STUDY OF PHONETICS

Introduction
Phonetics is the branch of Linguistics that studies the sound system of languages.
The scientific study of the speech sounds in general is called Phonetics. The scientific study of the speech sounds of a particular language is called Phonology.

Phone
The Greek word ‘phone’ means ‘sound’. There are 44 phonemes or sounds in English language.

Sound
The audible noise produced by the human vocal system meant for speech is called a sound.
If during the production of a sound the air is pulled inwards, it is called an implosive sound. If the air is pushed outwards the sound is called an explosive one. The bilabial plosives in Saraiki are implosives. Sounds in English are all explosives.

Articulation and articulators
The process of the production of a sound in the human vocal system is called articulation. The organs in the vocal system involved in the articulation of a sound are called articulators. There are seven articulators in the human voice box:
a) Lips
b) Teeth
c) Tongue
d) Alveolar ridge
e) Hard palate
f) Soft palate (velum)
g) Nose

English vowels and consonants
A sound least obstructed during its articulation is called a vowel sound. A sound noticeably obstructed during its articulation by any of the articulators is called a consonant sound. There are 20 vowels and 24 consonants in English. A vowel can be an open or close vowel with respect to the closeness or openness of the mouth during its articulation. It can be strong or weak with respect to the amount of force with which it is articulated. It can be front, middle or back in terms of the height of the front, central or back part of the tongue at the time of articulation. It can be long or short prior to the duration till it continues. Out of the 20 vowels in English 7 are short while 5 are long vowels. The remaining 8 are diphthongs.

Phonetics
The scientific study of speech sounds is called phonetics. It is a study at a general level.

Phonology
The scientific study of speech sounds of a particular language is called Phonology.

Sound
The audible noise produced by the human vocal system to express a meaning is called sound.

English speech sounds
There are 44 Phonemic sounds in English. There are 20 vowels and 24 consonants.

Vowel
A sound articulated with minimum obstruction to the airflow is called a vowel sound.

Consonant
A sound produced with a noticeable obstruction to the airflow is called consonant.

List of consonants

Plosives
/p/ /pIt/ /pIk/ /pi:k/ /spi:k/ /sli:p/
/b/ /bO:l/ /bQks/ /b@lu:n/
/t/ /tel/ /bQtl/ /t{p/ /nQt/ /tUk/ /tenj@/
/d/ /dId/ /dQl/ /da:lIN/ /d{S/ /daUn/ /mi:d@U/
/k/ /ka:t/ /k{Ng@ru:/ /k@t{str@fi/
/g/ /g@Ul/ /m{Ng@U/ /m{gn@t/ /l@gu:n/

Fricatives
/f/ /fIS/ /fQsIl/ /fe@/ /fai@/ /f{lk@n/
/v/ /veri/ /evri/ /sli:v/ v@hi:kl/
/s/ /sevr@l/ /seIv/ /seIf/ /mesIdZ/
/z/ /zu:/ /zi:l/ /zest/ /zebr@/ /b@za:/
/T/ /TIN/ /T{N ju/ /helTi/ /welTi/
/D/ /D@/ /Di:/ /DeI/ /wID/ /weD@/
/S/ /SO:l/ /Se@/ /b{SfUl/ /gri:nIS/
/Z/ /leZ@/ /meZ@/ /vIZn/ /treZ@/
/h/ /ha:t/ /h{t/ /hi:t/ /hVt/ /hO:l/

Affricates
/tS/ /tSIn/ /tS3:bi/ /tSi:ks/ /m{tSl@s/
/dZ/ /dZ{m/ /dZi:nz/ /m{dZIk/

Nasals
/m/ /m{n/ /wUm@n/ /mUzlIm/ /m@leIzI@/
/n/ /nek/ /nekl@s/ /nItIN/ /ni:dl/ /ven@m/
/N/ /INlIS/ /rINklz/ /sININ/ /fINg@/

Lateral
/l/ /leg/ /la:st/ /li:k/ lItl/ /mVlberi/

Approximants
/w/ /wIg/ /w{g@n/ /weIdZIz/ /waU/
/r/ /rIbn/ r{tlIN/ /reslIN/ /sprIN/
/j/ /jet/ /jes/ /jel@U/ /{titju:d/

All participants are requested to point out any mistake they find in this document. This cooperation will be most regarded.




Vowels
/i:/ /i:l/ /li:/ /i:t/ /ti:/ /sti:p/
/I/ /It/ /If/ /Il/ /fIl/ /sIk/ /pINk/ /IstaUndIN/
/e/ /eg/ /keg/ /leg/ /net/ /eld@/ /Selt@/
/{/ /{n/ /{t/ /tS{t/ /{bstr{kt/ /m{ksIm@m/
/a:/ /a:t/ /a:k/ /ta:sk/ /ra:skl/ /da:ns/ /ma:st/
/V/ /kVt/ /dVk/ /rVS/ /mVS/ /hIkVf/ /gVn/ /stVn/
/Q/ /Qks/ /fQks/ /rQk/ /gQt/ /dQn/
/O:/ /wO:n/ /jO:n/ /fO:l/ /rItO:t/
/U/ /bUk/ /pUt/ /pU@/ /stAUt/ /mAUnd/
/u:/ /ru:Z/ /mu:d/ /fu:d/ /wu:l/ /sku:l/
/@/ /@la:s/ /@t{k/ /rIv@/
/3:/ /j3:/ /h3:/ /kl3:k/ /d3:t/ /f3:l/
Diphthongs
There are eight diphthongs in English. A diphthong is a glide from one vowel to another with the first vowel slightly longer than the second.

/eI/ /deI/ /weI/ seI/ steI/ /eI/
/AI/ /aI/ /waI/ /hAI/ /maI/ /pAIraIt/
/OI/ /bOI/ /nOIz/ /kOI/ /kOIl/ /spOIl/
/U@/ /pU@/ /dU@/ /dU@l/ /bU@/ /fjU@l/
/I@/ /I@/ /dI@/ /sI@/ /fI@fUl/ /SI@/
/e@/ /De@/ /we@/ /he@/ /kle@/
/@U/ /g@U/ /n@U/ /s@U/ /t@U/
/AU/ /hAU/ /baU/ /taUn/ /daUn

Triphthongs and non-phonemic sounds in English
A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and on to a third with each vowel in equal length. English has five triphthongs:

/eI@/ /AI@/ /OI@/ /@U@/ /AU@/



Note: Students may not find triphthongs in the list of phonemes elsewhere because they are not considered vowels; only vowel combinations.

Non-phonemic sounds in English
/i/ /h{pi/ /mIni/ /nQti/
/u/ /prus@l*/
/x/ /lQx/ /ba:x/
/?/ /lI?l/ *
The mark (*) implies that the given transcription is wrong in a way. It will be discussed further in the coming lectures.








































Manners of articulation
Plosion
In this process the airflow escapes forcibly through a block or stricture formed by two articulators. Sounds articulated this way are called plosives. There are six plosives in English;
S. #
Sound
Place
Voicing status
Strength
1
/p/
Bilabial
Voiceless
Fortis
2
/b/
Bilabial
Voiced
Lenis
3
/t/
Alveolar
Voiceless
Fortis
4
/d/
Alveolar
Voiced
Lenis
5
/k/
Velar
Voiceless
Fortis
6
/g/
Velar
Voiced
Lenis

Friction
In this process articulators do not form a block but rather give the airflow a narrow passage to pass through. Sounds produced so are called Fricatives. There are nine Fricatives in English:

S. #
Sound
Place
Voicing status
Strength
1
/f/
Labiodental
voiceless
Fortis
2
/v/
Labiodental
voiced
Lenis
3
/s/
Dental
voiceless
Fortis
4
/z/
Dental
voiced
Lenis
5
/T/
Dental
voiceless
Fortis
6
/D/
Dental
voiced
Lenis
7
/S/
Palato-alveolar
voiceless
Fortis
8
/Z/
Palato-alveolar
voiced
Lenis
9
/h/
Glottal
Unknown
Unknown
Affriction
It is a combination of two processes – Plosion and Friction. In this process the sound begins like a plosive and ends like a fricative. There are two Affricates in English;

S. #
Sound
Place

Voicing status

Strength
1
/tS/
Palato-alveolar
voiceless
Fortis
2
/dZ/
Palato-alveolar
voiced
Lenis






Nasalization
In this process the sound is articulated through the nose. There are 3 Nasals in English;

S. #
Sound
Place
Voicing status
1
/m/
Bilabial
voiced
2
/n/
Alveolar
voiced
3
/N/
Pharyngeal
voiced







The three possible places of a sound in a word
A sound can possibly occur at any of the three mentioned places in a word;
a) The initial position (the beginning)
b) The medial position (the middle), and
c) The final position (the end).

There are no parameters to measure the exactness of the mentioned positions in a word. A position may vary from syllable to syllable, or in some cases, word to word.
The Nasals /m/ and /n/ can occur at any of the three places in a word in English. The Nasal /N/ can occur in the medial or final position in English but not in the initial position.

Lateralization
In this process the sides of the tongue come in contact with the sides of the hard palate while the tip of the tongue comes into contact with the alveolar ridge. Voicing begins and the articulation of the sound completes when the tongue tip departs from the alveolar ridge. English has only one Lateral consonant.

S. #
Sound
Place
Voicing status
1
/l/
Alveolar
voiced





Further explanation of (*)
/l/ has an allophone called the dark /lŽ/. The phonetic transcription claimed wrong previously was actually supposed to contain the /lŽ/ and not /l/.

Approximation
In this process the articulators come very close to each other but rarely establish a contact. There are 3 Approximants (semi-vowels) in English:

S. #
Sound
Place
Voicing status
1
/w/
Bilabial (rounded)
voiced
2
/r/
Alveolar

voiced

3
/j/
Palatal
voiced






Important
How approximants ought to be realised as per their placement in certain syllables is a debatable issue. However, an agreed fact regarding them states that they are produced individually like vowels (no contact between the articulators is established) and contextually as consonants (a contact is likely to be established). Thus we can say that they are Phonetically vowels and Phonologically consonants.




Other areas in the study of Phonetics
The following are the areas in the study of Phonetics:

a) Laboratory Phonetics
Speech analysis demands a detailed and sensitive study of the sounds of speech made by a speaker because a minor change in the prosodic features or intonation of the speaker can greatly affect the intended meaning of the speaker. For this purpose, sometimes the recorded speech of a person needs be analysed, which, is possible only be recording the speech first and analysing it afterwards. This phase of experimental Phonetics is best covered by laboratory phonetics.
In the past, this area was considered to be too expansive and mysterious because of the sensitive machinery and precautionary measures used for the purpose. But now things have changed. Easy and cheap methods for experimentation are used. The inventions of computer software have especially facilitated man in this regard. In the past few decades for instance, spectrogram was an extraordinarily expansive machine used for analysing a speaker’s voice. Now the software “Praat” has replaced it (www.praat.com).

b) Neuro-Phonetics
This is the scientific study of the neurological aspects of speech sounds. A human voice box involved in the articulation of speech sounds is not a self-sustained system. It is centrally controlled by the human brain. Speech sounds are first generated by the human brain in the form of neurological messages. These messages are transferred neurologically to the voice box. When the articulators move against each other to form speech, they convert the same messages into sound waves, which travel though the air to reach the listener’s ears.
There are various aspects of the Neuro-Phonetics that are considered by the Phoneticians. For example, a man can write and listen speech well but cannot produce it orally with equal competence. That means there can be neurological disorder somewhere on the neurological track leading from the human brain to the voice box. The listeners to a non-native language often mistake the vowels of the second language as those of their mother tongue. Such questions are answered by this area of Phonetics.

c) Articulatory Phonetics
Articulation is the process in which the speech organs of the human vocal system move against each other and with the help of the air pressure exerted by the lungs produce different speech sounds. Articulatory Phonetics deals with the movement of the articulators and the way speech sounds are produced. It studies the categories of the sounds in terms of their place and manner of articulation and the way a sound differs from the other. In the introductory courses of Phonetics this area of Phonetics remains more in focus by the students.

d) Acoustics
The physical attributes of the speech sounds are studied by this area. When sounds are uttered by the human mouth or nose, they are converted into sound waves that travel through the air to reach the auditory system of the speaker. These waves have a certain frequency and a certain wavelength. The recurrence of a sound wave is called its frequency and the distance between one wave and the other is called wavelength. The more is the frequency of a sound wave, the lesser is the wavelength and vice versa.

e) Auditory Phonetics
It is another branch of Phonetics that is partly related to Acoustics and partly to neuro-Phonetics. On the one hand, we check the physical attributes of the sound waves that reach the listener’s ears (for example, frequency, wavelength, loudness etc.) and on the other, the sensitivity of the human ear up to which it can catch a sound or leave a sound unheard (according to an estimate, between 20hz to 20000 hz), or the neuro auditory track through which the sound messages, converted from sound waves to neurological messages, travel to the LAD of the brain.

f) Phonemics
A phoneme is the minimal unit of speech sounds working independently. Phonemics is the science of the study of the existence, position, placement, realisation and symbolisation of a phoneme in the phonology of a language and the way it works and affects the other phonemes of the same language.
In this study of speech sounds, we study how a certain sound is believed to have its existence in a language. We see what status it has in a language. For example, the sound /x/ is non-Phonemic in English language (no word starts with it) but in Urdu, it is realised as a phoneme.

























Phonetic Diversity and Universality
Allah almighty ordained /kun/ and the universe came into being (Al-An’am: 74). A sound will blow off the universe one day (Al-Kahf: 100). Sounds are both in the beginning and the end of the universe. The following are a few points related to the diversity and universality of Phonetics:
a) In the study of literature
The literature especially the poetry is better understood when the prosodic features are properly comprehended. For that purpose, Phonetics helps us understand in a better way how the rhythm, rhyme scheme, the assonance, the consonance or the metre works in order to make a poet more expressive as well as distinctive from the others in terms of his style and the ideas he wants to highlight through his poetic work. Poetic works are better understood when supported by music because music tells us the mood under the inspiration of which a work is written. Different writers use different phonetic techniques in order to intensify their subject-matter. For example, Edgar A. Poe uses adverb carrying long vowels or diphthongs in their final syllables (The Black Cat). Shakespeare has used blank verse to assert the indefiniteness of human life (All The World’s A Stage). These tools and tactics used by these men of letters are best understood, enjoyed and appreciated when supported by a sound knowledge of Phonetics on the part of the reader and best written when supported by the same knowledge on the part of the writer. So phonetics is necessary for both the creation and appreciation of literature.
b) In sciences
Phonetics is at work to help sciences like medicine and Physics. Acoustics is a science that teaches us the Physical attributes of a sound. With the knowledge of these subjects, we analyse the sound waves and their impact on different things. For instance, with the help of Acoustics we develop and compose music with the help of which, the growth of plants can be enhanced. There is a music with the help of which, cows give more milk.
Phonetics is involved equally in Anatomical studies and examinations. Electro-cardiac graph (ECG) is a machine that draws the acoustic graph of the sounds of the heartbeat. Thus it helps the doctors estimate the various aspects of the beating of a human heart. There are certain other techniques like the ultra-sound waves that help the doctors judge the inner condition of the body organs the infrastructure of which is beyond the reach of x-rays. In Psychological treatment too, Phonetics is at work. Patients under hypnotic treatment are tranquilized by a special kind of music to be brought under a trance. Speech therapists rely a lot on Phonetics in order to teach the art of speech to the deaf and dumb.
c) In warfare and crime investigation
A country makes use of Phonetics in warfare and crime investigation purposes in order to defend herself against enemies. From different signals and shouts used during the training of the army to professional art of war it is everywhere. Phonetics is at work wherever electronic signalling, transmission of information, secret message sending and receiving, or allocation of sub-marine weapons is concerned. Scientists are even trying to make sound bombs these days to avoid chemicals-supported warheads.
d) Universality
Phonetics is universal because in nearly all the languages spoken in the civilized world, certain sounds are considered to be found in different phonemic realizations in almost all the languages. For example, /S/ sound is found in almost 37 languages of the world. This implies that this sound is universal. Likewise, the remaining 124 sounds of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) too are universal in their nature because these sounds are found in most of the languages of the world. Though phonologically different, yet these sounds are the same phonetically and thus- universal.
Conclusion
Summing up all the facts mentioned above, we can say that Phonetics is everywhere in every walk of life. It is involved in everything. This makes it diverse on the one hand, and universal, on the other.






































Problems faced by Pakistani learners in the pronunciation of English
The problems faced by Pakistani learners can be divided into three major categories:
a) The realisation of vowel sounds
b) The realisation of consonants and the rules of their usage, and
c) The aspects of connected speech (supra- segmental features of Phonology)

a) The realisation of vowel sounds
Pakistani speakers first of all, do not identify the English vowels properly but rather confuse /a:/ with [A:]. Likewise, they mispronounce /O:/ as the Urdu [o] or [A:]. they are not conscious about the weak close-front vowel /I/ and mispronounce it as [i]. Due to L1 interference, they realise triphthongs as diphthongs and diphthongs ending in close back vowel as monophthongs/ pure vowels. For example, they speak “loyal” as [lOIl] instead of /lOI@l/ and “go” as [go] instead of /g@U/. The diphthongs that come in the medial position of polysyllabic words are also not known to them. For example, they mispronounce “material” as [m@ti:rI@l] instead of /m@tI@rI@l/. They also have no knowledge about the articulation and realisation of the three weak out of seven short vowels. Schwa is the most frequently occurring English weak vowel. They either do not realise its presence or replace it with /V/.

b) The realisation of consonants and the rules of their usage
Pakistani speakers of English have great problems in the articulation and realisation of consonants:
The plosives and affricates are aspirated in the initial position of every English word and Pakistanis articulate them clear. The consonants /t/ and /d/ are alveolar in their place of articulation but Pakistanis especially Punjabis, speak them as palatal [t] and [d].
The fricative /v/ is often confused by them with /w/. They mispronounce /T/ and /D/ as [t] and [d]. /Z/ is often mispronounced by them as [j]. They do not know the difference between the clear and the dark /lŽ/. The nasal velar consonant /N/ comes with an additional /g/ in the medial position of a monomorphemic word in English and without the /g/ in a dimorphemic word except for in the adjectives of comparative and superlative degree. But Pakistanis use the /g/ sound with the /N/ sound at the medial position of every English word.
Using approximants as consonants Phonologically cannot be called a mistake as the same is done by the natives as well (Roach, ch. 7, p 62), but the problem of not speaking them with a voiced tap (a little touch of /t/ and /d/) however persists. There is another problem: /r/ is not articulated at the final position of an English word when it comes at the end of an utterance, with the only exception of a vowel coming at the initial position of a word that follows. But the Pakistanis articulate it at the final position of every word. Some Pakistani speakers (especially those from Karachi and Urdu speaking families) use [±] in the medial position of a word where a long vowel (mostly a mid-open or open) is supposed to come. For example, they pronounce the word “morning’ as [mO±niN] whereas it is supposed to be /mO:nIN/, or the word “garnish” is spoken by them [gA±niS] whereas it should be /ga:nIS/. certain strong forms are changed to weak forms at certain places and vice versa. Certain strong forms are even contracted at certain places too. But Pakistani learners do not understand those unless properly trained.
In addition to these technical problems, there are some common errors as well. One common example is the distinction of knowing the difference between using “a” or “an” as an article on the basis of vowel distinction. Pakistani speakers think that in the initial position of whatever word English word comes any of the five a, e, i, o, or u letters of the alphabet, will be used with ‘an”. They have no knowledge that it is the vowel “sound” that matters here. The same is the case with using /D/ and /Di/ with the words starting with a vowel and those starting with a consonant.

c) The aspects of connected speech (supra- segmental features of Phonology)
In the articulation of a syllable Pakistani speakers do not realise the pitch level and the stress pattern. They do not know the rules of stress shift according to the needs of the speaker and the change in the syntactic category. They do not realise that the pre-initial or post-final consonants in a syllable are to be articulated voiceless. They articulate them voiced. Many Punjabi speakers of English have even been noticed using intestinal stress at certain places while speaking English, whereas it should not be employed.
Other than these, there are some individual (ideolectal) variations as well which need proper training in order to be corrected.


























Problems in Phonemic analysis
A phoneme is the minimal unit of sound. A word is divided into segments in terms of sounds. A single segment is the phoneme. The problems in Phonemic analysis are of three sorts:
a) The difference between phonetic and phonemic transcription
b) The variations due the preferences of the writers
c) The Phonemic variations about the realisation of a sound among the native speakers,


a) The difference between phonetic and phonemic transcription
There is a difference between the phonemic symbols and the phonetic symbols. Since the phonemic symbols do not have to show the precise phonetic quality, it is possible to choose among several possible symbols to represent a particular phoneme. This choice of freedom has created a big problem- different books on English pronunciation have used different symbols, causing a great confusion for the students. There are certain factors responsible for this.
b) The variations due to the preferences of the writers.
One major factor is the problem of typing or printing a symbol. For example, it is argued that /a/ is found in every type machine but /{/ is not. It is also agreed that /a/ should be used to represent the vowel in ‘cart’, and /{/ to represent the symbol in ‘cat’. But what will a writer do when he has to explain the pronunciation in ‘cat’ and the vowel symbol is neither available in the typewriter nor in the printing apparatus. Other writers would have thought it important that the symbols should be as close as possible to the symbols that a phonetician would choose to give a precise indication to a sound quality. For example, if a Phonetician thinks that a vowel is closer to cardinal vowel no. 3 [3] but longer than /@/, he would definitely choose a symbol that resembles schwa and will add too dots to it as the length mark. Thus it will look like [@:].
c) The Phonemic variations about the realisation of a sound among the native speakers
There can be disagreements regarding the realisations of a certain sound among even the natives. We know that the accent of a language begins to change every 40 km of distance. This means that the vowels and phonemic combinations of the accents of the same language vary from place to place, though each speaker is considered native. Then there are problems regarding the status of a sound in a language. For example, there is still a debate among the different phoneticians regarding the realisation of /i/ as a phonemic or a non-phonemic symbol. Sometimes the natives pronounce the same word in different styles and insist that their pronunciation alone is the correct one. This confuses most the student in a foreign language. The Scottish for instance, add an intrusive schwa to a consonant cluster in which the /l/ comes in the syllable initial position. Thus they pronounce “milk” /mIlk/ as [mIl@k]. The variation in the use of diphthongs among the natives is another problem that always persists. The Londoners always change the /eI/ with /aI/.
Another problem regarding the realisation of different sounds is about the symbolisation of the sounds that have a place or manner of articulation that resembles simultaneously two or more sounds. For example, the affricates /tS/ and /dZ/ are separate phonemes but symbolically, represented each by joining two phonemes together. The issue about denoting them with more than one symbol or introducing new symbols is still under debate.
The variation in the symbols with respect to the variation in the length of sounds is also a problem. For instance, /S/, according to one- phoneme analysis, comes at the end of the word “church’ /tS3:tS/. The same comes at the end of he word “smash” /sm{S/ too. Phonologists argue that the one at the end of “smash” is longer than the one at the end of “church”. Now the debate is whether to bring a change in the symbolic presentation of the symbol according to the variation in the length or not. Another problem is the realisation of the number of phonemes in a word comprising sounds that are represented by the combination of more than one symbol. For example, the same word “church”, seems to comprise five phonemes according to one-phoneme analysis /t+S+3:+t+S/, or three phonemes according to two-phoneme analysis /tS+3:+tS/. When we should make which phoneme analysis, is another debatable issue.
In auditory aspects of language, another problem that rises, is of minimal pairs. For example, “bid” and “bit’, or ‘pin” and “bin” often disturb students while listening practice and contextual help is needed to clarify the situation. We also need to mention very clearly the differences between /T/, /f/ and /s/ to show that they are different from /v/ and /z/. And the most intractable is the distinction between /tS/ and /dZ/ (Roach, ch. 13, p 126-129).
The problem of Schwa is a distinctive one. Generative phonology asserts that it is generated as a result of the reduction of those vowels which are never stressed. An argument given in this regard is that some native speakers themselves replace /@/ with /V/. In addition to this; there are various other divergences among the natives for the pronunciation of different words and stress. Even the tones are differently uttered by the natives in similar situations.



Strong and weak forms
There are two types of syllables- strong and weak. Stressed syllables are called strong whereas unstressed are called weak. The difference between strong and weak is very important in studying the features of intonation. Strong syllables always have diphthongs, long vowels, or short and strong vowels. Weak vowels are an attribute of weak forms and weak syllables. The three short weak vowels are /I/, /@/and /U/. All these are the peaks of unstressed or weak syllables.




Auxiliary Form
Contractions With Pronouns
Contractions With Nouns
Contractions With Question Words
am
I'm working this morning.
-
What'm I supposed to say? (common only in spoken English)
is
He's going to come. - She's a teacher. - It's easy!
John's at work. - Mary's playing the piano at the moment.
Who's on the telephone? - What's he doing?
are
You're a great friend! - They're playing golf this afternoon.
The books're on their way. (common only in spoken English)
What're you going to do?
has
He's been to Paris twice. - It's been such a long time! - She's lived there all her life.
Mary's gone to the store.
What's she been doing? - Who's been invited?
have
I've finished my homework. - They've got two cars.
The students've finished their homework. (common only in spoken English)
Where've you been all day? (common only in spoken English)
had
He'd been waiting for three hours. - We'd better be going.
Jack'd worked there before he left. (common only in spoken English)
What'd you done before that? (common only in spoken English)
will
I'll get you something to eat. - We'll be there soon.
Peter'll catch the bus to work.
What'll we do? Where'll you take us?
would
I'd like some fish. They'd love to ask you some questions.
Jane'd love to come.
Where'd you like to go? (common only in spoken English)
Rule: Do not use the contracted form of the auxiliary in formal writing















What is a phoneme? How do we consider a sound a phoneme in a language or merely an allophone?
A phoneme is the minimal individual unit of sound in a language. If we break the pronunciation of a word into segments, the smallest segment will be called a phoneme. Every phoneme is represented by a symbol. In 1983, almost 37 languages of the world were analysed in terms of the sounds they had. Excluding the repetitions, 124 sounds were found to be existing distinct from each other universally. Those sounds were collectively called IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). Each sound is now attributed to a certain symbol. Each symbol is considered a separate phoneme (also termed a “phonogram”). Each phoneme is different from the other in terms of:
a) Place of articulation
b) Manner of articulation
c) Voiced, and
d) Voiceless
In September 2005, a 125th sound was added to the IPA. There are 11 places and 8 manners of articulation, according to IPA. Out of those, there are six manners and seven places of articulation where English phonemes are found to be produced.
sounds are articulated at a certain spot in the human vocal system. For example, the sounds /p/ and /b/ are articulated at the two lips or by joining to lips. So these two are bilabial. Yet there still lies a difference. /p/ is voiceless whereas /b/ is voiced. The manner of the articulation is plosion. So these two sounds are similar in their place and manner of articulation; yet they are different in terms of voicing.
The allophone
The allophone is a variety of the same sound in a language coming with a slight variation. For example, /p/ is an English phoneme distinct from others in its attributes. But in the initial position of a word, it is aspirated; thus it comes as /pŽ/.
As regards the question how a sound is said to be a phoneme or merely an allophone, there is a test called a phonemic test supported by a theory called the phonemic theory.
The phonemic theory states that only a sound capable of affecting the meaning of a word in a language can be termed a phoneme. Following this theory, the phonemic test is carried out to check the status of a sound in a language. The phonemic test shows whether a sound affects the meaning of a word or not; thus helps us decide if a certain sound can be called a phoneme or merely a non-phonemic symbol in a language. For example, let’s check the status of a sound /p/ in English language. We know that it comes as /pŽ/ in the initial position of many English words. Now we are to decide if /pŽ/ is a separate phoneme or merely an allophone of the sound /p/. So we conduct the phonemic test to check this. We apply both the sounds on different words and check their influence on the meanings of each word:

/pŽrQbl@m/ and /prQbl@m/
/r{pŽId/ and /r{pId/
/raIpŽ/ and /raIp/.

we have replaced both sounds at the similar positions in similar words according to the phonemic test and found that by replacing each sound with the other, no difference in the meaning of each word is noticed. This implies that both the sounds are not distinct from each other. Thus they cannot be termed different phonemes, but rather, each other’s allophones.