Overview Of Vowels And Consonants

Overview Of Vowels And Consonants Language is an organization of sounds, of vocal symbols-the sounds produced from the mouth with the help of various organs of speech to convey some meaningful message. Language has a very important social purpose, because it is mainly used for linguistic communication. It is the most powerful, convenient and permanent means and form of communication. A language can be used in two ways for the purposes of communication. It can be spoken or written but the medium of speech is more important than writing. This is because speech comes first in the history of any language community in fact, it came centuries before writing in the history of any language community. Secondly, speech comes first in the history of any individual. We started speaking long before we started writing. Speech as a medium of communication is used much more than the medium of writing. I n every language, a letter of the alphabet represents a particular sound. Lastly, modern technology has contributed tremendously t o the importance of speech- modern inventions like the telephone, the radio, the tape recorder and several such devices have raised problems of communication primarily concerned with speech. Linguistics is a systematic study of language. Phonetics is a branch of linguistics and it is the branch dealing with the medium of speech. It deals with the production, transmission and reception of the sounds of human speech. For the production of speech sounds, we need an air-stream mechanism. There are three main air-stream mechanisms, such as, pulmonic, glottalic and velaric air-stream mechanisms. When the air-stream mechanism is used to push out, it is called egressive and when it is used to draw air in, it is called ingressive. Most sounds of most languages in the world are produced with a pulmonic egressive air-stream mechanism. The author described in detail the various organs that are responsible for converting the lung-air into speech sounds before it escapes into the outer atmosphere. For instance, if we say a prolonged ssss, a prolonged zzzz, a prolonged ffff and a prolonged vvvv, we see at once two things. We recognize these as speech sounds because these sounds occur i n the various words we use in our English speech. The other thing we notice is that each one of these sounds is different from the others. Speech sounds are very broadly divided into two categories, namely, Vowels and Consonants. If we say the English word shoe, we realize that this word is made up of two sounds, one represented by the letters sh and the other represented by the letters oe. When we produce the sound represented by the letters sh slowly, we realize that during the production of this sound, the air escapes through the mouth with friction. On the other hand, when we produce the sound represented by the letters oe, the air escapes through the mouth freely and we do not hear any friction. The sound is represented by the letters sh in the word shoe is a consonant and the sound represented by the letters oe in the word shoe is a vowel. All sounds during the production of which we hear friction are consonants, but not all consonants are produced with friction. If we say the words, she, shoe, shy, show, ship and shout, we will realize that when we produce the sounds represented by the letters e, oe, y, ow, i and ou in these words, the air escapes through the mouth freely without any friction. All these sounds are therefore vowels but each one of them sounds different from the others. These sounds should therefore be sub-classified. Similarly, if we say the words shoe, see, zoo and who, we will hear friction during the production of the sounds represented by the letters sh, s, z and wh. All these sounds are therefore consonants. But once again, we will see that each of them sounds different from the others. The sounds that are called consonants also need to be sub-classified. Description of Consonants: The word consonant has been derived from the Greek word consonautem, which means the sound produced with the help of some other sound (vowel). A consonant is usually described, taking into account whether it is voiceless or voiced, its place of articulation and its manner of articulation. Manner of articulation refers to the stricture involved and plosive, affricate, nasal, fricative, etc; are labels given to consonants according to their manner of articulation. Place of articulation just means the two articulators involved in the production of a consonant. Consonants can be described according to their places of articulation. The label used is normally an adjective derived from the name of the passive articulator. The places of articulation that we frequently come across are bilabial, labio-dental, dental, alveolar, post-alveolar, palato-alveolar, retroflex, palatal, velar, uvular and glottal. The classification of sounds into vowels and consonants is customary irrespective of phonetic, phonological, or orthographic references. The current classification following Pike divides the sounds into vocoids (vowel sounds), contoids (consonant sounds) and semi-vocoids or semi-contoids (for example; /w/ and /j/ in English). The terms contoids and vocoids refer to phonetic form only, without any reference to phonological function. A vocoid, according to Pike, is a segment formed with an open approximation of the articulators, with or without a velic closure, and with central passage or air-stream. All other segments are contoids. In English, there can be syllabic vocoids, non-syllabic vocoids, syllabic contoids and non-syllabic contoids. Syllabic vocoids are all vowel sounds; they function as syllable nuclei. Phonetically, the vocoids are vowels and their phonological function is that of a syllabic vocoid. Non-syllabic vocoids are the sounds which are phonetically vocoids but phonologically are contoids. Syllabic contoids are the sounds which are phonetically contoids but their phonological function is that of syllabic nucleus, that is, they represent the V element in the structure of a syllable. Non-syllabic contoids are the sounds that phonetically are contoids and phonologically represent the C element in the structure of a syllable. A description of consonantal sounds, according to A.C.Gimson, must provide answers to the following questions:- Is the air-stream set in motion by the lungs or by some other means (pulmonic or non-pulmonic)? Is the air-stream forced outwards or sucked inwards (egressive or ingressive)? Do the vocal cords vibrate or not (voiced or voiceless)? Is the soft palate raised or lowered? Or, does the air pass through the oral cavity (mouth) or the nasal cavity (nose)? At what point or points and between what organs does the closure or narrowing take place (Place of articulation)? What is the type of closure or narrowing at the point of articulation (Manner of articulation)? Thus, the description of a consonant will include five kinds of information: 1.) The nature of air-stream mechanism, 2.) The state of the glottis, 3.) The position of the soft palate, 4.) The articulators involved- the active articulator and the passive articulator and 5.) The nature of stricture involved regarding its production. The Nature of Air-Stream Mechanism: All English sounds, vowels as well as consonants, are produced with a Pulmonic egressive air-stream mechanism, that is, the lung-air pushed out. The State of the Glottis: Speech sounds can be classified as voiceless or voiced, depending upon whether the vocal cords are wide apart and the glottis is wide open (voiceless) or the vocal cords are kept loosely together and they vibrate (voiced). The Position of the Soft Palate: Speech sounds can be classified as oral or nasal, depending upon whether the soft-palate is raised so as to shut off the nasal passage of air (oral) or it is lowered to open the nasal passage of air simultaneously with an oral closure (nasal). Sounds can also be nasalised. The Articulators Involved-the Active and Passive Articulators: Of the various articulators described in the chapter, at least two are required for the production of any speech sound; some articulators move during the production of speech sounds. These are termed as active articulators. Certain other articulators remain passive and the active articulators move in the direction of these. These are termed as passive articulators. The Nature of Stricture Involved: The term stricture refers to the way in which the passage of air is restricted by the various organs of speech. The stricture may be one of complete closure, that is, the active and passive articulators come into firm contact with each other, thus preventing the lung-air from escaping through the mouth. Simultaneously, there is a velic closure, that is, the soft palate is raised, thereby shutting off the nasal passage of air. Thus, the lung-air is blocked in the mouth. When the oral closure is released, that is, when the active articulator is suddenly removed from the passive articulator, the air escapes with a small explosive noise. Sounds produced with a stricture of complete closure and sudden release are called plosives. If the active articulator is removed slowly from the passive articulator, instead of the explosive noise that is characteristic of plosive consonants, friction will be heard. Description of Vowels: Vowels may be defined with an open approximation without any obstruction, partial or complete, in the air passage. They are referred to as vocoids in phonetics. They can be described in terms of three variables: Height of tongue. Part of the tongue which is raised or lowered. Lip-rounding. So vocoids are normally classified according to these three criteria: tongue-height (high, mid, low, or close, half-close, half-open and open), tongue-advancement (front, central, back) and lip-rounding (rounded and unrounded). In order to describe the vowels, we usually draw three points in the horizontal axes: front, central and back, referring to the part of the tongue which is the highest. So, we have : Front vowels, during the production of which the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate. For example; / i, i: , e: , a / in Hindi, and / i, i: , e , à ¦ / in English as in sit, seat, set, and sat respectively. Back vowels, during the production of which the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate. For example; / o: , u , u: ,/ in Hindi, and / a: , Ɇ , ɆÃƒâ€¹Ã‚  , u , u: / in English as in cart, cot, caught, book and tool respectively. Central vowels, during the production of which the central part of the tongue ( the part between the front and the back) is raised. For example; / Éâ„ ¢ / in Hindi, and / Éâ„ ¢ , Éâ„ ¢: , ÊŒ / in English as in about, earth and but respectively. O n the vertical axis, we usually draw four points: close, half-close, half-open, and open. They are also referred to as high, high mid, mid (middle), low mid, and low by some phoneticians, especially the American phoneticians. On the basis of the vertical axes, we have the following types of vowels. A close vowel is one for which the tongue is as close to the roof of mouth as possible. For example; / i: / in sea and / u: / in zoo. An open vowel is one which is produced with the tongue as low as possible and the jaws are wide open. For example, / a: / in card and / Ɇ / in hot. We can describe a vowel by using a three term label, indicating the height, the direction (advancement) of the tongue, and the position of the lips. For example; / a: / in the English word, arm, back, open, unrounded vowel. / Ɇ / in the English word, hot, back, open, rounded vowel. / i: / in the English word, need, front, close, unrounded vowel. / u / in the English word, tooth, back, close, rounded vowel. To describe the vowel sound, we mention whether it is open or close, half-close or half-open, front or back or central, long or short, whether the tongue is tense or lax while the vowel is being pronounced, and whether lips are spread, neutral, open rounded, or close rounded. All English vowels are voiced. So, for every vowel, we must state that it is voiced. Hence, to sum up, the main point of a language is to convey information. Nowadays, language can take various forms. It can be spoken or written. Peter Ladefoged also talked in his book that speech is the common way of using language. Another aspect of speech that is not part of language is the way speech conveys information about the speakers attitude to life, the subject under discussion and the person spoken to. The final kind of non-linguistic information conveyed by speech is the identity of the speaker. You can often tell the identity of the person who is speaking without looking at them. But then again, we may be wrong. Whenever we speak, we create a disturbance in the air around us, a sound wave, which is a small but rapid variation in air pressure spreading through the air. Speech sounds such as vowels can differ in pitch, loudness and quality. We can say the vowel a as in father on any pitch within the range of our voice. We can also say it softly or loudly without altering the pitch. And we can say as many different vowels as we can, without altering either the pitch or the loudness. The pitch of the sound depends on the rate of repetition of the changes in air pressure. The loudness of the sound depends on the size of the variations in air pressure. The third way in which sounds can differ is in quality, sometimes called timbre. The vowel in see differs in quality from the first vowel in father., irrespective of whether it also differs in pitch or loudness. Thus, Peter Ladefoged in his book has discussed the principal constraints on the evolution of the sounds of the worlds languages, which are ease of articulation, auditory distinctiveness, and gestural economy. He also discussed the differences between speech and language, and has also outlined some of the main acoustic distinctions among sounds; and how one of the acoustic distinctions, that corresponding to pitch, is used in the worlds languages.

Wal-Mart Supply Chain Management Essay -- Wal-Mart Logistics

Retail super-giant Wal-Mart has fought its way to becoming the world's largest company. Much of their success can be attributed to providing a vast assortment of products at exceptional prices all under one roof. Wal-Mart began operations in 1964 and has since become the world leader in retail. Today, Wal-Mart is visited by 138 million customers per week at their 4,750 stores. Wal-Mart operates under four basic rules in order to satisfy such a large number of customers: Respect the individual, provide the best service to their customers, strive for excellence, and exceed customer expectations. Their corporate mission focuses on a global growth strategy through concentrated integration. The company continues to expand its existing discount stores, warehouses, and super-centers. The company maintains two goals: First, Provide the customer with what they want, when they want it, all at value and secondly, team spirit through total dependency on associates to treat customers as they would want to be treated. Their business strategy is to provide well-known name brands at an everyday low price. Wal-Mart has a wide range of products offered. They offer everything from electronics, movies, books, toys, games, gardening supplies, home supplies, photo development, gifts, jewelry, and at some locations even automobile, optometry, and grocery shopping centers. In operating its network of retail stores Wal-Mart pushes their output to the general public. Wal-Mart focuses their competitive priorities on bringing the customer the lowest prices by selling in volume. The vast size and selection essentially guarantees that the store will have what the customer wants in stock and at a cheaper price than competitors. This strategy allows them to outsell their competition. In order to facilitate the achievement of their goals Wal-Mart has designed their layout to accommodate a large number of shoppers at the same time. They build expansive stores with wide aisles so that many people can feel comfortable shopping at the same time. Wal-Mart has taken the initiative to build stores in countless rural towns and smaller cities. They have increased their market share and have gained a reputable name by doing so. At the same time, this benefit has created an enormous supply chain management problem. How can Wal-Mart effectively keep all of its... ...y at creating an efficient supply chain in order to beat the competition on price and selection has certainly paid off. Works Cited Bacheldor, Beth. Information Week. ?Sen. Leahy Calls On Congress to Study RFID.? Accessed 4/30/04. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?ArticleID=18402616 Beatty, Vernon L., Jr. ?You Gonna Be a Greeter Accessed 4/30/04. http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/janfeb97/ms046.htm. Bianco, Anthony and Zellner, Wendy. Business Week. ?Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful Accesed 5/3/04. http://www.businessweek.com/maganize/content/03_04/b3852001_mz001.htm ?Carrers.? Wal-Mart. Accessed 4/30/04. http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstores/wmstores. Fishman, Charles. Fast Company. ?The Wal-Mart You Don?t Know.? Accessed 5/2/04. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html Heizer, Jay and Render, Barry. Operations Management. Seventh Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall. New Jersey, 2004. ?Stauffer v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.? US Department of Labor. Accessed 4/30/04. http://www.oalj.dol.gov/public/wblower/decsn/99sta21c.htm ?Wal-Mart Effect? Accessed 5/3/04. http://www.wordspy.com/words/Wal-Marteffect.asp.

Bank of America Case Study Essay

Problem Statement Can Bank of America initiate, renew or terminate different sponsorship opportunities. Which of the different sponsorships will have the biggest ability to help the bank’s business segments accomplish there business objectives, and which ones could damage them. Background Bank of America was operating in 29 states, District of Colombia and 43 foreign countries, serving individual customers, small to middle market businesses and large corporations. They provided a diversified range of financial assistances, such as banking, investing and asset management. All this through three business segments: Global Consumer and Small Business Banking, Global wealth and Global Corporate and Investment Banking. The headquarters of Bank of America is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. One of the banks business strategies is to serve as a leading financial partner and advisor across all major sports. Owners, leagues and franchises can turn to them with all banking needs. The bank spent more on sponsoring sports then any other bank in the US based bank. Sports such as major and minor baseball, the PGA-tour, NASCAR and NFL. Bank of America actually grew from many smaller banks, as regional banks where acquired the bank got sport relationships along with the smaller banks; which were kept to show their commitment to serving its customers and communities. Official Bank of Baseball Since 1880 Baseball was generally considered a part of America’s heritage and also a part of Bank of America’s culture that sponsored their employee baseball teams. And in 2004 the bank became the first company ever to be designated the Official Bank of Baseball. Sports Sponsorship Philosophy and Selection Criteria In 2006 Ray Bednar joined the Bank of America as senior VP and global sponsorships executive, he was there to oversee the strategy and activation deployment for the company’s expansive sport sponsorships portfolio. His largest responsibility lied with the application of more difficult and  explicit business criteria, beyond his employment to the traditional marketing/promotional considerations and making sponsorships decisions. Bednar explained: We are a Bank. If we sponsor, we expect banking relationships. We are concerned about getting banking business instead of just generating brand awareness and brand association, or generating more retail traffic. Sponsorships for Bank of America is ultimately a banking business decision- a decision to help our line of business. NASCAR With a broad reach as 1800 racing events and more than 110 tracks in 36 states it is ranked number one corporate involvement and per-event attendance, and number two in television viewership. Given Bank of America’s long involvement with NASCAR, they could continue to expand their association with the sport and benefit and build excitement for fans across the country. But is this an appropriate and effective platform for targeting multiple customer segments. U.S Olympic Committee The banks involvement with the Olympic team gores back to 1921. But in 1992 another bank, Bank America became the Official Bank Sponsor of the U.S Olympic team. What Bank of America now faced was whether the USOC and the Olympic Games remained a good strategic fit with the bank? Should the bank renew its sponsorship beyond its 2008 commitment? Would global reach associate well with the banks philosophy and selection criteria? Dallas Cowboys Bank of America had been involved in the financing of the Dallas Cowboys. Bednar faced the decision of whether or not to renew the sponsorship with the NFL-team, how had to consider on how the return on investment on objectives approaches could be applied. Bank of America PGA tournaments Two of their major sponsorships in golf were the Bank of America Championship  in the Boston area and the Bank of America Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. They recognized the risk of losing the relationships with club members, but not as enough to justify the continued investment. How could the implement this exit strategy and still maintain existing banking relationships Recommendations The name of the company clearly states who the costumers should be. My recommendations would be to focus on the sponsorships within the America. NASCAR, NFL and Baseball are great opportunities to create relationships with their costumers. They might even try to become the Official bank of NFL one day. With that said I think the bank should try and sponsor less of the global sporting events such as the Olympic committee. The PGA tour, while it is played in the US it is televised in the whole world and since they are not reaching towards that market, I think less sponsorship should be put in this event as well. As for the Chicago marathon they should sell the event but stay as sponsor. Question If Bank of America would like to go global, would they have to change their name to something less patriotic?

The Negativity Of The American Education System - 1509 Words

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