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Phonemes, Vocal Tract and Articulation - Coggle Diagram
Phonemes, Vocal Tract and Articulation
Phonemes and the Vocal Tract
phonology is the study of sounds. You will also encounter phonetics, and this is the study of how sounds are produced
spoken acquisition
acquisition is how we gain and acquire language. We can then consider what types and sounds of language have been acquired and how particular words are spoken
phonemes
despite there being 26 letters in the English alphabet, there are 44 phonemes to describe sounds
you will be given a list of phonemes in your exam, so you don't need to remember them all
The Place of Articulation
you need to be able to day where sounds are produced. Parts of the vocal tract which help produce sounds are called articulators. Each articulator (or combination of articulators) produces a different type of sound
dental sounds
these are sounds produced using the teeth
in British Standard English, there are only 2 dental sounds you need to know
the theta sound (/θ/) in words like "
th
rough"
the thorn sound (/ð/) in words like "
th
is"
palatal sounds
these are produced when the tongue is against the hard palate
there is only 1 phoneme you need to know...
the yod (/j/) sound in words like "
y
es"
palato-alveolar sounds
this group is sometimes called post-alveolar and is grouped into palatal
these are produced when the tongue is pressed past the alveolar ridge, but not quite at the hard palate
these are sounds like (/ʃ/) in words like "
sh
oe"
bilabial sounds
these are produced using both (bi) lips (labials)
these are sounds like the (/m/) in "
m
onkey"
velar sounds
these are sounds produced by the tongue touching the velum (soft palate)
these are sounds like the (/g/) in "
g
reen"
labiodental sounds
these involve using both the teeth and the lip(s)
these are sounds like the (/f/) in "
f
ive"
alveolar sounds
these are produced by the tongue being pressed against the alveolar ridge
these are sounds like (/t/) in "
t
eeth"
glottal sounds
these are sounds produced in the glottis
there are 2 you need to know
the (/h/) phoneme in words like "
h
ouse"
the glottal stop (missing out the (t/t) sound in words) in words like "bu
tt
er"
The Manner of Articulation
when we are talking about the manner in which something is produced, we are referring to the way in which air is forced to behave in the production of sound
affricates
affricates start as plosives and end in fricatives
for example, the (/tʃ/) sound in words like "
ch
ur
ch
"
fricatives
fricatives are pushes of air
for example. the (/f/) sound in "
f
ive"
approximant
approximate is when articulators are brought close together but are not fully touching
for example, your lips don't fully touch when making the (/w/) sound in "
w
ord"
lateral approximant
lateral approximant is produced by air being forced between the sides of the tongue and the tongue being pressed against the alveolar ridge
there are 2 lateral approximant consonant sounds
the clear /l/ (before a vowel) in "
l
aw" and "
l
eaf"
the dark /ɫ/ (at the end or before a consonant) in "a
ll
" and "fee
l
"
nasals
nasals are sounds which release air through the nose and not through the mouth
for example, the (/n/) in words like "
n
ight"
plosives
these are quick releases of built-up air
for example, the (/g/) sound in "
g
reen"