General study of the characteristics of speech sounds

The Sounds of language

Phonetics: It is the general study of the characteristics of speech sounds

Articulatory phonetics: It is the study of how speech sounds are articulated

Acoustics phonetics: Deals with the physical properties of speech sounds waves in the air

Auditory Phonetics: Deals with the perception via the car of speech sounds

Voiced and voiceless sounds

In articulatory phonetics, we investigate how speech sounds are produced using the fairly complex oral equipment we have

Voiceless: When the vocal cords are spread apart; the air from the lungs passes between them unimpeded

Voiced: When the vocal cords are drawn together, the air from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes through.

Place of articulation

Most consonant sounds are produced by using the tongue and parts of mouth to constrict

Alveolar, nasal cavity, palate, Velum, uvula, narynx, larynx vocal cords

Bilabials: these are sounds formed using both lips. The initial sounds in words like pat, bat, mat are voiceless

Labiodentals: are formed with the upper teeth and the lower lip sound like fat bat

Dentals: formed with the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth

Alveolars: : This sounds formed with the front part of the tongue and the alveolar ridge ,which is the rough, bony ridge immediately behind the upper teeth words like top, dip, sit, zoo

Alveo-palatals: Sounds which are produced with the tongue at the very front of the palate, near the alveolar ridge :examples shoot child which are voiceless

Velars: Sounds produced with the back of the tongue against the velum; kid, kill, car, cool

Glottal: this sounds are made with the space between the vocal cords in the larynx. When the glottis is open is open, as in the production of other voiceless sounds: house, have

Manner of articulation

It is when the sounds differ in their manner of articulation is the way they are pronounced

Stops: are produced by some form of complete ‘stopping’ of the airstream and then letting it go abruptly ten

Fricatives: it is formed with the air pushed through, a type of friction is produced and the resulting sounds are called fricatives. Word like fish

Affricatives: if you combine a brief stopping of the airstream with obstructed release which causes some friction: words like sheep and jeep

Nasals: when the sounds are produced with the velum raised preventing airflow from enter the nasals cavity

Liquids: sounds like red, led: are formed by letting the airstream flow around sides of the tongue

Glides: the sounds with [w] and [y] are produced very much as transition sounds are produced with the tongue moving or gliding

Vowels: vowels sounds are produced with a relatively free flow of air. We consider the way in which the tongue influences the shape through which the airflow must pass. These sounds are not so easily defined in terms of place and manner of articulation

Diphthongsthe: last three symbols in the list above contain two sounds. These combined vowel sounds are called diphthongs

Sounds of patterns of language

Phonology: It is the description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language

Phonology is a branch of linguistics, closely related to phonetics, which studies the manners of organization and usage of the speech sounds in natural languages.

Phonology: concerned with the abstract set of

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