Vocab and terminology Chapter 3

Question 1

spectrogram

Answer 1

A visual representation of the strength of a signal over time at different frequencies. It shows how the signal’s energy varies over time.

Question 2

Phoneme

Answer 2

A speech sound that is the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes one word from another. Phonemes are the sounds in a word.

Question 3

Allophones of the Phoneme

Answer 3

Phonetic variations of the same phoneme. They are different pronunciations of the same phoneme that do not change the meaning of a word.

Question 4

Narrow Transcription

Answer 4

A type of transcription that captures as many aspects of a specific pronunciation as possible. It includes a lot of phonetic detail and is used to more accurately represent accents and dialects.

Question 5

Complementary Distribution

Answer 5

A relationship between two phonetically similar segments. In this relationship, one segment occurs in an environment where the other segment never occurs.

Question 6

Minimal Pairs

Answer 6

Words that are very similar and only vary by a single sound.

Question 7

Syllabic Consonants

Answer 7

consonant that forms a syllable on its own, without a vowel.

Question 8

Free Variation

Answer 8

A linguistic term that describes when two forms occur in the same position without changing the meaning or function of the word.

Question 9

Final Devoicing

Answer 9

A phonological process that occurs in some languages, such as German, Dutch, Polish, Russian, and Catalan.

Question 10

Velarized

Answer 10

A verb that means to pronounce a sound with the back of the tongue raised toward the soft palate.

Question 11

Aspirated

Answer 11

To draw in or out using a sucking motion. It has two meanings: Breathing in a foreign object (for example, sucking food into the airway). A medical procedure that removes something from an area of the body. These substances can be air, body fluids, or bone fragments.

Question 12

Aspiration

Answer 12

A feature in some languages where a consonant is pronounced with an extra puff of air.

Question 13

Flapping

Answer 13

A specific type of lenition, specifically intervocalic weakening.

Question 14

Non-rhotic

Answer 14

Term that refers to accents or dialects in English where the /r/ sound is not pronounced before consonants or at the end of a word.

Question 15

Rhotic

Answer 15

A dialect or accent of English in which the “r” sound is pronounced in all situations where there is an “r” in spelling.

Question 16

Constituents

Answer 16

A linguistic part of a sentence, phrase, or clause. It can be a single word or a group of words that functions as a unit.

Question 17

Syllabic Consonants

Answer 17

A consonant that forms a syllable on its own, like the m, n and l in some pronunciations of the English words rhythm, button and bottle.

Question 18

Nucleus

Answer 18

The central part of the syllable, most commonly a vowel.

Question 19

Onset

Answer 19

The consonant or consonant blend at the beginning of a word that precedes the first vowel.

Question 20

Coda

Answer 20

The final part of a syllable, which is usually made up of one or more consonants.

Question 21

Vowel Epenthesis

Answer 21

The addition of a vowel to an utterance. It’s also known as intrusion or anaptyxis.

Question 22

Syllabification

Answer 22

The process of dividing a word into its constituent syllables.

Question 23

Maximal Onset Principle

Answer 23

A principle in phonology that states that consonants should be assigned to the onset of a syllable rather than the coda.

Question 24

Sonority

Answer 24

A phonological element that categorizes speech sounds into a hierarchical scale.

Question 25

Sonority Sequencing Principle

Answer 25

A linguistic principle that states that the loudness of sounds relative to one another, or their sonority, must rise and fall in a syllable.