Describing Speech Sounds

Question 1

Manners of articulation for consonants

Answer 1

• Plosives (oral stops)
• Frictatives (Partial obstruction)
• Affricates (Complete followed by partial obstruction)
• Nasal (complete obstruction + open nasal cavity)
• Approximates (slight obstruction, no turbulence)

Question 2

Plosives

Answer 2

• Vocal tract is entirely closed
• AP is built up, then released (creating sound)
• /p/, /b/. /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/

Question 3

Frictative

Answer 3

• VT is partially obstructed
• air pressure is built up + moves through structure
• /s/, /z/, /v/, /f/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /h/

Question 4

Affricate

Answer 4

• obstruct, build up AP, and release
• air flows through a stricture
• starts like a plosive ends like a frictative
• /ʧ/, /d͡ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /dʒ/

Question 5

Nasal

Answer 5

• air moves through nasal cavity instead of blocked oral cavity
• lowered velum
• /m/, /n/, /ŋ/

Question 6

Approximate

Answer 6

• minimal obstruction
• /w/, /l/, /j/, /ɹ/ (all different names)

Question 7

Places of articulation for consonants

Answer 7

• Bilabial (both lips)
• Labiodental (Top teeth and lower lip)
• Dental (tongue apex and teeth)
• alveolar (tongue apex and alveolar ridge)
• palato-alveolar (tongue lamina and back of alveolar ridge)
• (Dorso) velar (tongue dorsum and velum)
• Glottal (glottis)

Question 8

Describe: /p/

Answer 8

Biliabial plosive (voiceless)

Question 9

Describe: /b/

Answer 9

Bilabial plosive (voiced)

Question 10

Describe: /t/

Answer 10

Alveolar plosive (voiceless)

Question 11

Describe: /k/

Answer 11

dorso-velar plsoive (voiceless)

Question 12

Describe: /d/

Answer 12

Alveolar plosive (voiced)

Question 13

Describe: /g/

Answer 13

voiced velar plosive

Question 14

describe: /w/

Answer 14

labio-velar glide

Question 15

describe: /l/

Answer 15

lateral alveolar glide

Question 16

describe /j/

Answer 16

palatal glide

Question 17

describe /ɹ/

Answer 17

retroflex approximant/ liquid

Question 18

describe /r/

Answer 18

voiced alveolar tap/ flap

Question 19

Describing consonant sounds

Answer 19

1. voicing (i.e. voiced or voiceless)
2. place of articulation (i.e. labiodental)
   2.5. nasality (if applicable)
3. kind of article used (i.e. fricative)

Question 20

Describing vowels

Answer 20

1. approximate tongue position (horizontal, vertical)
2. tension (impressionistic)
3. lip rounding

Question 21

Tongue position- vowel descriptions

Answer 21

• refers to “hump” of tongue
• vertical/ height: high /i/, mid /ɛ/ , low /ɒ/
• horizontal/ advancement: front, central, back

Question 22

Tension- vowel description

Answer 22

tense or lax
impressionistic
- whether vowel entails muscular tension

Question 23

Lip configurationq

Answer 23

rounded, unrounded

Question 24

monophthongs

Answer 24

single tongue position, doesn’t move much
- height + advancement + tension + roundedness + “vowel”

Question 25

diphthongs

Answer 25

Moves from one position to another
- when describing: describe both starting and ending positions, including height, advancement, tension, and roundess