CHAPTER 2 || Sounds of Language: Phonetics and Phonology Flashcards
ACOUSTIC PHONETICS
Concerning the physical properties of the sound waves.
ALLOPHONE
Derives from Greek: allo comes from allos (other). Allophone literally means other sounds.
One of the alternative phonetic realizations of a phoneme.
Ex. [t] and [th] are allophones of /t/ in English.
ARTICULARY PHONETICS
Concerning the production of sounds.
*We will mainly be dealing with articulary phonetics in this chapter.
AUDITORY PHONETICS
Concerning the perception of speech sounds.
CLICK
A speech sound produced by a velaric airstream mechanism. The back of the tongue makes a closure at the velum, and a second contact is made further forward in the oral cavity. The enclosed space is next enlarged so that the air within it is rarefied; the second closure is then released, and air flows inwards with a clicking noise.
Ex. English tut! tut! is made up of clicks.
Ex. Clicks are made up of the regular phonology of Khoisan and nearby Bantu language.
COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION
When two speech sounds do not share any environments of occurrence.
Ex. In English, [p] and [ph] are in complementary distribution. [p] occurs following [s], [ph] at the beginning of a word, and there is nowhere where both are normally found.
Ex. The oral vowel occurs in words like sip and pill.
Ex. The nasal vowel occurs in words like sin and sing.
CONSONANT
A speech sound produced with a narrowing or closure at some point in the vocal tract.
Involves a constriction in the vocal tract, obstructing the flow of air; the airstream is impeded or interrupted somewhere along the way from the lungs to the outside.
Ex. The pronounciation of the letters c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z.
DIPHTHONG
A vowel sound involving significant movement of the tongue from one vowel position to another.
They are produced when the tongue is in contant motion throughout, traveling from one vowel position to another.
EJECTIVE
A speech sound produced on an egressive glottalic airstream.
They are formed by raising the larynx so as to compress the air behind the oral closure; this closure is released while the glottal closure remains, resulting in a popping sound.
About a fifth of the world’s language have ejectives.
FREE VARIATION
Where one sound can replace another in a given environment without giving rise to a new word.
Ex. If [p¬] is replaced by [ph] at the end of the word stop.
Ex. The word slab can be produced with either a final released [b] or an unreleased [b¬].
GLOTTALIC AIRSTREAM
An airstream produced by forming a cavity above the larynx, which is compressed or rarefied by raising or lowering the glottis; then the upper obstruction is released.
A number of languages of Africa, India and the Americas employ a glottalic airstream in the production of some (never all) phones.
Two types of glottalic airtream: ejectives and implosives.
IMPLOSIVE
A speech sound produced on an ingressive glottalic airstream.
They are produced by pulling the larynx downwards during oral closure, and releasing the oral closure, resulting in an audible inrush of air.
Only 10% of the world’s languages have implosives.
INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
(IPA)
A set of symbols based primarily on the Latin alphabet designed to represent the sounds of all of the world’s languages.
INTONATION
The pitch contour of a phrase or sentence.
Ex. If you say, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” as a plain statement, you will probably say it with a fall of pitch at the end.
MANNER OF ARTICULATION
The way the airstream is obstructed and modified as it passes through the constriction in the vocal tract in the production of a consonant. Manners of articulation include stop, nasal, fricative.
MINIMAL PAIR
Two words that are identical except for a single phoneme in a certain position.
Ex. The words pin and bin in English.
PHONE
Smallest phonetic segment that can be isolated in a stream of speech.
Ex. /p/, /æ/
PHONEME
A minimal unit in the phonology of a language that is capable of making the difference between words; a distinctive phone.
PITCH
Refers to the frequency of vibration of the vocal folds. When you speak, the pitch varies from moment to moment.
Variations of pitch are used in two main ways in languages: to distinguish between words (tone); and to convey different inflections on the meaning of an utterance (intonation).
PLACE OF ARTICULATION
The location in the vocal tract of the constriction of airflow in a consonant.
Ex. Dental and palatal.
PULMONIC AIRSTREAM
The airstream produced from the lungs.
This is the most common airstream used in human languages.
STRESS
Syllables with greater energy are stressed syllables.
A syllable perceived as prominent due to greater length, loudness and/or higher pitch than other syllables in a word.
SUSPICIOUS PAIR
Phones that are phonetically similar enough to count as possible allophones of a single phoneme.
A pair of phonemes that are sufficiently similar to be potentially allophones of a single phoneme.
Ex. [p] and [b] (both are bilabial stops)
SYLLABLE
Phones combine into larger units called syllables.
A minimal unit of speech production, normally composed of a vowel or vowel-like consonant that is optionally preceded and/or followed by a consonant.
Ex. [ba] and [a] are syllables by [b] is not.
TONE
The contrastive pitch on a syllable in a tone language, in which minimal pairs may exist that differ only in syllable tone.
Ex. In Cantonese, the syllable [si] with high falling tone is the for poem. With a mid-level tone, the word means to try.
VELARIC AIRSTREAM
An airstream produced by placing the back of the tongue against the velum and making a second closure further forward in the oral cavity. The enclosed space is then enlarged, rarefying the air within; the second closure is next released, and air flows inwards.
A click is produced by a velaric airstream.
VOCAL TRACT
The organs involved in producing the sounds of speech: the lungs, the larynx, the oral cavity and the nasal cavity.
VOICING
Vibrations of the vocal chords.
Ex. After taking the first sip after a long-awaited drink, you say aaa!
Ex. After laying down after a long, tiring day and saying aaa!
VOICE ONSET TIME
(VOT)
The period between the release of a stop and the onset of voicing in a following vowel. Voice onset time can be negative, zero or positive.
VOWEL
A resonant speech sound that is produced without significant constriction in the oral cavity.
Vowels are produced with no significant obstruction to the passage of air through the oral cavity, and the air exits unimpeded through the oral cavity (and perhaps the nasal cavity as well).
Ex. The pronounciation of the letters a, e, i, o, u.
ORTHOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION
The farmer kills the duckling
PHONEMIC TRANSCRIPTION
The farmer kills the duckling (Orthographic Representation)
/ðə fɑːmə kɪlz ðə dʌklɪŋ/ (Phonemic Transcription)
BROAD PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION
The farmer kills the duckling (Orthographic Representation)
[ðə fɑːmə kɪlz ðə dʌklɪŋ] (Broad Phonetic Transcription)
NARROW PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION
The farmer kills the duckling (Orthographic Representation)
[ðə fɑ̃ːmə k̟ʰɪlz ðə dʌkɫɪ̃ŋ̟] (Narrow Phonetic Transcription)
