File 2.0-2.3: Phonetics (F) Flashcards
phonetics
The study of minimal units that make up language. How sounds are produced and perceived
Which different aspects of sound can be studied in the communication chain?
- Articulatory phonetics
- Acoustic phonetics
- Auditory phonetics
articulatory phonetics
The study of the production of speech sound.
acoustic phonetics
The study of the transmission an the physical properties of speech sound.
auditory phonetics
The study of the perception of speech sounds.
impressionistic phonetic transcription
A tool for the study of phonetic analysis.
Textbook def: A method of writing
down speech sounds with the intent of capturing how they are
pronounced (e.g., by using a phonetic alphabet). Usually based
simply on how the sounds are perceived when heard without any
special analysis.
phone
Sound
co-articulation
The influence of one sound on a neighboring sound.
categories for speech stream
- Segments
- Suprasegmentals
segments
Segments are the discrete units of speech stream that can be subdivided into consonants and vowels.
suprasegmentals
Are qualities on top of segments and contain properties like stress, tone and intonation.
How do consonants and vowels differ when you look at air flow?
Consonants can either completely or partly block the air flow, while vowels have at most a slight narrowing.
What are the different ways we can distinguish between consonants and vowels?
- Air flow
- Syllables
syllable
A unit of speech (uh, sprint, mountain=two)
What can a syllable be broken down into?
- Onset
- Rhyme
rhyme
In a syllable, the vowel and any consonants that follow it.
What can rhyme be divided into?
- Nucleus
- Coda
onset
In a syllable, any consonant(s) that occurs before the
rhyme.
nucleus
The core element of a syllable, carrying stress, length,
and pitch (tone). It usually consists of a vowel or a syllabic
consonant.
coda
In a syllable, any consonant(s) that occur in the rhyme,
after the nucleus.
What can vowels be divided into?
- Monophthongs
- Diphthongs
monophthongs
Simple vowel, composed of a single configuration of the vocal organs. (Naive are two monophthongs, [a] and [i])
diphthongs
A complex vowel, composed of a sequence of
two different configurations of the vocal organs. However, they’re still single vowels. (Knives [ai] is diphthong)
running speech (or continuous speech)
Using language in phrases and sentences where all the words run together.
Textbook def: The usual form of spoken language, with
all the words and phrases run together, without pauses in between them. Sometimes called continuous speech.
articulatory description
For an auditory-vocal language, the description of the motion or positioning of the parts of the vocal tract that are responsible for the production of a speech sound.
For a visual-gestural
language, the description of the motions or positioning of the hands, arms, and relevant facial expressions.
articulation (or articulatory gesture)
The motion or positioning of some part of the vocal tract (often, but not always, a muscular part such as the tongue or lips) with respect to some other surface of the vocal tract in the production of a speech sound.
What 3 different aspects are important to mention when describing a consonant?
- Voiced or voiceless?
- Where is the airstream constricted? (place of articulation)
- How is the airstream constricted? (manner of articulation)
segmental features
The voicing, place and manner of articulation
Which basic components of human anatomy are involved in the production of speech?
- Larynx
- Vocal tract
- Subglottal system
larynx (voice box)
Contains the vocal folds and the glottis, is located in the throat at the Adam’s apple.
vocal tract
Is above the larynx, contains the oral and nasal cavities.
subglottal system
Located below larynx and part of respiratory system.
pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism
Pulmonic = lung, egressive = blowing out. So sounds created by breathing out (=exhaling) are named this. All English speech sounds are made using this mechanism.
voiced sound
Sound made with the vocal folds vibrating.
[z, q, d, b, g, j, l, m, n, ng, r, th, v, w, y]
voiceless sound
Sounds made without the vocal folds vibrating.
[h, s, k, t, f, p, θ, t͡ʃ, ʃ,]
place of articulation
This describes where in the vocal tract the constriction is made to make the sound.
bilibial
A consonant that’s made by bringing the lips together [b, p, m, w]
labiodental
Consonants made with lower lip against the upper front teeth [f, v]
interdental
Sound made with the tip of the tongue protruding between front teeth. [θ] thigh and [ð] thy.
alveolar
Sounds made with tongue tip at or near the front of the upper alveolar ridge.
[t, d, s, z, n, l, r]
Where is the alveolar placed?
On the bony ridges of the upper and lower jaws
palatal
Sounds made with the body of the tongue near the center of the hard portion of the roof of the mouth.
[ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ, j]
velar
Consonants are produced at the velum, soft palate, made with back of the tongue.
[k, g, ŋ, x (= Dutch /g/)]
glottal
Sounds that are made when the air is constricted at the larynx.
[h, ʔ (cotton)]
manner of articulation
How the airstream is blocked.
Textbook def: Term used to refer to how the airstream
is modified by the articulators in the vocal tract to produce a consonant.
stops/plosives
Moments when the airstream is completely stopped in the oral cavity, also known as plosives.
[p, b, t, d, k, g, ŋ, ʧ, ʤ, Ɂ]
fricatives
A nearly complete obstruction of the vocal tract. [f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, x, ɣ, h]
affricatives
Complex sounds, double sounds that go from stops to fricative.
Made by briefly stopping the airstream
completely and then releasing the articulators slightly so that frication noise is produced. They can thus be described as beginning with a stop and ending
with a fricative.
[ʧ], church, and [ʤ], judge.
nasals
Nasals are produced by relaxing the velum and lowering it, thus opening
the nasal passage to the vocal tract. [m, n kin, n king]
approximants
Approximants, like all consonants, involve constriction of the vocal
tract, but the constrictions are not narrow enough to block the vocal tract or
cause turbulence.
What can approximants be divided in?
- Liquids
- Glides
liquids
Liquids are formed with slightly more constriction than glides, and their quality changes (is “liquid”) depending on where they occur in a word, e.g., the beginning or end of a syllable.
[l], [ɹ]
glides
Glides are made with only a slight closure of the articulators (so they are
fairly close to vowel sounds), and they require some movement (or “gliding”)
of the articulators during production.
[w], [j]
What can liquid be divided into?
- Lateral liquid
- Retroflex liquid
low vowel
A vowel pronounced with the jaw quite open and the tongue away from the roof. Like [a], [ae]
high vowel
A vowel pronounced with the tongue body close to the roof. [i, I, u, ʊ]
Lateral liquid
lateral liquid. In this sound, the front of the tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge, as in [d], but unlike in a stop, where the tongue is sealed all the way around the ridge, the sides of the tongue are relaxed (lateral = side)
[l]
Retroflex liquid
and a common type also involves curling the tip
of the tongue back behind the alveolar ridge to make a retroflex sound.
[r]
