Oral Language - Phonology

Phonology

the study of the sound structure of spoken language and is one of the five components of oral language

Phonemes

individual speech sounds

Graphemes

letters or letter combinations that represent phonemes

Vowels

sounds that are produced without closing the vocal tract

Diphthongs

two vowels in the same syllable that “glide” from one sound into the other (-oy)

Semivowels

the consonants y and w which may act as vowels in some instances (-ay and -ow)

Consonants

sounds produced through a partially or completely closed vocal tract

Articulation

how the sound is formed by the mouth, tongue, airways, throat, etc.

Place of Articulation

refers to where the sound is produced in the mouth and how different parts of the vocal tract interact with the produced sound

Manner of articulation

refers to how the airflow is restricted or affected during the formation of the sound

Stop sounds

consonant sounds in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow stops

Fricatives

consonants produced when the air moving through the mouth creates audible friction

Nasals

consonants produced when the air moves through both the nose and mouth in the production of the sound

Affricatives

combination between stop sounds and fricatives

Voicing

refers to how the vocal folds react (vibration or remaining open)

Voiced sounds

can be categorized as continuant or non-continuant sounds

Unvoiced sounds

occur when the vocal cords remain open and do not vibrate

Continuant sounds

are spoken through a fixed configuration of the vocal tract (vowel sounds, fricatives, nasals)

Non-continuant sounds

are produced as the vocal tract changes over the pronunciation of the sound (diphthongs, semivowels, stop sounds, affricatives)

5 subsets of oral language

phonology, pragmatics, semantics (vocabulary) morphology, syntax (grammar)