Introduction to Phonetics

These flashcards cover key concepts in phonetics, including branches, anatomy, and mechanisms related to speech sounds.

Phonetics

The study of human speech sounds and their associated aerodynamic features.

Phonetician

A person who transcribes, describes, and classifies speech sounds and suprasegmental features.

Articulatory Phonetics

Study of how speech sounds are produced using the human vocal apparatus.

Acoustic Phonetics

Study of the physical properties of speech sounds as they are transmitted.

Auditory Phonetics

Study of how speech sounds are perceived by the ear and processed by the brain.

Vocal Tract Anatomy

Refers to the organs involved in speech production, including the articulatory, phonatory, and respiratory systems.

Articulators

The moving structures in the vocal tract that produce speech sounds.

Oral Sounds

Sounds produced when the soft palate is raised, allowing only airflow through the mouth.

Nasal Sounds

Sounds produced when airflow is diverted through the nose, often indicated with the diacritic [~].

Airstream Mechanism

The process of creating speech sounds by controlling airflow through the vocal tract.

Pulmonic Airstream

Airstream produced by the lungs, used in most human speech sounds.

Ejectives

Sounds produced by a glottalic airstream mechanism, marked with the diacritic [’].

Implosives

Voiced sounds produced by the ingressive glottalic airstream mechanism.

Phonation

The process of producing sound through varying states of the glottis.

Complete Closure

The position where a complete blockage occurs in the vocal tract, producing plosives or stops.

Intermittent Closure

A speech production technique involving temporary closure, used in trills, flaps, and taps.

Fricatives

Sounds produced by forcing air through a narrow channel, creating turbulence.