Phonology: Discussion Points

• Words in English which have "s" in them vary in pronunciation. Can you come up with some variants of "s" pronunciation, and try to explain them?
• Why would adjacent sounds "want" to become similar to one another? (The simplest answer is that our vocal organs want to work as efficiently as possible, and can achieve that by producing adjacent sounds in similar places and manner. The sound "z", for example, is "voiced", that is, pronounced with friction in the vocal cords, which you can feel if you put your hand on your throat while uttering it. So are all vowels. The sound "s", however, is not, and is referred to as "unvoiced". The first "s" in the word "Moses" is surrounded by two vowels, and the vocal organs produce it in the same manner that they produce the vowels, making it sound like a "z", that is, making it voiced).
• What is common to sounds like "b", "p", and "m"? How is "m" different from the other two? (They are all pronounced using the lips, but the sound "m" also uses the nasal cavity.)
• What is common to sounds like "t", "d", and "n"? How is "n" different from the other two? (They are all pronounced with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge, but the sound "n" also uses the nasal cavity.)
• How are "t" and "d" different in terms of friction in the vocal cords? Put your hand on your throat and try to pronounce the two sounds, not using vowels. Could this explain the pronunciation of the "th" in words like "mother" and "father", as opposed to "path" and "anthem"? (The answer: "t" is unvoiced, "d" is voiced, and the answer is similar to that in the second topic above).