Phonetics Exam 2 — Deck 1: Manner, Place & Voicing

What is a consonant?

• A sound made with a constriction or closure of the vocal tract

• Pairs with vowels to form spoken syllables

• Rarely produced in isolation (without a vowel)

Where does the word 'consonant' come from, and what does it mean?

• Latin

• 'To sound with' (it sounds together with a vowel)

Prevocalic position

A consonant that comes before the vowel nucleus of a syllable

Postvocalic position

A consonant that comes after the vowel nucleus of a syllable

Intervocalic position

A consonant that comes between two vowels

Place of articulation

Where in the vocal tract the closure or constriction happens (the 'where')

Manner of articulation

How the airflow is closed or constricted (the 'how')

Voicing (as a consonant feature)

Whether the vocal folds are vibrating during the closure or constriction

Name the three phonemic features used to classify every English consonant.

• Place

• Manner

• Voicing

About how many consonants does English use, and about how many would exist if every place, manner and voicing combination were used?

• English uses about 27

• About 100 if every combination were used (not all are physically possible)

Describe /b/ (as in bubble) using all three features.

• Voiced

• Bilabial

• Stop

Change one feature of /b/ so it becomes voiceless. Which sound do you get?

/p/

Change one feature of /b/ so it becomes a nasal. Which sound do you get?

/m/

Cognates

• Two consonants with the same place and manner that differ only in voicing

• Example: /b/ and /p/

Minimal pair

• Two words that differ by only one sound

• Example: pill / bill

Stop: what is the airflow doing?

• Complete closure of the vocal tract

• Air pressure builds up behind the closure

• In some cases, released as a burst of noise (stop burst)

Stop: list the articulatory summary.

1. Oral cavity completely closed for a brief interval

2. Velopharynx is closed

3. On release, a burst of noise can be heard

4. Closing and opening movements are very fast (generally the fastest in speech)

Other names for stops

• Occlusives

• Plosives

• Stop-plosives

Since /p/ and /b/ share place and manner, what acoustically separates their bursts?

• Frequency

• Spectral energy

At which places are English stops made?

• Bilabial

• Alveolar

• Velar

• Glottal

Which stop places have voiced/voiceless pairs?

• Bilabial (/b/ /p/)

• Alveolar (/d/ /t/)

• Velar (/g/ /k/)

Lingua-alveolar tap /ɾ/: how is it produced?

• Modified stop

• Tongue tip rapidly strokes or flaps the alveolar ridge

• Same contact place as /t/ and /d/, but the closure is very short

Other names for the tap /ɾ/

• Flap T

• One-tap trill

In what word position can /ɾ/ occur?

• Intervocalic only (between two vowels)

• Usually when stress is on the syllable before it

Why is /ɾ/ typically voiced, and does it have a voiceless cognate?

• It's a very rapid interruption between two voiced vowels

• No voiceless cognate

Which two phonemes can /ɾ/ substitute for?

• /t/

• /d/

Why is a /t/ between vowels often closer to /d/ in rapid speech?

• It's a brief voiceless stop between two voiced sounds (all vowels are voiced)

• So it tends to become voiced

Transcribe: butter

/ˈbʌɾɚ/

Transcribe: ladder

/ˈlæɾɚ/

Glottal stop /ʔ/: why is it called a 'marginal' stop?

• Whether it's truly a phoneme depends on which phonetician you ask

• It should still be transcribed

• In this course, it's only transcribed in 'uh-oh'

In what contexts is the glottal stop common in English speech?

• Intervocalically, when the vowels on either side are the same or similar

• Prevocalic, at the start of words

• As an interjection (uh-oh)

• For /t/ and /d/, especially syllable-final

Why is /ʔ/ always voiceless, even between vowels?

Closing the glottis to make the stop which stops the vocal folds from vibrating

In which variety of English is the glottal stop especially prominent?

British English (also common in American English)

Transcribe: button

/ˈbʌtn̩/

Transcribe: kitten

/ˈkɪtn̩/

Fricative: what is the airflow doing?

• Incomplete closure: articulators come close but don't touch

• Air escapes through a narrow opening

• Makes continuous turbulent noise

Fricative: list the articulatory summary.

1. Articulators form a narrow constriction that channels airflow

2. Velopharynx is closed

3. Air pressure increases behind the constriction

4. Airflow is made turbulent

At which places are English fricatives made?

• Labiodental

• Interdental (lingua-dental)

• Lingua-alveolar

• Lingua-palatal

• Glottal

Which fricative has the highest frequency energy, and about where?

• /s/

• About 7–8 kHz

Which fricatives have weak acoustic energy?

• /f/ /v/

• /θ/ /ð/

Groove fricatives

• /s/ and /z/

• Named for the groove the tongue forms to let air pass

s/z ratio

• Sustain /s/ as long as possible, then /z/ as long as possible, and divide

• Used as a clinical laryngeal screen

• Above about 1.4 suggests laryngeal pathology

Affricate: what is the airflow doing?

• Stop closure first

• Then released as a sustained fricative noise

Affricate: list the articulatory summary.

1. Stop closure followed by frication

2. Velopharynx is completely closed

Which two sounds make up /tʃ/?

• /t/ (voiceless lingua-alveolar stop)

• /ʃ/ (voiceless lingua-palatal fricative)

Which two sounds make up /dʒ/?

• /d/ (voiced lingua-alveolar stop)

• /ʒ/ (voiced lingua-palatal fricative)

How many affricate phonemes does English have?

Two: /tʃ/ and /dʒ/

Why isn't /ts/ in 'cats' an affricate in English?

• In English it's a consonant cluster

• Other languages do have /ts/ as an affricate

Nasal: what is the airflow doing?

• Oral tract is closed (like a stop)

• Velum lowers so the velopharyngeal port is open

• Sound radiates through the nasal cavity

Nasal: list the articulatory summary.

1. Oral tract is closed (like a stop)

2. Velopharyngeal port is open; sound radiates through the nasal cavity

3. Even if the oral closure breaks, sound keeps radiating through the nose while the port is open

Why is 'nasal stop' considered a misnomer?

• The tongue action is the same as an oral stop

• But there is no true obstruction of the vocal path

• So intraoral pressure doesn't build and release like an oral stop

At which places are English nasals made?

• Bilabial /m/

• Alveolar /n/

• Velar /ŋ/

Anticipatory assimilation

• A sound takes on a feature of an upcoming sound

• Example: /n/ becomes /ŋ/ before a velar stop (think, thanks)

• Example: the vowel influences the place of /k/ (key = closer to the hard palate)

When an 'n' is spelled before a velar consonant, how is it transcribed?

• /ŋ/ (not /n/)

• Examples: thing, think, inquire

VPI

• Velopharyngeal insufficiency

• The velopharyngeal port can't close fully, affecting non-nasal sounds

Liquid: what is the airflow doing?

• Vowel-like: voicing energy passes through a tract only somewhat more constricted than for vowels

• The shape and location of the constriction defines the type

Liquid: list the articulatory summary.

1. Sound energy goes through a distinctively shaped oral passage that can be held indefinitely

2. Velopharynx is almost always closed

3. Passage is narrower than for vowels but wider than for stops, fricatives and nasals

Lateral liquid /l/: how is it produced?

• Tongue makes a midline closure at the alveolar ridge

• An opening is kept at the sides of the tongue

• Sound radiates laterally around the tongue

Light /l/

• Tongue contacts the teeth

• Example: HEALTH

Dark /l/

• Tongue contacts the alveolar ridge

• Example: HELP

• Most American English /l/ productions

Postvocalic /l/ in a word like PAUL

Sometimes produced without contact with the alveolar ridge

Retroflex /r/

• 'Turned back' tongue tip

• Tip curled slightly back, not touching the alveolar ridge or palate

Bunched /r/

• Tongue body bunched in the palatal area

• Tip stays forward

What influences which /r/ production a speaker uses?

• Adjacent sounds

• Dialect

• Language

• Developmental status

How is the rhotic liquid transcribed in this course, regardless of production?

/r/

Glide: what is the airflow doing?

• Constriction narrower than a vowel but wider than other consonants

• Articulators glide from partly constricted to more open for the following vowel

• Slower movement than stop closing and opening

Other name for glides

Semivowels

Where must a glide always occur?

Before a vowel (prevocalic)

Why don't 'boy' and 'bow' end in /j/ or /w/?

• Glides are always prevocalic

• The diphthong vowel is the final phoneme

Name the English glides and their places.

• /j/: lingua-palatal

• /w/: labio-lingua-velar

• /ʍ/: voiceless labio-lingua-velar

/ʍ/ (as in WHICH, WHEN, WHALE)

• Voiceless labio-lingua-velar glide (fricative/glide)

• Voiceless cognate of /w/

Approximants

• Liquids + glides: /j/ /w/ /ʍ/ /l/ /r/

• Vocal tract not tightly constricted or closed

• Not vowels because they don't generally form a syllable nucleus

Why does /j/ in 'yes' count as an approximant and not a vowel?

It doesn't form the nucleus of the syllable

Bilabial

Two lips brought into proximity or contact

List the English bilabials.

• Stops /b/ /p/

• Nasal /m/

• Glides /w/ /ʍ/

Labiodental

Lower lip contacts the upper incisor teeth

List the English labiodentals.

Fricatives /v/ /f/

Interdental (lingua-dental)

Tongue tip between the upper and lower incisor teeth

List the English interdentals.

Fricatives /ð/ (breathe) and /θ/ (breath)

Fronting error

Replacing a back sound with a front sound where the back sound belongs

Alveolar (lingua-alveolar)

Tongue against or near the alveolar ridge (behind the incisor teeth)

List the English alveolars.

• Stops /d/ /t/

• Tap /ɾ/

• Fricatives /z/ /s/

• Lateral /l/

• Nasal /n/

What share of English consonant productions are alveolar?

Roughly half

How do /t/ and /d/ differ in contact, other than voicing?

• Same contact site

• /t/ usually has firmer contact, longer duration and faster release

Dentalization of /t/, /d/ and /n/

• Contact moves forward to the teeth

• Happens before /θ/: width, eighth, ninth

Palatalization of /t/

• Contact moves back toward the palate

• Some dialectal pronunciations of TUESDAY

Palatal (lingua-palatal)

• Tip and blade of the tongue raised toward the palate

• Lips often rounded, especially in isolated productions

List the English palatals.

• Fricatives /ʃ/ /ʒ/

• Affricates /tʃ/ /dʒ/

• Rhotic liquid /r/

• Glide /j/

Where is /r/ classified in General American English, even though IPA lists it as alveolar?

Lingua-palatal (the palate is the usual site of tongue bunching)

Velar (lingua-velar, dorsal)

• Dorsum (back) of the tongue raised to the roof of the mouth

• True place may be palate or velum depending on vowel context

List the English velars.

• Stops /g/ /k/

• Nasal /ŋ/

• Glides /w/ /ʍ/

Why don't English listeners hear a difference between velar and palatal /k/?

English doesn't use a palatal stop as a separate phoneme

Glottal

• Constriction is between the vocal folds themselves, not articulators in the mouth

• Mouth articulators can be in many positions depending on the vowel

List the English glottals.

• Fricative /h/

• Glottal stop /ʔ/ (marginal; only transcribed in 'uh-oh')

Why does /h/ have no voiced cognate?

The vocal folds must stay still to create its frication

Before high vowels (he, who), where is the friction for /h/ often made?

• Constriction between the tongue and palate

• Still transcribed /h/

Place summary: what forms constrictions and closures?

• Tongue

• Lips

• Teeth

• Alveolar ridge

• Palate

• Velum

• Glottis

Why does place of articulation vary across productions?

Usually because of adjacent vowels

Voiced consonant

• Vocal folds vibrate

• Has low-frequency energy (voicing) that voiceless sounds lack

• Pitch can change

Voiceless consonant

• No vocal fold vibration

• Pitch can't change