Phonetics Notes

Phonetics

The study of the physical production and perception of speech sounds.

Acoustic Phonetics

The study of the physical properties of speech sounds (frequency, amplitude, etc.).

Auditory Phonetics

The study of how listeners perceive speech sounds.

Articulatory Phonetics

The study of how speech sounds are produced by the human vocal tract.

Speech Production

Most English speech sounds begin in the lungs; air travels from the lungs through the trachea, larynx, and pharynx, then into the oral and nasal cavities where it is modified to produce different sounds.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

A standardized system of symbols used to represent all speech sounds in the world’s languages.

Consonants

Speech sounds produced by partially or completely obstructing airflow in the vocal tract.

Voicing

Refers to whether the vocal folds vibrate during the production of a sound.

Voiced Consonants

Produced with vibrating vocal folds (e.g., [b], [d], [v]).

Voiceless Consonants

Produced with open vocal folds and no vibration (e.g., [p], [t], [f]).

Place of Articulation

Describes where in the vocal tract the airflow is obstructed.

Bilabial

Produced with both lips (e.g., [p], [b], [m]).

Labiodental

Produced with the bottom lip and upper teeth (e.g., [f], [v]).

Interdental

Produced with the tongue between the teeth (e.g., [θ], [ð]).

Alveolar

Produced with the tongue at the alveolar ridge (e.g., [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], [l]).

Postalveolar

Produced just behind the alveolar ridge (e.g., [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ]).

Palatal

Produced with the body of the tongue against the hard palate (e.g., [j]).

Velar

Produced with the back of the tongue against the soft palate (e.g., [k], [g], [ŋ]).

Glottal

Produced using the glottis (e.g., [h], glottal stop [ʔ]).

Manner of Articulation

Describes how airflow is affected during speech sound production.

Stop

A complete blockage of airflow followed by release (e.g., [p], [b], [t], [d]).

Fricative

Airflow is partially obstructed, causing turbulence or friction (e.g., [f], [v], [s], [z]).

Affricate

Begins as a stop and releases as a fricative (e.g., [tʃ], [dʒ]).

Approximant

Airflow is obstructed slightly but not enough to cause friction (e.g., [w], [r], [j]).

Central Approximant

Air flows through the center of the oral cavity (e.g., [w], [r], [j]).

Lateral Approximant

Air flows around the sides of the tongue (e.g., [l]).

Nasal

Air is redirected through the nasal cavity (e.g., [m], [n], [ŋ]).

Vowels

Speech sounds produced without significant obstruction of airflow; shaped by the position of the tongue and lips.

Vowel Description Features

Tongue height (high, mid, low), tongue frontness (front, central, back), lip rounding (rounded or unrounded), tense/lax, nasalization, and tone.

Diphthongs

Vowel sounds that combine two distinct tongue positions in a single syllable (e.g., [aɪ] as in “buy,” [aʊ] as in “doubt,” [ɔɪ] as in “noise”).