phonemes, vocal tract and articulation

phonology

the study of sounds along with phonetics, the study of how sounds are produced

spoken acquisition

how we gain and acquire language. we can then consider what types and sounds of language been acquired and how particular words are spoken

phonemes

26 letters but 44 phonemes

the vocal tract

the system by which sounds are produced

voiced and unvoiced phonemes

when the vocal folds are vibrating, the sound is voiced e.g. /b/ is voiced and /p/ is unvoiced

dental sounds

sounds produced using the teeth. in BSE there are only 2 - the theta in words like ‘through’ and the thorn sound in words like ‘this’

bilabial sounds

produced by using (bi) both (labials) lips. these are sounds like /m/ in words like ‘monkey’

labiodental sounds

involve using both the teeth and the lip(s). these are sounds like /f/ in words like ‘five’

velar sounds

sounds produced by the tongue touching the velum (soft palate). these are sounds like /g/ in ‘green’

palatal sounds

produced when the tongue is against the hard palate

there is only one in the exam - the yod /j/

palato-alveolar sounds

this group is sometimes called post-alveolar and grouped into palatal. these are produced when the tongue is pressed past the alveolar ridge, but not quite at the hard palate. sounds like /ʃ/ in words like ‘shoe’

glottal sounds

sounds produced in the glottis - the /h/ phoneme in words like ‘house’ and the glottal stop in words like ‘butter’ making it sound like ‘bu-er’

alveolar

produced by the tongue being pressed against the alveolar ridge. sounds like /t/ in ‘teeth’

affricates

start as plosives and end as fricatives e.g. the /tʃ/ in words like ‘church’

fricatives

pushes of air e.g. the /f/ sound in ‘five’

lateral approximant

produced by air being forced between the sides of the tongue and the tongue being pressed against the alveolar ridge

clear /l/ (before a vowel) in ‘law’ and ‘leaf’

dark /ɫ/ (at the end or before a consonant) in ‘all’ and ‘feel’

nasals

sounds which release air through the nose and not through the mouth e.g. the /n/ in words like ‘night’

approximant

when articulators are brought close together but are not fully touching e.g. the lips don’t fully touch when making the /w/ sound in words like ‘word’

plosives

these are quick releases of built-up air e.g. the /g/ sound in ‘green’