Lecturer Ms Y. Chorfi 		Sétif-2- University 		1st Year Classes 		2017-2018

3.4. Intensity of Articulation / ɪnˈtensəti əv ɑːˌtɪkjəˈleɪʃn̩ / 
3.4.1. Intensity of articulation: Lenis and Fortis 
	The voiced/voiceless contrast between consonant phonemes is accompanied by a difference in the air force with which the air stream is pushed up. For example, when whispering words, all the voiced sounds are devoiced, yet words like “seal” and “zeal” when whispered, their initial sounds could be perceived as /s/ and /z/ respectively. Though /z/ is devoiced, it still remains distinct from the voiceless /s/. This is due to the strong breath force with which /s/ is articulated. In English, voiced consonants are called Lenis- from a Latin word meaning soft; they are usually made with a relatively weak breath force, or little muscular tension. On the other hand, the voiceless consonants, called fortis-from a Latin word meaning hard- are consonants made with a stronger muscular tension and breath force. The fortis/lenis distinction is referred to as intensity of articulation also known as force or energy of articulation, and it is a reliable distinctive feature. All in all, the fortis / lenis dichotomy is equated with respiratory energy, articulatory (muscular) energy and duration.
3.4.2. Influence of fortis consonants 
-Fortis plosives and fricatives devoice the following approximants in word initial position and in a stressed syllable. For example, please [ pʰl̥iːz̥ ], huge [ hj̥uːdʒ̥ ], fridge [ fr̥ɪdʒ̥ ] 
-Fortis plosives, fricatives and affricates (except /h/) shorten the preceding vowel; also called pre-fortis clipping. For example, compare surf [sɜˑf] with serve [sɜːv̥], cap [ kʰæ̆p ] and cab [ kʰæb̥ ] and note [nə̆ʊt] (the diacritic should be centralised at the top of the symbol) and nose [nəʊz̥].  
-Fortis plosives, fricatives and affricates (except /h/) shorten the nasals and lateral. For example, compare bump to bumble, and belt to bells. (I didn’t find any diacritic)
-Fortis fricative /s/ devoices the following nasals in word initial position and in stressed syllable. For example, smile and snail [ sm̥aɪɫ sn̥aɪɫ ] 
-Fortis dental fricative dentalises the preceding alveolar /t, d, n, l/ in word final position. For example, eighth [eɪt̪θ], width [waɪd̪θ], ninth [naɪn̪θ] and wealth [wel̪θ].   

Intensity of articulation practice
Task one. Transcribe the following words by adding diacritics (additional phonetic signs in RP at the top, the middle or at the bottom of the phoneme). 
Word 	Transcription	Word 	Transcription	
Frustration
Empirical 
Triathlon
Competition
Strength
Stealth 
Bandwidth
Transmitter	[ f r ʌ s. ˈt r eɪ . ʃ ə n ]
[ ɪ m. ˈp ɪ r ɪ. k ə l ]
[ t r aɪ. ˈæ θ. l ɒ n ]
[ k ɒ m. p ə. ˈt ɪ ʃ ə n ]
[ s t r e ŋ θ ]
[ s t e l θ ]
[ ˈb æ n d. w ɪ t θ ]
[ t r æ n z. ˈm ɪ t ə  ]	Delicious
Stamina
Distance
Atlas
Tattoo
Saint 
nonsmoking
sportsman	[ d ɪ. ˈl ɪ ʃ ə s ]
[ ˈs t æ m ɪ. n ə ]
[ ˈd ɪ s. t ə n s ]
[ ˈæ t. l ə s ]
[ t ə. ˈt u ː ]
[ s eɪ n t ]
[ n ɒ n. ˈs m əʊ. k ɪ ŋ  ]
[ ˈs p ɔː t. s m ə n  ]	
Aspiration
Devoicing 
Pre-fortis clipping
Dentalisation 
Velarisation