II. Speech sounds

Speech production and perception ---Articulatory phonetics: the study of the production of speech sounds

consonants Sounds produced by constricting or obstructing the vocal tract at some place to divert, impede, or completely shut off the flow of air in the oral cavity Factors to distinguish between consonants --manners of articulation: The actual relationship between articulators and the way in which the air passes through certain parts of the vocal tract --places of articulation: Where in the vocal tract there is approximation, narrowing, or the obstruction of air.

manners of articulation: Stop ( 爆破音 plosive): [p, b; t, d; k, g] [m, n] Fricative( 摩擦音 ): [f,v; s,z] this, through, share, genre Median approximation: [w, j] Lateral ( 边音，旁流音 approximant): [l] Affricate( 塞擦音 ): church

places of articulation: Bilabial( 双唇音 ):[p,b,m] Labiodental( 唇齿音 ): this, through Alveolar( 齿槽音 ): [t,d; n, s,z; l] Postal veolar ( 后齿龈音 ):share, genre Retroflex( 卷舌音 ): [r] Palatal( 上腭音 ): [j] Velar([ 语 ] 软颚音 ): [k,g] Uvular( 小舌音 ): richtich The consonants of English: [p] voiceless bilabial stop

vowels The sound produced without any obstruction so the turbulence or a total stopping of the air can be perceived --Semi-vowels, or semi-consonants [w,j] The criteria of vowel description --The part of the tongue that is raised (front, center, back) --The extent to which the tongue raises in the direction of the palate (high, mid, low) --The opening made at the lips(rounding, unrounding of the lips)

vowels The theory of cardinal vowels: 8 vowels Secondary: another 8 vowels Vowel glides Pure or monophthong( 单元音 ):the quality of the vowel remain constant throughout the articulation Diphthong( 双重元音 ): a single movement of the tongue is involved in the production of a vowel [ai] Triphthong: a double movement of the tongue involved in the production of a vowel [tower]

Phonetics and Pronunciation IPA:International Phonetic Alphabet RP:Received Pronunciation Tense vowel—lax vowel [i:, i] Thus, a vowel can be described as: [i:] high, front, tense, unrounded vowel [u:] high, front, tense, rounded vowel

Suprasegmental features 超语段特征 --those aspects of speech that involve more than single sound segments Syllable Stress Tone intonation

Syllable Monosyllabic (mean, dog, cat) Polysyllabic (interesting, excellent) Syllabic structure syllable onset rhyme(nucleus) coda (onset) Rhyme(Coda) cat clean crisp

Minimal pairs The pair of sounds where the replacement of one by another would produce a change in meaning of the word concerned. Pit / put, bit /pit, bit/ but By using the minimal pair test, we can identify some important units in a language which can signify a difference in meaning, thus they are recognized as the phonemes, that is, the unit of explicit sound contrast..