Lesson One: Understanding RP English Accent
• RP stands for "Received Pronunciation," a neutral middle-class accent in the UK.
• It's also called "RP English" or "Queen's English" and is linked to the Queen and BBC news presenters.
• RP is hard to trace to a specific region and is taught in language schools globally.
• Only 3% of the UK population speaks RP.
• RP features precise tones, clipped consonants, and longer vowels, giving it a formal feel.
• People often associate RP with the upper class, and it's considered a serious accent.
• RP is consistent across regions, though some speakers may incorporate elements from their local accents.
• Figuring out the social, regional, or cultural background of an RP speaker is challenging.
Lesson Two: Exploring Phonetics and Phonology
Phonetics: Understanding Speech Sounds
• Phonetics is part of linguistics, studying how human sounds are physically produced and perceived.
• Three branches of phonetics are:
1. Articulatory Phonetics: Examines how speech sounds are made by studying the tongue, lips, and
other speech organs.
2. Acoustic Phonetics: Focuses on soundwave properties, like frequency, generated when air moves
during speech.
3. Auditory Phonetics: Investigates how sounds are perceived by the inner ear and the brain.
Phonology: Decoding Language Sounds
• Phonology is linked to phonetics and delves into the sound systems of specific languages.
• Key concepts include:
1. Phoneme: The basic unit of phonology that can alter word meanings, like /f/ and /r/ in 'rat' and 'fat.'
2. Allophones: Different versions of the same phoneme that don't change word meanings.
3. Phonetic Environments: Settings where phonemes differ, like the start, middle, or end of words.
In Summary:
• Phonetics studies physical aspects of speech sounds (how they're made and heard).
• Phonology explores abstract aspects, focusing on how sounds function within a language, including
phonemes, allophones, and different linguistic environments.
Lesson Three: Understanding Speech Organs and Sound Production
The Production of Speech:
2
1
Articulation Stage
Physiological Stage:
• Nerves make your mouth and throat
• Your brain figures out what to say. say the words.
• Starts the air flowing for talking. • Organs work together to make
sounds.
ACOUSTIC Stage
Moving air creates the sounds you
hear.
Acoustic/Perceptual Stage
ransmission of sound waves for
Vocal Cord Positions: perception by others.
The vocal cords control the air from your lungs when you speak. This is called making sounds or talking
Vocal Cord Position What Happens Result
1. Tightly Together Firmly closed No air, like a quick stop
2. Apart Creates space Air passes through quietly, no vibration (voiceless)
3. Lightly Together Vibrates Makes voiced sounds, like when you talk
Soft Palate Positions:
Lowered Raised
• for nasal sounds (/m, n, ŋ/). • to separate nasal and oral cavities for non-nasal
sounds.
Articulators Positions:
Passive Active
Teeth Alveolar Ridge Hard Palate Lips Tongue Soft Palate
Stay still; sounds happen Move to make sounds
around them.
In Summary:
• Speech starts in the brain.
• Lungs and speech organs work together.
• Vocal cords and articulators shape sounds in the mouth.
• Understanding vocal cord and soft palate positions helps explain different sounds.
Lesson Four: Exploring RP English Vowels
1. Definition of Vowels:
• Vowels are voiced sounds made with an open vocal tract, allowing smooth airflow.
• The term refers to both sounds and their written symbols.
• Vowels hold a central place in syllables.
2. Classification of Vowels:
Front Vowels Central Vowels Back Vowels Diphthongs
Different Parts of Tongue
3. Cardinal Vowel System:
• Created by Daniel Jones, it describes vowels based on height, backness, and roundedness.
• Tongue position and lip shape determine vowel quality.
• Eight primary cardinal vowels are equally spaced on a scale.
4. Criteria for Describing Vowels:
• Tongue height (raised or lowered)
• Tongue part involved (front, center, back)
• Lip shape (spread, neutral, rounded)
• Vowel length (short or long)
• Velum state (always raised)
• Vocal cord action (vibration)
• Tongue state (tense or lax)
• Tongue rims' contact with upper molars (accidental)
5. Tense vs. Lax Vowels:
• Tense vowels are longer and stronger, with an advanced tongue root.
• Tense vowels precede voiced sounds, while lax vowels come before voiceless consonants.
In Summary:
• Vowels are voiced sounds with an open vocal tract.
• Classification involves front, central, back vowels, and diphthongs.
• The Cardinal Vowel System uses a scale to describe vowels.
• Various criteria, including tongue and lip positions, help describe and classify RP English vowels.
Vowel Tongue Tongue Lip Shape Vowel Velum Vocal Cord Tongue Tongue
Height Part Length State Action State Rims'
Contact
/æ/ - as in "cat" Low Front Neutral Short Raised Vibration Tense Not
/ɛ/ - as in "bet" Mid Lax applicable
/ɪ/ - as in "sit" High Tense
/ɒ/ - as in "hot" Low Back
/ʌ/ - as in "cup" Mid Lax
/ʊ/ - as in "book" High Tense
/iː/ - as in "see" High Front Neutral Long Raised Vibration Tense Not
/eɪ/ - as in "day" Mid-High Spread applicable
/aɪ/ - as in "my" Low
/ɔː/ - as in "go" Low-Mid Back Rounded
/uː/ - as in "blue" High
/oʊ/ - as in "go" or Mid-High
"boat"
Front vowels / i: /, / ɪ /, / e /, / æ / Central vowels: / ɜ: / , / ə / , / ʌ /
Back vowels: /ɑ:/, /ɒ/, /ɔ:/, /ʊ/, /U:/
