Comparative Analysis of Consonants in English and Brazilian Portuguese
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Phonetics & Phonology
John Corbett: USP-CAPES International Fellow
Session 7: Contrastive analysis: consonants
What is my accent?
Today´s
session
This session:
English and Brazilian phonological systems
Vowels
Source of
information
General
Vowels
RP English has 12 vowels and 10 diphthongs
Brazilian Portuguese has 8 vowels and 6 diphthongs
When pronouncing English the
red
vowels can cause problems.
The unshaded vowels have near equivalents or equivalents in
Portuguese.
/i:/ versus /ɪ/
/i:/ is shortened by Portuguese speakers and can be confused with
/ɪ/
Minimal pairs:
rich
reach
hit
heat
live
leave
bin
bean
Tim
team
/ɛ/ versus /æ/
/ɛ/ can be confused with /æ/
Minimal pairs:
beg
bag
head
had
leg
lag
bread
Brad
ten
tan
/ɑ:/ versus
/æ/
/ɑ:/ is shortened by Portuguese speakers and can be confused with
/æ/
(This happens in Scotland too!)
Minimal pairs:
aunt
ant
hard
had
bard
bad
heart
hat
art
at
/ɔ:/ versus /ɒ/
and /ʌ/
/ɔ:/ can be confused with /ɒ/, or sometimes /ʌ/
(Again, this happens in Scotland too!)
Minimal pairs:
caught
cot
cut
sport
spot
hot
hut
corn
con
fawn
fun
/u:/ versus /ʊ/
/u:/ can be confused with /ʊ/
Minimal pairs (in some pronunciations...ie without /j/ in
Luke, suit
):
fool
full
Luke
look
pool
pull
shooed
should
suit
soot
/ʌ/ versus /æ/
and
sometimes
/u:/
/ʌ/can be confused with /æ/, or sometimes /u:/ because of the
spelling.
Minimal pairs:
hut
hat
hoot
mud
mad
mood
ton
tan
run
ran
fun
fan
Unstressed
vowels
Unstressed vowels are often given their full value by speakers of
syllable-timed languages like Portuguese. This affects the pronunciation
of weak forms:
Non-contrastive (unstressed)
Contrastive (stressed)
the woman
the
woman
an awful mistake
an
awful mistake
a text
´A´
is for ´apple´
Unstressed
vowels
It is common to add an intrusive unstressed vowel (‘epenthetic’ vowel)
to separate consonants when they are doubled, or when there is a
consonant cluster:
J
uncture issues
this stop
at that time
you have space
I speak Spanish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe8_aka_qlw
Diphthongs,
especially
/ɪə/ and /eə/
There are fewer diphthongs in Portuguese than in English. The main
problems are usually with those diphthongs used before silent /r/ in non-
rhotic RP:
Minimal pairs
fear
fair/fare
beer
bear/bare
deer/dear
dare
hear
hair/hare
Advice on
difficult vowels
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19)
1. Say the following words.
/bi:t/
beat
/bi:d/
bead
Say them quickly as well as drawn out. Can you notice any
difference in length? If not, then shorten the duration you give to
each vowel until you found a point when one of them still sounds
acceptable while the other has become too short to be
identifiable. Which is which?
Consciousness
raising
activities
Discovery activity
(Underhill, pp.18-19)
1. Say the following words.
/bi:t/
beat
/bi:d/
bead
Say them quickly as well as drawn out. Can you notice any
difference in length. If not, then shorten the duration you give to
each vowel until you found a point when one of them still sounds
acceptable while the other has become too short to be
identifiable. Which is which?
What you
might
observe is that /i:/ in
bead
tends (or needs) to be a
little longer than /i:/ in
beat.
Don’t be put off by the fact that you
can give them both the same length.
Consciousness
raising
activities
Discovery activity
(Underhill, pp.18-19)
2. Here is the same experiment with /ɪ/
/bɪt/
bit
/bɪd/
bid
Say each aloud and whispered. Can you notice any
difference in length?
If not, then shorten the duration you give to
each vowel until you found a point when one of them still sounds
acceptable while the other has become too short to be
identifiable. Which is which?
Consciousness
raising
activities
Discovery activity
(Underhill, pp.18-19)
2. Here is the same experiment with /ɪ/
/bɪt/
bit
/bɪd/
bid
Say each aloud and whispered. Can you notice any
difference in length?
If not, then shorten the duration you give to
each vowel until you found a point when one of them still sounds
acceptable while the other has become too short to be
identifiable. Which is which?
Even if you can´t find any difference, the action of trying to
observe length more accurately will help develop y0ur sensitivity
to the variables of sound production.
In my [ie Adrian Underhill´s]
opinion it is your sensitivity rather than your accuracy that
ultimately facilitates your learners´ learning
.
Consciousness
raising
activities
Discovery activity
(Underhill, pp.18-19)
3. Now compare the relative length of /i:/ and /ɪ/ in this
context:
/bi:t/
beat
/bɪd/
bid
Consciousness
raising
activities
Discovery activity
(Underhill, pp.18-19)
3. Now compare the relative length of /i:/ and /ɪ/ in this
context:
/bi:t/
beat
/bɪd/
bid
Here you may find that the ‘long’ and the ‘short’ vowel are in
fact roughly the same length.
So what is going on?
Consciousness
raising
activities
Discovery activity
(Underhill, pp.18-19)
Commentary
The general tendency you may have observed in these examples is
that vowels are
shortened
in stressed syllables closed by a
fortis
[unvoiced] consonant, e.g. /p, t, ʧ, k, f,
θ
, s, ʃ/ and are
given
more length
in stressed syllables closed by a
lenis
[voiced]
consonant, eg /b, d, ʤ, ɡ, v, ð, z, ʒ/.
(
Fortis,
meaning ‘Strong’, describes consonants characteristically
produced with strong breath force. In English, these are
coincidentally the unvoiced consonants.
Lenis
, meaning
‘gentle’,describes consonants characteristically produced with
weaker breath force. In English these are coincidentally the voiced
consonants.)
Consciousness
raising
activities
Discovery activity
(Underhill, pp.18-19)
Commentary
This tendency (and it is a tendency, not a rule) operates on both
long and short vowels (ie with and without length marks), so that
in the previous activity, you may have found that a long vowel /i:/
before an
unvoiced
consonant can be approximately the same
length as a short vowel /ɪ/ before a
voiced
consonant.
Length marks do not indicate that a vowel is
absolutely
longer all
the time. Length is quite a variable matter, depending particularly
on whether the syllable is stressed or not [...] and on the quality of
the neighbouring sounds.
For your own
practice
They try to make you comfortable, they try to put you in a quite
nice situation, with the standard food, that looks more like dog
food, than food proper for wild animals, all right? If you try to
compare, the situations and the environment that we live in here
with the environment that we live in Brazil, there is a big
difference. Here, you live in a very small place with all the
technological advances possible. You have... eh... everything
sorted out, double glazing, you know, your heating, and
everything. In Brazil - but you don't have space! In Brazil you have
space although you don't have all this technological, you know,
double glazing and things like that... ...you know... but you have
space and... eh... we need space to live, we need space to feel that
we are part of the world, not a kind of, a piece of object in a box!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe8_aka_qlw
Take home
messages
Today we have looked at those vowels that are known to cause
particular difficulties for Portuguese speakers, because of the
differences in the two phonemic systems.
It is assumed by most teachers/phoneticians that we can use
contrastive activities (often based on
minimal pairs
) to do ´ear
training´ - that is, to improve your perception of the slight
differences in quality and length of vowels in the target system.
Ear training raises your sensitivity or consciousness of phonemic
contrasts by systematic and repeated exposure to phonemes in
contrasting contexts.
It is further assumed that as your perception of phonemic
contrasts improves, your production of those contrasts will also
improve.
Explore the differences in consonant pronunciation between English and Brazilian Portuguese, focusing on minimal pairs and potential confusion points. The session covers various aspects such as vowel systems, phonological challenges, and accent nuances that may arise for Portuguese speakers when speaking English.
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Presentation Transcript
Phonetics & Phonology John Corbett: USP-CAPES International Fellow Session 7: Contrastive analysis: consonants
This session: English and Brazilian phonological systems Vowels Today s session
Sourceof information
Vowels RP Englishhas12 vowelsand10 diphthongs BrazilianPortuguese has8 vowels and6 diphthongs WhenpronouncingEnglishthe red vowelscan cause problems. The unshadedvowels havenearequivalents orequivalents in Portuguese. General e a i: : u: a e a a : :
/i:/ is shortenedby Portuguese speakers andcan be confusedwith // Minimalpairs: rich hit live bin Tim reach heat leave bean team /i:/ versus / / e a i: : u: a e a a : :
// can be confused with// Minimalpairs: beg head leg bread ten bag had lag Brad tan / / versus / / e a i: : u: a e a a : :
/:/ is shortened by Portuguese speakers andcan be confusedwith // (Thishappensin Scotland too!) Minimalpairs: aunt hard bard heart art ant had bad hat at / :/ versus / / e a i: : u: a e a a : :
/:/ can be confusedwith //, or sometimes // (Again, this happensin Scotland too!) Minimalpairs: caught sport corn fawn cot spot hot con cut / :/ versus / / and/ / hut fun e a i: : u: a e a a : :
/u:/ can be confused with// Minimalpairs(in some pronunciations...iewithout/j/ in Luke, suit): fool full Luke look pool pull shooed should suit soot /u:/ versus / / e a i: : u: a e a a : :
//can be confused with//, orsometimes /u:/ because ofthe spelling. Minimalpairs: hut mud ton run fun / / versus / / and sometimes/u:/ hat mad tan ran fan hoot mood e a i: : u: a e a a : :
Unstressed vowels are often given their full value by speakers of syllable-timed languages like Portuguese. This affects the pronunciation of weak forms: Non-contrastive (unstressed) Contrastive (stressed) the woman the woman Unstressed vowels anawfulmistake anawfulmistake a text A is for apple e a i: : u: a e a a : :
It is common to add an intrusive unstressed vowel (epenthetic vowel) to separate consonants when they are doubled, or when there is a consonant cluster: Juncture issues thisstop at that time you have space I speakSpanish Unstressed vowels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe8_aka_qlw e a i: : u: a e a a : :
There are fewer diphthongs in Portuguese than in English. The main problems are usually with those diphthongs used before silent /r/ in non- rhoticRP: Diphthongs, especially / / and/e / Minimalpairs fear beer deer/dear hear fair/fare bear/bare dare hair/hare e a i: : u: a e a a : :
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19) 1. Saythe followingwords. /bi:t/ beat /bi:d/ bead Adviceon difficultvowels Saythem quicklyas wellas drawn out. Can younoticeany difference in length?If not, thenshortenthedurationyougiveto eachvoweluntil youfound a point whenoneofthem still sounds acceptablewhiletheother hasbecome too short tobe identifiable. Whichis which?
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19) 1. Saythe followingwords. /bi:t/ beat /bi:d/ bead Consciousness raising activities Saythem quicklyas wellas drawn out. Can younoticeany difference in length. If not, thenshortenthedurationyougiveto eachvoweluntilyoufounda point whenoneofthem still sounds acceptablewhiletheother hasbecome too short tobe identifiable. Whichis which? Whatyou mightobserve is that /i:/ in bead tends (orneeds) tobe a little longerthan/i:/ in beat. Don tbe putoff by the factthatyou can givethem boththe samelength.
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19) 2. Here is thesame experiment with/ / /b t/ bit Consciousness raising activities /b d/ bid Sayeachaloudandwhispered. Can younoticeanydifference in length? If not, then shorten the duration you give to each vowel until you found a point when one of them still sounds acceptable while the other has become too short to be identifiable. Which is which?
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19) 2. Here is thesame experiment with/ / /b t/ bit /b d/ bid Sayeachaloudandwhispered. Can younoticeanydifference in length? If not, then shorten the duration you give to each vowel until you found a point when one of them still sounds acceptable while the other has become too short to be identifiable. Which is which? Consciousness raising activities Evenifyoucan tfindanydifference, theactionoftryingto observe lengthmore accurately willhelp developy0ur sensitivity tothe variablesofsoundproduction. In my [ieAdrian Underhill s] opinionit is your sensitivityrather thanyour accuracythat ultimatelyfacilitatesyourlearners learning.
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19) Consciousness raising activities 3. Nowcompare the relativelengthof/i:/ and/ / in this context: /bi:t/ beat /b d/ bid
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19) 3. Nowcompare the relativelengthof/i:/ and/ / in this context: /bi:t/ Consciousness raising activities beat /b d/ bid Here youmay findthatthe long andthe short vowelare in fact roughlythe samelength. So what isgoingon?
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19) Commentary The general tendency youmayhaveobserved in theseexamples is thatvowelsareshortened in stressed syllablesclosedby a fortis [unvoiced] consonant, e.g. /p, t, , k, f, , s, / andare givenmore lengthin stressed syllablesclosedby a lenis [voiced] consonant, eg /b, d, , , v, , z, /. Consciousness raising activities (Fortis, meaning Strong , describes consonantscharacteristically produced withstrongbreath force. In English, theseare coincidentallytheunvoicedconsonants. Lenis, meaning gentle ,describes consonantscharacteristicallyproduced with weakerbreath force. In Englishthese are coincidentallythe voiced consonants.)
Discovery activity (Underhill, pp.18-19) Commentary Thistendency (andit isa tendency, nota rule) operates onboth longandshort vowels(iewith andwithoutlengthmarks), sothat in the previousactivity, youmayhavefoundthata longvowel/i:/ before anunvoicedconsonantcan be approximatelythe same lengthas a short vowel/ / before a voicedconsonant. Consciousness raising activities Lengthmarks do notindicatethat a vowelisabsolutelylongerall the time. Lengthis quite a variablematter, depending particularly onwhether thesyllableis stressed ornot[...] andonthequality of the neighbouringsounds.
They try to make you comfortable, they try to put you in a quite nice situation, with the standard food, that looks more like dog food, than food proper for wild animals, all right? If you try to compare, the situations and the environment that we live in here with the environment that we live in Brazil, there is a big difference. Here, you live in a very small place with all the technological advances possible. You have... eh... everything sorted out, double glazing, you know, your heating, and everything. In Brazil - but you don't have space! In Brazil you have space although you don't have all this technological, you know, double glazing and things like that... ...you know... but you have space and... eh... we need space to live, we need space to feel that we are part of the world, not a kind of, a piece of object in a box! For yourown practice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe8_aka_qlw
Todaywehavelookedatthosevowelsthatare knowntocause particular difficulties for Portuguese speakers, because ofthe differences in the twophonemicsystems. It is assumed by mostteachers/phoneticiansthat we can use contrastiveactivities(oftenbased onminimalpairs) todo ear training - thatis, toimprove your perceptionofthe slight differences in quality andlengthofvowels in the targetsystem. Takehome messages Eartraining raisesyour sensitivityor consciousnessofphonemic contrastsby systematicandrepeated exposure tophonemesin contrastingcontexts. It is further assumed thatas yourperceptionofphonemic contrastsimproves, yourproductionofthosecontrastswillalso improve.
