In language classes around the world, pronunciation is key to the basic understanding, familiarity and mastery of language. In Gussenhoven and Kenstowicz's articles, both decompose the act of pronunciation into the physiological and biomechanic components of speech and phonetics.
I found Gussenhoven's explanation to be thorough and very compelling. It is fascinating how so many organs are used in conjunction and harmony to create the very sounds that dictate our conversations, records etc. Gussenhoven explains how speech originates from the lungs (powered by diaphragm) where pushed air can create either pulmonic or egressive sounds. This air moves up through the bronchi and trachea where it meets the larynx. The larynx is the voice box that creates sound through vibrations via the flapping vocal folds. From here, sounds can be further modified through pitch, how the pharynx modulates the air/sound, and the mouth itself. Gussenhoven ends on an explanation of how different sounds (like plosives, fricatives) can be created through specific physical actions by certain aspects of our physiology.
Kenstowicz goes to a more syntactical linguistic approach to the topic of speech. The paper focuses on different sound pronunciations, similarities and differences between such and how physiology of the vocal tract (flapping, allophones) can create sounds. I definitely had a harder time understanding everything that Kenstowicz was saying partly because my I don't have a strong background in linguistics, but I definitely got the gist of what he was saying.
I always find it fascinating to read what professionals dictate as the different aspects of speech - as a bilingual speaker (learned english first) and it is always interesting when I'm learning Chinese (second language) and seeing the differences between chinese pronunciation (monosyllables), 4 tones + neutral, and how that compares and contrast with english.
I'm also interested in how learning languages and language patterns produce accents. And I'm wondering if studying linguistics and the physiological process of pronunciation can reduce accents. Another question I have is: how much of language is habit of repetition and how much is of conscious decisions.
Here's a video that I was reminded of when I read these two papers. It's about a girl who has mastered the linguistic/phonetic peculiarities of many languages and says gibberish - it's cool: check it out.
Wow, thank you for sharing that video Gavin! Actually fascinating. I too am curious about the phenomenon of accents. I imagine deeper understanding of the physiological processes behind speech (like those described by Gussenhoven) can help to understand the mechanics behind why it is harder for me to pick up Xhosa, than Spanish for example. As Meghan mentioned in class, there is only one sound in human language that some of us are biologically incapable of making (the rolled r found in many Spanish words), but the rest we are able to learn with understanding and practice. This seems to indicate that the possibilities are rather open as far as learning to speak with the accents of native speakers of any given language- as the video beautifully demonstrates.
ReplyDeleteHi Gavin, you did a really good job summarizing the Gussenhoven article to show how speech is created. I'm also learning Chinese and I've found it interesting how learning Chinese characters is one thing, but then learning the accent is a completely different task. For example, I hear native Chinese speakers casually speaking to each other and they are forming some of the words that I have learned in class but their words sound so different because of their accents. I feel like it is the accent that really makes the language what it is - it makes it authentic. I too am curious about how the vocal tract changes to create different accents and would like to learn more about this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that video Gavin! Each gibberish sequence really showed the distinct differences between tone, pitch, annunciation, and overall rhythm of the languages, which I thought was really interesting. Having spent multiple years studying French, I've thought a fair amount about what makes the accent difficult to pick up if you are a native English speaker. I've always thought that the sounds of the words themselves were the difficult part, but this video made me reconsider that a bit. In French, and in all of these languages, it's clear that certain syllables are stressed in different ways than in American English. Perhaps as I study the language more I will pay attention to the subtleties of tone, pitch, and emphasis rather than just the sounds of the words themselves! I'd be interested to hear what someone more experienced with languages thinks is the most difficult part!
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