LING 2100 UGA Unit 1

Phonetics

the study of the minimal units of language

articulatory phonetics

the study of the production of speech sounds

acoustic phonetics

the study of the transmission and the physical properties of speech sounds

auditory phonetics

the study of the perception of speech sounds

x-ray photography

X-rays used in conjunction with sound film. The use of this technique can reveal the details of the functioning of the vocal apparatus. The entirety of how a sound is produced is revealed and can actually be seen as it happens.

palatography

Experimental method that shows the contact between the tongue and the roof of the mouth. Can be static or dynamic.

sound spectrograph

equipment that generates spectrograms from speech input

impressionistic phonetic transcription

a method of writing down speech sounds in order to capture what is said and how it is pronounced

phone

sound

Co-articulation

The adjustment of articulation of a segment due to the influence of a neighboring sound(s)

segments

the individual units of the speech stream; segments can be further subdivided into consonants and vowels

Suprasegmentals

A phonetic characteristic of speech sounds, such as length, intonation, tone, or stress, that "rides on top of" segmental features. Must usually be identified by comparison to the same feature on other sounds or strings of sounds.

consonants

Speech sound produced with a constriction somewhere in the vocal tract that impedes airflow

vowel

speech sound produced with at most only a slight narrowing somewhere in the vocal tract, allowing air to flow freely through the oral cavity

syllable

a unit of speech, made up of an onset and rhyme

monosyllabic

having only one syllable

onset

in a syllable, any consonants that occur before the rhyme

rhyme

in a syllable, a vowel and any consonants that follow it

nucleus

the vocalic part of rhyme

coda

consists of any final consonants

monopthongs

simple vowels composed of a single configuration of the vocal tract

diphthong

a complex vowel, composed of a sequence of two different configurations of the vocal organs

running speech/continuous speech

the usual form of spoken language, with all the words and phrases run together, without pauses in between them

articulatory description

the description of the motion or positioning of the parts of the vocal tract that are responsible for the production of a speech sound

articulation/articulatory gesture

the motion or positioning of some part of the vocal tract with respect to some other part of the vocal tract in the production of a speech sound

segmental features

voicing, place, and manner of articulation

speech sounds

represent physical sound realities; they are end products of articulatory motor processes

Larynx

cartilage and muscle located at the top of the trachea, containing the vocal folds and the glottis (voice box)

vocal tract

the entire air passage above the larynx, consisting of the pharynx, oral cavity, and nasal cavity

sub-glottal system

part of the respiratory system located below the larynx

pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism

airstream mechanism that produces speech sounds by modifying the stream of air forced out of the lungs and passed through the oral and/or nasal cavities

Trachea

windpipe; tube through which air moves

vocal folds

folds of muscle in the larynx responsible for creating voiced sounds when they vibrate

glottis

space between the vocal folds

Voicing

vibration of the vocal folds

voiced

sounds made by vibrations of vocal folds

voiceless

a sound produced without vocal fold vibration

Spectrogram

a three-dimensional representation of sound in which the vertical axis represents frequency, the horizontal axis represents time, and the darkness of shading represents amplitude

voicing bar

the dark band at the bottom of a spectrogram that indicates that a sound is voiced

place of articulation

the place in the vocal tract where the constriction for the production of a consonant is made

sagittal section

a cross section of the human head, designed to show a side view of the vocal anatomy

bilabial

consonants are made by bringing both lips closer together

labiodental

consonants are made with the lower lip against the upper front teeth

interdental

tip of the tongue protruding between the front teeth

alveolar

sounds are made with the tongue tip at or near the front of the upper alveolar ridge

alveolar ridge

the gum ridge behind the upper teeth

post-alveolar

Sound produced by raising the tongue toward the front part of the palate, just behind the alveolar ridge.

Palatal

sounds made with the body of the tongue near the center of the hard palate

velar

consonants produced at the velum

glottal

sounds are produced when air is contracted at the larynx

manner of articulation

how the airstream is modified by the articulators in the vocal tract to produce the consonant

stops/plosives

sounds made by obstruction the airstream completely in the oral cavity; p,b,t,d,k,g,?

fricatives

made by forming a nearly complete obstruction of the vocal tract

frication

A turbulent, hissing mouth noise that is produced by forming a nearly complete obstruction of the vocal tract.

Affricatives

produced by briefly stopping air and then releasing it with some friction