L1 Flashcards
What are the 5 domains of language?
Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics
What is the difference between phonetics vs phonology?
Phonetics is the scientific study of the perception and production of all speech sounds, studying all languages. Phonology is the study of how speech sounds are used in a specific language.
What are the main focuses of phonology?
Looks at a language’s inventory of sounds and their features, how sounds are used to represent meaning in a language, and the role of phonotactics.
What is phonotactics?
The rules that describe how sounds may be combined within a given language.
What does a phonologist study?
They study the mental representation of speech sounds and their meaning in a given language.
What does the study of phonetics consist of?
It is comprehensive, systematic, and objective, but based on subjective impressions of the listener. Phonetics are represented by an internationally-understood written system, requiring rigorous training and may use instrumentation for challenging transcription.
What are the 5 branches of phonetics?
Articulatory, Acoustic, Auditory, Linguistic, Clinical.
What does articulatory phonetics study?
Anatomy and physiology in relation to speech sounds.
What does acoustic phonetics study?
The physics of speech sounds.
What does auditory phonetics study?
Perception of speech sounds.
What does linguistic phonetics study?
Looks at/compares speech sounds across languages, including dialect comparison.
What does clinical phonetics study?
This is diagnostics and therapy, including the field of SLP.
What is a phoneme?
The smallest meaningful unit of sound.
What is the difference between Base and Face?
Phonetically, the main difference is the initial phoneme. When the initial phoneme changes, it changes the meaning of the word.
Explain how base and face differ in terms of the different types of phonetics.
Articulatory: bilabial sound vs labiodental. Acoustic: the phonemes have different frequencies and formants. Auditory: we hear/perceive the difference in initial phoneme. Linguistic: we identify the difference in meaning. Clinical: sound substitution.
What happens when a phonemic sound in a word is changed?
The meaning of the whole word is changed. Depending on the sound it is changed to, it could be a new meaningful word (base->face) or a meaningless word (base->gase).
What is minimal contrast?
The smallest distinction between which two words can differ.
What are minimal contrasts useful for?
They can be useful for testing perception and for linguists trying to identify individual phonemes of a language.
What is a minimal pair?
Two words that are minimally contrasted, differing by one sound in the same position.
Examples: cat and cab (only the final phoneme changed), cat and kite (only the middle phoneme changed), scab and cab (not minimal pairs).
What is an allophone?
An allowable variation of a phoneme, where changing from one allophone to another doesn’t change the meaning. The sounds are perceived the same but are slightly different.
Example: /t/ in water is said as a /d/ ‘wader’ in English.
What do allophones depend on?
Dialect.
True or False: Sounds in a language are rigidly set in stone.
False. Languages have dialects which allow for allophones and variations in how speech sounds are produced.
What are important things to consider about the English alphabet and spelling?
It is inconsistent and can’t be trusted.
Examples: ‘g’ sounds different in ‘go’, ‘George’, and ‘weigh’; silent letters—bomb, honour, weigh, damn, receipt.
What can spelling not tell us about?
Dialect.
How should we think about spelling?
It is a tool to document what was said, not how it was said.
What is orthography?
The spelling system of a language.
What are orthographic symbols?
Symbols used for written communication and literacy. In English, they are the symbols that make up our alphabet.
What are graphemes?
Alphabetic letters and the sounds they represent, usually just called ‘letters’.
Does English have a one-to-one correspondence between graphemes and speech sounds?
No, English letters often have multiple sounds that they can represent.
What is the IPA?
The International Phonetic Alphabet, a consistent set of symbols representing all known sounds of languages across the world.
What are phonetic symbols and are they flexible?
They are symbols that represent individual speech sounds. There is one symbol per sound, and certain diacritics to add details about specific sounds. It is a one-to-one correspondence; they are not flexible.
What is articulation?
Production of speech sounds.
What does it mean to articulate?
To produce a speech sound.
What are articulators?
The parts of our speech apparatus that create speech sounds (teeth, lips, jaw, velum, tongue).
What are mis-articulations?
Error productions and mispronunciations, not necessarily associated with a speech sound disorder.
What is coarticulation?
Some overlap of speech gestures, occurring when the articulators simultaneously complete one sound while preparing the next sound, causing features of one sound to bleed into the next.
What are diacritics?
Symbols that can be added to IPA symbols to provide detail about sounds, used to denote disordered speech patterns.
What is Speech?
A mode of language expression based on sounds emitted through the mouth and nose.
What does speech include?
Patterns of movement of speech organs and patterns of acoustic vibrations.
What are 4 types of non-speech forms of communication?
Writing, Sign language, Tadoma, Lip reading.
What is dialect?
A variation of speech or language based on geographical area, native language background, and social/ethnic group membership.
What do dialects include?
Language variation in addition to accent differences, including variation in grammar, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary.
What is the difference between dialects and accent?
Accents differ based on phonology, while dialects can differ on phonology but also have language variation.
Do speakers of the same dialect always understand each other easily?
Not necessarily; sometimes yes, but sometimes no.
What are standard dialects?
Well-known dialects that are widely spoken or the majority dialect in some large region.
Examples: Received pronunciation (RP) and General American (GA).
Which dialect is largely taught to ESL learners?
General American.
What is idiolect?
The dialect of an individual person, their speech uniqueness.
What does the idiolect focus on?
The individual’s dialect, speech community, regional background, social class, and life experiences.
What are speech registers?
A continuum of speaking styles from formal to informal, which can change word pronunciation.
When do speech registers vary?
In different social situations, such as with friends vs at a job interview.
What domain of language are speech registers a part of?
Pragmatics, as pronunciation and word choice change based on the social situation.
What are we trying to strike a balance with in speech?
Ease and clarity; we want to be efficient and low effort, but still be clear and intelligible.
What is phonotactics?
The set of rules that govern which combinations of sounds are allowable in a certain language.
Are phonotactics taught to English speakers?
Not explicitly, but we learn these rules implicitly.
When is it beneficial to explicitly teach English phonotactics?
When teaching individuals who are learning English as a second language.
What are some examples of words that English borrowed from other languages that do not follow English phonotactic rules?
Tsunami (we drop the ‘t’) and Bahrain (we drop the ‘h’ sound).
What is meant by ‘word shape’?
The structural combination of consonants and vowels within a word.
Examples: dog=CVC, doggy=CV.CV, win=CVC, window=CVC.CV.
What are the 5 anatomical processes involved in speech production?
Respiratory, Phonatory, Resonatory, Oro-nasal, Articulatory.
What does the respiratory system do in general?
It is the airflow system that brings oxygen in and removes carbon dioxide from the body.
How is the respiratory system involved in speech production?
The diaphragm and abdominal muscles push pulmonic air out from the lungs, up through the trachea, larynx, and out of the mouth or nose.
What happens during inhalation?
The diaphragm contracts and the rib cage expands, increasing thoracic space.
Explain the air pressure levels during inhalation.
Air pressure in the lungs is negative, while atmospheric air pressure is positive. Air moves from high to low pressure (into the lungs).
What happens during exhalation?
The pressure in the lungs is positive when the chest is full, so air flows out as the diaphragm relaxes and the thoracic cavity shrinks.
Which respiratory phase is speech produced?
Exhalation, on expiratory air.
In languages other than English, are there speech sounds produced on inspiratory air?
Yes, such as Gaelic gasp and clicks.
How is speech produced during the expiratory phase?
We control the outflow of air using muscles to slow down our exhale, causing vocal chords to vibrate and articulators to move.
How much time speaking is spent on inhaling vs exhaling?
10% inhale, 90% exhale.
What does the phonatory system do in general?
Vibrates the vocal folds for voice production.
What is the larynx?
Also called the voice box, it is a complex structure of bone, cartilage, ligaments, and muscles located above the trachea, containing the vocal folds.
What are the vocal folds?
A pair of elastic muscles that can open or close tightly and approximate each other.
How do the vocal folds approximate/vibrate during exhalation?
The Bernoulli effect causes pressure beneath the folds to increase, opening them, then creating a negative pressure area in the trachea that pulls the vocal folds together.
How are voiced sounds produced?
Phonation for voiced sounds comes from vocal fold vibration.
What is the motor/driving force of vocal fold vibration?
Air pressure differences.
When the vocal folds are abducted, they are ___?
Open.
What functions occur when vocal folds are abducted?
Breathing and voiceless sounds.
When the vocal folds are adducted, they are ___?
Closed.
What functions can occur when vocal folds are adducted?
Swallowing or lifting heavy objects.
When the vocal folds are approximating, they are ___?
Coming close to each other, briefly touching and separating.
What functions occur when the vocal folds are approximating?
They are vibrating and can create voiced sounds.
What does the resonatory system do in general?
Shapes the sound by changing the shape of the vocal tract.
What is resonance and how does it happen?
It is shaping of the sound, occurring when the shape of the vocal tract is altered.
What is amplifying?
When certain frequencies are strengthened, and parts of the sound are reinforced.
What is attenuating?
When certain frequencies are weakened, and parts of the sound are dampened.
In general, what structures are involved in the oro-nasal pathway?
Mouth, nose, pharynx, velum.
What does the oro-nasal system do?
Allows for airflow through the mouth or nose.
What changes the airflow direction in the oro-nasal region?
The velum/soft palate.
What are oral sounds?
Airflow that only travels through the mouth because the velum is raised to prevent airflow through the nose.
What are nasal sounds?
Airflow that travels through the nose because the velum is lowered, allowing access to the nasal passages.
What is the pharynx?
The throat, which acts as a passage for air between the larynx, oral, and nasal cavities.
What two functions occur within the pharynx?
Swallowing (food/liquid passes through) and breathing (airflow from laryngeal region to pharynx).
What is the velum?
Also called the soft palate, made of soft tissue and muscle, involved in blocking or opening the nasal cavity.
What is the uvula?
The posterior back portion of the velum that hangs down at the back of the throat.
How does nasality for sounds occur?
The velum is relaxed and lowered, allowing air to pass through the nasal cavity.
How are oral sounds produced?
The velum is tensed and raised, blocking airflow from entering the nasal cavity.
In General North American English, are sounds mostly oral or nasal?
Most sounds are oral, only 3 are nasal.
What is hypernasality?
Too much airflow through the nose.
What is hyponasality?
Not enough airflow through the nose.
When a teacher or parent says the child is ‘nasal’, which type of nasality are they typically referring to?
Hyponasal – lacking nasal sound/resonance.
What is the function of the articulatory system/structures?
They are involved in the production of speech sounds.
What is the function of the articulatory system/structures?
They are the anatomical structures that move around to produce different speech sounds.
What are the 4 main articulatory structures (articulators)?
Lips, teeth (upper and lower), tongue.
What are the characteristics of the lips?
They are active articulators that can spread, round and tense.
What type of articulator are the upper teeth?
Passive articulator.
What type of articulator are the lower teeth?
Active articulator.
What are the characteristics of the tongue?
It is the primary active articulator. Fine coordinated movements and is a highly muscle structure.
Explain the division of the tongue.
Tip/apex: pointy part at the front. Blade: front part, can stick out of mouth, move up and down. Root: bottom part, connect to bottom of mouth, throat.
What is the alveolar ridge and what type of articulator?
Passive articulator. The bony ridge behind the upper teeth.
What is the hard palate and what type of articulator?
Passive articulator. Bony upper part of mouth (roof of mouth).
What is the velum and what type of articulator is it?
Active articulator, also involved in directing airflow. Soft palate.
What is the uvula?
Back-most dangly portion of velum.
What is the pharynx?
Passageway between larynx and oral/nasal cavities.
What is the epiglottis?
Cartilage that protects the airway.
How many anatomical systems are involved in producing speech sounds?
- Respiratory, phonatory, resonatory, oro-nasal, articulatory.
