Speech Production and Phonetics

Speech Production

• Sound production involves vibrations that create voiced sounds. The larynx sits atop the lungs.
• The pharynx is a space behind the tongue, extending upward.
• The tongue is a critical part of speech organs.
• Lips take on various positions during speech.
• Teeth contribute to speech production.

Phonetics

• Phonetics is a linguistic branch focusing on human speech sounds.
• Minimal pairs (two different words differing by one sound) and Minimal sets (three or more words differing by one sound) are used in this study.
• Phonemic transcription uses one symbol to represent a phoneme (a distinct sound). The example provided is the word 'boy' transcribed as /boi/.
• Forty-four sounds are classified into 24 consonants and 20 vowels.
• Vowels are produced without significant air restriction.
• Consonants involve obstruction in the vocal tract.

Vowels

• English has seven short vowel sounds and five long vowels. Examples are given, such as /æ/ (as in "mat") /e/ (as in "get"), /i/ (as in"sit") and /ʌ/ (as in "duck"), and long vowels /a:/ (as in "hard") /i:/ (as in "eat"), /з:/ (as in "bird") among others.

Consonants

• Consonant sounds are classified by place of articulation (where the sound is made in the mouth) and manner of articulation (how the sound is produced).
• Further detail regarding specific consonant types (plosives, fricatives, affricates,...), is given. For example, plosives involve complete blockage and then release of airflow.
• Examples of consonants and their phonetic representations are given. One example is /p/ as in "pen".