LINGUIST 2L03 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Acoustic Phonetics, Articulatory Phonetics, Auditory Phonetics
24 Apr 2019
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Phonetics- the study of spoken speech
Communication Chain- a single processing theory
Sender → Transmission → Receiver
- Speaker (into the air, into
a microphone)
- Speech production (vocal
tract, articulation)
- Air transports acoustic
energy
- Acoustic transmission
(sound wave)
- Our ears receive speech
signals
- Speech perception
(external, mid, inner ear to
brain signals)
How do I get to speech production?
Speaker → Thought → Linguistic Representation → Vocal Tract Movements →
Acoustics→ Auditory Perception → Facial Movements
- Speaker: the person making the sound
- Thought: wants to say something (i.e. a vowel)
- Linguistic Representation: have to use this certain muscle in this position to make
this sound
- Vocal Tract Movements: using the muscles in the mouth
- Acoustics: sound waves moving in the room
- Auditory Perception: perception in the basilar membrane and in brain cells
- Facial Movements: how wide do I open my jaw when I make this sound?
Haptic Feedback: system that tells you if you produced a sound or not (e.g. wanted to
make a [k] sound but made a [h] sound instead
Auditory Feedback: listening to ourselves speak and determining what level we need to
speak at (e.g. when we wear headphones we tend to speak louder)
Subcategories of Phonetics
1. Articulatory phonetics (speech production): how speech is produced, physiology
of the speaking apparatus
2. Acoustic phonetics: acoustic properties of speech, sound waves, frequencies,
durations, intensities
3. Auditory phonetics: auditory system, memory, brain, how speech is perceived
4. Transcription
Speech Production
Lungs/Ribcage → Diaphragm → Trachea → Larynx (throat) → Epiglottis → Pharynx →
Velum (also uvula) → Soft Palate → Hard Palate → Teeth → Lips → Tongue
Velum to Mouth- Oral passage
Velum to Nose- Nasal passage
Speech transmission wave: Oscillogram
Speech Perception in the Ear: Tympanic membrane in cochlea, brain signals
Brain regions: Broca and Wernicke’s areas, speech activates different parts of the brain
Universals- Number of different vowels in various languages (most common: 5 or 6)
- most common vowels: [ i ] , [ a ] , [ u ]
IPA vs. Written Representation:
- written representations are not suited for speech sounds (cough vs. though vs.
through)
- in IPA, each sound has a symbol
Phone- Realized pronunciation of a speech sound
- can be different between speakers
- the different ways people say phonemes (e.g. voiceless vs. voiced “th”)
Phoneme- Mental representation in the mind
- distinctive sounds
- tested with minimal pairs (e.g. /tip/ vs. /dip/)
Allophone- different realization of the same phoneme (e.g. pin vs. spin, Toronto vs.
Toronto- plosive vs. tap)
Segments vs. Suprasegmentals- Different articulators contribute to form one complex
acoustic structure
- e.g. of suprasegmentals: syllables, stress, intonation
- tone languages use segmental/suprasegmental knowledge to differentiate phonemes
Speech Production:
1. Lungs- generation of air flow
2. Trachea- transportation of air flow
3. Larynx- source/generation of sounds
4. Vocal Tract- filter/manipulation of source characteristics
Diaphragm- a muscle that inflates lungs
Oral Cavity: Velum (w/ uvula, which does not have a phonetic function) → Soft Palate →
Alveolar Ridge → Upper and Lower Teeth → Upper and Lower Lips
Phonation at the Larynx:
- located at the bottom of the pharynx
- contains 2 small muscular folds (vocal folds)
Vocal Folds:
1. Apart: during breathing, voiceless sounds, no obstruction
2. Tightly Closed: during eating, plosives
3. Approximated: during humming
What causes vibration in the vocal folds (voicing)?
- Air stream from the lungs
- In males: 100/s, females: 200/s, children: 400/s
Upper Articulators:
- Upper lips
- Upper teeth
- Alveolar ridge
- Hard palate
- Velum (soft palate) (last spot used in English)
- Uvula
- Pharynx
Lower Articulators:
- Lower lips
- Lower teeth
