 Good morning, are you all right, comfortable, lovely. So, let us continue talking about the vowel sounds in natural languages. And yesterday we saw that all vowel sounds can be broadly classified into two categories. Some are pure vowels or monophthongs and the others are diphthongs or glides. Please write, either they are monophthongs or they are diphthongs. In other words, either they are produced with one explosion or they are produced with two explosions. Some people describe these, these sounds differently and they say either they are pure vowels by which they mean that there is no change, no obstruction or they are glides. In other words, these vowels are produced by tongue moving from one position to another position. In the case of pure vowels tongue does not change position, it continues to have only one position. Call it by whatever name you like, they are different approaches, but a large number of languages have both kinds of vowels. Monophthongs or diphthongs are pure vowels and glides. We also saw yesterday that glides or diphthongs are also described nearly the same way. You describe the position from where they move, so you say from and then you say to. You can say from front closed, unrounded to central between open and half open, sorry between half closed and half open, unrounded. Say for instance, a vowel like this as in ear. How shall we describe it? Come on please, let me, you can help me please from front or back, front, closed or open, closed, rounded or unrounded, unrounded to front or back, central. Open or closed between half closed and half open, right. So, you can say from front, closed, unrounded to, we can say central between half closed and half open, unrounded. This is how we describe diphthongs. Our glides as well. We can apply, you know yesterday we looked at some examples from English, but you know any scientific terminology is scientific only because it is designed for universal phenomenon, not just for particular, you know. In that case it is art. In that case it is empirical, but if it is truly scientific, your concepts, your theories, your definition, your parameters would apply across the board, would apply to everyone. So, for example, using this parameter, you can describe vowels or diphthongs in, you know in any language. You can describe it for Telugu, you can describe it for English. I will give you an example from my mother tongue, Maitreley. Let us draw the vowel trapezium first here. This is the vowel trapezium and in Maitreley we have only two diphthongs. Maybe there are more, but I know of only two. So, we have for example, a diphthong like, let us say diphthongs in Maitreley. So, we have a diphthong like, what is this? Can you, you know can you pronounce? It is not I, what is it? I, this is a and this is a. Actually, it should be long by definition. It is I, what is it? I. So, in Maitreley we have a word with this sound. This is, what is it? Can you, can you read it along? Pyg, what is this? Pyg Pyg, it means big. You can, you can follow the same method in describing the diphthongs in Telugu, Tamil in any language of the world that you love and like. How do we describe it? Very simple. It starts somewhere here, you know. It starts somewhere here and comes up to here. This is the movement. This is the symbol. Can you help me write the description? I want to say from, please come help me. Front or back? Central. From central, close or open. Between, please go systematically. Between, between half closed and half open. Rounded or unrounded? Unrounded. Unrounded. Lovely. Two, let us write two here. Two, front or back? Front. Close or open? No, not half closed. We will say half closed. Half closed. Rounded or unrounded? Rounded or unrounded? Unrounded. Unrounded. Great. We have another diphthong in my mother tongue in Maitreley and this will be represented somehow in this manner. This is, this moves from here to here. Can you give me the symbol for this? Can you give me the symbol for this, please? Can you give me, if the diphthong moves from here to here, what will be the symbol? Okay, pronunciation. Everybody, please try, make a mistake, at least on your notebook. You can correct. You see, learning occurs only when you create a slot for it in your mind. So, when you try, when you risk, okay, even if you are wrong, you learn. Okay, please come. What is the sound? Oh, what is the symbol? This is the symbol. Okay, we will say, as in, what sound is this? I gave you a handout. So, now, what word is this? Choke. Okay, it means square, it means in my mother tongue cross roads, you know, junction, the crossing of the roads, a lot of things. Okay, how shall we describe it? Please come, help me. From, front, back, close, what? Front or back? From, front or back? From central, lovely. From central. Okay, close or open? Between half closed and half open. Between half closed and half closed and half closed. Open. Rounded or unrounded? Unrounded. Great. Two. Give me the description, please. Front or back? Back. Back. From two. Back closed or open? Half closed, lovely. Rounded or unrounded? Rounded. Great. You are fanaticians now. I think, I should write. Fairly simple, isn't it? Straight forward. You can apply it to, you know, mechanically. You can give algorithms to computer, give them the sound and they generate description, if you require description or give them the description and they generate symbols and sounds. Okay? Fairly simple, you know? Lot in nature. Let us take a pause and take an overview. A lot of what we see in nature is systematic, is scientific, has a method behind the madness. It's only because of our limited understanding, we think they are unordered or disordered or chaotic. All the sages, you know, one word for sages in Sanskrit is rishi and the word meaning of the word rishi is one who can see, one who can see beyond eyes, one who can see underlying patterns, invisible patterns and when those seers started looking at the language and saw the pattern, they found lots of system, very systematic structure in it. You can, I'm sure at least some of you in this class will take this knowledge and the advantages of knowledge to many more and to further heights. Okay? Any problem understanding how vowels sounds are produced? What's the definition of vowels? How many kinds of vowels? How do we describe them? Four things I have told you in the last three days. Number one, what are vowels? Any problem? Say yes or no. Okay? How do we describe them? We describe vowels with respect to three parameters. What are those three parameters? No. That's the definition of the vowel. The vowels are voiced oral and obstructive. Yes. How do we describe them? Whether they are front or back? Closed or open? Rounded or unrounded? Then third thing we said, how many kinds of vowels are there? And we looked at two broad kinds. What are those kinds? Yeah, monothons and diphthons or pure vowels and glides. How do we describe them? We describe them with reference to three term levels. Any problem? Say yes or no. Please say no. Okay, great. You are very generous. Right. Let's move to the other kind. What happens to those sounds which are either, please give me your attention for a few minutes. Okay, total attention. And then, you know, these things are very easy to understand if you can concentrate. What happens to those sounds which are not voiced? They are voiceless where vocal cords do not vibrate or they are not oral or they are obstructed. These sounds are consonant sounds. You know, we are the all a very major classification of all speech sounds is that all speech sounds are either vowels or consonants. Please write. Okay, let me take this off now. All speech sounds of all natural languages can be described in two major categories, can be classified into two major categories. One is vowels and we saw that vowels are voiced, oral, unobstructed. Therefore, can you give the definition of consonants? Consonants may or may not be voiced. Okay. They are necessarily voiced. They are necessarily oral and they are necessarily unobstructed. These three things make vowel. You break any of these things. You need not break all the three. Do you see the point? Say yes or no, please. Yeah. It is not that you must have, it is not that only voiceless, only nasal, only obstructed. No. If you break even one of these, it may be plus or minus voice. It may be plus or minus oral and it may be plus or minus unobstructed. Even if you break one of these parameters, the speech sound becomes a consonant sound. Try and understand. It is extremely simple. We know what a vowel sound is. You can close your eyes and you can tell me vowel sounds are voiced, oral, unobstructed, correct? But if you break any of these things, if you violate any of these three parameters, if everything is there, you know, the speech sound is oral and unobstructed but it is voiceless. Then it becomes consonant. If speech sound is voiced, unobstructed but it is nasal, then it becomes, please tell me, consonant. The speech sound is voiced and oral but obstructed, then it becomes consonant. You break any of these parameters, it becomes a consonant, right? I will give you a quiz, oral quiz. Please tell me. The speech sound is produced through nasal passage. It is voiced, it is continuous. Is it vowel or consonant? No, it is not why? Because it is not, because, you know, it is nasal. It is not oral and one condition for vowel sage, it must be oral, okay? Let us take another situation. Speech sound is produced through oral passage. It is unobstructed but in the production of this speech sound, vocal chords do not vibrate. Is it vowel or consonant? It is consonant, of course, you know. So this is how we define a consonant. A consonant may or may not be voiced. A consonant may or may not be oral. A consonant may or may not be unobstructed. If even one of these parameters apply, if one of the parameters of vowels, this speech sound is a consonant sound. You can write it on your notebook in any way you like, okay? A consonant sound is that which has, which may or may not be, which may or may not be, okay? Write any way you like. I am going to give you a quiz. For the second quiz, you will have some questions pertaining to definition and identification of consonants, okay? How do we describe the consonants? For description of vowels, we have three term levels, okay? What are the three term levels for the description of vowels? For the description of vowels, you know, this is, this is the definition of vowel. For description of vowels, for description of vowels, we said either they are front or back or they are closed or open or they are rounded or unrounded. We said they are front or back. They are closed or open or we said rounded or unrounded, okay? What kind of parameter do we use to describe consonant? Let us see. Consonants unlike vowels are not produced from a limited area, you know. All vowels are produced from within this area, this trapezium, you know, between alveolar edge and the blade of the tongue, back of the tongue and soft palate. It is within this area without contact between active and passive articulators that all vowel sounds are produced. All vowel sounds of all languages of the world are produced from within that narrow area. But consonants have a larger, the production of consonants can happen from, production of consonants can happen from here, pharynx, we have a sound like in many languages of the world have that sound. We have a sound like, say it, as in him, her, house, here, okay? Right? That is, where does this sound come from? This sound comes from pharynx here, right from the back of the throat or it can go to the other extreme. We have speech sounds produced from the lips like, or through interaction between lower lip and upper teeth, such as when we say, as in fan, as in van, a fairy, okay? It is the lower lip which touches the upper teeth. So, you know, speech sounds can, consonant sounds can come from extremes of the vocal apparatus. They can also, you know, open or close much more. There can be obstruction, there can be different kinds of obstruction, there can be full closure. Say for example, when you produce puff, you fully close your mouth, both lips coming together, okay? Only then can you produce puff. Both lips are closed, cheeks are puffed and you suddenly explode the air that has, the air pressure that has built up behind your lips is suddenly released and you get a sound called, do it, feel your cheek, keep your fingers here and say, don't you see, don't you feel that your cheek swells and shrinks, puffs and, you know, without that pressure, the sound will not come and the pressure is built by obstructing, but completely obstructing the passage of air. There can be partial obstruction. Say for example, when you produce a sound like, produce it, the passage is made so narrow, the tongue and the closure of the mouth, you know, the teeth almost touching, but not touching, you know, this almost is important. Teeth almost touching one another, lower teeth and upper teeth, but not touching. Slight, narrow passage for the passage of air is there. Air does pass through that passage, but the passage is so narrow that there is friction and you hear that friction and then you get, do it, okay? Or there may be complete closure, but gradual release, not sudden, not like, not like, but it can be sudden it can be gradual release, complete closure. Blade of the tongue goes and touches the heart palate, do it, let the blade of your tongue touch heart palate up, above, in the roof of your mouth. You see, this is the blade of the tongue, this is the blade of the tongue, it touches the heart palate, okay? Complete contact, keep it there, keep it there, don't release it and then slowly release it, say, as in church, as in bench, as in rich, as in cheer, okay? So, come back to it. The point is that nature always makes optimum use of, this is a very important scientific truth in the study of, if you have studied physics and you know, and if you go into the higher, deeper, as long as you will find that all of the big mountains and deep oceans are nothing but combination of some limited chemical and physical elements, okay? Some limited elements. The same thing happens here. Nature makes optimum use of limited parameters through combinations, okay? This is how we can get a consonant. A consonant may or may not be voiceless. A consonant may be oral or nasal or the nature of obstruction may differ. It can be either total or partial or none, not at all, no obstruction. There are consonants like, say, for example, when you say as in yes or as in wet, you know, there is no, it flows freely, it goes freely or when you have sounds like as in road or as in load, they are all freely produced. There is no obstruction anywhere. They are almost like vowels except that they don't work like vowels. I can tell you later when you get into the phonology part, I will tell you why they are called semi-vowels. You know, yawarala, okay? Why are, why they are grouped together separately in another group? Even in our languages, you know, we have yawarala in another group together, okay? And they are known as semi-vowels. But that is because, you know, we can have three kinds of obstruction and within those three kinds, again, there can be lots of sub varieties. They can be total as in paaba, they can be partial as in ss or they can be none such as when you produce no obstruction at all. Just the pharynx constricts becomes a bit narrow, you know, when you laugh and when you give hearty laughter, then it expands and contracts a lot. But ordinarily speaking, when you produce a speech sound like ah, as in house, as in him, okay, then slightly constricts. But after that, in the oral passage, there is no obstruction. So, consonant sounds can be described depending on whether they are voiced or voiceless, whether they are oral or nasal, whether what is the nature of obstruction. Close your eyes and tell me how many different kinds of obstruction can there be? The obstruction is either total or none. Let's repeat. The obstruction can be either total. How many different kinds of obstruction can we have in the production of speech sounds? They can be at least three major kinds. What are they? Number one, they are either total obstruction or partial obstruction or not at all. Can you give me an example for total obstruction paaba? Can you give me an example for partial obstruction sss? And can you give me an example for no obstruction at all? Okay. So, you know, then again, you know, then again, if it is total obstruction, how is the obstruction released? Is it sudden as in the production of paaba, you know, the entire, we call them in our languages in Telugu alphabet, in Hindi alphabet, in Tamil alphabet, we call them Osthabya, labial produced from lips. So, they are pa, pa, ba, ba. What is the fifth sound? Ma, iddo, nasal, but you know, labial closure is important to the production of ma. Okay. So, you know, again, if it is complete closure, we can have, we again have a choice. Either it's a sudden release, okay, or it's a gradual release, or the question of release doesn't arise, okay. You can have total silence. There are sometimes speech sounds where you don't release and you imagine that you have got pa. Look at this sound. At the end of the word, how do you pronounce it? Cup. Do you let your, do you say cup pa? Do you open your mouth? Come again. Do you understand the question? I am asking a very subtle question. Your computer will have to recognize the difference. We have said that this sound is produced, this sound is produced when there is complete closure and sudden release. Are you with me? Are you with me? Yes, sir. Okay. I have told you and you have agreed that this sound is produced when there is complete closure and sudden release, right? But there may be words, there may be contexts, phonological contexts, sounds coming after one another where complete closure happens, but release doesn't happen. Produce this word, pronounce this word. Did you release your mouth? Did you release the lips? Yes or no? No. Yet we recognize, you see, this is the power of the mind. The day computer acquires this power, computer will displace you. Okay. Computer will become an engineer and engineering scientist as well. Okay. At the moment it's only an engineer, not an engineering scientist. Computer cannot create algorithms by itself. The day it acquires that intelligence, okay, it will, the contextual intelligence is not there yet and that is the challenge for some of you guys. Okay. So, you know, there can be three different kinds of obstruction. It can be either, sorry, release of obstruction. It can be sudden release, close your eyes and tell me. Sudden release, next, gradual release or in rare cases, in extremely rare cases, no release at all. Even then we get speech sounds. Okay. Or in taking all of these things together, taking all of these things into account, people, you know, fanaticians classify consonant sounds into many, many categories. There are, there are plosive sounds. Plosive sounds are produced with complete closure, sudden release, burst. You have the complete closure, sudden release. You have, you know, in our languages, you have the complete closure, you know, tongue, tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth, the, okay, tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth, blocks the oral passage. Okay. Just see how the is produced. Here, the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth, blocks the oral passage and you suddenly release the air pressure and you get ta, ta, da, da, na. But when you come to, let's go to ta. You know, ta comes from here, blade of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge. Okay. Complete closure, sudden release and you get ta. Produce ta. Where is your tongue? On the teeth or above the teeth? But produce now ta. Is it on the teeth or above the teeth? On the teeth. On the teeth. You know, these minute slight, you know, nanometer differences produce different kinds of sounds. That is why, you know, no two-speed sounds are exactly like, but then there are similarities. Consonants, there are, there may be plosives, which are produced with total closure and sudden release. There may be fricatives, which are produced with friction. Think sounds, sounds like, these are all produced with friction. There is complete flow of the speech air, but the flow is through the narrow passage and there is friction and then these sounds are produced. And because these sounds are produced through friction, sounds like, you know, sounds like, or, or, all of these sounds have nearly, you know, nearly a free flow, not a free flow. There is some obstruction. The obstruction happens because the passage is very narrow. Air flows, but it flows through friction. There is constant obstruction. Imagine yourself going into your room through the door and imagine yourself going through the window, you know, between the rods. You can possibly get inside, but there will be lot of friction. You can have cuts, bruises, difficulties. So, you know, speech sound, speech air does come out, but it comes out through friction. So, some speech sounds, please look at the classification in the last line. They are called fricative. Similarly, there can be friction like when you gradually release, okay. There is total closure, but gradual release. So, in English, they are called affricates, which means friction like, or, there are, others are continuance, where there is no obstruction, okay. So, you have, here, etc. How do we describe them? We have three term level for consonants as well. We have three term level for consonants as well. What are those three term levels? Consonants are either voiced or voiceless. So, first we say voiced or voiceless. Second, where point of articulation, because consonants come from a large area, relatively speaking. You know, relatively speaking, consonants come from a large area. They can also come this way. They can come through the oral passage. They can come from pharynx. They can come from lips. They can come from a large number of different points. So, what we do is, in the description, this is important. Is it voiced or voiceless? Where does it come from and where is, you know, sorry, what kind of obstruction and release of obstruction is there? In other words, the three term level for consonants, three term level for consonants asks these questions. Number one, is it voiced or voiceless, correct? Okay. Where is the place of obstruction if there is obstruction? So, we say, place of obstruction and if there is obstruction, the manner of release of obstruction. What are the three term level for the description of consonants? Is it voiced or voiceless? Where is the place of articulation, sorry, where is the place of obstruction and what is the manner of release of obstruction? Close your eyes and repeat after me. How do we describe a consonant? A consonant is either voiced or voiceless. You know, where is the place of obstruction and how is the obstruction released? So, three things are voiced or voiceless, manner, place of obstruction, manner of release of obstruction. What are the three terms? Please give it to me. Voiceless, voiceless, place of obstruction and manner of release of obstruction. Once again, what are the three term parameters? Three term level, voiced or voiceless, place of obstruction, manner of release of obstruction. Let us apply it. Let us take this sound. Okay. Let us take this H. Okay. You will have to say, this is the symbol and can I, by the way, draw your attention to the handout I gave you with phonetic symbols. You are expected to, you are expected to learn how to use that symbol. At the examination in the assignments, you will have to use that. Okay. So, better start using them. You know, better start writing letters and SMS messages to friends. Let them worry. You know, they will ask you, have you gone crazy or are you learning a class in Turkish? Okay. But do acquire. It will help you also look up dictionaries of pronunciation of a strange words in a strange languages, et cetera, et cetera. But do acquire that ability. Okay. Come to it. So, this is, what is this? Is it H or is it, what is this? It is not H. The moment you enclose it between slanted brackets, then according to the convention of international phonetic association, this is no longer a letter in a particular alphabet. It is symbol for a universal sound. What is that sound? Okay. How do we describe it? What are the parameters? What is the first question? Voiced of voiceless. What is it? Is it voiced or voiceless? It is voiceless. Does not vibrate when you say, no vibration. No vibration. But you say, so in this case, is it voiced or voiceless? It is voiceless. Okay. Where is the place of obstruction, if any? When you say, where is the place of obstruction? Okay. The little constriction that is there is, where is it? It is in the pharynx. It is in the throat. So you call it voiceless, pharyngeal. Okay. What is the closer like? Is it total, partial or none? Partial. There is some narrowing. Otherwise you do not get, the moment you say, you know, your throat, your pharynx constricts. Say it. Can you swell your cheek and say, can you? You cannot. Okay. So this is friction, voiceless, pharyngeal, fricketing. Let us take another sound. Let us take this time, zzzz, produce it. Zzzz. Is it voiced or voiceless? Voiced. Lovely. Where is the place of obstruction, place of obstruction is near the tip of the tongue. You see, this is where it comes from. The tip of the tongue moves towards the upper teeth but does not touch it. Okay. Does not totally block it. There is narrowing but no blocking. So what are the two organs involved here? Lip and the, sorry, the tip of the tongue and teeth, upper teeth. So you know, the Latin word for that will be, okay. Lingua, sorry, or lingual. Lingual is tongue and dental. Lingual and dental. For the sake of convenience, you can call it dental, if you like. But it is strictly speaking, lingual and dental. Does it come with or without friction? Does it come with or without friction? With friction. So this is fricative. Okay. Let us take one more and then we will stop. What is this sound? Zzzz. Voiced or voiceless? Voiced. Voiced. Voiced or voiceless? Voiceless. Voiceless. Where is the place of obstruction? Where is the place of obstruction? Come on. Dental. Same, same place. The only difference is it is not, okay. Fricative. One more, I want you to do it on your own and you know, then we will stop for the day. As in kin, don't say, don't add a there. Just say, don't say ka. Then you know, a is there, it is voiced. You will be misled. Just say ka. Without the r. Okay. Now tell me. Is it voiced or voiceless? Voiceless. Lovely. Where is the place of obstruction? Where is the place of obstruction? Middle of the tongue or back of the tongue? Yeah. For the sake of description, we will say is back of the tongue. But it could be middle of the tongue. Okay. So we say voiceless, back of the tongue. Back of the tongue is this place and it goes opposite the vealum. This is the back of the tongue. It goes opposite to the soft palate. So you know, the veal, the adjective we use in Latin is voiceless, vealer. What is the nature of obstruction and release of obstruction? Feel it. Tell me. What is the nature of obstruction and is a partial closure, complete closure, no closure? Complete closure. Is it gradual release or sudden release? Sudden release. So it's plosive. Voiceless, vealer, plosive. What I'll do is we don't have enough time in the class here. I have described for you English sounds. I will mail it to you through Mahesh and please look at them and do it for your mother tongue. Okay. Thank you. Have a good day.