General Concepts
Define Phonetics
The study of speech sounds, their physiological production, acoustic qualities and their perception.
All the sounds we make are the result of:
a) tongue contracting
b) muscles contracting
c) pharynx contracting
b) muscles contracting
There are 44 sounds in English. Mention the categories and the number of sounds in each.
–12 Monophthongs (ONE vowel sound)
–8 Diphthongs (TWO vowel sounds)
–24 Consonants
Mention the three levels of pronunciation...
■Level 1: Individual Sounds ([e], [p], [i:], [t], [s])
■Level 2: Words (/fə.ˈne.tɪks/)
■Level 3: Connected Speech (/ɪz fə.ˈne.tɪks kuːl/) (Fall & Rise)
Transcribe 'uniform'
•Uniform - /'juːnɪfɔːm/
Define Phonology
•The study of the systems and patterns of distinctive sound units that occur in particular languages and the rules which regulate their use.
There are two cavities that air passes through, mention them
Oral and nasal cavity
Define vowels
Vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air out and through the mouth
Is pronunciation a physical or cognitive endeavour?
Physical
What vowel sound do you use in /vɜːb/?
The Mid Central Tense Unrounded Vowel
To indicate precise phonetic values we use:
a) [square brackets]
b) /slant brackets/
a) [square brackets]
What is termed as glottis?
The opening between the vocal cords
Three articulators come into play when it comes to vowel production. Mention & exemplify.
–There is a shape of the lips (rounded or spread lips)
–There is a shape of the tongue (front, central, back)
–There is movement in the jaws (high, mid or low)
How many vowels do English and Spanish have in their vowel charts?
12 and 5, respectively.
What is the technical name for [ə]?
Mid Central Lax Unrounded Vowel
To indicate the phonemic transcription of a word, we use:
a) [square brackets]
b) /slant brackets/
b) /slant brackets/
For the sake of analysis, the tongue is divided into five parts. Mention them
•Tip
•Blade
•Front
•Back
•Root
Define consonants
A sound in which there is some kind of obstruction.
Mention and elaborate on the four muscle buttons...
■Button 1: Lips (rounded, spread)
■Button 2: Tongue (front, central, back)
■Button 3: Jaw (high, mid or low)
■Button 4: Voice (voiced, voiceless)
Transcribe 'car'
•Car - /kɑː(r)/
Mention two fields of application of Phonetics and Phonology
•Language Recording
•Language Description
•Language Teaching
•Language Therapy
•Audiology
•Speech therapy
•Speech pathology
Broadly speaking, there are two types of sounds in English whose production depends on the presence or absence of obstruction of the flow of air. Those are...
Vowels and consonants
How many surfaces do you require to make obstruction possible?
2
What is a diphthong?
The combination of two vowel sounds
What is the right transcription for 'may'?
a) /mæɪ/
b) /məɪ/
c) /meɪ/
c) /meɪ/