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CHAPTER 2 PHONETICS Revision
CHAPTER 2 PHONETICS Revision
CHAPTER 2 PHONETICS Revision
THE CONSONANTS
Consonants are speech sounds made by a narrowing somewhere in the vocal tract,
which obstructs the flow of air from the lungs.
Three aspects of consonants’ articulatory properties:
1. Voicing: whether the vocal folds vibrate or not
2. Place of articulation: where the vocal tract is made narrow
3. Manner of articulation: how close together or far apart the articulators are
THE VOWELS
• Vowels are speech sounds made with no significant obstruction of the air flow.
• Vowels are usually voiced
• Vowels form the basis of syllables → to count how many syllables in a word, count the
number of vowels
• A diphthong = combination of two sounds, a vowel and a glide
• There are four aspects of vowel articulation:
1. Tongue height – whether the tongue is raised, lowered or in mid position
2. Tongue advancement - whether the tongue moves forward, backward, or is in
normal position
3. Lip rounding
4. Tenseness – whether there is more tension of the tongue & lips
THE INTONATION
Intonation is the pattern of rises and falls in pitch.