Pronunciation Flashcards
(21 cards)
Assimilation
-when a phoneme change part of its nature (or in cases the whole of it) to match the one of a neighbouring sound
Ex: good point (the sound /d/ from “good” changes from an alveolar plosive to a bilabial plosive /b/ because of the presence of the (voiceless) bilabial plosive /p/ from point
Elision
-when the sound existing in a word in isolation is omitted during connected speech
Ex: next please (the sound /t/ from “next” is omitted)
Catenation / Liaison / Linking
-referred as umbrella terms for the way sound at the end of a word and at the beginning of next one are joined together in direct speech
-Some authors define catenation as the linking of a consonant and a vowel sound in connected speech.
Ex: his own /hɪzəʊn/
-Some authors define liaison as the linking of two vowel sound in connected speech, using an “intrusive” sound (/r/, /w/ or /j/).
Ex: I saw it /aɪ sɔːrɪt/
Intrusive /r/
-a sound an English speaker may insert between a /ɔː/ or /ə/ in connected speech if the next word begins with a vowel sound
Ex: law and order
Intrusive /w/
-a sound an English speaker may insert between a /ʊ/ /uː/ /əʊ/ /aʊ/ in connected speech if the next word begin with a vowel sound
Ex: you are
Intrusive /j/
-a sound an English speaker may insert between vowel sounds during connected speech
Ex: I agree
Connected Speech
-use to ease the transition between words when speaking
Ex: I agree
Allophone
-a pronunciation variation of a phoneme. This variation does not cause differences in meaning and is determined by the position of the phoneme in the word.
Ex: the /l/ in the beginning of little and the /l/ at the end of girl
Bilabial Plosives
-formed by closing both your lips and, as the air is released (comes up from the throat), it pushes the lips apart in an explosion
Ex: /p/ and /b/
Alveolar Plosives
-formed by the tongue being stuck to the alveolar ridge until the air pushes the tongue and the alveolar ridge apart.
Ex: /t/ and /d/
Alveolar Fricatives
-produced as hissing sounds because air escapes with difficulty.
Ex: /s/ and /z/
Affricates
-start as a plosive (/t/ and /d/) but end with a fricative because friction is made in the alveolar ridge
Ex: /tʃ/ and /dʒ/
Velar Plosives
-formed by the tongue being in contact with the soft palate or vellum until the air pushes them apart.
Ex: /k/ and /g/
Labiodental Fricatives
-formed by the top teeth being in contact with the lower lip (that’s why they are called labiodentals), and the air is pushed between them, but with no explosion; the sound is made by air friction between the teeth and the lip
Ex: /f/ and /v/
Dental Fricatives
-formed by the tongue being in contact with the top teeth. The air escapes with a little friction.
Ex: /θ/and /ð/
Palato-alveolar Fricatives
-formed by a domed (bunched-up) tongue weakly touching the palate. The air then leaves in friction.
Ex: /ʃ/ and /ʒ/
Nasal Consonants (voiced)
-formed when the air leaves through the nasal cavity.
Ex: /m/ (bilabial nasal), /n/ (alveolar nasal) and /ŋ/ (velar nasal)
Glotal Fricative (voiceless)
-formed by air coming from the windpipe and through the vocal cords
Ex: /h/
Lateral Approximant (liquid)
-formed by the tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge, but the sides of the tongue being lowered so the air can escape along the sides of the tongue
Ex: /l/
Post-Alveolar (liquid)
-formed by the tongue curling back into the mouth but not touching the roof of the mouth
Ex: /r/
Approximants (semi-vowels)
-formed by the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough nor with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow
Ex: /w/ (labiovelar approximant) and /j/ (palatal approximant)
