PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY


Unit 1: Phonetics and phonology

Unit 1 gives an overview of the fields of phonetics and phonology, paying particular attention to the notions of phoneme and allophone and to the structure of the syllable and syllabic sounds.

Introduction

The sounds of RP are presented as a pronunciation model for Spanish-Speaking Learners of English in comparison with those of PSp. In addition, the main differences between broad (or phonemic) and narrow (or allophonic) transcriptions are noted, and practical tips are given on how to represent speech sounds more accurately in transcriptions than would bepossible using ordinary spelling, bearing in mind the complex and often unpredictable relationship between spelling and pronunciation.