overall study notes Flashcards
What are the major structures of the vocal tract?
Larynx (voice box), Pharynx (throat cavity), Oral cavity (mouth), Nasal cavity
What are the active articulators in the vocal tract?
Lips, Tongue (tip, blade, body, and root), Soft palate (velum), Lower jaw
What are the functions of the lips in speech?
Used for bilabial and labiodental sounds
What is the role of the tongue in speech?
The most versatile articulator
What does the soft palate (velum) control?
Nasal airflow
What are the passive articulators in the vocal tract?
Hard palate, Alveolar ridge, Teeth, Upper jaw
What is MRI used for in articulatory imaging?
Provides detailed cross-sectional views of the vocal tract during speech
Cannot capture rapid movements well, requires the subject to lie still, and is expensive and not easily accessible.
What does palatography show?
Tongue contact patterns with the roof of the mouth
Only shows contact patterns, cannot show the dynamic movement of the tongue or other articulators in real-time.
What does ultrasound reveal in speech production?
Tongue movement and shape during speech production
Limited to viewing the tongue, cannot clearly show other articulators or provide a complete view of the vocal tract.
What are bilabial sounds?
Both lips come together.
What are labiodental sounds?
Lower lip contacts upper teeth.
What are dental sounds?
Tongue makes contact with teeth.
What are alveolar sounds?
Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge.
What are post-alveolar sounds?
Tongue tip or blade contacts the area just behind the alveolar ridge.
What are palatal sounds?
Body of tongue contacts the hard palate.
What are velar sounds?
Back of tongue contacts soft palate.
What are uvular sounds?
Back of tongue contacts the uvula.
What are glottal sounds?
Constriction occurs at the vocal folds.
What are stops/plosives?
Complete closure of articulators followed by sudden release.
What are fricatives?
Air passes through a narrow channel creating turbulent airflow.
What are nasals?
Velum is lowered to allow air through the nose while oral cavity is blocked.
What are laterals?
Air flows around the lowered sides of the tongue.
What are trills?
Aerodynamic vibration of an articulator.
What are approximants?
Articulators come close but don’t create turbulent airflow.
What are affricates?
Combination of stop followed by fricative release.
Which stops/plosives are possible?
Bilabial, dental, alveolar, velar, glottal.
Which stops/plosives are impossible?
Mid-palatal stops (due to difficulty in forming complete closure).
Which fricatives are possible?
Labiodental, dental, alveolar, post-alveolar, velar.
Which fricatives are impossible?
Complete bilabial fricatives (air would escape).
Which nasals are possible?
Bilabial, alveolar, velar.
Which nasals are impossible?
Glottal nasals (incompatible with nasal airflow).
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Simultaneous oral and nasal stops at the same location.
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Voiced sounds without vocal fold vibration.
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Simultaneous closure at two distant points.
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Complete closure with continuous airflow.
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Simultaneous bilabial and velar stops (can’t close both locations at once).
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Voiceless vowels in normal speech (vowels require voicing by definition).
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Simultaneous ingressive and egressive airflow.
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Pharyngeal trills (the pharynx cannot vibrate in the required way).
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Simultaneous lateral and central airflow at the same point of articulation.
What are physically impossible combinations in speech?
Double articulated fricatives (maintaining precise friction at two points simultaneously is not feasible).
What are pulmonic consonants?
Consonants that use lung air pressure.
What are non-pulmonic consonants?
Consonants that use other mechanisms to generate airflow.
What are ejectives?
Created by closed glottis and upward larynx movement.
How are ejectives produced?
Compressed air between closure and glottis is released.
What are implosives?
Produced with downward larynx movement.
How are implosives produced?
Creates vacuum effect in oral cavity.
What are clicks?
Use tongue to create suction.
How are clicks produced?
Double closure: one at back of mouth, one at front.
What sound is created when releasing front closure in clicks?
Distinctive click sound.
What are the main articulatory dimensions for vowels?
- Tongue Height (Vertical position)
- Tongue Backness (Horizontal position)
- Lip Rounding
What are the categories of tongue height?
High/Close vowels (like /i/ and /u/)
Mid vowels (like /e/ and /o/)
Low/Open vowels (like /a/)
What are the categories of tongue backness?
Front vowels (like /i/ and /e/)
Central vowels (like /ə/)
Back vowels (like /u/ and /o/)
What are the types of lip rounding?
Rounded (lips form circular shape)
Unrounded (lips spread or neutral)
What are additional features of vowels?
Tenseness/Laxness
Length (duration)
Nasalization
Advanced/Retracted Tongue Root (ATR/RTR)
What is the most common vowel system?
Five-vowel systems (/i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/) - most common cross-linguistically
What are characteristics of less common vowel systems?
More back vowels than front vowels
Lacking a low central vowel
Very large vowel inventories (>9 vowels)
Gaps in the vowel space
Vertical vowel systems
What are general principles of vowel systems?
Maximize perceptual contrast
Corner vowels (/i/, /a/, /u/) are most common
Rounded front vowels are more marked than rounded back vowels
What is the high front unrounded vowel?
/i/ - tense, as in ‘beat’, longer duration
What is the mid front unrounded vowel?
/e/ - tense, as in ‘bait’
What is the mid-low front unrounded vowel?
/ɛ/ - lax, as in ‘bet’, shorter duration
What is the near-low front unrounded vowel?
/æ/ - lax, as in ‘bat’
What is the mid central unrounded vowel?
/ə/ - lax, as in ‘about’, typically unstressed
What is the high central unrounded vowel?
/ɨ/ - tense, found in Russian
What is the mid-low central unrounded vowel?
/ʌ/ - lax, as in ‘but’
What is the high back rounded vowel?
/u/ - tense, as in ‘boot’, longer duration
What is the mid back rounded vowel?
/o/ - tense, as in ‘boat’
What is the mid-low back rounded vowel?
/ɔ/ - lax, as in ‘bought’
What is the low back unrounded vowel?
/ɑ/ - lax, as in ‘father’
What are the goals of the International Phonetic Alphabet?
Provide unique symbols for all distinctive sounds
Create a standardized system for phonetic transcription
Use visually distinct symbols
Avoid multiple symbols for the same sound
What is broad transcription?
Only includes the most important sound distinctions, omitting predictable variations
What is narrow transcription?
Includes detailed information about exact pronunciation, including allophonic variations
