from alveolar to a different place. For example, the word <this> has the sound /s/ at the end if it is pronounced on its own, but when followed by post-alveolar /ʃ/ in a word such as <shop> it often changes in rapid speech (through assimilation) to /ʃ/, giving the pronunciation /ðɪʃʃɒp/. The following examples occur especially in British English:

Progressive assimilation is exemplified by the behavior of the 's' plural ending in English, which is pronounced with a voiced  /z/ after a voiced consonant but with a voiceless /s/ after a voiceless consonant, e.g.:

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11. Bilabial

p58. Bilabial articulations involve both of the lips.

Examples for English

In English, /p b/ and /m/ are examples of bilabial sounds. These are all made with a complete closure of the lips, e.g.:

( / w/ is also sometimes referred to as bilabial, but, as it has tongue movement towards the velum in addition to lip rounding, it is more accurately described as 'labial-velar'.)

The plosives /p/ and /b/ are one of the pairs which are said to be distinguished by being FORTIS and LENIS respectively, rather than voiceless and voiced.

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