COMD 350 Study Guide for Exam II

This flashcard set covers key concepts from the COMD 350 course, focusing on phonemes and their acoustic features.

Turbulent source

A sound source produced by turbulent airflow through a narrow constriction, typically associated with fricatives.

Transient Source

A sound source characterized by abrupt changes in airflow, as seen in stop consonants.

Sonorant consonants

Consonants that have formant structures similar to vowels and are produced with minimal constriction, including glides and liquids.

Glides

A type of semivowel with articulatory features similar to vowels, produced before a vocalic nucleus.

Stop consonants

Nonresonant consonants articulated with complete closure that produces a momentary blockage of airflow.

Voice Onset Time (VOT)

The interval between the release of a stop and the onset of voicing, which varies in voicing feature of stops.

Fricatives

Sounds produced with a continuous airflow through a constriction, characterized by aperiodic noise.

Affricates

Consonants that begin as stops (complete closure) and release into a fricative sound.

Manner of articulation

Refers to how consonants are produced, including types such as stops, fricatives, and affricates.

Coarticulation

The influence of neighboring sounds on an articulator's position during speech, allowing for efficient speech production.

Stress in speech

The prominence given to certain syllables in speech, characterized by increased pitch, intensity, and duration.

Intonation

The variation of pitch while speaking, which can signal differences in meaning or convey emotions.

Nasal consonants

Consonants produced with the velum lowered, allowing airflow through the nasal cavity, characterized by low-frequency energy.

Assimilation

The phonemic change or allophonic change that occurs due to the influence of neighboring sounds on articulation.

Formant transition

The change in formant frequencies that occurs during the production of consonants and vowels.

Acoustic features of nasals

Characterized by low-frequency energy and relatively weak high-frequency energy, occurring in the range of 200-300 Hz.

Resonant consonants

Consonants that are voiced and have more open vocal tract configurations, including glides and liquids.