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أستاذ / رضا السعيد



A large number of students face great difficulty in understanding, and appreciating Phonetics and Linguistics. The fault is usually not theirs, but rather that of their teachers who face the same difficulty.


Phonetics is not difficult to understand, once we grasp the quintessential characteristics of its sounds. Once we achieve that, we will find it easy to understand, and appreciate a linguistic work.


In the part which discusses the characteristics of English sounds, I tried to give representative and carefully chosen examples. They are well-known examples which I liked and enjoyed, I hope that you will enjoy them too, and that they will instill in you a love of Phonetics as well as Linguistics.


The First Part: Phonetics
Phonetics is the general study of the characteristics of English sounds.
Speech Organs
(1)The Vocal Cords:
They are bands of elastic tissues in the larynx.
When the vocal cords are spread apart, the air from the lungs passes between them unimpeded causing a voiceless sound.
When the vocal cords are drawn together, the air from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes through, creating a vibration causing a voiced sound.

(2)The Larynx:
It is a structure at the top of the wind-pipe from the lungs, which contains the vocal cords.

(3)The Pharynx:
It is immediately above the larynx and it is a space behind the tongue reaching up towards the nasal cavity.

(4)The Tongue:
It is the most important part of the organs of speech as it has the greatest variety of movement. It is divided into four parts: (1)Tip. (2)Blade. (3)Front. (4)Back.

(5)The lips:
They take up various different positions, for example: they can be brought firmly together as in /p/ or /b/ so that they completely block the mouth.

(6)The Teeth:
The lower front teeth and the upper front ones are important in speech.

(7)The Palate:
It is the roof of the mouth, divided into the soft palate at the back, the hard palate in the middle, and the alveolar ridge, just behind the teeth.

(8)The Alveolar ridge:
It is the part of the gums immediately behind the upper front teeth. It is very important as most of the consonant sounds like /b,d,t,n,r,s,z,j,3,d3/ are made with the tongue touching or close to the alveolar ridge.

9) Aspiration:
It is a short period after the explosion of /p,t,k/ when air leaves the mouth without voice.