Representation for who?

As Gussenhoven discusses some of the biological processes of speech, he depicts a physical system that is more complicated than it may initially seem: each single sound is based on a combination of physical adjustments in the vocal tract, yet the combination itself of sounds shapes the “native” vocalization of words. In the word paddle, for example, air initially builds up behind the vocal fold of the larynx. Then as pressure is released through the glottis (the opening in the vocal chords), the air rushes through an opening whose shape has been created through adjustments of the pharynx, the mouth, the nasal cavity, and the lips, in the least. Eventually the vocal chords come together to vibrate and the vocalization of “pa” has been made.

The time between the initial release of the closed glottis and the vibration of the vocal chords is called the VOT (Vocal Onset Time). First of all, this space between a devoiced and voiced sound is an aspects of pronunciation that I never realized existed. It makes sense, but as a native English speaker, I never thought about the onset of vibration in my everyday speech. This VOT is a part of pronunciation that does not exist in the phonetic alphabet, and I have therefore not seen in any phonetic spellings of words.

Kenstowicz expands on the problem of representation. He asserts that another representation distinct from the phonetic level must be invoked to explain English phonology. And to be honest, this makes sense. I believe, Gussenhoven and Kenstowicz both touch on, that native speakers of a language take for granted the difficulty of exacting pronunciations and timing of those pronunciations in words. In attempt to describe the sound of a word, I personally see the representation of two additional aspects being helpful. In relation to timing, I mentioned the first: VOT. The second is pitch variation. Emphasis can be expressed with accent marks, but not every stressed syllable is stressed in the same way. The words speakers and action are both two-syllable words whose first syllables are stressed, but to me at least, the word action seems to contain a larger difference in pitch and stress between syllables.

How do we represent pitch for a word when individuals speak with different pitches? Is it just the change in pitch that matters, or something more? Could there be an addition to the phonetic alphabet that has a lower barrier of entry than reading complicated graphs of individual vocalizations does? If nothing else, additional ways of representation would be tremendously helpful for non-native English speakers.