Phonetics Flashcards
an accent
a distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area, or social class
a dialect
a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group.
The RP English Accent
Recieved Pronunciation
= regionally neutral middle class accent
= The Queen’s Eng, BBC Eng., Oxford Eng.
= no dialects
= clipped, precised tones
= shortening of vowels
fortis consonant definition
= “strong”
= pronounced with greater tension and airflow (often unvoiced).
lenis consonant definition
= “weak”
= typically voiced and produced with less muscular effort
central mid lax vowel
/ə/
Open back vowel
/ɑ/ /ɒ/
Neutralized vowels
/i/ /u/
stress
relative strength of a syllable
phoneme
the smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another. Phonemes are abstract representations of sounds and are not the actual sounds themselves
voiceless dental fricative consonant
/θ/
voiceless postalveolar fricative consonant
/ʃ/
plosive consonants
/p/ /t/ /k/ /b/ /d/ /ɡ/
Place of Articulation
Where in the vocal tract a speech sound is produced. It describes the physical location where airflow is constricted or modified to create a particular sound.
affricate definition
a consonant sound that begins as a plosive (complete blockage of airflow) and transitions into a fricative (partial constriction of airflow)
lenis counterpart
the voiced version of a consonant sound that has a voiceless (fortis) counterpart.
Voiced velar nasal
/ŋ/
postalveloar aproximant
/r/
Approximant
The articulators come close together but do not create a turbulent airstream (unlike fricatives).
Plosives
/p/ /t/ /k/ /b/ /d/ /g/
Fricative definition
Airflow is constricted, creating turbulence.
Voiceless definition
Produced without vibrating the vocal cords
Voiced definition
Produced when the vocal cords vibrate during articulation. This vibration occurs as air passes through the glottis, causing the vocal folds to come together and oscillate.