Phonetics and Phonology (Key)

1. The pharynx is a tube which begins just above the larynx. It is abơut 7 cm long in
women and about 8 cm in men.
2. The velum/soft palate is an articulator that allows air to pass through the nose and
through the mouth.
3. The alveolar ridge is between the top front teeth and the hard palate.
4. The seven articulators above the larynx are the pharynx, the velum, the hard palate, the
alveolar ridge, the tongue, the teeth, and the lips.
5. The most important difference between vowels and consonants is not the way that they
are made, but their different distributions.
6. The quality of a vowel depends on the position (height) and shape of the tongue, and the
shape of the lips.
7. Tongue height is the vertical distance between the upper surface of the tongue and the
palate. If the distance is small then the vowels are called close, if it is big then the vowels
are open.
8. Some vowels are neither close nor open, they are mid-vowels.
9. The tongue shape depends on which part of the tongue is raised highest.
10. Some vowels are neither front nor back: they are central.
11. Vowel quality also varies depending on whether the lips are rounded, spread or in a
neutral position.
12. For rounded vowels, the corners of the lips are brought towards each other and the lips
are pushed forwards (e.g. / u:/).
13. When the lips are spread, the corners are moved away from each other ( e.g. / i: /).
14. Some vowels are made with a neutral lip position: the lips are neither rounded nor
spread (e.g. /3:/).
15. Front vowels are vowels for which the tongue front is raised highest.
16. Back vowels are vowels for which the tongue back is raised highest.
17. Central vowels are vowels for which the part between the tongue front and back is raised
highest.
18. Mid vowels are vowels which are neither open nor close.
19. Open vowels are vowels for which there is much space between the surface of the tongue
and the roof of the mouth.
20. Close vowels are vowels for which there is little space between the surface of the tongue
and the roof of the mouth.
21. Monophthongs are single vowel sounds that may be short or long.
22. Diphthongs are double vowel sounds formed by gliding (= moving) from one vowel
position to another.
23. Triphthongs are triple vowel sounds made by gliding from one vowel position to a
second and then to a third.
24. The English short vowels are /1,e,%, ^,4,$,6/ .
25. There is one other short vowel, for which the symbol is /6/. This central vowel is called
schwa.
26. The long vowels are /1:,3:,u:,a:,0:/.
27. Diphthongs can be classified according to the movement that is made in going from the
first to the second element; if the second element is closer than the first, then a closing
glide is made; if the second element is more central then a centring movement happens.
28. Complete the following diagram:

Diphthongs

Centring Closing

Ending in /6/ Ending in /1/ Ending in /$/

16 e6 $6 e1 @1 01 6$ 4$

29. Consonants are classified according to their manner and place of articulation and voicing.
30. The organs of speech give their names to the places of articulation.
31. Depending on the state of the vocal folds, we classify consonants into two large
classes: voiced and voiceless. Voiced consonants are made with vocal fold
vibration, voiceless consonants are made with an open glottis.
32. Places of articulation are the static or passive points on the upper surface of the
oral cavity towards which the active articulators (lower lip and the tongue) move in the
production of speech sounds.
33. Manner of articulation is the name given to the type of sound (relating to its auditory
effect and the way in which this effect is created: it is the third term in the consonant
labelling system, voice-place-manner labels (or VPM labels).
34. There are four main phases in the production of plosives: the closure phase, hold phase,
release phase , and post-release phase.
35. Transcribe the following words as fully as you can.
1. fumes 2. communicate 3. module
4. music 5. computer 6. human