4/29/2020

April 2020

Phonetics is the study of speech sounds.

There are three approaches to the study of
speech sounds

Articulatory the production of speech sounds

(How speech sounds are produced.)

Auditory or the perception of speech sounds

perceptual (How speech sounds are perceived.)

Acoustic Speech sounds are investigated in terms of physical

properties, i.e. as sound waves.

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The Vocal Tract

Articulators The Vocal Tract

1. The nasal cavity

2. Alveolar ridge
3. (Hard) palate
3. (Hard) palate
4. Velum (soft palate)
5. Teeth (upper and lower)
6. Uvula
7. Lips (upper and lower)
8. Pharynx
9. Tongue tip
10. Epiglottis 14. Glottis
11. Tongue Blade 15. Tongue back
12. Vocal folds/cords 16. Trachea (windpipe)
13. Tongue front 17. Larynx

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VOWELS AND CONSONANTS

VOWELS CONSONANTS

Phonetically Characterized by a Characterized by an

FREE flow of air OBSTRUCTED air flow

Phonologically The core of a Optional and

syllable occurring before or
(obligatory) after the vowel

CONSONANTS
In terms of production, consonants are sounds produced
with an airstream that is somehow obstructed.

Given this phonetic definition, we can ask two questions:

(i) How is the airflow obstructed? (Manner of Articulation)

and
(ii) Where is it obstructed? (Place of Articulation)

(iii) Also, some consonants are voiced/lenis and some

voiceless/fortis. (Voice)

We can use these three criteria to describe

consonant sounds.

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The Three Criteria for Classifying Consonants

MANNER OF
VOICE
ARTICULATION

PLACE OF
ARTICULATION

DESCRIPTION OF CONSONANTS

VOICE PLACE MANNER

a. Voiced / lenis a. Bilabial a. Plosives / stops

b. Labio-dental b. Fricatives
With vibrations of c. Dental c. Affricates
the two vocal folds d. Alveolar d. Nasals
e. Post-alveolar e. Lateral approximant
f. Palatal f. Approximants
b. Voiceless / fortis g. Velar
h. Glottal
With no vibrations of
the two vocal folds

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The English Consonants

The Three Criteria for Classifying Vowels

TONGUE
LENGTH
POSITION

LIP SHAPE

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DESCRIPTION OF VOWELS

LENGTH TONGUE LIP SHAPE

POSITION

a. Long / tense a. Tongue height a. Spread

e.g. / i: /, / u: / b. Rounded

b. Short / lax b. Tongue part c. Neutral

e.g. / e /, / I /

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TONGUE POSITION (HEIGHT + PART)

The Vowel Quadrilateral / Box

FRONT CENTRAL BACK

1 8

2 7

3 6

4 5

1. Close 2. Close-mid 3. Open-mid 4. Open

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The English Vowels

N.B. FRONT => SPREAD

BACK => ROUNDED
CENTRAL => NEUTRAL

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The English Diphthongs

• English diphthongs are characterized by a
smooth glide between two vowels.
• The first vowel is stronger and longer (i.e.
more prominent) than the second vowel.

Diphthong

Closing Centring

Ending in ʊ Ending in I Ending in Ə

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The English Triphthongs

Very rare in present-day English.

TRIPHTHONG = CLOSING DIPHTHONG + THE SCHWA

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