Introduction to Linguistics and Phonetics

What is Linguistics

• Linguistics is the scientific study of the nature and use of language
• Linguistic competence is a speaker's subconscious knowledge about language
• Linguistic performance is the way a speaker produces and comprehends language
• Syntax describes how words combine to form phrases and sentences
• Semantics is the study of how meaning is interpreted
• Lexicon is the collection of words known by a speaker, including their functions, referents, pronunciations, and relationships to other words
• There are three distinct concepts of "grammar": mental grammar, descriptive grammar, and prescriptive grammar

What is Phonetics

• Phonetics is the study of the minimal units that make up language, called phones or speech sounds
• Coarticulation is the phenomenon where two words are articulated together, affecting pronunciation
• The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is the most widely used system for representing phones

Articulatory Descriptions of Consonants

• Voicing: whether the vocal folds vibrate during sound production (voiced) or not (voiceless)
• Place of Articulation: where in the vocal tract the airstream is constricted
• Manner of Articulation: how the airstream is constricted

Place of Articulation Categories

• Bilabial: [p], [b], [m], [w], [w (with the circle on the bottom of 'w')]
• Labiodental: [f], [v]
• Interdental: [θ], [ð]
• Alveolar: [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], [l], [ɹ]
• Post-alveolar: [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ]
  • Palatal: [j]
• Velar: [k], [g], [ŋ]
• Glottal: [h], [ʔ]

Manner of Articulation Categories

• Stops: [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g], [ʔ]
• Fricatives: [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [ʃ], [ʒ], [h]
• Affricative: [tʃ], [dʒ]
• Nasal: [m], [n], [ŋ]
• Liquids
  • Lateral Liquid: [l]
  • Retroflex Liquid: [ɹ]
• Glides: [w], [w (with the circle on the bottom)], [j]
• Flap (tap): [ɾ]

Vowel Articulation

• High: [i]
• Mid: [ε]
• Low: [æ]

Tongue Advancement

• Front: [i]
• Back: [u]

Lip Rounding

• Rounded: [u]
• Unrounded: [i]

Tenseness

• Tense Vowel: [i], [u]
• Lax Vowel: [ɪ], [ʊ]

Diphthongs and Monophthongs

• Diphthongs: two-part vowels, consisting of a transition from one vowel to another within the same syllable

What is Phonology

• Phonology is the study of how sounds are organized and interact with each other within a language
• Aspiration is a puff of air that follows the release of a consonant when there is a delay in the onset of voicing, symbolized by a superscript 'h'
• A phoneme is a class of speech sounds perceived as variants of the same sound, written between slashes (/a/)
• An allophone is a member of a phoneme class, written between square brackets [a]
• Phonetic Environment describes the position of a specific phone, represented by an underscore (_) and word boundary (#)

Contrastive Distribution

• Occurs when substituting two phones changes the meaning of the word, indicating they are allophones of separate phonemes

Complementary Distribution

• Occurs when two or more sounds appear in mutually exclusive environments, indicating they are allophones of the same phoneme

Free Variation

• When two phones appear in the same environment and do not alter the meaning of the word, indicating they are allophones of the same phoneme

Natural Class

• A group of sounds within a language sharing one or more articulatory or auditory properties, excluding other sounds

Sibilants

• Characterized by a high pitched, hissing sound quality like [s, z, ʃ, tʃ, dʒ]

Labials

• Consonant sounds produced with the lips, including both bilabial and labiodental sounds, such as [p, b, f, v, m, w, w (with the circle on the bottom)]

Obstruents

• Consonants produced with an obstruction of airflow in the oral cavity while the nasal cavity is closed off, including stops, fricatives, and affricatives, such as [p, b, t, d, k, g, glottal stop, f, v, θ, s, z, h, ʃ, tʃ, dʒ]

Sonorants

• Typically voiced consonants produced with a relatively open passage of airflow, including nasals, liquids, glides, and vowels

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

• A chart used to represent all known speech sounds
• Provides information about place and manner of articulation for each consonant sound
• Consonats are organized by place of articulation (left to right), and then by voicing (left side voiceless, right side voiced)

Explore the fundamentals of linguistics and phonetics in this quiz. Learn about linguistic concepts like competence, performance, syntax, and semantics, alongside the study of sounds and articulation. Perfect for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of language.