Chapter 2 Phonology

What is phonology?

Phonology covers two subjects: Phonetics: studies the production, transmission and reception of speech sounds. Phonemics: studies sounds and sound patterns of a certain language.

Phonetics Branches of phonetics: 1. Articulatory phonetics: studies how speech sounds are produced by the human vocal apparatus. 2. Acoustic phonetics: studies the sound waves made by the human vocal organs for communication. 3. Auditory phonetics: The study of how speech sounds are perceived by the ear, auditory nerve, and brain.

How many sounds can a human produce?

Infinite number of sounds. We only use a limited number of them.

We use our speech organs when we speak. The following is a description of speech organs

What are the organs of speech?

The main organs of speech are: the jaw, the lips, the teeth, the teeth ridge (usually called the alveolar ridge), the tongue, the hard palate, the soft palate (the velum), the uvula, the pharynx, the larynx and the vocal cords.

The mobile organs are the lower jaw, the lips, the tongue, the velum, the uvula, the pharynx and the vocal cords. We have most control over the jaw, lips and tongue.

Sounds Vowels Consonants

Consonant (air passage) Restricted Stopped between the vocal cords

bat C V C at to V C C V

Manner of articulation Manner of articulation means how sounds are produced. - When someone speaks, we can say which sound is voiceless and which sound is voiced.

‘p’ and ‘t’ in ‘pat’ are voiceless. ‘b’ and ‘d’ in ‘bad’ are voiced sounds.

The glottis (gap between the vocal cords) is the first obstacle which meets the air in the vocal tracts.

When the vocal cords are open a voiceless sound is produced

When the cords are approximated, we produce voiced sounds.