Consonants and Vowels

Question 1

What is phonetics?

Answer 1

Phonetics deals with the production of speech sounds

Question 2

What is phonology?

Answer 2

Phonology focuses on the patterns of sounds

(e.g. different patterns of sounds in different languages or within each language, different patterns of sounds in different syntactic and word positions)

Question 3

What are the phonological properties of a consonant?

Answer 3

Sounds that occur singly or in clusters at the margins of syllables (CVC)

Question 4

What are the phonetic properties of a consonant?

Answer 4

Sounds that are produced with an obstruction of the vocal tract

Question 5

What is a phoneme?

Answer 5

The smallest segment of speech that forms a contrastive unit within a specific language (e.g pat vs bat)

Question 6

In what three ways are speech sounds classified? And how are these classifications defined?

Answer 6

1. Voice (whether the vocal folds vibrate or not)
2. Place (the place of greatest constriction in the vocal tract - typically named after the passive articulators)
3. Manner (how the airflow is constricted)

Question 7

How are consonants produced?

Answer 7

1. By modifying the airstream coming from the lungs
2. Most consonants involve the constriction of the airflow by articulators

Question 8

What is the diacritic for voiceless sounds?

Answer 8

m̥

Question 9

Name and describe the two types of articulators.

Answer 9

Active: the articulators that move in speech production (tongue tip, lower lip)

Passive: the articulators that cannot move (hard palate, teeth)

Question 10

Produce and provide the symbols for all plosives.

Answer 10

p, b, t, k, d, g, ʔ, c, ɟ, q, ɢ

http://www.ipachart.com/

Question 11

Produce and provide the symbols for all nasals.

Answer 11

m, ɱ, n, ɳ, ŋ, ɲ, ɴ

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Question 12

Produce and provide the symbols for all trills.

Answer 12

ʙ, ɾ, ʀ

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Question 13

Produce and provide the symbols for all taps or flaps.

Answer 13

R, ɽ

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Question 14

Produce and provide the symbols for all fricatives.

Answer 14

ɸ, β, f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ʂ, ʐ, ç, ʝ, x, ɣ, χ, ʁ, ħ, ʕ, h, ɦ

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Question 15

Produce and provide the symbols for all lateral fricatives.

Answer 15

ɬ, ɮ http://www.ipachart.com/

Question 16

Produce and provide the symbols for all approximants.

Answer 16

ʋ, ɹ, ɻ, j, ɰ

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Question 17

Produce and provide the symbols for all lateral approximants.

Answer 17

l, ɭ, ʎ, ʟ

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Question 18

What is multiple or double articulation?

Answer 18

When there are two simultaneous places of articulation with both constrictions being of equal strength

Question 19

What are primary and secondary articulations?

Answer 19

Primary articulation: where greater constriction occurs

Secondary articulation: where lesser constriction occurs

Question 20

What are the two major manner classes?

Answer 20

1. Obstruents
2. Sonorants

Question 21

What is a sonorant?

Answer 21

A sonorant is when there is no significant build-up of air pressure due to a relatively uninterrupted flow of air through the nose or mouth

Question 22

What is an obstruent?

Answer 22

An obstruent is when there is a build up of pressure inside the oral cavity

Question 23

What is included in the coronal consonant class and how is this defined?

Answer 23

Coronals include: dentals, alveolars, post-alveolars and retroflexes

Coronals share the tongue tip as the active articulator

Question 24

What is included in the labial consonant class and how is this defined?

Answer 24

Labials include: bilabials and labio-dentals

Labials share the lip(s) as the active articulators

Question 25

What is included in the dorsal consonant class and how is this defined?

Answer 25

Dorsals include: palatals, velars and uvulars Dorsals share the body of the tongue as the active articulator

Question 26

What is a sibilant? And what can these sounds also be described as?

Answer 26

A constriction of the airstream that results in a high frequency hiss - s, ʃ, z, ʒ Also described as grooved fricatives - the tongue surface forms a groove running from front to back

Question 27

What is a slit / flat fricative and how is this defined?

Answer 27

When the tongue surface is relatively flat so that the air exits through a wide, slit-like aperture - f, v, θ, ð

Question 28

How are the articulators positioned for vowels?

Answer 28

Far enough apart so there is no impedance in airflow.

Question 29

Where do vowels usually occur?

Answer 29

Usually occur in the core of the syllable (CVC) (can occur on their own and preceding a consonant)

Question 30

Are vowels sonorants or obstruents?

Answer 30

Sonorants

Question 31

Finish the sentence: Vowels can be...

Answer 31

Short or long, oral or nasal

Question 32

How are nasal vowels represented?

Answer 32

ẽ

Question 33

What is the source of vowel sounds?

Answer 33

The vibration of the vocal folds

Question 34

List the filters for the production of vowels.

Answer 34

- Articulators in throat - Nasal cavity - Oral cavity

Question 35

Approximately how many vowel sounds does English have?

Answer 35

19

Question 36

Why can't we use the same classification system for consonants and vowels?

Answer 36

1. All vowels are sonorants so there is no voiced/voiceless distinction 2. All vowels are produced in the same manner and there is no place of constriction 3. Vowels are produced in the palatal-velar region as opposed to the entire vocal tract

Question 37

Which articulators are used to shorten the three cavities of the vocal tract?

Answer 37

The velum, the jaw, the lips and the tongue

Question 38

What three parameters for defining vowels?

Answer 38

1. Vowel height (Close (high) - close-mid - mid - open-mid - open (low) - the closeness of the highest part of the body of the tongue to the roof of the mouth 2. Backness (Front - Central - Back) - whether the highest part of the tongue is towards the front - palatal region - or back - velar region 3. Lip rounding (Rounded - Unrounded) - whether the lips are rounded or unrounded

Question 39

What are cardinal vowels and how are they used?

Answer 39

Cardinal vowels are language-independent and can be used as reference points

Question 40

What are the 8 primary cardinal vowels?

Answer 40

Question 41

What are the 8 secondary cardinal vowels?

Answer 41

Question 42

What is a monopthong?

Answer 42

A weak vowel

Question 43

What is a dipthong?

Answer 43

A movement from one vowel quality to another - The first part is much longer and stronger - As the glide happens, the loudness decreases

Question 44

How are diphthongs classified?

Answer 44

Closing and centering