Phonetics
The study of the sound that humans use to communicate through language.
Subfields of the phonetic:
- Acoustic phonetic: how the sound is transmitted through air between the speaker and the hearer
- Auditory phonetic: how the sound is received by the hearer and decode them
- ARICOLATORY PHONETIC: how the sound is created by the speaker.
Human speech originates in the lungs by a process called “egressive pulmonary airstream mechanism”, the
speech sound is made as we breath out and the air leaves lungs, travel up the trachea and it goes out
through the mouth and sometimes through the nose.
Vocal organs:
Lower part the breathing apparatus. The material (carbon dioxide) is the “E.P.A.M.” and before it leaves the
body, it passes through larynx, vocal folds (they are contained in the larynx and they are responsible of the
voicing and of the change pitch). Vocal folds are attached to the arytenoid cartilage it is responsible of
pulling together/keep apart vocal folds. On the top of the trachea there is the epiglottis. Vocal folds and
arytenoid cartilage combine together the glottis.
- NOSE: no possible airstream modification, it is just a resonating chamber.
- MOUTH: when the velum cuts off the nasal escape, the air has to leave through the mouth. In the
mouth there are: uvulum, velum, palate, alveolum, teeth, lips and tongue.
Speech has a stream of sound divided by us in letters in writing, but it has overlapping features of
articulation when we’re speaking.
The speech sound is divided into consonants and vowels. (no words without vowels, few words without
consonant). The differences between v. & c. is due to the airstream. In fact, to pronounce vowels the air
passes free through the mouth and the nose, otherwise to pronounce consonants the air is squeezed and
constricted, and then there are semivowels in which the airstream is less constricted (/w/, /r/, /j/)
Consonant.
We describe consonants according to:
- Where they take PLACE
- How they are articulated (MANNER) -> VPM
- Whether the vocal folds are vibrating (VOICE)
PLACE:
Between lips and larynx:
- BILABIAL: front of the mouth /m/ /w/
- LABIODENTAL: top teeth + bottom lip /v/ /f/
- INTERDENTAL: tongue + teeth “th”
- ALVEOLAR: tongue placed against the alveolar ridge: /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/, /n/
- POST-ALVEOLAR: tongue between alv. ridge and hard palace. “sh” and “s”
- PALATAL: tongue + palate section /y/ “yes
- VELAR: tongue + velum /k/ /g/
- UVULAR: tongue + uvulum -> French R
- GLOTTAL SOUNDS “h” in “house”
