Phonetics Flashcards
IPA
International Phonetic Alphabet
How many phonemes in English?
44 phonemes
What is a phoneme?
smallest unit of speech that distinguishes meaning in a given language
phoneme examples
p/b in pop vs bob
z/s in zoo vs sue
s/sh in see vs she
what is an allophone?
sublevels of phonemes
allophone examples
“clear” vs “dark”
aspirated vs unaspirated stops
voiced vs unvoiced sound
vocal folds vibrating vs not
place of articulation
point at which the air stream is constricted (bilabial, interdental)
manner
how the airstream is modified by the vocal tract to produce the sounds
monophthong
one vowel sounds in syllable
ex: “u” in fun
diphthong
combination of two vowel sounds in same syllable
ex: “ea” in ear
cognates
two sounds produced in the same place or articulation with the same manner, but one is voiced, other is voiceless
ex: coat and goat
what is a “vowel blend” or “two-vowel glide”?
diphthong
prosody
melody of language (rate, rhythm, stress, intonation)
bilabial definition and examples
both lips
p, b, m sounds
labiodental definition and examples
bottom lip and top teeth
f, v sounds
interdental definition and examples
tongue between front teeth
th sounds (voiced and voiceless)
alveolar definition and examples
tongue tip to alveolar ridge
d, l, s, n, etc.
palatal definition and examples
tongue (usually front or blade) to the hard palate
r, sh, ch, etc.
velar definition and examples
back of tongue to back of soft palate (velum)
k and g (go) sounds
glottal definition and examples
made between the two vocal folds. Glottal stop (uh-oh) and h sounds
stop (aka ‘plosive’) definition and examples
completely obstruct the airstream then release at that specific place of articulation
ex: completely close the two lips for “p” and “b” then release
fricative definition and examples
partially obstruct the airstream to create a precise flow of air/turbulence
“f”, “v”, “s”, “z”, “sh”, etc.
affricate definition and examples
a stop + a fricative. completely obstruct the airstream (stop) then release it with turbulence (fricative)
“ch” and g in “Girraffe” sounds
liquids examples
“r” and “l” sounds
glides examples
y in “yes” and “w” sounds
nasal examples
only sounds in English made with airflow through the nasal cavity (soft palate hangs down during these)
“n”, “m”, “ng” sounds
minimal pairs
words that only differ in a single phoneme
ex: cat vs bat, boot vs beat, steep vs steel
vowels are classified by the _______ of the tongue, _______ of production, _____ position, and _______ tension
height
place
lip
