Writing Quiz 2 Chapter 5

What is phonetics?

The study of speech sounds.

What is acoustic phonetics?

The study of the physical properties of speech sounds.

What is auditory phonetics?

The study of how speech sounds are perceived or heard.

What is articulatory phonetics?

The study of how speech sounds are produced by the speaker.

What is phonology?

The study of the sound system of a language.

What is a phoneme?

The smallest speech unit that can distinguish one word or group of words from another.

What is phonemics?

The study of phonemes.

What are sound segments?

Individual speech sounds perceived within continuous speech.

Why can speakers divide continuous speech into words and sounds?

Knowledge of their language lets them segment the speech stream.

What can ambiguous word boundaries cause?

Different interpretations, such as “I scream” vs. “ice cream.”

What does the “speech sounds are like snowflakes” idea mean?

No two productions of a sound are physically exactly identical.

What is orthography?

A language’s conventional spelling system.

Why is English spelling unreliable for pronunciation?

Letters and sounds do not have a consistent one-to-one relationship.

What does IPA stand for?

International Phonetic Alphabet.

Why was the IPA developed?

To represent speech sounds consistently, regardless of ordinary spelling.

What brackets are used for phonetic transcription?

Square brackets: [ ].

What are virgules / / used for?

Phonemic transcription.

What is schwa [ə]

The relaxed “uh” vowel usually found in unstressed syllables, like the first sound in “about.

What is θ called?

Theta.

What is ð called?

Eth.

What is ʃ called?

Esh.

What is ʒ called?

Ezh.

What is ŋ called?

Eng or engma.

What is ɹ called?

Turned r.

What is [ɹ]?

The usual English/Standard Canadian English r sound.

What is [ɾ]?

alveolar flap → a quick tongue tap, often used for /t/ between voiced sounds.

What is [ʔ]?

A glottal stop.

What is [ʍ]?

Inverted w.

What is [x]?

A voiceless velar fricative, like the final sound of Bach or Scots loch.

What is [ɣ]?

A voiced velar fricative.

What produces most speech sounds?

Air pushed from the lungs through the vocal tract.

What is the glottis?

The opening between the vocal cords.

What is the vocal tract?

The passages and structures through which air travels and is shaped into speech.

What is the alveolar ridge?

The raised area just behind the upper front teeth.

What is the velum?

The soft palate at the back of the roof of the mouth.

What are the two broad classes of speech sounds?

Consonants and vowels.

How are consonants generally produced?

With some restriction or closure of airflow in the vocal tract.

How are vowels generally produced?

With relatively unobstructed airflow through the vocal tract.

What three features describe consonants?

Voicing, place of articulation, and manner of articulation.

What is voicing?

Whether the vocal cords vibrate during production of a sound.

How can you test whether a sound is voiced?

Touch your throat near the larynx and feel for vibration.

What is aspiration?

A brief puff of air after the release of a consonant.

What happens to aspiration after [s], as in “spin”?

The following stop is normally unaspirated.

What is place of articulation?

Where in the vocal tract airflow is restricted.

What are the main places of articulation?

Bilabial, labiodental, interdental, alveolar, palatal, velar, uvular, and glottal.

What are bilabial sounds, and which English sounds are bilabial?

Sounds made with both lips; [p], [b], and [m].

What are labiodental sounds, and which English sounds are labiodental?

Sounds made with the lower lip and upper teeth; [f] and [v].

What are interdental sounds, and which English sounds are interdental?

Sounds made with the tongue at or between the teeth; [θ] and [ð].

What are alveolar sounds, and which English sounds are alveolar?

Sounds made at the alveolar ridge; [t], [d], [n], [s], [z], [l], and [r/ɹ].

What are palatal sounds, and which English sounds are palatal?

Sounds made with constriction around the palate; [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ], and [j].

What are velar sounds, and which English sounds are velar?

Sounds made by raising the back of the tongue toward the velum; [k], [g], and [ŋ].

What are uvular sounds?

Sounds produced with the back of the tongue near the uvula; they are not regular English consonants.

What are glottal sounds?

Sounds produced at the glottis; [h] is the regular English example.

What is manner of articulation?

How airflow is affected during production of a consonant.

What is a stop or plosive?

A consonant made by completely blocking airflow briefly and then releasing it.

What is a nasal consonant?

A consonant produced with air flowing through the nose.

What are the three English nasal consonants?

[m], [n], and [ŋ].

What is a fricative?

A consonant produced with enough narrowing to create friction without completely stopping airflow.

What is an affricate?

A stop closure followed immediately by a fricative-like release.

What are the English liquids?

[l] and [r/ɹ].

What are the English glides?

[j] and [w].

What are approximants?

Liquids and glides; the articulators approach one another without creating fricative friction.

What is a trill?

A sound produced by rapid vibration of an articulator.

What is a flap?

A sound produced by one quick flick of the tongue.

What are clicks?

Speech sounds produced with air movement in the mouth; they are phonemic in some languages.

What happens to the velum during an oral sound?

It is raised, closing the nasal passage.

What happens to the velum during a nasal sound?

It is lowered, allowing air to pass through the nose.

How would you fully describe [p]?

Voiceless bilabial stop.

How would you fully describe [b]?

Voiced bilabial stop.

How would you fully describe [m]?

Voiced bilabial nasal.

How would you fully describe [f]?

Voiceless labiodental fricative.

How would you fully describe [v]?

Voiced labiodental fricative.

How would you fully describe [θ]?

Voiceless interdental fricative.

How would you fully describe [ð]?

Voiced interdental fricative.

How would you fully describe [t]?

Voiceless alveolar stop.

How would you fully describe [d]?

Voiced alveolar stop.

How would you fully describe [n]?

Voiced alveolar nasal.

How would you fully describe [s]?

Voiceless alveolar fricative.

How would you fully describe [z]?

Voiced alveolar fricative.

How would you describe [l]?

Voiced alveolar liquid.

How would you describe [ɹ]?

Voiced alveolar liquid.

How would you fully describe [ʃ]?

Voiceless palatal fricative.

How would you fully describe [ʒ]?

Voiced palatal fricative.

How would you fully describe [tʃ]?

Voiceless palatal affricate.

How would you fully describe [dʒ]?

Voiced palatal affricate.

How would you describe [j]?

Voiced palatal glide.

How would you fully describe [k]?

Voiceless velar stop.

How would you fully describe [g]?

Voiced velar stop.

How would you fully describe [ŋ]?

Voiced velar nasal.

How would you describe [w]?

Voiced glide with lip rounding and velar/bilabial articulation.

How would you describe [h]?

Voiceless glottal fricative.

How many main vowel sounds does the lecture give for Standard Canadian English?

10.

What four features does the lecture use to describe vowels?

Height, front/back position, rounding, and tense/lax when applicable.

Are vowels voiced?

Yes; the lecture states that vowels are always voiced.

What happens to airflow during a vowel?

The oral cavity remains relatively open and unobstructed.

What does vowel height describe?

How high or low the tongue is in the mouth.

What does front/back position describe?

How far forward, central, or backward the tongue is.

What does vowel rounding describe?

Whether the lips are rounded or unrounded/spread.

Describe [i].

High front unrounded tense.