final Flashcards
What is linguistics? What do they study?
Linguistic is the science that studies language
What ‘s language? Explain its 4 characteristics.
Language is an arbitrary system 0f creative vocal symbols that is the means of communication among human beings
Explain the different POVs of language and who they relates to?
Descriptive natural use (parole/performance) -Phonetics
Prescriptive Rules,knowledge (Langue/competence)
Microlinguistics:
-Phonology
-Morphology
-syntax
-semantics
What is Phonetics? What do they study?
(Parole) Studies utterances and segments them into speech sounds.
1- articulatory phonetics:production of sounds
2- acoustic phonetics: how sound waves travel trough air.
3- auditory phonetics: recieving & processing the sound.
What is Phonology? What do they study?
(langue) Studies the spund system.
1-Segmental features: Studies possible combinations of sounds by segmentation.
2-Suprasegmental features: Cannot be studied in isolation(cannot be segmented).
What’s a standard variety?
Sociolect. Is associated with educated speakers. BBC english.
What is the IPA? What is a phonemic set?
The International Phonetic Alphabet provides symbols for any spoken language.
The phonemic set is a group of ounds used in a language.
What is a phoneme?
Smallest unit of sound that can make a difference in meaning.
What is the speech mechanism?
Is a system who make us able to express thoughts and feelings.
What are the 3 levels of the speech chain?
1- Linguistic
2- Physiological
3- Acoustic
Explain briefly the speech chain.
1- The speaker arranges their thoughts into a linguistic form.
2- the brain form impulses to the motor nerves that are send to the muscles to activate the vocal organs.
3-The v.o. produces sound waves that travels through air.
4- the pressure of the sound waves activates the listener’s hearing mechanism, producing nerve impulses that bring recognition of the speaker’s message.
5- the speech chain is completed when the listener procceses the information.
What is phonation?
The process of vocal folds vibration.
What are the organs of speech?
All those parts involved in the production of speech.
What are the 3 main systems of organs involved in speech?
1- Air pressure system
2- Vibratory system
3- Resonating system
Which organs are in the Air pressure system and what is their function?
diaphragm, chest & abdominal muscles, thorax, lungs. Provides and regulates air pressure to cause vocal folds to vibrate.
Which organs are in the VIbratory system and what is their function?
Larynx(which contains the vocal folds). The V.F. vibrates, changing the air pressure to sound waves producing voiced and voiceless sounds.
Which organs are in the Resonating system and what is their function?
Vocal tract: Throat(Pharynx), oral cavity, nasal cavity.
Changes the quality of an existing sound.
Which are the 2 branches that we can divide the description of speech sounds into?
Non-distinctive features and distinctive features.
Describe the non distinctive features.
AKA phonetic features.
Doesn’t change the meaning of the word.
1- Loudness
2-Pitch
3-Tone of voice
4-Duration & Lenght
5-Air stream mechanism
6-Voiced & Voiceless sounds.
Describe the distinctive features.
AKA phonological features.
Changes the meaning.
1-Intensity of articulation
2-Place of articulation
3-Manner of articulation.
What are vowels, define from a phonetic & phonological POV.
A type of sound produced with no obstruction of air(phonet)
typically ocurring at the centre of a syllable.(phonolog)
What are cardinal vowels?
Can be used in any spoken language. They are the most basic and important then each language can adapt to them.
What is the criteria to describe vowel phonemes?
1- closeness/openess: distance between the tongue and the palate.
High tongue: closed vowel
Low tongue: Open vowel
2- frontness/backness: Part of the tongue that is raised highest.
3- shape of the lips: round, spread, neutral.
Define and explain quality & quantity.
Quality (phonetic) an auditory sensation that make us able to distinguish between vowel sounds.
Quantity (phonology) phonological use of lenght.
What are Pure vowels?
AKA monophthongs. They are single vowel sounds.
Lax: weak breath and muscle tension (short)
Tense: more breath and muscle tension (long)
What are Diphthongs?
A vowel sequence starting with a single vowel whose quality changes towards another single vowel through a gliding movement of the tongue.
How can diphthongs be classified according to?
1- articulatory:
a- the distance the tongue travels (wide, narrow)
b- the direction of the movement to the 2nd sound. (closing, centering)
2- auditory:
c- the prominence of elements. (mostly falling)
Which are the only 3 phonemes in which diphthongs can finish in?
short i, schwa and short u.
What are triphthongs?
vowel sequences that consists of three sounds. They are studied as a combination.
What are consonants? describe them from a phonetic & phonological POV.
A type of sound produced by an obstruction of the air stream (either in the pharynx or in the vocal tract) (phonet) typically occuring at the margin of syllables (phonolog)
What is the criteria to describe consonant sounds?
1- vocal folds (voiced/voiceless)
2- stongness of the breath force & muscular tension. (lenis/fortis)
3- where does the interference of the air flow occur (place of articulation)
4- what kind of interference is? (manner of articulation)
What is allophonic variation?
when a phoneme changes its pronunciation due to the influence of its sorrounding sounds.
Explain the concrete level of speech.
(phonetics/parole/performance).
Utterance
Phone
Allophone
In free variation or in complementary distribution.
Explain the abstract level of speech.
(Phonology/langue/knowledge).
Sentence
Clause
Word
Morpheme
Phoneme
What are the 3 types of transcription? Explain them.
1- Phonetic transcription (aims to represent actual speech sounds, high degree of accuracy)
2- Phonemic/Phonological (represents idealised utterances, moderate degree of accuracy, shows only those articulatory details that can distinguish meaning)
3- Broad phonetic transcription (Largely phonemic, but shows several phonetic details. An intermediate type)
What is neutralization?
The elimination of a phonemic distinction in some contexts
What is morphophonology?
Is the overlap between Morphology and Phonology. Morph, allomorhps. it overlaps with phonetics
and phonology when the choice of one allomorph rather than another is determined by the
surrounding sounds
What is a syllable? Explain it from a phonetic & phonological approach.
A syllable is a linguistic unit that is typically larger than a single sound and smaller than a word.
Phonetic approach: it is formed by 3 onsets C, a V that is the centre, and 4 codas C.
if it ends with V is open syllable.
If it ends with C is closed syllable.
Phonological: the maximal structure is 3 consonants and 4 at the end, and a vowel at the centre.
What is a syllabic consonant? What are the 5 consonants that can be transformed to?
is a syllable whose centre is not formed by a vowel, but by a consonant instead. We ommit the schwa, and the time needed to pronunce ir moves to the following consonant that could be: l,n,m.nga,r.
What are weak forms?
a reduction of strong forms, by reducing the lenght of sounds, by the obscuration of schwa, short i and neutral u, and by the elision of vowel and consonants.
Why do we use weak forms?
we use them to sound more natural, and to undersant better the language.
When do strong forms occur?
-in isolation
-when being quoted
-at the end of a phrase(except for some pronouns)
-as the 1st of two consecutive auxiliary verbs without a main verb
-in coordinations
-in contrasts
-to emphasize.
What are the features of connected speech?
Variations that speech can have since it is a continuous flow of sounds.
Explain Linking.
a link between words. we add a final r that is represented in spelling only when preceded by a vowel and followed by a vowel in the next word.
Explain Intrusion.
When a sound that is not represented in normal spelling is added to a word or sequence.
w,j,r.
Explain Juncture.
articulatory features that enable us to distinguish words in connected speech, to detect boundaries.
-shortening/lenghtening of sounds
-delayed/advanced articulation of consonants
-variations in the degree of syllable stress
Explain assimilation
Influence of one sound upon another, changing their place of articulation to make the sound more alike or identical.
Explain Elision.
Omission of sounds in connected speech.
-syllabic consonant.
-avoidance of complex consonants clusters
-loss of final v in “of” b4 consonants.
