EnglishGrammarSum.pdf

English Grammar Helps

Taken from A Glossary of Grammatical Terminology for Students of Biblical Hebrew:

Sorting Out the Grammatical Terminological Maze

http://www.plsal.org

PHONOLOGY - PHONETICS*

Phonetics describes the speech sounds (phones) that occur in language. Phonology , on

the other hand, is the study of the set of speciic sounds (phonemes) that occur in a particular

language. Phonemes are represented by slanted lines / /. Variations of these phonemes, due

to their position and due to their union with other sounds, are called allophones. Allophones are

represented by brackets [ ].

There are two basics classes of sounds in language: consonants and vowels.

*The majority of the information in this section comes from the course “Spanish 170:

Phonetics”, that I took at the University of Arizona in 1973 taught by Dr. Delorous Brown. Other

sources consulted are: The ABC’s of Language and Linguistics: A Practical Primer to Language

Science in Today’s World; A Course in Phonetics, 2nd Ed.; Enciclopedia Gráica del Estudiante:

Español; Manual de la Pronunciación Española; Esbozo de una Nueva Gramática de la Lengua

Española; Manual of Articulatory Phonetics, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax and Funk

and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, “Phonetics” .

CONSONANT SOUNDS ARE USUALLY DESCRIBED

ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA

MANNER OF ARTICULATION

stops/occlusives

The air passage is completely closed off (stopped), and then it opens abruptly.

b all, c all, P aul, d oll, t all, g all

fricatives/spirants

The air lows out continuously through the partially obstructed oral cavity.

i ght, v an, th ought, th ere, h at, s ick, z ip, mi ss ion, d ecision

affricates

This begins as a stop, but then continues as a fricative.

ch air, j ump

nasals

The air passes through the nasal cavity.

ti m e, n o, pi ng

liquids

laterals

The tongue closes off the center part of the mouth and forces the air to escape around the tongue.

l ight (front of tongue)

bu ll (back of tongue)

retrolexes

The tip of the tongue curls upward.

r ead

laps/taps

The tip of the tongue taps once against the alveolar ridge.

mu dd y, gu tt er (when pronounced rapidly)

trills

The tip of the tongue taps several times against the alveolar ridge.

“ rrr ufles have rrr idges”

PLACE OF ARTICULATION

bilabial

the upper and lower lip

b, p, m

labio-dental

the lower lip and the upper front teeth

f, v

interdental

the tongue is between the upper and lower front teeth

dental

the tongue touches the back of the upper front teeth

(place tongue on back of upper front teeth and then say “ dee ”)

alveolar

the tongue touches the alveolar ridge

t, d, n, s, z, l

palatal

the tongue presses against the area of the hard palate

mi ss ion, deci s ion, j ump

velar

the back of the tongue presses against the soft palate

k, g, i ng ,

glottal/laryngeal

a sound produced in the laryngeal region at the glottis

h, uh - uh (a glottal stop)

guttural/pharyngeal

a sound produced between the velar and laryngeal regions

(like when someone clears their throat to spit)

VIBRATION OF THE VOCAL CORDS

voiced

the vocal cords vibrate as air passes

z ip, th ere, v an

unvoiced

the vocal cords do not vibrate

s ip, th ought, f an

VOWELS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE USUALLY DESCRIBED

ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING MANNER

HORIZONTALLY

front

pronounced towards the front of the mouth

it, b ea t, m e t, p ay , f a t

central

pronounced towards the center of the mouth

f a ther, sp o t, b u t

back

pronounced towards the back of the mouth

b oo k, b oa t, s u e

VERTICALLY

high

pronounced in the upper part of the mouth

(the mouth is almost totally closed)

it, b ea t, b oo k, s u e

middle

pronounced in the middle part of the mouth

(the mouth is half open)

m e t, p ay , b oa t, b u t

low

pronounced in the lower part of the mouth

(the mouth is almost totally open)

f a t, f a ther, sp o t

A semi-vowel shares the characteristics of both a vowel and a consonant (e.g. w,y). When a vowel combines with

another vowel or a semi-vowel in the same syllable, it forms a diphthong. The position of the diphthong glides between the

positions of the two letters that have been united (e.g. say, down, ouch).

Words can be divided into phonic units called syllables. Usually, one of these syllables is stressed more than the

others. This is called tonic stress. When referring to which syllable has the tonic stress in a word, it is customary to begin

with the last syllable and count backwards:

re/ha/bil/i/tate

tate ultima syllable (last)

i penultimate syllable (2nd to last)

bil antepenultimate (3rd to last)

re,ha beyond the 3rd to the last syllable

The tonic stress is on bil , the antepenultimate syllable. The syllable ha is also referred to as the pretonic syllable, since

it directly precedes the tonic syllable. In the same way, re is the propretonic syllable, because it precedes the pretonic

syllable.

MORPHOLOGY*

In language study, morphology is concerned with the linguistic forms that convey meaning.

These units of meaning are called morphemes, and variations of these units are called

allomorphs. The word “unhappiness” can be broken down into three basic units of meaning

(morphemes): un=not, happy=glad, and ness=a state of being. Therefore, this word conveys

the meaning of “being in a state of not glad”. The “s” and the “es” in books and churches are

allomorphs, since they both indicate plural number.

Morphology is also associated with what has traditionally been referred to as the “parts of

speech.” The following pages present a description of these parts of speech, as they generally

occur in the English language. These concepts will provide a base for those who are not familiar

with grammatical analysis, so as to facilitate the study of the Hebrew forms.

*The foundation for this information comes from the course “Redacción” that I took at

the Seminario Teológico Centroamericano in 1980, taught by Professor Edgar Contreras; as

well as two grammar courses that I took at the University of Arizona in 1975. Other sources

consulted are: English Composition: A Handbook and Rhetoric, Enciclopedia Gráica del

Estudiante, A Grammar of Present Day English, A Textbook of Modern Spanish, The Everyday

English Handbook, Esbozo de una Nueva Gramática de la Lengua Española, English Review

Grammar, Fourth Edition, and Writing and Skills, Fourth Course .

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