Impressionistic phonetic transcription- a method of writing down speech sounds in order to capture what is said and how it is pronounced
Co-articulation- the influence of one sound on a neighboring sound
This book uses the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for phonetic transcription
Segments- the discrete units of the speech stream that can be divided into consonants and vowels
Suprasegmental- applies to entire strings of consonants and vowels (such as stress, tone, and intonation)
Breakdown of Syllables
Articulation- 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
When describing a consonant, it is necessary to provide information about three different aspects of its articulation:
Segmental features- the voicing, place, and manner of articulation
Three basic components of the human anatomy that are involved in the production of speech
Voiceless sounds- sounds made without such vibration
Voiced sounds- sounds made with the vocal folds vibrating
Bilabial consonants- made by bringing both lips close together
Labiodental consonants- made with the lower lip against the upper front teeth
Alveolar sounds- made with the tongue tip at or near the front of the upper alveolar ridge
Post-alveolar sounds- made with the front of the tongue just behind the alveolar ridge, right at the front of the hard palate
Palatal sounds- made with the body of the tongue near the center of the hard portion of the roof of the mouth
Velar consonants- produced with the back part of the tongue body raised near the velum, also known as the soft palate
Glottal sounds- produced when air is constricted at the larynx
Stops- made by obstructing the airstream completely in the oral cavity
Fricatives- made by forming a nearly complete obstruction of the vocal tract
Affricates- made by briefly stopping airstream completely and then releasing the articulators slightly so that frication noise is produced
Nasals- produced by relaxing the velum and lowering it, thus opening the nasal passage to the vocal tract
Approximants- involve constriction of the vocal tract, but the constrictions are not narrow enough to block the vocal tract or cause turbulence
Liquids- formed with slightly more constriction than glides, and their quality changes depending on where they occur in a word
Glides- made with only a slight closure of the articulators, and they require some movement of the articulators during production
Flap- involves the complete obstruction of the oral cavity, however, it is much faster than that of a stop
Consonant Chart
Low vowel- pronounced with the jaw opened and the tongue body away from the roof of the mouth
Mid vowel- produced with an intermediate tongue height
High vowel- pronounced with the tongue body close to the roof of the mouth
Front vowel- pronounced by pushing the body of the tongue forward
Back vowel- pronounced by raising the body of the tongue in the back of the mouth
Tense vowels- have more extreme positions of the tongue and/or the lips
Lax vowels- require less extreme gestures, movements, and/or raisings
Vowel Chart
There are five key parameters of articulation in signed languages
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