Chapter Five : ( The Sounds of Language )

Phonetics: is the general study of the characteristics of speech sounds.

Articulatory Phonetics : is the study of how speech sounds are made or articulated.
Acoustic Phonetics:deals with the physical properties of speech as sounds waves in
the air .
Auditory ( perceptual ) Phonetics: deals with the perception ,via the air, of speech
sounds.
Forensic Phonetics:has application in legal cases involving speaker identification and
the analysis of recorded utterances.

Articulation : Voiced and Voiceless

In articulatory phonetics , we investigate how speech sounds are produced using the
fairly complex oral equipement we have . We start with the air pushed out by the
lungs up through the trachea ( the windpipe) to the larynx . Inside the larynx are your
vocal cords which take two basic positions:
1- When the vocal cords are spread apart , the air from the lungs passes between
them unimpeded . Sounds produced in this way are described as
VOICELESS.
2- When the vocal cords are drawn together , the air from the lungs repeatedly
pushes them apart as it passes through , creating a vibration effect.Sounds
produced in this way are described as VOICED.

Place of Articulation
Most consonants sounds are produced by using the tongue and other parts of the
mouth to constrict, in some way, the shape of the oral cavity through which the air is
passing.
Bilabials ; formed using both upper and lower lips as in the sounds [b],[p],[m],[w].
Labiodentals;formed with the upper teeth and the lower lip as in the sounds [f],[v].
Dentals; formed with the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth. The term "
interdental' is sometimes used to describe a manner of pronunciation with the tongue
tip between (=inter) the upper and lower teeth as in the sounds [ð] and [ʚ].
Alveolars ; formed with the front part of the tongue on the alveolar ridge which is the
rough , bony ridge immediately behind the upper teeth as in the sounds [t],[d],[s],[z],[
l ] and [r].
Alveo-palatal; sounds are produced with the tongue at the very front of the palate
near the alveolar ridge as in the sounds [ʃ ] , [ʧ ] , [ʒ ] , [ʤ ] and [ j ].
Velars ; there is one other sound that is produced without the active use of the tongue
and other parts of the mouth . It is the sound [h] ; it is usually described as a voiceless
glottal. Glottis is the space between the vocal cords in the larynx .When the glottis is
open , as in the production of other voiceless sounds , but there is no manipulation of
the air passing out through the mouth .
Manner of Articulation
It means the ability to describe the sounds in terms of how they are
articulated .
Stops ( plosives ) ; sounds that are produced by some form of complete
stopping of the air stream and then letting it go abruptly like [p],[b],[t],
[d],[k],[g].
Fricatives; involves almost blocking the airstream and having the air
push through the narrow opening .As the air is pushed through , a type of
friction is produced as in the sounds [f],[v],[s],[z],[ð],[ʚ].
Affricates;if you combine a brief stopping of the airsream with an
abstruced release which causes some friction , you will be able to produce
the sounds [ʧ],[ʤ].
Nasals; when the velum is lowered and the airstream is allowed to flow
out through the nose to produce the sounds [m],[n],[ng].
Approximants ; the articulation of such sounds is strongly influenced by
the following vowel sound. Indeed the sounds , [w] and [j] are sometimes
called 'semi-vowels ' or ' glides ' , because they are typically produced
with the tongue moving , or ' gliding , to or from the position of a nearby
vowel. The sounds [l] and [r] are approximants; [l] is formed by letting
the airstream flow around the sides of the tongue as it makes contact with
the alveolar ridge . [r] is formed with the tongue tip raised and curled
back behind the alveolar ridge, the sounds [l] and [r] are also called '
liquids' . The sound [h] is a voiceless approximant .

The Glottal Stop ; occurs when the space between the vocal cords is
closed completely, very briefly, and then released.
Flap ; it represented bt the symbole [D] , produced by the tongue tip
being thrown against the alveolar ridge for an instant.

Vowels : sounds that are produced with a relatively free flow of air . They
are typically voiced . They can be either simple vowels as in the vowels
found in the words ( see, hit,tail,sat,pet,move) , or Diphthongs that are
found in the words ( my , cow, boy ) in which they begin with a vowel
sound and end with a glide.