1 Prof Francisco Zabala - 2016 The Release Stage of Plosives: The literature is clear with regard to the complex nature of plosive sounds Although some writers (Cruttenden: 2014) postulate that there are three stages in the production of a plosive sound, we will follow a more thorough analysis (Arnold: 1971; Wells & Colson: 1971; Roach: 2009) that adds a fourth stage (something implicit in Cruttenden, though) Plosive sounds are made up of three stages: The CLOSING STAGE: the articulators come together to produce a complete oral closure that prevents the airflow from escaping (since plosive sounds are oral sounds, it is understood that the velum is raised so that the airflow does not escape through the nose, either) The COMPRESSION STAGE: the air coming from the lungs is built up behind the oral closure This raises the pressure inside the oral chamber The RELEASE STAGE: the articulators separate abruptly, thus removing the blockage PLOSION: the auditory effect produced by the noise that the compressed air makes as it escapes Learners should be aware of the fact that some or several of these stages may not always be present due to contextual reasons The aim of the following section is to help you distinguish between COMPLETE PLOSIVE sounds that are exploded (i.e you can hear their plosion) from MASKED PLOSIVES (i.e you cannot hear either the release or the plosion) COMPLETE ORAL RELEASE AND PLOSION: the articulators separate abruptly and the air escapes freely through the mouth producing its characteristic explosive noise This is typical when a vowel sound follows a plosive It may also be possible before silence or, in extremely careful or declamatory speech, in a sequence of a plosive sound followed by another plosive, a lateral or a nasal Although there is no diacritical mark for this, the latter case may be indicated by the use of aspiration or affrication when suitable: Baboon Za?!at9m\ Daddy Z!czch\ Told me Z!s?Tkc'y(
lh\ Bag Z!azf
{{\ 'g( That person Z!Czs !o29rm\ Z!Czs'r(
!o29rm\ MASKED PLOSIVES: The plosive is felt to be “incomplete” because it lacks its characteristic explosive noise Learners should aim at mastering this feature, since it is only in over-careful or declamatory speech that plosives are always exploded By the same token, failing to mask plosives can both hinder learners’ fluency as well as distract their listeners’ attention a PLOSIVE + NASAL: there is true nasal release when a plosive is followed by a homorganic nasal The oral closure is kept, so the contact made between the articulators should not be removed Consequently, the air escapes through the nose when the soft palate is lowered and the nasal cavity is opened The Spanish tendency to insert an intrusive vowel should be repressed: ‘not now’ *Z!mPs?
!m`T\ (For teaching purposes, some writers extend label to any sequence of a plosive followed by a heterorganic nasal sound in order to remind the student that no intrusive vowel should be heard The oral closure required by the nasal sound anticipates the release of the plosive, so no oral plosion should be heard C.f NO PLOSION.) At night Bad news Ribbon Organ Z?s^
!m`Hs\ Z!azc^
!mit9y\ Z!qHa^m\ Z!N9f^m\ Button Sudden Happen Bacon Z!aUs^m\ Z!rUc^m\ Z!gzo^m\ Z!adHj^m\ Prof Francisco Zabala - 2016 b LATERAL RELEASE: there is true lateral release when a plosive is followed by a homorganic lateral sound This occurs only in the sequences sk+
ck as the tongue tip contact made against the alveolar ridge is not removed, so the plosive is released by the lowering of one or both sides of the tongue The important point that the foreign learner should bear in mind is that no vowel is to be heard Spanish speakers should, for instance, try to avoid pronunciations such as ‘not light’ *Z!mPs? !k`Hs\) (Since what is sought is the omission of an intrusive vowel in these cases, the concept of lateral release is also extended by some writers to sequences of heterorganic plosive and lateral sounds The alveolar closure required by the lateral anticipates the release of the plosive, so no oral plosion should be heard C.f NO PLOSION.) Bottle Subtly At last Big lake Z!aPs^k\ Z!rUs^kh\ Z?s^
!k@9rs\ Z!aHf^
!kdHj\ Middle Mildly Bad luck Bubble Z!lHc^k\ Z!l`Hkc^kh\ Z!azc^
!kUj\ Z!aUa^k\ c NO RELEASE & GEMINATION: when a plosive is followed by a homorganic plosive or affricate, its third and fourth stages will not take place The second stop consonant, at the same time, will lack its closing stage, due to the pre-existing homorganic closure made for the plosive To put it simply, the stop cluster is made up of (1) a closing stage; (2) a compression stage that is twice as long since it comprises the first plosive’s compression stage and the second stop consonant’s compression stage; (3) and a release stage (and plosion, if suitable) for the second consonant Learners should be careful not to think that the plosive disappears altogether: its presence is manifested by means of the extra length of the compression stage The diacritical mark used for this type of release is the same that is used for non-audible release, since the auditory effect is similar (i.e no plosion is heard) If the two plosives are geminates (that is, both are exactly the same sound) the cluster is perceived as just one long plosive sound Again, the Spanish tendency to insert an intrusive vowel should be avoided: e.g ‘bad day’ *Z$azc?
!cdH\ Bad dog Big girl Black cat Z!azc^
!cPf\ Z!aHf^
!f29k\ Z!akzj^
!jzs\ Pete died Z!oh9s^
!c`Hc\ Jack Gray Z!cYzj^
!fqdH\ David chokes Z!cdHuHc^
!sR?Tjr\ d NO PLOSION & NO AUDIBLE RELEASE: the third and fourth stages will not normally be heard when a plosive is followed by a heterorganic plosive, affricate, lateral or nasal The closing stage of the forthcoming stop consonant, or the lateral or nasal approach, is finished before the first plosive is released Therefore, when the first plosive is finally released there is no plosion This is also possible before silence in colloquial speech The diacritical mark used for this type of release is the same that is used for no release, since the auditory effect is similar (i.e no plosion is heard) What the learner should be careful about is not to produce an intrusive vowel in these sequences: ‘act’*Zzj?s\ It can Bob jumps Bad men ZHs^
!jzm\ Z!aPa^
!cYUlor\ Z!azc^
!ldm\ Rubbed Great! Happen Z!qUa^c\ Z!fqdHs^\ Z!gzo^m\ Prof Francisco Zabala - 2016 Activity 1: Focus on the plosive sounds in the following sentences and transcribe them phonemically Then, use [ ^ ] to show that the plosives are not exploded (i.e masked) when they are followed by another plosive, an affricate, a nasal or k Ted Darcy went to the Great Lakes in Scotland Not now, my little boy I need to write to your grandparents What time did Daisy call? Rob Nelson put many people in trouble That gate doesn’t face the front door Did Chester like my grand tour? That taut rope cannot cope with all that tension Greg Gibson said many bad things about Luke Gardner That gig Peter invited me to was great, girls! 10 David Pollard bought two little bottles of beer and a carton of apple juice KEY: 10 Z!sdc^
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!cYt9r\ Activity 2: Focus on the plosive sounds in the following text and transcribe them phonemically Then, use [ ^ ] to show that the plosives are not exploded (i.e masked) when they are followed by another plosive, an affricate, a nasal or k Gossip Girl Janet Park is not a bad person, but people don’t like her because she can’t keep her mouth shut If you tell a secret to her, she won’t be able to keep it to herself I think Ms Park battles against her nosy nature, but it destroys her heart not to rush out to let ladies know about a new juicy piece of good gossip Now, if you want people to learn about something, be it true or not true, you just give her a quick call, and the rumour is out You can spread terrible rumours about someone without damaging your own name Z!fPrHo^
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