Introduction to Phonetics & Phonology Flashcards
Who are the two main players in the act of communication?
source (speaker) & recipient (hearer/listener)
What is the encoding process?
A mental and psychological process whereby cerebral commands of the speaker are sent to the vocal organs which are involved in speech transmission, and these organs, in turn, transmit speech in the form of sound waves through the air.
What are the seven steps of communication?
- Sender
- Encoding
- Transmission
(Encoding)
4.Receiver
5. Reception
6. Decoding
7. Analysis & Interpretation
(Decoding)
What is phonetics?
the scientific study of the way speech sounds are produced by our vocal organs, the way they are perceived by listeners, and the way different sounds are combined into syllables, words and sentences
What is articulatory phonetics?
The branch of phonetics which deals with the articulation, i.e. the production of speech sounds
What is acoustic phonetics?
The branch of phonetics which deals with the acoustics of sound waves used for communication, it studies various properties of speech signals like amplitude and frequency and their effects on the transmission and reception of sounds
What is auditory phonetics?
The area of phonetics concerned with the reception and comprehension of phonetic sounds.
Name the three branches of phonetics
Articulatory, acoustic & auditory
What are speech organs?
Those used in the production of speech, i.e. lips, tongue, lungs
Is speech the primary function of speech organs?
No. It is an overlaid secondary function. For example, the basic function of the lungs is respiration and the basic function of the larynx is to protect the breathing apparatus by preventing food from entering the lungs
The evolution of speech organs
Speech organs have evolved structurally in a way that favours speech production, which Lieberman (1970) calls a modification of organs
What percentage of the human body is involved in speech production?
Half (from head to abdomen)
Name the three groups or systems of organs that play a vital role in speech production
the respiratory system, the phonatory system & the articulatory system
What is the respiratory system comprised of?
the lungs, along with the trachea and bronchial tubes, the intercostal muscles of the ribs and the diaphragm
What is an airstream?
The air we breathe which moves in and out of our lungs in the form of a current
What is an egressive pulmonic airstream?
an airstream which is set in motion when the speaker exhales
What is an ingressive pulmonic airstream?
an airstream set in motion when the speaker inhales
How are egressive and ingressive pulmonic airstreams initiated?
by the contraction and expansion of the lungs in the chest cavity, causing the air to be pushed out and in
What does the phonatory system consist of?
the larynx
What is the name of a larynx which protrudes visibly in men?
the Adam’s apple
What does the articulatory system consist of?
the articulators: the nose, lips, mouth, including the teeth and the tongue
Source & Filter model
Airstream passes through larynx when we exhale, then is filtered in supra laryngeal tract & modified by the various shapes that the articulators assume before the sound is released. Each of these modifications affect the quality of the speech sounds produced
What happens when we breathe in?
Air travels down the trachea, expanding the lungs, and once air is exhaled, the lungs come back to their normal size.
What happens during inhalation?
The ribs are raised and the diaphragm is lowered, causing the lungs to expand
What happens during exhalation?
The muscles raising the ribs relax and the diaphragm also relaxes, causing the lungs to come back to their normal size
What happens when air is obstructed or forced to pass through a constricted space by manipulating the airstream?
audible sounds can be produced
Where is the larynx situated?
behind and below the prominence in the throat
What is the larynx made up of?
the thyroid and cricoid cartilages, attached to the top of the trachea, as well as the arytenoid cartilages
Where are the cricoid cartilages positioned?
Above thyroid cartilage and tracheal rings
Where are the thyroid cartilages positioned?
In between cricoid cartilage and tracheal rings
Where are the tracheal rings positioned?
Below cricoid and thyroid cartilages
Where is the arytenoid cartilage positioned?
mounted on the thyroid cartilage
What are the vocal folds?
two thick muscular flaps, resembling a pair of lips, housed in the larynx
What are these vocal folds attached to?
At the back- the arytenoid cartilage. If the arytenoid cartilage moves, the vocal folds move as well
Rotation of the arytenoid cartilages
the rotation of the arytenoid cartilages and their sliding apart along the thyroid cartilage, opens a three dimensional space between the inner edges of the vocal folds (the glottis)
What is the glottis?
A three-dimensional triangular space between the inner edges of the vocal folds
What is the primary biological function of the larynx?
to control the passage of air to and from the lungs while breathing, and to prevent food and liquids from accidentally entering the lungs
What is the secondary function of the larynx?
ability to produce different modes of phonation
What is phonation?
Phonation is the use of the laryngeal system to generate an audible source of acoustic energy with the help of an airstream provided by the respiratory system, which can be modified by articulatory action of the rest of the vocal apparatus.
Name the five different modes of phonation created by the larynx
1.Voicelessness/ nil phonation
2. Breathy phonation
3. Whisper phonation
4. Creaky phonation
5. Falsetto phonation
Open glottis
When the vocal folds are spread apart we say that the glottis is open
Closed glottis
When the vocal folds are pressed together we say that the glottis is closed
Name the four main states of the glottis
- Wide open
- Narrow glottis
- Glottis in vibration
- Closed glottis
What sounds are produced when the glottis is wide open as in normal breathing?
voiceless sounds like /p/ and /t/ in English
What sounds are produced when the glottis is narrow (i.e. the vocal folds are brought close together but not so close as to create vibration)?
Restricted airstream resulting in fricative sounds like /h/, a voiceless glottal fricative and in whispers
What does it mean to say that the glottis is in vibration?
the edges of the vocal folds are touching each other causing vibration in the glottis. During this process, the air passes between the vocal folds in a series of rapid, tiny puffs producing voiced sounds such as /b/, /d/ and /g/ and so on. This vibration in the vocal folds is what is commonly known as phonation
What does phonation refer to?
voicing created by vibration in the vocal folds
What does it mean to say that the glottis is closed?
the vocal folds are firmly pressed together so that air cannot pass between them
When is the glottis closed in speech?
during production of glottal stop
What two parts does the pharynx connect to each other?
the larynx to the oral cavity
What two cavities does the pharynx branch into?
the nasal and the oral cavities
How long is the pharynx in women?
approx 7cm long
How long is the pharynx in men?
approx 8cm long
Describe the tongue
The tongue is a fleshy muscular structure and is the most flexible of the articulators
Tongue divisions
- tip
- blade
- front
- back
- root
Different articulations of bilabial sounds
partially closed as in the initial sound ‘wet’ or firmly closed as in the initial sounds ‘pin’ and ‘bin’
Completely rounded as in ‘fool’ or partially rounded as in the vowel sound of ‘got’.
Where are the teeth situated?
at the front of the mouth, immediately behind the lips
Dental sounds
sounds made where the tongue touches the upper teeth, for instance, the initial consonant sound in ‘three’ and ‘this’
Labiodental sounds
lips brought into contact with the upper teeth to produce sounds like the initial sounds in ‘fit’ and ‘van’
What is the alveolar ridge?
the ridge behind the upper teeth and the hard palate
Alveolar sounds
Sounds made with the tongue making firm contact with the alveolar ridge are called alveolar sounds, e.g. the initial sounds in ‘tin’ and ‘din’.
What is the hard palate?
the hard concave area immediately behind the teeth ridge and before the velum in the oral cavity, often called the ‘roof of the mouth’