Vowels and Consonant Study Guide

These flashcards cover key concepts related to vowels and consonants, including articulatory features, airflow types, and vowel classification.

Bilabial

A consonant sound produced by bringing both lips together.

Labio-dental

A consonant sound made by placing the upper teeth against the lower lip.

Inter-dental

A consonant sound produced with the tongue tip against the upper teeth.

Alveolar

A consonant sound articulated with the tongue against the alveolar ridge.

Palatal

A consonant sound made with the body of the tongue against the hard palate.

Velar

A consonant sound produced with the back of the tongue against the soft palate.

Glottal

A consonant sound that originates from the vocal folds.

Voicing Distinction

The difference between voiced and voiceless sounds in speech.

Nasal Consonants

Consonants produced with airflow through the nasal cavity.

Stop/Plosive

A consonant sound produced by complete closure of the vocal tract, followed by a sudden release.

Fricative

A consonant sound produced by narrow constriction of the vocal tract, causing turbulent airflow.

Affricate

A consonant sound that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative.

Nasalization

The process of lowering the velum to allow airflow through the nasal cavity.

Intrinsic Tongue Muscles

Muscles contained entirely within the tongue that control its shape and movement.

Extrinsic Tongue Muscles

Muscles attached outside the tongue that control its position in the mouth.

Egressive

Airflow that moves outward, typically seen in pulmonic airstreams.

Ingressive

Airflow that moves inward, as seen in some African languages.

Harmonics

Soundwaves that are integer multiples of a fundamental frequency.

Formants

Bands of frequencies within a sound spectrum that are amplified by the vocal tract.

Tense Vowels

Vowels produced with greater muscular tension and longer duration, typically found in open syllables.

Lax Vowels

Vowels produced with less tension and shorter duration, usually occurring in closed syllables.

Active Articulators

Articulators that move during speech production, such as the tongue and lips.

Passive Articulators

Articulators that do not move, such as the alveolar ridge and hard palate.

Voice Onset Time (VOT)

The duration between the release of a stop consonant and the onset of vocal fold vibration.

Antiresonance

The cancellation of sound energy during nasal sounds, resulting in reduced waveform amplitude.

Antiformant

A frequency region where sound energy is canceled or suppressed, creating an absence of energy on a spectrogram.

Formant Frequency

A frequency determined by the length and shape of the vocal tract, impacted by articulator movement.