LING 101, unit 1, sections 2 and 5

sound is produced when:

when air is set in motion after being supplied by lungs

larynx

sound source, the voice box, in upper neck

• made of cartilage and muscle

• boxlike

vocal folds/cords

the muscles in the larynx that vibrate to create sound

what is the vocal tract

it is the filters in the passages above the larynx

3 parts of the vocal tract

1. pharynx

2. oral cavity

3. nasal cavitypha

what is the pharynx

the throat tube connecting your larynx to the oral cavity

what are the primary air pressure muscles

1. intercostals (tween ribs)

2. diaphragm (large sheet muscle tween chest cavity and abdomen)intercostals

action of intercostals

raise ribcage to let air flow through the lungs on inhale

diaphragm

helps control the release of air for speechtrache

what is the trachea

the windpipe, where air passes to get out of lungslary

thyroid cartilage

main portion of larynx

• rests on cricoid cartilage

• front is like head of plow

cricoid cartilage

ring-shaped cartilage

• forms bottom border of the larynx and top of windpipe

what are and where do paired coral folds attach

• fine sheets of muscle flaring from inner sides of thyroid cartilage

• inner edges attached to vocal ligaments

• back/posterior edges attached to arytenoids

what does the positioning of the paired vocal folds affect

glottal states as air passes through glottis

arytenoids

two small cartilages, pyramid shaped in the larynx that sit on top of the cricoid cartilage

• opened and closed by pairs of small muscles

voiceless glottal state

• vocal folds pulled apart so air can pass through with littler interference

voiced glottal state

vocal folds close together but not tightly closed

• air passing through causes vibrations

whisper glottal state

voiceless but anterior fold pulled close while posterior folds flare out

murmur glottal state

• breathy voice

• voiced sounds but folds relaxed to let some air escape for breathy effect

• only in English for borrowed words from other lang

manners of articulation

how articulators are positioned to modify airflow and produce different sounds

oral sounds

when the velum is raised to cut off airflow to nasal cavity

nasal sounds

velum is lowered to let air pass through the nasal cavity

• both consonants and vowels can be

stops

vocal folds drawn firmly together and arytenoids drawn forward

• full closure of oral cavity or glottis

glottal stop

momentary closing or airstream at the glottis

• [b’] - apostrophe

nasal stops

always voiced

• closure of oral cavity (velum lowered) so air through nose

oral stops

consonant sounds made by blocking air to oral cavity while velum prevents air from escaping through nosefric

fricatives

• near closure but not complete causing hissing noise

• with continuous airflow

• part of continuants

Affricate

• a closure that is slowly released to create friction

• stop + fricative

• 2 in english [tʃ] and [dʒ]

stop fricatives and affricates are both

obstruents (cause greatest blockage of airflow)

stridents/sibilants

noisier fricatives and affricates

non strident

quite fricatives and affricates

aspiration

lag or delay after releasing certain voiceless stops before voicing of following vowel

• extra puff of air that escapes when you say certain consonant sounds

• happens mostly with stop or plosive sounds

transcription of aspiration

ex: [pʰ]

unreleased stop

air is held till next sound instead of being released

• airflow is blocked completely in v tract but articulators don’t open for an audible burst of air

what are unreleased stops not?

they are not dropped sounds as the mouth still forms the shape

transcription of unreleased stops

ex: [ p̚ ]

what are liquids

liquids are oral sonorous consonants

• l and r and their variants

• constriction not enough to cause friction of fricative

lateral liquids

varieties of l

• where tongue tip contacts alveolar ridge but sides of tongue are lowered so air can escape out the side of the mouth

• generally voiced but sometimes voiceless

clear l

l sounds made w/ tongue tip touching alveolar ridge

dark L or velarized L

additional constriction at velum

retroflex r

tongue tip curled back behind the alveolar ridge ridge and/or the tongue is bunched up

transcription of retroflex r

[ɹ] vs [r] for alveolar trill in spanish

flap or tap

brief contact of tip of tongue with the al ridge

• never at the start of English words

• not a separate phoneme that occurs freely

• usually voiced

example of a flap

usually an allophone of [t] and [d] in certain environments such as between vowels or before an unstressed syllable

• butter or bitter

sonorous sounds

made with continuous airflow

• liquids and nasals are more so than other consonants

they may function as syllabic nuclei

many liquids and nasals are so sonorous that

syllabic means

a sound is acting as the center of a syllable without needing a separate vowel soundsyllabiv

syllabic liquids and nasals

when liquids and nasals act as syllabic nuclei

transcription of syllabic nasals and liquids

ex: [ɹ̩]

glide or semivowel

slight constriction of tract w/ no friction

• faster than a vowel

• rapidly articulated non syllabic segment

• starts as/like vowel but moves fast toward other vowel sound

glides can’t…

can’t form nucleus of syllable w/ out full vowel

2 glides in english

[j] (a palatal glide) and [w] (a rounded velar glide)

more difficult consonants in english

liquid and fricatives because require precise constriction and gestures

order of describing sound

1. voicing

2. place of articulation

3. manner of articulation

ex: [b] = a voiced bilabial stop