Phonological Analysis: Sounds, Length, Rhythm, and Stress

Phonemic Analysis

The principal aim of phonemic analysis is to establish the phonological status of sounds and classify them in the phonological system of a language (in other words, to distinguish if they are phonemes or allophones).

Vowel Length

Length stands for the physical duration of a sound. It is important in English because we have long vowels opposed to short vowels in order to establish a difference in meaning between words. E.g.: Ship /ʃɪp/ and sheep /ʃiːp/.

Pre-fortis Clipping

Is the shortening of vowels when they are before an unvoiced consonant. If they are followed by a voiced consonant they will be longer. The reason why pre-fortis clipping is significant in word-final voicing is because the shorter the vowel that precedes the consonant is, the longer the final consonant will be. E.g.: Speed /spiːd/ and spit /spɪt/.

Rhythm in Speech

The regularity or irregularity of prominent sounds in speech. Rhythm is produced by a number of factors. First, there is the speed at which the speaker delivers their message. Then, more importantly, there is the fact that some syllables are heard as more prominent than others. In English, this is because these syllables are produced more forcefully than the others: there is a greater muscular effort in their articulation, and more air is expelled from the lungs when they are enunciated. It is measured in rhythm units or feet. These are units consisting of one strongly stressed syllable and the unstressed syllable (though the two clauses in our sentence have unstressed leading syllables, which we naturally group with the following strong stress).

Stress Collision

When two stressed syllables “collide”, for example in japanese man, we have to place the first stress into another position (jápanese man).

English Feet

English feet are left-handed and trochaic because they tend to begin with a heavy stress and a foot that consists of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one.

Isochrony

Isochrony is the regularity of time in the occurrence of stress (the degree of force with which a sound or a syllable is uttered) within an utterance. English is a stress-timed language, which means that it has a regular occurrence of stress and an irregular syllable length, whereas Spanish is a syllable-timed language, which means that it has an irregular occurrence of stress but a regular syllable length. This distinction may not be absolute because it is hard to say how many languages fit into this rather simplistic scheme.

Functions of Intonation

The four main functions are: the attitudinal function, the grammatical function, the accentual function, and the discourse function. By accenting a particular syllable, we are not only highlighting the word it belongs to, but also presenting this word as new information. Look at this conversational exchange: A: I’ve just bought a new `car. B: ‘What `sort of car? First, mention of the word car requires it to be accented but, when it is repeated, it is deaccented; otherwise, it will appear to be new information and confuse the hearer. Another discourse function of intonation is the use of a lower key to subordinate less important parts of an utterance, like the initial comment clause in the following sentence: As far as I know, he didn’t have any money on him. On as far as I know, there is not only a drop to a lower key, but increased speed, a narrower pitch range (i.e. less rise and fall of the voice), and less volume, too. Finally, note that another important function of intonation in English is to signal to the hearer when it is his or her turn to speak. A fall, for example, with its implication of completion, is a good clue that the speaker is offering us the floor, while a rise in the voice may mean that the speaker intends to continue and discouraging any interruption.