Week 2 homework: transcription of phonation and intonation
http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/jcoleman/phonation_intonation_homework.html
1. Draw a parametric diagram that displays (a) the flow of air into and
out of the body, via the mouth and nose (shown separately), and (b) the
aperture (degree of opening) of the larynx during a pronunciation of
the phrase: "I know she plays the trombone".
If you don't have enough time to do both questions 2 and 3 below, just
pick one. But if you can make time for both, so much the better.
2. Listen to http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/jcoleman/Kassem_story/sentence1.wav and http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/jcoleman/Kassem_story/sentence2.wav,
two sentences from the story of the North Wind and the Sun, in Kassem
(a Niger-Congo language of Ghana). The vowels and consonants can be
broadly transcribed as follows:
Sentence 1: avio di awia mo magi nikantɔgɔso ba biri dam
Sentence 2: kanto manŋa ni mo chovelo makia di o wwaro garivoɔ
Make three transcriptions of the pitch pattern of these three sentences:
i) an 'interlinear' transcription, such as that employed by Daniel Jones, Ida Ward etc.
ii) an 'accented' transcription, using acute accent for high pitch, grave for low, circumflex for fall, hacek for rise etc.
iii) an 'autosegmental' transcription, using H for high pitch, L for
low pitch, linked by association lines to the transcription of vowels
and consonants.
Note also the phonation types employed. What advantages, limitations or problems do you find with each type of transcription?
3. Listen to http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/jcoleman/j-ret1-f3.wav
It's the beginning of the story of Cinderella, retold from memory by a
teenage speaker of Multiethnic London English. Transcribe it into
ordinary English spelling and add an interlinear transcription of the
pitch movements. Mark the high and low pitch points using H and L.
Describe where these 'tones' occur (with respect to the other aspects
of the spoken language).