Linguistics For Everyone - Chapter 3 - Phonetics

Front 1

Phonetics

Back 1

Study of speech sounds

Front 2

Phoneme

Back 2

Unit of sound that makes a difference in the meaning of a word. Phonemes differ from language to language - there are about 40 in English. Phonemes are not the same as letters. They represent the sounds of language, not the letters of a writing system.

Front 3

/p/, /t/, /k/

Back 3

Sounds are represented enclosed in slashes to distinguish them from letters of the alphabet

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Consonant

Back 4

Sound characterized by closure or obstruction of the vocal tract. English has 24 consonant phonemes.

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Vowel

Back 5

Sound characterized by an open vocal tract, with no closure or obstruction. All vowels are voiced.

Front 6

Minimal pair

Back 6

Pair of words that differ only in one sound in the same position (E.g. pit/bit)

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Phonemic transcription

Back 7

Written recording of sounds using the distinctive phonemes of a language, resultng in a 1:1 correspondence between a sound and a symbol.

Front 8

Voicing

Back 8

Vibration of the vocal folds; controlling the vibration of the vocal chords as air passes through to make speech sounds

Front 9

Place of articulation

Back 9

The places in the oral cavity where airflow is modified to make speech sounds.

Front 10

Manner of articulation

Back 10

The way we move and position our lips, tongue and teeth to make speech sounds.