第3回

英語音の特徴：本当はどうなっているの?
クラーク高等学院 札幌大通校

英語科教員対象 英語教育セミナー(2022 年 8 月 2 日)

ワラヤガナドゥ[hwæɾjʼ gənədu]?

～Why don't English speakers say what they are supposed to say? ～英語音の特徴：本当はどうなっているの?
Oku, Satoshi
奥聡

Hokkaido University
satoshio@imc.hokudai.ac.jp
1. Introduction
Assimilation 同化現象: Some basics(1)a.
laughed, hoped, kicked, reached:[t] voiceless 無声音 (no vocal cords vibration)b.
waved, robbed, begged, judged, played: [d] voiced 有声音 (with vocal cords vibration)(2)a.
roofs, maps, streets, cakes:[s] voiceless 無声音b.
waves, mobs, roads, legs, teams:[z] voiced 有声音(3)
Why?  ______________
When the last sound of the word is voiceless, the past tense marker is the voiceless [t].
When the last sound of the word is voiceless, the plural marker is the voiceless [s].
When the last sound of the word is voiced, the past tense marker is the voiced [d].
When the last sound of the word is voiced, the plural marker is the voiced [z].
Assimilation: Japanese too!
(4)
Voicing assimilation in the Japanese past tense markera.
食べた [tabe-ta]、見た [mi-ta]、晴れた [hare-ta]:[ta] (voiceless [t])
‘ate’
‘saw’
‘turned to be sunny’b.
死んだ [sin-da]、読んだ [yon-da]、遊んだ [ason-da]: [da] (voiced [d])‘died’‘read’‘played’(5)
When is it the voiceless [t] and when the voiced [d]?
Hint: [n] is a voiced consonant.
Japanese [ta] becomes voiced [da] when it appears right after a voiced consonant.
However,(6)a.
書いた [kai-ta]、抜いた [nui-ta]、掃いた [hai-ta](voiceless [t])‘wrote’‘pilled out’
‘swept’b.
嗅いだ [kai-da]、脱いだ [nui-da]、剥いだ [hai-da](voiced [d])‘sniffed’‘took off’
‘stripped’
Why?
(7)
Japanese past tense marker rule
Japanese past tense marker [ta] becomes voiced [da], when the last sound of the verb
in its dictionary form is a voiced consonant.

(8)

Tips for Japanese learners of English pronunciation (I)Don’t worry too much about the English assimilation phenomena. You can do it if you practice a lot because
you are already doing the similar (or sometimes more complicated) assimilation naturally andunconsciously in Japanese.
1S. Oku

The Purpose of the talk・To go beyond the subject/impressionistic perspective of English phonology.
・To learn that English phonological alternations are rule-governed.
・To learn some interesting differences and similarities between English and Japanese phonology:
What is actually happening? 本当はどうなっているの?
2.
(9)
(10)

(11)

Syllable Typesa.
English is a closed-syllable language.
b.
Japanese is an open-syllable language.
a.
English has a lot of words which end in a consonant: kick, bag, set, touch, etc.
b.
Japanese words end in a vowel (except for ん [n]):キック[kikku], バッグ[baggu], セット[setto], タッチ[tatti]
Consequences of (9b): (i) avoid CC sequence, and avoid C ending in Japanese. (C = consonant 子音)a.
extra V insertion(V = vowel 母音)
try, play, roommate, whiteboard
トライ, プレイ, ルームメート, ホワイトボード[torai] [pulei] [ruumu meeto] [howaito boodo]b.
C to V alternation
dictionary form: kak + ta↓[k] to [i] alternation to avoid [k-t] sequence
pronunciation:
kai +ta (書いた)dictionary form:pronunciation:(12)kag + daby Japanese rule (7).
↓[g] to [i] alternation to avoid [g-d] sequence
kai + da (嗅いだ)Consequence of (9): (ii)Japanese students are not accustomed to phonological rules applying to C-C sequence in English.

However,(13)
Assimilation (in terms of place of articulation): (調音点)同化現象
impossible, imbalanced;
intolerant, indirect;
[m]
[m]
[n]
[n]

income, English[ŋ][ŋ](see Appendix (p.6) below)(14)

Allophones of Japanese ん [n]a.
あんぴ [ampi] あんば [amba]b.
あんた [anta]
あんど [ando]c.
あんか [aŋka] あんごう [aŋgou](15)

Exactly the same assimilation (in terms of place of articulation) is happening!
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Why don’t English Speakers Say What they are Supposed to Say?

(16)

Consequence of (9a): (iii)
Consonant drop: one C of the [C-C] sequence is virtually dropped in casual speech.
good job, big game, take care, roommate, whiteboard, etc.
Because of (16) and because of (9b), Japanese students feel that speakers of English speak too fast and/or
do not pronounce the words as they are written.

(17)Consequence of (9a): (iv)liaison: the last sound of the first word is pronounced as if it is the first sound of the second.
turn in, get on, look around
Because of (17) and because of (9b), Japanese students feel that speakers of English speak too fast and/or
do not pronounce the words as they are written.

(18)

Unconscious phonological rules in Japanese (I)a.
consonant drop and vowel nasalization: 全員 [zenin]  [zeẽ in]b.
consonant adding: 反応[han + oo]  [han noo]
山王
[san + oo]  [san noo]Tips for Japanese learners of English pronunciation (II)Don’t worry too much if you feel English speakers speak very fast. They are just following some English
phonological rules (not changing their pronunciation at random). You will be get used to it if you practicea lot because you are already dealing with a lot of (sometimes more complicated) phonological rules
naturally and unconsciously in Japanese.

3.
Accent Types
Let’s read aloud: 握手（あくしゅ）、北（きた）、菊池くん（きくちくん）、来ました（きました）
(19)

a.
b.

(20)

Consequence of (19a): (i) Vowel Reduction in English
Unstressed vowels tend to be a reduced vowel or schwa [ə]. (「曖昧母音」)
a.
cámerab.
Cánada  Canádian
[kæmərɑ][kænadɑ][kəneidian]Consequence of (19b): (ii) No change of [a, i, u, e, o] quality of Japanese low pitch vowelsa.
雨 [ame] ‘rain’飴 [ame] ‘candy’
H = highHL
LH
L = lowb.
雨季 [uki] ‘rainy season’浮き [uki] ‘float (for fishing)’
HL
LH
Weak Vowels in Japanese:「い」「う」devoicing phenomenona.
握手 [akuʃu] ‘handshake’  [akuʃu]b.
北 [kita] ‘north’  [kita]c.
菊池くん [kikutikun]  [kikutikun]d.
来ました [kimaʃita]  [kimaʃita]

(21)

(22)

(23)

English is a stress-accent language: the contrast is a strong-weak type
Japanese is a pitch-accent language: the contrast is a high-low typeHigh vowels [i][u] in Japanese become voiceless when they appear between voiceless consonants.
3

S. Oku

(24)
(25)

(26)

Weak Vowel Drop
Weak vowels sometimes get deleted in casual speech in both English and Japanese.
Englisha.
cámerab.
Cánada  Canádian
[kæmərɑ][kænadɑ][kəneidian]↓↓φφJapanesea.
sentakuki 洗濯機 ‘washing machine’ b.
↓sentakuki↓
sentakuki

hikakukyuu 比較級 ‘comparative’↓ High vowel devoicinghikakukyuu↓ weak vowel drop
hikakukyuu

Both English and Japanese have weak vowels; both English and Japanese have weak vowel drop.
The only difference: English weak vowel is schwa [ə]: Japanese weak vowels are voiceless [i][u].
(27)

Even though Japanese is a CV structure language (9b) and thus Japanese students are not accustomed to
C-C sequences in English, some English CC sequence is very easy for Japanese students to pronounce
because of high vowel devoicing and weak vowel drop in Japanese.
a.

スター sutaa ‘star’
↓
sutaa
↓
sutaab.

ステイ sutei ‘stay’↓ High vowel devoicingsutei↓
 weak vowel dropsutei(28)

Tips for Japanese learners of English pronunciation (III)Some English pronunciation is easy because you can just follow Japanese phonological rules you
are already using naturally and unconsciously.

(29)

Coffee Break (I)Vowel drop is sometimes optional but sometimes obligatorya.
錦織 [nisikiori] vs. [nisikori] ‘person’s name’b.
洗濯機 [sentakuki] or [sentakuki] ‘washing machine’c.
白血球 [hakuketukyuu] not *[hakuketukyuu] ‘white blood cells’
Coffee Break (II)Student question: “Sensee, Why do we pronounce have to [hæf tə], not [hæv tə]? (どうして「ハフトゥ」?)
Voicing assimilation!
have to[hæv tə]  [hæf tə](voiceless [t] affects/makes the preceding voiced [v] voiceless [f])

4.
(30)

Prosody Matters: it is not a pitch (high-low) contrast but a strong-weak contrast in English
My neighbor is building a desk.
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Why don’t English Speakers Say What they are Supposed to Say?

New Information Focus(31)
Context 1a.
What is your neighbor building?
b.
My neighbor is building [a desk].
New Information is in [(32)
Context 2a.
What is your neighbor doing these days?
b.
My neighbor is [building a desk].
(33)
Context 3a.
What is that noise?
b.
[My neighbor is building a desk].

]. Primary Stress is bold.

Contrastive Focus(34)
Context 4a.
Has your neighbor bought a new desk?
b.
No. My neighbor is [building] a desk.
(35)
Context 5a.
Is your son building a desk?
b.
No. My [neighbor] is building a desk.

(36)

Consequence of (19a).
a.
Primary stressed word is pronounced most strongly in a sentence.
b.
Other words are pronounced relatively weakly.
c.
Pronouns/Auxiliary/Prepositions are pronounced most weakly.

If you put the primary stress on a wrong word, it may convey a different (sometimes unnatural) connotation.
(37)
a.
Have you seen the new computers?
b.
Yeah, I like’em.
(# Yeah, “I” like’em. / #Yeah, I like THEM.)
(38)
Yoko:
Hi, isn’t it you, Takashi?
Takashi: Oh, Yoko. What a surprise! Long time no see.
Yoko:Yeah, what do you do now?
Takashi: I’m a school teacher. (# I AM a school teacher)(39)
Don’t forget to brush your teeth.
(# Don’t forget to brush YOUR teeth.)(40)

Tips for Japanese learners of English pronunciation (IV)
It is a strong-weak contrast (not high-low). You can do it if you practice a lot, because we all canspeak a bit louder sometimes and a bit softer sometimes.

5.
(41)

Special Cases of Common Phonological Rules in Englisha.
gonna-contraction
Auxiliary going to is pronounced very weakly.
[gouiŋtu] vowel reduction[gəŋtə] t-nasalization (assimilation in terms of place of articulation)[gənə]

5

S. Okub.

wanna-contraction
want to[wɑnttə] vowel reduction[wɑnttə] t-drop (C-C sequence)[wɑntə] t-nasalization (assimilation in terms of place of articulation)[wɑnə](42)“Let it go♪”Flap t [ɾ] in American English (casual form) (a kind of voicing assimilation)[t] becomes flap [ɾ] between vowels, when the first vowel is stressed.
(similar sounds to Japanese らりるれろ)a.
put up, betterb.
set in, getting, partyc.
get on, at all

6.
(43)
(44)

Concluding Remarks
All are rule-governed (not just a random “deformation”)
Let it go.
English is a stress-accent language: strong-weak contrast
English is a closed syllable language: Consonant drop
Voicing assimilation: flap [ɾ](45)What are you going to do?

English is a stress-accent language: strong-weak contrast
Vowel reduction
English is a closed syllable language: assimilation/consonant drop
gonna-contraction
Voicing assimilation: flap [ɾ](46)

I want to get on the bus.

English is a stress-accent language: strong-weak contrast
Vowel reduction
English is a closed syllable language: assimilation/consonant drop
wanna-contraction
Voicing assimilation: flap [t](47)With respect to communication, prosody matters most.

(48)
(49)

(not ヴァニラ)a.

Do you like vanílla?

b.

小学校の教室に オルガン ありましたか?

c.

コーヒー お好きですか?

How much should we do as non-native language learners?
For teachers
How much to teach and how to teach depends on the situation, but as a professional teacher, it will give
you substantial confidence if you understand what is actually happening in English phonology anddifferences/similarities between English and Japanese speech sound systems.
6Why don’t English Speakers Say What they are Supposed to Say?

Appendix: English Consonant Inventory
Bilabial Libiodental Interdental Alveolar
Stops-voice+voicepb

Fricatives -voice+voiceAlveopalatal Velar Glottal

tdfv

θ
ðsz

Affricates -voice+voiceNasalsʃʒʔhʧʤmnLiquidsGlideskgŋl (dark ł )
w (ʍ)

r (ɹ)
j(flap t: ɾ )References
朝尾 幸次郎 (2019)『英語の歴史から考える 英文法の「なぜ」』(大修館書店)
奥 聡 (2012)「比較音韻論を聴き取り・発音教育に活用する」『最新言語理論を英語教育に活用する』藤田耕司ほか(編) (開拓社) pp.34 – 43.
Pinker, Steven. 1994. The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. HarperPerennial.
(翻訳：スティーブン・ピンカー (1995)『言語を生みだす本能（上・下）』(HNK ブックス))
高嶋 幸太 (2019)『英語教師が知っておきたい 日本語のしくみ (Japanese Language Structure for English
Language Teachers)』(大修館書店)

7

S. Oku

北大オープンコースウェア教材（誰でも無料でアクセス利用可）
英語音の特徴（使用言語日本語：Unit数7）
https://00m.in/qAPhh

How to Make Yourself Understood (発信型英語の基礎)(使用言語英語：Unit数15)
https://00m.in/oe2RT

https://00m.in/Rwqtz(字幕付版)

Modular Approach to Reading(アカデミックリーディングの基礎)(使用言語日本語と英語：Unit数10)
https://00m.in/Sm6rV8