Classification of Speech Sounds
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Classification of Speech Sounds

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Questions and Answers

What are the two primary categories of English speech sounds?

  • Vowel sounds and consonant sounds (correct)
  • Adjective sounds and adverb sounds
  • Pronoun sounds and preposition sounds
  • Noun sounds and verb sounds

    • What are consonants?

    Produced with vocal tract constricted (except for /h/)

    What is the classification of consonants based on?

    Place of articulation, manner of articulation, & voicing

    What does place of articulation refer to?

    <p>Where the constriction is during sound production</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Provide examples of places of articulation.

    <p>Labio-dental, lingua-dental, lingua-alveolar, lingua-palatal, velar, and glottal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is manner of articulation?

    <p>How the sound is generally produced</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Give examples of manners of articulation.

    <p>Stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids, and affricates</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does voicing indicate?

    <p>Whether or not vocal cords are vibrating</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are vowels?

    <p>Produced with open tract. Produced by the voice sound source only</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What factors classify vowels?

    <p>Tongue height, tongue advancement, tenseness or laxness, &amp; lip rounding</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is tongue height?

    <p>The height of the tongue in the mouth</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does tongue advancement refer to?

    <p>The positioning of the tongue within the vocal tract (from front to back)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does tenseness or laxness indicate?

    <p>Tenseness or laxness of the oral cavity during vowel production</p> Signup and view all the answers

    If a sound is longer, what is it usually?

    <p>More tense</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does lip rounding refer to?

    <p>The amount of lip rounding during production</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Name the frontal vowels.

    <p>/i/ /ɪ/ /e/ /ɛ/ /æ/</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /i/.

    <p>High, front, tense, unrounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ɪ/.

    <p>High-mid front, lax, unrounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /e/.

    <p>Tense, mid-front, unrounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ɛ/.

    <p>Low-mid, front, lax, unrounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /æ/.

    <p>Low, front, lax, unrounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What should you use anytime you have a stressed vowel?

    <p>A diphthong</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Name the back vowels.

    <p>/u/ /ʊ/ /o/ /ɔ/ /ɑ/</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /u/.

    <p>High, back, tense, rounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ʊ/.

    <p>High-mid, back, lax, rounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /o/.

    <p>Mid-back, tense, rounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ɔ/.

    <p>Low-mid, back, tense, rounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ɑ/.

    <p>Low, back, tense, unrounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Name the central vowels.

    <p>/a/ /ɜ/ /ɝ/ /ə/ /ɚ/ /ʌ/</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /a/.

    <p>Usually only heard in dialect</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ɜ/.

    <p>Mid, central, tense, rounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ɝ/.

    <p>Mid central, tense, rounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the schwa vowel?

    <p>/ə/</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ɚ/.

    <p>Mid central, lax, rounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the vowel sound /ʌ/.

    <p>Low, mid, back-central, lax unrounded</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the only rule in phonetics?

    <p>Transcribe what was said</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does GROT stand for?

    <p>General Rule of Thumb</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When should you use Schwar?

    <p>On endings of words with r (mother, father, sister, brother)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Classification of Speech Sounds

    • English speech sounds fall into two primary categories: consonants and vowels.

    Consonants

    • Produced with constriction in the vocal tract, except for the sound /h/.

    Classification of Consonants

    • Three key factors for classification: place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing.

    Place of Articulation

    • Refers to the specific location in the vocal tract where the airflow is restricted during sound production.
    • Examples include:
      • Labio-dental: between lips and teeth
      • Lingua-dental: tongue against teeth
      • Lingua-alveolar: tongue against alveolar ridge
      • Lingua-palatal: tongue against hard palate
      • Velar: back of the tongue against soft palate
      • Glottal: use of the vocal cords

    Manner of Articulation

    • Describes how the consonant sound is produced, including:
      • Stops: complete blockage of airflow
      • Fricatives: narrowing to create turbulent airflow
      • Nasals: airflow through the nose
      • Liquids: partial closure allowing airflow around the tongue
      • Affricates: combination of stops and fricatives

    Voicing

    • Indicates whether the vocal cords are vibrating during sound production.

    Vowels

    • Created with an open vocal tract and produced solely by the voice sound source.

    Classification of Vowels

    • Four main features guide vowel classification: tongue height, tongue advancement, tenseness or laxness, and lip rounding.

    Tongue Height

    • Defines how high the tongue rises in the mouth during sound production.

    Tongue Advancement

    • Refers to the positioning of the tongue from front to back within the vocal tract.

    Tenseness or Laxness

    • Describes the degree of tension in the oral cavity during vowel production; more tense vowels are often longer in duration.

    Lip Rounding

    • The extent to which lips are rounded during vowel production.

    Frontal Vowels

    • Front vowels include the sounds /i/, /ɪ/, /e/, /ɛ/, /æ/ with their respective properties:
      • /i/: high, front, tense, unrounded (as in "he")
      • /ɪ/: high-mid, front, lax, unrounded (as in "him")
      • /e/: mid-front, tense, unrounded (as in "eighteen")
      • /ɛ/: low-mid, front, lax, unrounded (as in "bet")
      • /æ/: low, front, lax, unrounded (as in "cat")

    Stressed Vowels

    • Use of diphthongs occurs whenever a stressed vowel is present.

    Back Vowels

    • Back vowels consist of /u/, /ʊ/, /o/, /ɔ/, /ɑ/ with their characteristics:
      • /u/: high, back, tense, rounded (as in "canoe")
      • /ʊ/: high-mid, back, lax, rounded (as in "book")
      • /o/: mid-back, tense, rounded (as in "notate")
      • /ɔ/: low-mid, back, tense, rounded (as in "caught")
      • /ɑ/: low, back, tense, unrounded.

    Central Vowels

    • Central vowels include /a/, /ɜ/, /ɝ/, /ə/, /ɚ/, /ʌ/:
      • /a/: dialect-specific "path vowel" (as in "nice")
      • /ɜ/: mid, central, tense, rounded (not often r-colored)
      • /ɝ/: mid-central, tense, rounded (stressed r vowel, as in "worker")
      • /ə/: the schwa, mid-central, lax, unrounded, and the most common vowel in English
      • /ɚ/: schwar, mid-central, lax, rounded, usually unstressed
      • /ʌ/: low, mid, back-central, lax, unrounded (as in "dumb").

    Phonetic Transcription

    • The fundamental rule in phonetics is to accurately transcribe what was said.

    General Rule of Thumb (GROT)

    • A guiding principle for phonetic transcription.

    Use of Schwar

    • Employ the schwar sound on the endings of words containing the letter "r" (e.g., mother, father).

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    Description

    Explore the fascinating world of English speech sounds in this quiz. Learn about the classification of consonants based on articulation, manner, and voicing. Test your knowledge on places of articulation and different types of consonant sounds.

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