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What is phonology?
Phonology is the study of how sounds are organized in a language.
What is a phoneme?
A phoneme is the smallest sound unit in a language that can change meaning.
What is speech?
Speech is the act of speaking or producing language sounds.
What are allophones?
Allophones are different versions of the same phoneme that don’t change meaning.
How many phonemes are in English?
About 44 phonemes.
Give two words that differ by one phoneme.
"Cat" and "bat" differ by /k/ and /b/.
What is phonetics?
Phonetics is the study of speech sounds.
Can you give an example of a syllable?
In "water," there are two syllables: wa-ter.
How are speech sounds made?
By the movement of the vocal organs (mouth, throat, etc.).
What is voice in speech?
Voice is the sound we make when our vocal cords vibrate.
What’s the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds?
Voiced sounds use vocal cord vibration (e.g., "b"), and voiceless sounds don’t (e.g., "p").
Why is rhythm important in language?
It helps make speech sound natural and easy to understand.
Can you give an example of allophones?
The "t" in "top" and "stop" are allophones—they sound slightly different but are still the same phoneme.
How do we produce speech?
By using our mouth, tongue, and vocal cords to make sounds.
What is syllabic structure?
It’s how words are divided into syllables, or units of sound.
How is phonology different from phonetics?
Phonology looks at sound patterns; phonetics studies actual sounds.
How does phonetics help with pronunciation?
It teaches the correct sounds of words using tools like IPA.
What are the three branches of phonetics?
Articulatory (sound production), acoustic (sound properties), and auditory (sound perception).
What’s the difference between vowel and consonant sounds?
Vowels have open airflow; consonants are blocked or restricted.
What is rhythm in speech?
Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in speech.
Do all languages have the same sounds?
No, each language has its own set of sounds.
The two forms of communication are called ...
The two forms of communication are called verbal communication and non-verbal communication.
What is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)?
The IPA is a system of symbols that represent the sounds of all languages.
What is an example of a voiced sound?
The sound of the letter "z" in "zoo" is voiced because your vocal cords vibrate.
What is an example of a voiceless sound?
The sound of the letter "s" in "sun" is voiceless because your vocal cords don’t vibrate.