PHONETICS

DEFINITION OF PHONETICS & SOUNDS

 Phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are produced and what their properties
are.
 Sounds in language are called phones or speech sounds & their number is finite.

THE SPEECH ORGANS

Three basic components used to produce speech sounds :
1. Larynx (voice box), containing the vocal folds (or vocal cords).
2. Vocal tract above the larynx, composing of the pharynx & the oral and nasal cavities.
 Primary organ of the vocal tract: the tongue
 It can be moved into different places and different shapes.
 There are six areas of the tongue: tip, blade, front, center, back, and root
3. Subglottal system below the larynx, which is part of the respiratory system.

THE PHONETIC ALPHABET

 As sounds and letters are very different, linguists have invented a phonetic alphabet, a
system for writing speech sounds.
 Writing down speech sounds by using a phonetic alphabet is called phonetic
transcription.

THE CONSONANTS
 Consonants are speech sounds made by a narrowing somewhere in the vocal tract,
which obstructs the flow of air from the lungs.
 Three aspects of consonants’ articulatory properties:
1. Voicing: whether the vocal folds vibrate or not
2. Place of articulation: where the vocal tract is made narrow
3. Manner of articulation: how close together or far apart the articulators are

THE VOWELS
• Vowels are speech sounds made with no significant obstruction of the air flow.
• Vowels are usually voiced
 • Vowels form the basis of syllables → to count how many syllables in a word, count the
number of vowels
• A diphthong = combination of two sounds, a vowel and a glide
• There are four aspects of vowel articulation:
1. Tongue height – whether the tongue is raised, lowered or in mid position
2. Tongue advancement - whether the tongue moves forward, backward, or is in
normal position
3. Lip rounding
4. Tenseness – whether there is more tension of the tongue & lips

THE WORD STRESS

 Stressed syllables become more prominent than unstressed ones: they are usually
higher in pitch, louder, and longer in duration.
 In contrast, unstressed syllables are less prominent; they usually contain vowels that are
reduced and pronounced as [ə] or sometimes as [ɪ].

THE INTONATION
 Intonation is the pattern of rises and falls in pitch.