Week 2 Flashcards
Properties of sound
- Loudness
- Pitch
- Shape of the sound wave
The larynx
Indicates voiced or voiceless sounds.
Vibrating vocal cords = voiced
Not vibrating vocal cords = voiceless sounds
What is the space between the vocal folds?
Glottis
The Bernoulli effect
When the airstream flows through the glottis, it accelerates. This causes the air pressure to drop, which in turn causes the vocal cords to close again.
What is the production of thrills?
Made by the repeated striking of one articulator against another, using aerodynamics.
[R] voiced uvulae thrill (Dutch raam)
‘Blowing a raspberry’
The linguolabial thrill occurs as a paralinguistic feature in English, where producing this sound is very rude.
What is the position of the vocal cords when voiceless sounds are made?
The vocal cords are wide open/apart*, allowing air to escape unhindered.
- Open glottis.
How does a glottal closure occur?
When the vocal cords are pressed tightly together, no air can pass through and air pressure builds up behind the closure. When the speaker releases the glottal closure, the result is a consonant sound, the glottal stop.
Glottal stop IPA, and what are example in Dutch?
[?]
[?]aardappelen
[?]altijd
What are the two functions of vocal cord vibration?
-
Pitch differences
These result from how fast the vocal cords are vibrating. -
Voicing contrasts
Two sounds may differ from each other: /p/ and /b/
Fundamental frequency (or F0, or F-zero)
The rate of vibration of the vocal cords. The higher the F0, the faster the vocal cords are vibrating.
How is a high F0 produced?
By stretching the vocal cords, making them longer and tense.
How is a low F0 produced?
By making the vocal cords shorter and slack.
Declarative, interrogative, declarative question (pitch contour)
Declarative = The students passed the test
Interrogative = Did the students pass the test?
Declarative question = The students passed the test?
Name the voicing contrasts (pairs)
p and b
t and d
k and g
f and v
s and z
0 and ò (mother)
S and 3
tS and d3
Phonemes
Phonemes are sounds that are distinctive. They have the potential to create meaning contrasts.
What are minimal pairs and give examples.
Two words that differ in just one sound.
Pie-buy
Prick-brick
Tap-tab
Staple-stable
Pear-bear
The only different is the first consonant, one is voiced and one is voiceless
Voiceless stops
p t k
Voiced stops
b d g
Which consonants are fricatives? And which are voiced and voiceless?
f s v z
f and s are voiceless fricatives
v and z are voiced fricatives
‘Near-minimal’ pair for S and 3
Fission vs. Vision
Which consonants are affricates?
tS is a voiceless affricate
d3 is a voiced affricate
What are stops, fricatives and affricates?
Stops:
p - b
t - d
k - g
Fricatives:
f - v
s - z
0 - ò (mother)
S - 3
h
Affricates:
tS - d3
Nasals
m n, ng
All English nasals are voiced.
Which consonants are approximants?
l r j w
No voicing contrast.
Obstruents
Stops, fricatives, and affricates (these are all obstruents).
Obstruents, and are they obstructed or not?
Stops, fricatives and affricates
They involve obstruction in the vocal tract.
Sonorants, and are they obstructed or not?
Nasals and approximants (also vowels)
Don’t involve obstruction in the vocal tract. Also usually voiced.
English consonants that don’t display a voicing contrast
Nasals and approximants (sonorants)
