Final: Phonemes, [incomplete]

Question 1

Dipthongs:

Characteristics, acoustic cues necessary for identification

Answer 1

Characteristics: 
	-vowel sounds of changing resonance
	-phonated
	-high-intensity sounds 
Acoustic cues for ID:
	-rapidly changing formant frequencies 
	-direction (increasing/decreasing) and extent of formant frequency change
	-rate of formant frequency change

Question 2

What impacts the formants of vowels?

Answer 2

• Affected by connected speech:
  
  • continued movement of the articulators causes changes in vocal tract shape which affects resonant peaks
• Affected by phonemic context and rate of articulation:
  
  • ie juncture, duration, speaking rate, stress
  • increased speaking rate often produces a neutralized vowel (schwa)
• Differing vocal tract sizes produce variation in resonating cavities
  
  • i.e. men, women, children, age