Syllables, Stress and Acoustic Phonetics – Review

38 fill-in-the-blank flashcards covering key definitions, theories, principles and acoustic concepts from the lecture.

The basic universal syllable structure identified across languages is __.

CV

If a language allows CCV words, it also allows __ words.

CV

The theory that defines syllables by peaks and valleys of sonority is the __ theory.

Prominence

The theory linking syllables to bursts of muscular chest activity is the __ theory.

Pulse

Defining syllables with reference to one specific language is characteristic of the __ theory.

Phonological/Linguistic

According to the sonority hierarchy, the most sonorous sounds are __.

vowels

The constraint requiring sonority to rise toward the nucleus and fall toward the margins is the Principle.

Sonority Sequencing

In a three-consonant onset in English, the first consonant is always __.

/s/

Short vowels in English are also called __ vowels.

lax

Short (lax) vowels cannot occur in __ syllables in English.

open

Vowels before /ŋ/ in English are always __.

short

Word-initial /ʒ/ in English appears mainly in words of __ origin.

French

Sequences that violate a language’s phonotactic constraints are called __ syllables.

illegal

Permissible but nonexistent word-like sequences are known as __ gaps.

accidental

The only obligatory element in every syllable is the __.

nucleus

A syllable without a coda is called an __ syllable.

open

In English, liquids and nasals can become __ consonants in certain positions.

syllabic

The study of permissible sound combinations within syllables is called __.

phonotactics

When two vowels occur in sequence, the syllable break is placed __ the vowels.

between

A single consonant between a strong and a weak vowel may be __.

ambisyllabic

The principle that consonants between two vowels tend to start the following syllable is __ maximization.

onset

In prominence theory, a syllable may contain no more than __ consonants in its onset.

two

A well-formed English rhyme contains minimally 2 and maximally __ x-positions.

3

Elements that violate sonority requirements and attach outside the core syllable are called __.

appendices

In the source-filter theory, the sound source for periodic speech sounds is the __.

larynx

The resonant frequencies intensified by the vocal tract are called __.

formants

Human hearing ranges roughly from 20 Hz to __ Hz.

20,000

Amplitude is related to the perceptual dimension of __.

loudness

Frequency is the reciprocal of the acoustic measure called __.

period

Voiced speech sounds are characterized acoustically by the presence of a __ frequency.

fundamental

Periodic vibration of the vocal folds is known as __.

phonation

Because they require a medium, sound waves are classified as __ waves.

mechanical

Sound waves in air are longitudinal, consisting of compressions and __.

rarefactions

The first formant (F1) is negatively correlated with vowel __.

height

The second formant (F2) is positively correlated with vowel __.

frontness

In English, long vowels and diphthongs are never followed by the consonant __.

/ŋ/

The consonant __ occurs word-initially only in English function words such as “this” or “though.”

/ð/