Voice Production and Phonetics

Voice Production

• Sound is created from vibrations
• The larynx is at the top of the lungs
• The pharynx is a space above the larynx, behind the tongue and reaching up
• The tongue is the key part for speech organs
• Lips take on various positions for different sounds
• Teeth are important for speech sounds

Phonetic Sounds

• /j/ as in "year"
• /ʃ/ as in "share"
• /ð/ as in "they"
• /tʃ/ as in "chance"

Phonetics

• Phonetics is a branch of linguistics studying human speech sounds.
• Minimal Pairs are two words differing in just one sound.
• Minimal Sets are three or more words differing in just one sound.
• Organs of speech are the parts we use to make speech sounds.

Phoneme Representation

• Phonemic transcription represents phonemes with one symbol.
• There are 44 sounds comprised of 24 consonants and 20 vowels.
• Vowel sounds produced with no airflow restriction
• Consonant sounds produced with vocal tract obstruction

Vowels and Consonants

• English has 7 short vowels: /æ/ (mat), /ɛ/ (get), /ɪ/ (sit), /ʌ/ (duck), /ɒ/ (hot), /ʊ/ (book), /ə/ (above)
• English has 5 long vowels: /ɑː/ (hard), /iː/ (eat), /ɜː/ (bird), /uː/ (food), /ɔː/ (horse)

Consonant Classification: Place of Articulation

• Bilabial: /p, b, m, w/
• Labiodental: /f, v/
• Interdental: /θ, ð/
• Alveolar: /t, d, s, z, n, l, r/
• Palato-alveolar: /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/
• Palatal: /j/
• Velar: /k, g, ŋ/
• Glottal: /h/

Consonant Classification: Manner of Articulation

• Plosives (Stops): Complete airflow blockage (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/)
• Fricatives: Narrow channel causing friction (e.g., /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/)
• Affricates: Combination of stop and fricative (e.g., /tʃ/, /dʒ/)
• Nasals: Airflow through the nose (e.g., /m/, /n/, /ŋ/)
• Liquids: Partial blockage, smooth airflow (e.g., /l/, /r/)
• Glides: Smooth, transitional sounds (e.g., /j/, /w/)

Consonant Examples

• /p/ as in "pen"
• /t/ as in "tie"
• /g/ as in "good"
• /v/ as in "van"
• /m/ as in "moon"
• /j/ as in "year"
• /z/ as in "zoo"
• /ð/ as in "they"
• /w/ as in "wet"
• /ʒ/ as in "measure" and more...

This quiz explores the fundamentals of voice production and phonetics, including the role of various speech organs and the study of phonetic sounds. It covers important concepts like phonemes, minimal pairs, and sound production in the English language.