Phonetics Exam 1

The Glottal Cycle

. A glottal cycle is one vibratory cycle of the vocal folds . The folds come back together, due to both the elastic characteristics of the muscle and aerodynamic forces . The folds open and air flows between them . The folds begin to blow apart from bottom to top . Air pressure begins to build beneath the folds . The cycle typically begins with the folds adducted

Affricates

. A merging together of a plosive and a fricative . Phase 1: articulators are brought firmly together as for a plosive . Phase 2: Closure is maintained, as for a plosive . Phase 3: articulatory stricture is released, but the articulators move apart only very slightly, which leaves a very narrow gap for air to escape . Result: turbulent . English affricates: /(tch)/ and /(dg)/ . Not a combination of two seperate consonats - they are not as long as plosives or fricatives, and are made at a single place of articulation (homorganic) - affricates are prolongable

Descriptive Parameters of Articulation Description of Consonants

. Airstream . Location of initiation . Direction . Phonation . State of velum . Direction of oral airflow . Prolongability . Place of articulation . Manner of articulation - When describing consonants, the basic 4 term label specifies: voicing, place, manner of articulation and sometimes nasality or orality.

Anterior lingual places of articulation: Alveolar

. Alveolar consonants are made by placing the tongue tip or blade against the alveolar ridge - /t, d, s, z, n, l/ . Alveolar fricatives are normally grooved

Dorsal Places of Articulation: Uvular

. Back and/or root of tongue agains the uvula - Standard French usues a uvular trill and/or uvular fricatives for 'r'

Dorsal Places of Articulation: Velar

. Back of tongue body against the soft palate - In English we have velar plosives and nasal: /k/, /g/, /ing/; /w/ is a bilabial-velar . Velar fricatives are common in other languages . The velar place of articulation is susceptivle to the influence of surrounding vowels: e.g. with front vowels like /i/ velar stops become more palatal, consider "cat" and "Kim"

Labial places of articulation

. Bilabial: has upper and lower lips approximating each other - /p, b, m and w/ . Labiodental: has the lower liop approximating the under edge of the upper front teech - /f and v/ (these fricatives have a slit and wide air channel) . For both, we can specify whether the inner surface of the lip (endolabial) or outer surface (exolabial) is used.

Consonants Overview

. Classfied based on: 1) If they are voiced or voiceless - voicing. Phonation - vocal folds 2) If they are produced with or without nasality, lowering vs. raising the velum 3) Articulation: oral cavity. - Manner of articulation - Place of articulation

Phonetics

. Covers the production, transmission, and reception of the sounds of speech . Phonetics is concerned with the study of ALL speech sounds that have been found in the world's languages . Clinical Phonetics: is concerned with sounds produced by individuals with speech disorders

English Orthography

. Differences between the sounds and the spelling of English 1) Different letters can represent same sounds 2) The same letter can represent different sounds 3) Combinations of letters can represent one sound or more than one sound 4) A letter in a word may represent NO sound . # of letters does NOT always coincide with the # of sounds . Also, different people might pronounce certain words in different ways

Harsh Voice

. Due to the very strong tension of the vocal folds, which results in an excessive approximation of the vocal folds . When the whole larynx is subjected to this extremely high tension, the upper larynx becomes highly constriced making the vibration ineffective . Harsh phonation is therefore irregular in both cycle duration and amplitude

The Larynx

. For speech purposes, the larynx takes the energy provided by the respiratory system and converts it into a sounds source . This process is called phonation . The larynx sits on top of the trachea, is made up largely of cartilage, and provides a framework for a number of muscles of phonation

Hypernasal voice quality or Hyponasal voice quality

. Hypernasal: excessive nasality for example when a speaker cannot raise the velum completely to shut off nasal airflow, oral sounds are produced as nasals, e.g. /m/ as [m] . Hyponasal: lack of nasality, either because of blockage in the nasal cavity, or because a speaker has difficulty lowering the velum. Nasal sounds produced as oral sounds, e.g. /m/ as [p]

Plosives (nasal stops)

. If the velum is lowered for the production of the stop consonant, air flows out through the nasal cavity and there is no air pressure build-up . Nasals are typically voiced and are prolongable . /m/, /n/, /ing/

How phonetics is investigated

. Impressionistically: our auditory impressions . Instrumentally: using various types of measurement and imaging equipment that tells us about the vocal organs or sounds waves . Fundamental question: "how is speech produced?"

Place of articulation

. In the roof of the mouth we have the following passive articulators: . Labial . Dental . Alveolar . Postalveolar . palatal . velar . uvular . pharyngeal . epiglottal . and glottal

Velaric Ingressive

. It involves trapping a small pocket of air in the mouth: -an air tight seal between the back of the tongue and the velum - an additional closure somewhere further forward in the mouth . There is only enough air to produce short, sharp sounds . The velaric ingressive sounds found in natural language are called clicks . In English we may use clicks extra-linguistically, e.g. tsk! tsk!

Places of Articulation (summary)

. Labial: bilabial and labiodental . Anterior Lingual: dental, alveolar, postalveolar and retroflex . Dorsal: palatal, velar and uvular . Non-oral: pharyngeal, epiglottal and glottal

Esophageal Speech

. Laryngectomy clients may learn to use an alternative airstream mechanism - air is draw into the esophagus and the esophageal sphincter is used to create "phonation" - Clients can be trained to use this airstream for quite long stretches of speech

Fricatives

. Next closest, and strongest degress of stricture . Their name derives from the perception of friction in the turbulent airflow of these sounds (called "frication" in phonetics . English fricatives: 9 of them - /f,v/, / 2 (the) sounds/, /s,z/, /(sh, (gigalo))/, /h/) . Articulators are brought close together, but a small gap is left for airflow . Because the gap is so small the escaping air is under increasing pressure as it passes through the channel . This results in turbulent airflow which is perceived as noisy quality . Both voiced and voiceless fricatives have trubulent airflow . Voiceless fricaties tend to be longer and louder than voiced ones . Fricatives are prolongable . The noisy quality deends on which articulators are involved and on the shape and size of the air channel . So, in fricatives, in contrast with stops, it is not only place of articulation and the degree of contant that affects sound quality but also the shape of the air channel formed . SIBILANTS: fricatives with a grovved or narrow-slit air channel that produces high-pitched friction: /s,z, (sh), (gigolo)/ . NON-SIBILANTS: Fricatives with a wide-slit air channel and lower pitch frication: /f,v, (2 th's)/

Phonation

. Once the moving airstream is produced, it is modified in the larynx . The process of phonation is the result of the different movements and positions of the vocal folds . Functions of Phonation: it produces the source of the sounds we use 1) Is used to differentiate individual sounds --The two most important phonation types that are used linguistically are voiced and voiceless 2) Contriubtes to suprasegmental characteristics of a speaker's voice -- Voice quality, pitch, loudness (along with respiration)

Pitch

. PItch is the perceptual correlate of the frequency of vocal fold vibration . We typically talk about vocal pitch in terms of fundamental frequency the # of times the vocal folds vibrate per second . We can talk about "average" fundamental frequency which would reflect the average of data obtained from a large number of speakers . Before puberty, males' and females' fundamental frequencies are very similar around 250-300 Hz . From the onset of puberty until their 20s, males drops to 100-125 Hz and females drop to 200-225 Hz . Pitch also changes from moment to moment during speech in all normal speakers

Posterior places of Articulation (non-oral)

. Pharyngeal: root of tongue drawn into pharynx . Epiglottal: epiglottal drawn back into pharynx . Glottal: articulation is between the two vocal folds - Glottal stop /?/ and fricative /h/ are found in English - Glottal sounds could be thought of as states of the glottis or phonation types, e.g. breathy voice

The Speech Chain (1st link)

. Phoneticians often think of communication as a "speech chain" . The first link is the speaker -The speaker devises a message "in their head", i.e. a creative function - Forwarding Function: brain sequences motor programs and gives commands for execution of the movements that result in speech sounds

Plosives (oral stops)

. Plosives can be described as having three "stages" 1) Closing phase: articulators are brought together 2) Closed phase: articulators are held together. This causes air pressure to build up behind the closure 3) Release phase: stricture is released, air "pops" out explosively. Plosives are generally NOT prolongable . Voiced plosives (/b,d,g/) - Fully voiced: vocal fold vibration continues through all 3 stages - Partially voiced: vocal fold vibration is not maintained through all 3 phases, but may cease partway through phase 2 and then resume when the plosive is released . Voiceless plosives (/p,t,k/) - No vocal fold vibration throughout the duration of the plosive - If the plosive is followed by a voiced sound, vocal fold vibration resumes when the plosive stricture is released -- Either immediately upon release or after a brief Voice Onset Time, at this time aspiration may occur . In most cases in English, voiceless stops are aspirated

Anterior lingual places of articulation: Postalveolar

. Postalveolar consonants involve the tongue tip or blade against the rear edge of the alveolar ridge . Apico-postalveolar: requires a certain amount of tongue tip bending upwards, as in the tongue-tip version of English /r/ . Lamino-postalveolar: blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge / sh, gigalo, tch, dg/

Articulation of Consonants

. Refers to the production of speech sounds through bringing together (approximiating) two articulators: one passive and one active, to a greater or lesser degree of stricture to interfere with the airflow . In classifying manners of articulation, we consider 2 dimensions: vertical and lateral (just for /l/). The lateral dimension referst to the fact that some sound types can be pronounced either centrally over the tongue or laterally over one or both sides of the tongue

Anterior lingual places of articulation: Retroflex

. Retroflex ( more properly sublaminal-postalveolar/sublaminal-prepalatal) refers to the shape of the tongue - underside of tongue blade articulates against rear of alveolar ridge and/or front of hard palate . Retroflex sounds common in the languages of India

Stops

. STops have the closest degree of stricture, the articulators are held firmly together . The Stop category is considered the strongest type of articulation . Stops are divided to: - Plosives (oral stops) -- /p,b/, /t,d/, /k,g/ - Nasal Stops --/m/, /n/, and / (ing)/

The glottal stop

. Some languages, including English, use a consonant sound produced exclusively in the larynx . The glottal stop is realized when we briefly stop the air coming out of the lungs during exhalation by closing our vocal folds tightly and opening them explosively . IPA symbol: / ?/ . Sometimes instead of the sount /t/ in medial position in words like "button" . As a boundary marker between words, if the second word starts with a vowel

Pulmonic Ingressive

. Speaking with air we inhale . The vocal folds are not well adapted for air flow from above: sounds has a rough quality. Not easy to use more than a few seconds at a time . Not used as the normal airstream for speech in any known natural language . Pulmonic ingressive speech sometimes occurs in disorderd speech (e.g. in stuttering) . IPA symbol: downward arrow

Approximants

. The air channel here is compartively wide, and voiced appproximants have a smooth airflow . All English approximants are voiced: /l/, /r/, /j/, /w/ . Categories of approximants: liquids and glides/semivowels . Liquids: Laterals (/l/) when airflow is over the side and Rhotic approximants (/r/) with central airflow . Glides/ semivowels: semivowels cannot be prolonged (otherwise they turn into vowels). /j/ and /w/ . They consist of rapid gliding movements

The Vocal Tract (4 sections)

. The entire respiratory tract from the lungs up to the oral and nasal cavities -Lungs/trachea -larynx/vocal folds -Nasal cavity/velum -Oral Cavity . Function: set air in motion and then modify this moving air to produce speech sounds

Whisper

. The glottis is narrowed to less than 25% of maximal opening . The opening is traingular-shaped generally at the arytenoid end of the folds . Airflow is strongly trubulent, with a rich hushing quality . Whisper is used nonlinguistically . When we "whisper" voiced sounds are converted to whisper phonation, but voiceless sounds remain voicless: consider" pie" vs. "bye"

Voiceless Phonation

. The glottis is open (60-95% maximal opening) - Even with open glottis half area of the trachea opening is still covered - so lung air will meet some resistance which causes acceleration of the airflow - High volume-velocity airflow produces a turbulent phonation called breath - Low volume-velocity airflow produces a laminar, sooth, phonation called nil-phonation . All languages have both voiceless and voiced sounds

Changing Pitch

. The mechanism for changing pitch is complex . The most important factors in pitch adjustment are: vocal fold tension, vocal fold length, and vocal fold mass . Increase in pitch: the lengthening of the folds is accompanied by an increase in the tension on the folds and a reduction in the mass of the folds . Decrease of pitch: shortening of the vocal folds, decreases tension and increases the mass of the folds . Small glottal openings = decrease in loudness . Large glottal openings = increase in loudness

Pulmonic Egressive

. The most common airstream for speech . Pulmonic: airstream is initiated by the lungs . Egressive: air flows OUT of the vocal tract . Pulmonic Egressive airstream is essentially modified breathing but -We speak only on exhaled breath - Exhalation part is slowed compared to quiet breathing . The lungs decrease in volume, which generates a positive pressure in the vocal tract . Airflow can last as long as 25 seconds, but normally in speech we use 2-10 seconds of any single exhalation . The respiratory muscles are used to brake the collapse of the lungs and provide longer exhalation for speech . All languages use it . This airstream is especially suited for phonation, the vocal folds operate best with airflow from beneath

Physiology of Phonation

. The opening of the VF's for nonspeech activities varies depending upon the oxygen demands of the body, i.e. if we need lots of oxygen the folds are abducted quite a bit; in quiet breathing, the folds are abducted only slightly. . To begin phonating, we have to adduct the folds so that they are more closely approximated than they are during respiration - this is known as the prephonation phase

Phonology

. The organization of speech sounds in particular langauges (e.g. the phonology of English) . Phonlogy is the aspect of language that link speech sounds with meaning . A fundamental questions is: which differences in sounds and sound patterns result in a difference in meaning? . We investigate phonology by analyzing patterns of speech sounds . Clinical Phonology: examines impariments in speech sound organization

The Speech Chain (2nd link)

. The second link is the transmission stage - the articulatory activites of the speaker culminate in a moving body of air leaving the speaker's mouth - this causes disturbances to the air between the speaker and the hearer (sound waves) - These disturbances represent the acoustic characteristics of the spoken message

Glottis

. The space between the vocal folds is the glottis - This changes size/shape depending on vocal fold activity - The lateral position of the vocal fold is controlled by the arytenoids; tension by movement of the thyroid cartilage - The glottis can be closed, but is usually partly or widely open. It offers resistance to airflow (but thus accelerates it)

The Speech Chain (3rd link)

. The third link in the chain is the listener - Sound waves (acoustic patterns) hit the hearer's ear durm, activating the "hearing functon" - various mechanical and electrical activities in the middle and inner ear convert this to neural impulses sent to the brain - Here, the creative function decodes the message

Anterior lingual places of articulation: Dental

. The tongue tip (apex) is typically used as active articulators and the inside of the upper front teech as the passive (apico-dental) - / 2 th's/: they may involve interdental tongue placement - dental fricatives usually form a slit and wide air channel

Trills and Taps

. The trill category can be thought of lots of repeated stop strictures of the articulators . Taps are not prolongable: they consist of a single strike of one articulator against another

Dorsal Places of Articulation: Palatal

. Tongue body articulates against the hard palate - In English we have [j]

Speech Sounds

. Two groups of sounds make up the system of a language 1) Vowels: . Produced with an open vocal tract . Airstream from vocal folds to lips does not encounter a significant obstruction . Voiced- vocal fold vibration 2). Consonants: . Produced with a closed vocal tract (to a varying degree) . Airstream encounters some obstruction . Can be either voiced or voiceless

Orality and Nasality

. Use of the oral and nasal cavities in speech production: 3 Possible routes for pulmonic egressive airstream, once it has passed through the larynx 1) Oral: soft palate is raised and prevents airstream from entering the nasal cavity: Airstream passes into the oral cavity ONLY, most english sounds are oral 2) Nasal: soft palate is lowerd, but air can't escape through the mouth (mouth is shut; there is a full articulatory contact) 3) Nasalized: soft palate is lowered, mouth is open. Airstream flows into both oral and nasal cavities simultaneously. Articulation takes place in the oral cavity, but air escapes through the nasal cavity. Air escapes through the mouth as well. There are no nasalized English phonemes, but vowels and consonants can be produced with nasality if they are followed by a nasal sound.

Falsetto Phonation

. Very high frequency vocal fold vibrations . To produce falsetto, the laryngeal muscles work to produce a very thin edge to the vocal folds . Falsetto is only used extra-linguistically

Background on Breathing

. We consider our vocal tract as an air-filled system . In this system, air is set in motion when air pressure is changed . Air pressure: how hard the air molecules push on the side of the container holding air . Air flows away from positive (increased) pressure and towards a negative (decreased) pressure . If we decrease the volume of the air container, air is compressed and air pressure is increased . If we increase the volume of the air container, air is rarefied and pressure is decreased - When we want to draw in air (inhale) our lungs become larger - When we want to draw air out (exhale) the size of our lungs is decreased

Breathy Voice

. Weak tension causes incomplete closure of the glottis and a constant glottal leakage occurs which causes the production of audible friction noises . Air flows through the vocal folds at a high rate. The frequency is just below the value typical of normal voice . Breathy voice cannot be maintained for long stretches of speech because air is flowing fast

Voiced Phonation

. When we speak, most of the sounds we make involve the vibration of the vocal folds . THrough the vibration of the vocal folds occurs when we produce voiced sounds - The fast opening and closing of the vocal folds leads to pulses of air through the vocal tract, which in turn leads to sound . Myoelastic-Aerodynamic Theory . Vibratory cycle of voice: -muscle activities bring vocal folds together - 2 opposite forces are in operation --air pressure increases subglotally to force the vocal folds apart -- The laryngeal muscles work to hold the folds together . Only a small amount of air rushes through . This results into the Bernoulli effect: if air is forced through a narrow channel it accelerates and pressure drops . Drop in pressure causes vocal folds to close and a new cycle of vibration begins

3 Types of Phonetics

1. Articulatory Phonetics: the study of the production of speech sounds 2. Acoustic Phonetics: the study of the transmission of speech sounds 3. Auditory Phonetics: the study of the reception of speech sounds

Areas of Speech and Process of Speech Production

1. Respiration: A stream of air must be set in motion (iniation of airstreams) 2. Phonation: Air passes through the larynx and is subject to different types of vocal fold movement 3. Resonance: For oral sounds, the velum is raised and air passes into the mouth only. For nasal sounds, the velum is lowered and air flows into the nasal cavity 4. Articulation: Through the movement of the structures within the oral cavity the air stream is shaped into different sounds 5. Prosody: the melody of our speech

Place of Articulation (all consonants) (8 places)

Bilabial: /b, p, w, m/ Labiodental: / f, v/ Interdental: /th (father, the (thing)/ Alveolar: /l, z, s, t, d, n/ Postalveolar: /r, sh, gigalo, tch, dg/ Palatal: /j/ Velar: /ng, g, k/ Glottal: /h/

Consonants and Vowels

Consonants: air moves through the vocal tract (mainly the mouth) with SOME obstruction . English has 24 consonants Vowels: air moves through the vocal tract (mainly the mouth) with NO obstruction

Obstruents and Sonorants

Obstruents: plsovies, affricates, and fricatives . Sonorants: nasals, liquids, and glides . Obstruents are more often voiceless than voiced . Sonorants are more often voiced, their smooth airflow needs voicing to make the sound loud enough . Voiced consonants are often called 'lenis' and voiceless ones 'fortis'

Consonants: Manner of Articulation (6)

Stops: /p,t,k,b,d,g/ Nasals: /m, n, (ing)/ Fricatives: /f, ,v, (2 th sounds), s, z, (sh), (treaSure), h/ Affricates: /(tch), (dg)/ Approximants: LIquids: /(l, r), and Glides: (w, j)/

Manner of Articulation of Consonants (5)

The main categories of consonants are: 1) Stops 2) Fricatives 3) Approximant - semivowel (momentary) 4) affricates 5) trills/taps