Introduction to Vowels and Consonants

Terminology identifying different speech sounds, vowel classifications, and features of consonants as described in the lecture transcript.

Vowel

A speech sound produced without friction in the vocal tract and with the vocal cords vibrating, with no contact between the lips, teeth, and tongue.

Consonant

A speech sound produced by completely or partially blocking the flow of air through the mouth using the lips, teeth, tongue, or throat.

Monophthong

A vowel sound where the tongue and mouth stay in one position and the sound does not change or glide.

Diphthong

A speech sound that starts as one vowel and smoothly transitions into another within the same syllable.

Triphthong

A complex vowel sound where the tongue glides smoothly through three distinct vowel qualities within a single syllable.

Pure Vowels

The twelve vowel sounds in English that are classified as monophthongs.

Phoneme

The individual sound that a letter or group of letters represents when spoken aloud.

Letters

The written categories that vowels and consonants belong to, making up the alphabet.

Place of Articulation

The feature of a consonant sound that describes where in the mouth the airflow is blocked.

Manner of Articulation

The feature of a consonant sound that describes how the airflow is blocked.

Voicing

The feature of a consonant sound that describes whether the vocal cords vibrate during its production.

Bilabial Sound

A consonant sound made using both lips, such as /p/ and /b/.

Stop Sound

A consonant sound in which the airflow is completely blocked and then released, such as /t/.

Fricative Sound

A consonant sound in which the airflow passes through a narrow opening, creating friction, such as /f/.

Voiced Consonant

A consonant sound produced while the vocal cords vibrate, such as /b/, /d/, /g/, and /z/.