Week 1: Phonology and Phonetics Flashcards
What do we mean by grammar in Linguistics? (I-Language)?
the individual’s unconscious knowledge of their language (I think)
What is I-Language also referred to as?
Speaker’s intuition
What is an example of I-Language?
a native English speaker can tell that pfsunct isn’t an English word as it has some sound combinations that aren’t part of the system of English so one’s I-Language can immediately tell that it’s not English
Define phonetics
the general study of the characteristics of speech sounds
Define phonology
the study of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language
what does phonetics include? (3)
- articulatory phonetics
- acoustic phonetics
- auditory phonetics
what is articulatory phonetics?
the study of how speech sounds are made, or articulated
what is acoustic phonetics?
the study of how sounds move through the air
what is auditory phonetics?
the branch of phonetics concerned with the hearing of speech sounds and speech perception
What are the 15 parts of the vocal tract?
- Lips
- Teeth
- Tongue
- Nostril
- Nasal Cavity
- Oral cavity
- Alveolar Ridge
- Hard Palate
- Velum (soft palate)
- Pharynx
- Uvula
- Epiglottis
- Larynx
- Vocal Folds
- Glottis
What are the three aspects that define the production of a consonant sound?
- voicing
- place of articulation
- manner of articulation
What are the two basic positions of the vocal folds? What happens? What are sounds described as that are produced in this way?
- Spread apart (open)
- the air from the lungs passes between them unimpeded
- voiceless
- Drawn together (closed)
- the air from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes through, creating a vibration effect
- voiced
The vocal folds form an essential part of what?
the larynx
when the vocal folds come into contact with each other and vibrate, what does it produce? (2 answers)
phonation or voicing
what are the seven different types of consonants produced by the vocal tract?
- bilabial
- labiodental
- interdental
- alveolar
- palatal
- velar
- glottal
how is a bilabial consonant made?
by bringing both lips together (e.g b or p)
how are labiodental consonants made?
the lower lip against the upper front teeth (e.g f or v)
how are interdental consonants made?
the tip of the tongue between the front teeth (e.g th)
how are alveolar consonants made?
with the tongue near the alveolar ridge (e.g t, d, zzz)
what are palatal consonants made with?
tongue near the hard palate (e.g ch, j)
where are velar consonants produced?
behind the hard palate (e.g k, guh)
where are glottal consonants produced?
larynx (e.g how mum says the t in water)
How may speech sounds vary in the way the airstream is affected as it flows from the lungs up and out of the mouth and nose? (2)
- it may be blocked or partially blocked
- the vocal folds may vibrate or not vibrate (voicing)
what are plosives?
consonants in which the airflow is completely blocked in the oral cavity for a short period (tens of milliseconds) - e.g /b/ and /k/ sounds in ‘back’
what are fricatives?
when the airflow is not completely stopped, but severely obstructed, thus causing friction - e.g /f/ and /s/ sounds in ‘face’
what are nasal sounds? what is the opposite?
- sounds produced when the velum is not in its raised position (the air escapes from the nose and mouth) - e.g /n/ sound in ‘net’
- sounds produced with the velum up, blocking the air from escaping through the nose (oral sounds)
what are affricates?
consonant sound that begins as a stop and concludes with a fricative - e.g the ch in chair or the j in jaw
What are approximants?
- a consonant produced by bringing one articulator (the tongue or lips) close to another without actually touching, as in English r and w
what are liquid consonants?
the English sounds [r] and [l]. There is some obstruction of the airflow in the mouth, but not enough to cause any real constiction or friction - e.g /r/ sound in red and /l/ sound in leaf
What are glides/semi-vowels? What are they always followed by? Where do they not occur? Where did it get its name?
- Sounds [j] and [w], produced with little obstruction of the airflow - e.g /j/ in yes and /w/ sound in water
- Always followed by a vowel
- Do not occur at the end of words
- After articulating these sounds the tongue glides quickly into place for pronouncing the next vowel, hence the term
Glides and liquid [r] are also called what? Why? What is [l] called?
- central approximants
- because the articulators approximate a frictional closeness
- a lateral approximant
What are the three different ways /r/ is pronounced in American, Spanish, Italian and French
- In Spanish and Italian it is pronounced as an alveolar trill (perro)
- In French it is pronounced as a uvular trill (rouge)
- American pronounce it as a flap (a flick of the tongue agains the alveolar ridge, which sounds like a fast /d/) - e.g writer = wrider
Do you know the International Phonetic Alphabet? If not then learn it you bastard
Alright bloody hell
What are the 8 types of consonants according to where they are produced?
- Bilabials
- Labiodentals
- Interdentals
- Alveolars
- Palatals
- Velars
- Uvulars
- Glottals
