Phonetic Transcription

Consonants: Vocal tract is relatively constricted, airflow is relatively obstructed (airflow is somewhat blocked)

Vowels: Vocal tract is relatively open, airflow is not as obstructed

Suprasegmentals (prosody): What is superimposed on multiple consonants/vowels (different way to say things)

Transcribing speech: Using specialized symbols instead of letters to represent speech sounds (IPA transcription)

Why use IPA? Because of inconsistency between spelling and sound in english

Consonants are classified by place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing

Vowels are classified based off of height, frontness, and lip rounding

Manner of articulation (how constriction is made)

Plosive (stops): Complete closure in the oral tract: no air escapes from mouth. Soft palate (velum) is raised to block pathway to nose: no air escapes from nose

Nasal: Complete closure in the oral tract: no air escapes from mouth. Velum is lowered to allow pathway to nose so air can scape

Fricative: A narrow constriction is formed in the oral tract, resulting in turbulent airstream. Velum is raised to block pathway to nose so no air escapes from nose

Affricate: A stop followed by a fricative. Produced by a completely closed vocal tract (stop) followed by an open but narrow constriction (fricative)

Approximant/lateral approximant: One articulator is close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to where a turbulent airstream is produced.

Place of articulation (where constriction is made) : Bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, post alveolar, palatal, velar, glottal

Voicing (phonation): whether vocal folds vibrate or not

Voiced: Produced with vocal fold vibration

Voiceless: Produced without vocal fold vibration

All vowels are voiced, not all consonants are voiced

Place of articulation:

Bilabial: Two lips

Labiodental: lower lip and upper front teeth

Dental: tongue tip/blade and upper front teeth

Alveolar: Tongue tip/blade and alveolar ridge

Retroflex: Tongue tip and back of alveolar ridge

Post alveolar: Tongue blade and back of alveolar ridge

Palatal: Front of tongue and hard palate

Velar: Back of tongue and soft palate