phonetics & phonology

velum

the soft palate which can be raised to block the nasal passage for oral sounds, or lowered to allow air to flow through the nose for nasal sounds

respiration

breathing using the lungs and diagrams, providing the airflow for speech

phonation

the basic voicing source for speech which sounds like a buzz

articulation

shaping and modifying the sound produced during phonation to make specific sounds using the active articulators

sublaryngeal system

the part of the vocal tract located below the larynx which provides and regulates the airflow and air pressure that power speech production

laryngeal system

the larynx and vocal folds which moderate vowel quality interactively within the voice quality of the individual

supralaryngeal system

the part of the vocal tract above the larynx which manipulates the buzz created in the larynx to produce specific speech sounds by changing the shape and resonance of the cavities

larynx

the organ in the throat that produces vocal sounds by vibrating the vocal cords

epiglottis

a flap of cartilage at the base of the tongue that covers the opening of the windpipe (trachea) during swallowing, preventing food from entering the lungs

pulmonary egressive airflow

the mechanism of producing speech sounds by pushing air out of the lungs, using the muscles of the diaphragm and ribs

fundamental frequency (f_⁰)

the basic rate that your vocal folds vibrate at

glottis

the space in between the two vocal folds

nasal sounds

sounds made with an open nasal tract

oral sounds

sounds made with a closed nasal cavity by pushing the velum back against the throat

glottal sounds

sounds produced in the glottis

pharyngeal sounds

sounds produced in the pharynx

tip

the front part of the tongue

blade

the outer rim of the tongue including the tip

body

the main mass of the tongue

root

the back of the tongue

muscular hydrostat

an entirely muscular organ with a fixed volume (the tongue) allowing for rapid, complex shape changes

active articulator

 the part of the vocal tract that moves to create a speech sounds by constricting airflow against a passive articulator

nasal tract

the pathway between the velum and nostrils through which air can pass to produce nasal sounds

passive articulator

a part of the vocal tract that remains stationary in the production of a speech sound

vestibular folds

a pair of muscular folds in the larynx above the true vocal folds that protect the airway from foreign matter entering

uvula

A fleshy extension in the back of the soft palate which helps to form certain speech sounds

vocalis muscle

A small, deep muscle within the vocal folds making subtle adjustments to the vocal cords such as pitch and quality

velar port

a valve that separates the oral and nasal tract, helping produce nasal sounds and stopping food and water from entering the nasal tract during swallowing

pharynx

a resonant chamber guiding airflow from the larynx to the mouth

diacritic

 a symbol showing a minor modification

manner of articulation

the type/manner of sound produced

place of articulation

where in the vocal tract the constriction of airflow occurs

bilabial sounds

sounds made with the upper and lower lips

labiodental sounds

sounds made with the lower lip and upper teeth

dental sounds

sounds made with the tongue tip and upper front teeth

interdental sounds

sounds made with the tongue between teeth

alveolar sounds

sounds made with the alveolar ridge

alveopalatal/ postalveolar sounds

sounds made with the tongue blade and post alveolar ridge / front of palatal region

palatal sounds

sounds made with the front of tongue near the hard palate

velar sounds

sounds made with the back of tongue against the velum

stops

sounds made with a complete closure/ constriction so that air cannot escape through the oral cavity

aspiration

vocal folds are tense and spread apart allowing maximum airflow when voiceless stops are at the start of a syllable (superscript h)

trill

making the articulators vibrate rapidly

tap/ flap

brief period of contact between tongue blade and alveolar ridge

fricative

narrow constriction with turbulent, noisy airflow

affricate

complete constriction followed by slow separation of the articulators, resulting in friction

approximants

consonants with greater opening in the vocal tract than fricatives; no friction created

lateral sounds

air flows over the sides of the tongue

retroflex

a speech sound produced by curling the tip of the tongue backward toward the roof of the mouth, often near the hard palate

obstruent

a speech sound created by obstructing the flow of air through the vocal tract, either completely or to the point of creating turbulence

sonorant

speech sounds produced with a continuous, non-turbulent airflow through the vocal tract, allowing for resonance and typically being voiced

consonants

some obstruction or total obstruction of the vocal tract

voiceless

the vocal folds are spread apart and therefore do not vibrate

voiced

the vocal folds are tensed and brought close enough so that they vibrate when air passes through

vowel

the 'core' of the syllable, produced with an open manner of articulation/ an unobstructed flow of air from the lungs

high vowel

a vowel produced with the tongue near the top of the mouth

low vowel

a vowel produced with the tongue near the bottom of the mouth

front vowel

a vowel produced with the tongue near the front of the mouth

rounded vowel

a vowel produced with the lips rounded

unrounded vowel

a vowel produced with the lips spread or natural

tense vowel

longer vowel sound requiring more extreme articulation

lax vowel

shorter vowel sound with less extreme articulatory processes

vocoid

a vowel or glide whose articulation involves the doming of the tongue

monophthong

a simple vowel with a single sound segment

diphthong

a complex vowel with 2 sounds

Wells’ standard lexical sets for English

groups of words which have the same vowel sounds in all or most varieties of English

phonetics

the physical properties of speech sounds

phonology

the organisation of speech sounds within a language

phonotactics

the study of the rules and restrictions governing how sounds can be combined to form syllables and words in a specific language

alternation

the variation in the pronunciation of a morpheme (a unit of meaning) based on its phonological environment

phoneme

Unpredictable units of sound that exist on a psychological level of representation which are regarded as 'the same' by speakers of a language with the potential to change the meanings of words 

underlying level

the abstract mental representation of a phoneme stored in a speaker's mind

surface level

the actual, observable pronunciation of a word

predictability

consistent and rule-based patterns in how sounds vary within a language

complementary distribution

two sounds appear in mutually exclusive environments and never contrast with each other in the same position

contrastive distribution

two sounds can appear in the same environment, and substituting one for the other changes the meaning of the word

allophone

a predictable physical realisation of a phoneme with a complementary distribution

minimal pair

a pair of words which are identical except for one sound

environment

the surrounding sounds of a specific speech sound within a word or phrase

inter-vocalic position

a sound appearing between two vowels