Phonetics Flashcards
(20 cards)
Phonetics
the study and classification of speech sounds.
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
an alphabet developed in the 19th century to accurately represent the pronunciation of languages. It provides a unique symbol for each phoneme.
vocal tract
where speech sounds are shaped, located above the larynx.
vocal organs
refers to all parts of the body involved in speech production, including the parts to the larynx (lungs and trachea)
articulators
parts of the vocal apparatus which are involved in speech production- any of the vocal organs above the larynx, including the tongue, lips, teeth, and hard palate.
bilabial sounds
sounds involving both lips, like /b/
alveolar
Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the upper teeth.
labio-dentals
involve only the lower lip and additionally the upper teeth
inter-dental
consonants are produced by placing the tip of the tongue between the upper and lower front teeth.
palato-alveolar
consonants are postalveolar consonants, nearly always sibilants, that are weakly palatalized with a domed (bunched-up) tongue. They are common sounds cross-linguistically and occur in English words such as ship and chip.
approximants
speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough nor with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow.
nasals
class of consonants where the velum is lowered, leaving an open passage from oral to the nasal cavity, so that the air can escape through the nose
vocal chords
“vocal folds”– two small muscular folds which are located at the lower end of the larynx. The vocal cords vibrate and air passes through the cords from the lungs to make the sound of your voice.
vowel frontness
Quality of being a front vowel. The most important aspects of vowel quality are tongue height, frontness/backness and lip rounding.
vowel height
the degree to which the tongue is raised or lowered in the articulation of a particular vowel.
diphthongs
combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable.
monophthong
a vowel that has a single perceived auditory quality.
affricates
a phoneme which combines a plosive with an immediately following fricative or spirant sharing the same place of articulation,
voiceless
when sound is made, but there is no vibration of the vocal cords.
Rounded/Unrounded vowels
A vowel that is pronounced with the lips drawn together and forming a circular opening– [u], [ʊ], [o], [ɔ]
