Tour of Consonants

Zsiga Ch.3 and Slide 3 of LING 313

what are the “exotic” sounds of phonetic environment (IPA)?

• shaded empty blocks are deemed impossible

• black spaces indicate limits of phonetic capabilities

what is an environment?

• place in a word the sound occurs

• ex. word initial or word final (between X___X)

• ex. engma is word medial or final like in ‘sing’ or ‘singer’

what is sound variation? why does it occur?

• the environment changes the way a sound is produced

• ex. [p] [t] [k] are aspirated in word-initial position but not if occurring after [s]

what are contrastive sounds?

• two sounds occur in the same environment but create two different words

• the only difference between two sounds is the only thing marking said difference

what are the oral (plosive) and nasal stops?

[p] [b] [m]

what are the voiceless bilabial fricatives?

• ɸ "futon" , "fugo" , "phew"

• Lips spread and pressed together (rather than pursed)

• Blowing out a candle

what is the voiced bilabial fricatives?

[β] occurs in between vowels "la bola" in spanish

what is the labiodental fricatives?

[f] and [v] only

what is the labio-dental nasal?

• [ɱ]

• Velum is open and constriction in lower lip on upper teeth

• Lips don't fully close hence labiodental

describe coronals

• dental to palatal consonants are all coronal

• they are made apically or laminally

  • ex. [t] [d] [n]

what are dental articulated coronals?

• the tooth mark diacritic [d̪]

• made with the tongue blade

what are post-alveolar constriction made in coronals?

• underline diacritic [d̠]

• made with the tongue tip

describe the articulation of laterals

• the airflow is stopped along the centre line of the mouth

• allows air to escape along the sides of the tongue

what is the dark [ɫ]?

backing and lowering of the tongue body when following a high vowel (ex. ‘feel’ is dark, [l]’s at the end of the syllable are dark)

what are light [l]’s?

the [l]’s at the start of the syllable

describe the articulation of lateral fricatives?

• the tongue is in the same configuration as [l]

• but has a tighter constriction at the sides and more airflow for frication

describe the articulation o fpost-alveolar laterals

• made in the alveolar region rather than alveolar ridge

  • ex. [ʎ] (tongue blade) and [ɭ ] (tongue tip)

describe the articulation of a velar lateral

• [ʟ]

  • Tongue dorsum raised toward velum

  • Greater constriction on one side

  • Say "milk" and notice how your tongue is not touching the alveolar ridge

  • Ex. touch behind lower teeth instead

describe the articulation of ballistics?

they throw the active articulator against a passive articulator

describe the articulation of a tap

• Bounces back as active articulator

• Touches then "bounces" off

• Only at alveolar region

• party" [t] → [ɾ] tap

describe the articulation of a flap

• Touches upper surface on "throwing tongue forward"

• Tongue tip makes contact with upper palate

• [ɽ] retroflex

what are aerodynamics (aka trills)?

• the active articulator held in position and tension

• the airflow sets one or both in vibration

name the non-lateral approximants

• Labiodental [ʋ]

• Dental/alveolar/post-alveolar [ɹ]

• retroflex [ɻ]

• palatal [j]

• velar [ɰ]

• labiovelar [w]

describe the articulation of grooved fricatives

• there is a groove in the tongue

• leads to strong airflow channel

• high pitched noise its the teeth

why are [θ] and [ð] are NOT considered grooved fricatives?

the tongue is flat and noise is soft and lower

which phonemes of the IPA are sibilants?

all the alveolar and post-alveolar fricatives

what are non-sibilants

dentals

describe the articulation of palatals

• raised tongue front and tongue body to the hard palate

• palatals are considered coronals

describe the linguo-labial stop

• the extension of the tongue to close against the upper lip

• “seagull diacritic”

describe the articulation of velars

• the tongue dorsum acts as an active articulator

• it moves up and back to make the constriction at the velum

  • ex. fricatives [x] and [ɣ]

what are affricates

• Two symbols

• Stop followed by fricative

• [t͡ʃ] and [d͡ʒ]

what are contour segments?

• They start off as stops and finish as fricatives

• They can also be pre-nasalized [ⁿd] or [ⁿb]

• They can have lateral releases [tˡ] and [dˡ]

what are complex segments

• Two different articulators at the same time

  • [w] constricts at velum and lips

  • Labio-velars combine [k] and [p] or [g] and [b]

what is the primary articulation of complex segments?

• When one articulation has greater constriction than the other

• Main constriction is paired by approximant at lips, palate, velum and pharynx

describe the articulation of implosives

• change in air pressure movement in the larynx

• airflow continues by lowering the larynx

• the space in the oral cavity expands

• always voiced stops / glottal ingressive stops

describe the articulation of ejectives

• the change in airpressure caused by larynx but airflow is outward

• inverse implosives aka glottalic egressives

describe the steps of ejectives

1. Close larynx and oral cavity (like glottal [k])

2. Raise larynx

3. Release oral closure

4. Release glottal closure

describe the steps of clicks

1. Closure of tongue body against velum / uvula

2. Second closure forward against teeth with tongue front

3. Pocket of air in the closures is made

4. Tongue slides backward and creates larger pocket of air

5. When forward closure is released there is a click

describe the articulations of stops

• contact happens, stays, then releases (prolongable)

describe the articulation of an approximant

• particles go through without bumping into each other

• lowest constriction possible for consonants

describe the articulation of resonants

when cavity is wide enough for all air to cast through without any disturbance to each other

describe the articulation of nasals

• closure similar to stops

• airflow through nasal passage

• nasals can happen in many places of articulation

why aren’t there any nasals at pharyngeal and glottal places?

voiceless nasals are not possible