Definition of phonetics and phonology.

PHONETICS and PHONOLOGY are the two branches of grammar which are concerned with
the study of the sounds of human language.

The distinction between the two fields is as follows:

Phonetics
Phonetics deals primarily with the speech sound itself, including the way in which it is produced,
transmitted, and perceived; PHONETICIANS study the raw materials, the sounds; Phonetics is
about the physical aspect of sounds, it studies the production and the perception of sounds,
called phones.
Phonetics is strictly about audible sounds and the things that happen in your mouth, throat, nasal
and sinus cavities, and lungs to make those sounds. It has nothing to do with meaning. Its only a
description. For example, in order to produce the word bed, you start out with your lips
together. Then, air from your lungs is forced over your vocal chords, which begin to vibrate and
make noise. The air then escapes through your lips as they part suddenly, which results in a B
sound. Next, keeping your lips open, the middle of your tongue comes up so that the sides meet
your back teeth while the tip of your tongue stays down. All the while, air from your lungs is
rushing out, and your vocal chords are vibrating. Theres your E sound. Finally, the tip of your
tongue comes up to the hard palate just behind your teeth. This stops the flow of air and results in
a D sound as long as those vocal chords are still going. As literate, adult speakers of the English
language, we dont need a physical description of everything required to make those three
sounds. We simply understand what to do in order to make them. Similarly, phoneticists simply
understand that when they see /kt/, its a description of how most Americans pronounce the
word cat. It has nothing to do with a furry house pet. In fact, if there were a word in any other
language pronounced the same way, the phonetic spelling would be the same regardless of
meaning. Again, its not about meaning. Its strictly physical.

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech,
orin the case of sign languagesthe equivalent aspects of sign.[1] It is concerned with the
physical properties of speech sounds or signs (phones): their physiological production, acoustic
properties, auditory perception, and neurophysiological status. Phonology, on the other hand, is
concerned with the abstract, grammatical characterization of systems of sounds or signs.

The field of phonetics is a multiple layered subject of linguistics that focuses on speech. In the
case of oral languages there are three basic areas of study:

Articulatory phonetics: the study of the production of speech sounds by the articulatory and
vocal tract by the speaker
Acoustic phonetics: the study of the physical transmission of speech sounds from the speaker
to the listener
 Auditory phonetics: the study of the reception and perception of speech sounds by the listene

Phonology
Phonology is a branch of linguistics concerned with the systematic organization of sounds in languages.
Phonology deals more with the organization of speech sounds into sound systems. The difference
is similar to the difference between studying the materials out of which buildings are constructed
(e.g., bricks, concrete, steel, etc.) and studying the way in which a building is constructed out of
these materials (e.g., by alternating a layer of brick with a layer of concrete, by encasing the steel
in concrete, etc.). PHONOLOGISTS study the systems formed from these sounds.

Phonology is about the abstract aspect of sounds and it studies the phonemes (phonemic
trancriptions adopt the slash / /). Phonology is about establishing what are the phonemes in a
given language, i.e. those sounds that can bring a difference in meaning between two words. A
phoneme is a phonic segment with a meaning value, for example in minimal pairs:

1. bat - pat
2. had hat

Phonology, on the other hand, is both physical and meaningful. It explores the differences
between sounds that change the meaning of an utterance. For example, the word bet is very
similar to the word bed in terms of the physical manifestation of sounds. The only difference is
that at the end of bet, the vocal chords stop vibrating so that sound is a result only of the
placement of the tongue behind the teeth and the flow of air. However, the meanings of the two
words are not related in the least. The word phonology (as in the phonology of English) can also
refer to the phonological system (sound system) of a given language. This is one of the
fundamental systems which a language is considered to comprise, like its syntax and its
vocabulary

It has traditionally focused largely on study of the systems of phonemes in particular languages,
but it may also cover any linguistic analysis either at a level beneath the word (including
syllable, onset and rhyme, articulatory gestures, articulatory features, mora, etc.) or at all levels
of language where sound is considered to be structured for conveying linguistic meaning.
Phonology also includes the study of equivalent organizational systems in sign languages.
The difference between phonetics and phonology is that phonetics deals with the physical production of
these sounds while phonology is the study of sound patterns and their meanings both within and across
languages. If they still sound like more or less the same thing, read on. Well discuss each one
individually and then compare them side by side, which should clear things up.

What a vast difference a muscle makes! This is the biggest distinction between phonetics and
phonology, although phonologists analyze a lot more than just the obvious differences. They also
examine variations on single letter pronunciations, words in which multiple variations can exist
versus those in which variations are considered incorrect, and the phonological grammar of
languages. If you are a native speaker of English, you pronounce the letter P three different
ways. Its true. You may not realize it, but you do, and if you were to hear the wrong
pronunciation, you might not be able to put your finger on the problem, but you would think it
sounded really weird. Say the word pop-up. The first P has more air behind it than the others,
the second is very similar to the first, but it doesnt have much air in it, and the last one is barely
pronounced at all. The word just sort of ends there when your lips close. Now, say it again, but
put a lot of air in the final P. See? Weird, right? Thats because the aspirated P (with air) sound is
not grammatically correct at the end of an English word. Similarly, Spanish words do not
begin with an s sound followed by a consonant, which makes it very difficult for Spanish-
speakers who are learning English to say words like school, speak and strict. Phonologists
study things like that.

Definition of Phonetics and Phonology

Phonetics and phonology are related, dependent fields for studying aspects of language.
Phonetics is the study of sound in speech; phonology is the study (and use) of sound patterns to
create meaning. Phonetics focuses on how speech is physically created and received, including
study of the human vocal and auditory tracts, acoustics, and neurology. Phonology relies on
phonetic information for its practice, but focuses on how patterns in both speech and non-verbal
communication create meaning, and how such patterns are interpreted. Phonology includes
comparative linguistic studies of how cognates, sounds, and meaning are transmitted among and
between human communities and languages.

Side-by-Side Differences Between Phonetics and Phonology

If youre still confused about which is which, heres a little side-by-side comparison to help you
out:
 Phonetics is strictly physical while phonology also pays attention to the function or
meaning of a sound.
Phonetics only asks, Does this sound go here or not? Phonology asks, Does the
meaning change if I put this sound here instead of that one?
Phonetics makes a pretty general description of sounds and can be used to describe
sounds in any language. Phonology makes very detailed descriptions of sounds, so each
language has its own unique set of symbols (because no two languages use all of the
exact same sounds).

Hopefully that clears things up, but if you need one more way to remember the difference
between phonetics and phonology, look at the word endings. Phonetic ends the same way as
kinetic, which refers to movement. Both are purely physical. Phonology, like any other -ology, is
more of a science, exploring the hows and whys of the physical.

Phonology is often distinguished from phonetics. While phonetics concerns the physical
production, acoustic transmission and perception of the sounds of speech,[1][2] phonology
describes the way sounds function within a given language or across languages to encode
meaning. In other words, phonetics belongs to descriptive linguistics, and phonology to
theoretical linguistics. Note that this distinction was not always made, particularly before the
development of the modern concept of phoneme in the mid 20th century. Some subfields of
modern phonology have a crossover with phonetics in descriptive disciplines such as
psycholinguistics and speech perception, resulting in specific areas like articulatory phonology or
laboratory phonology.

PHONOLOGY
F. Discussion of sound classes: Phonemes and allophones.
With a complete phonetic system for the identification and classification of speech sounds
available,
phonologists can begin their work. Essentially, their task is to discover the ways in which the
sounds of language are systematized. This includes finding out (i) which sounds, out of all the
sounds a speaker of some language utters, are the linguistically significant sounds for that
language,
and (ii) which rules govern the organization and distribution of these sounds with respect to each
other.
In analyzing English, for example, phonologists observe that all English speakers pronounce p in
several different ways. In one way, the sound [ph] is followed by a perceptible puff of air, called
ASPIRATION; this occurs in the articulation of a word like pin. In a word like spin, on the
other
hand, the p is not aspirated. We will use the symbol "h" for aspiration: the aspirated, voiceless,
bilabial stop in English is [ph], and the unaspirated, voiceless, bilabial stop is [p].
2
In examining English, phonologists also observe that there are no pairs of words which are
distinguished by aspiration, in the way that there are many pairs which are distinguished by other
phonetic features, such as [VOICED] ([ph]) and [+VOICED] ([b]), e.g., plank and blank, tap
and
tab, rapid and rabid, and so on. Lastly, they observe that [p] occurs only after the sound [s] and
that
[ph] occurs everywhere else. Thus, in spot, spin, spoke, and Spain, the p is unaspirated, but in pot,
pin, poke, and pain, the p is aspirated. (The difference can be perceived if a tissue is held in front
of the mouth during pronunciation.)
These observations are important because they reveal that the distinction between [p] and [ph],
i.e.,
unaspirated versus aspirated, unlike the distinction between [ph] and [b], i.e., voiceless versus
voiced, is not a significant distinction in the phonology of English. Thus, while it is possible to
predict when [p], as opposed to [ph], will occur in English words, it is not possible to predict
when
[ph], as opposed to [b], will occur. This distinction is crucial in phonological analysis.
Phonologists often call the distinctive classes of sounds in a language the PHONEMES of that
language, and refer to the positional variants of phonetically similar sounds as the
ALLOPHONES
of a particular phoneme. To distinguish phonemes from allophones, the former are placed in
slanted
lines, e.g., /p/, and the latter retain their phonetic symbolization, e.g., [p] and [p h]. The
relationship
between a phoneme and its allophonic variants is expressed in the form of a rule included in the
grammar of a language. For example, the relationship between /p/, [p], and [ph] in English is
expressed in two rules as follows:
(1) a. The phoneme /p/ is realized phonetically as its allophone [p] when it occurs in the
environment after the [s], e.g., in the word spot.
b. The phoneme /p/ is realized phonetically as its allophone [ph] in all other environments,
e.g., in the word pot.
It is important to realize that sounds which are phonemic, i.e., distinctive, in one language may
be
allophonic, i.e., nondistinctive, in another language. For example, while [ph] and [p] are
allophones
of the same phoneme /p/ in English, they are two different phonemes in Chinese. To put it
differently, while [ph] and [p] do not distinguish pairs of words in English, they do distinguish
pairs
of words in Chinese. The Chinese word pa, if pronounced with a [ph], means eight, and, if
pronounced with a [p], means white. It is very difficult for English speakers to master this
distinction when they attempt to learn Chinese; very often, they confuse the two sounds.
Conversely, speakers of many oriental languages have great difficulty in distinguishing the
phonemes /l/ and /r/ in English, because these two sounds are not phonemic in their native
language.
Without considerable practice, a native speaker of Japanese, for example, might say rorripop
when
he means lollipop. When English speakers hear rorripop, they find it hard to believe that the
Japanese speaker cant easily hear the difference between what hes said and lollipop. Similarly,
a Chinese speaker will find it hard to believe that an American cannot easily distinguish between
the distinct sounds [ph] and [p].
G. Discussion of childrens acquisition of sounds and words. See handout on this webpage.
3
H. Discussion of the phonemes and allophones in Ancient Greek.
WEEK THREE: MORPHOLOGY
I. Introduction to morphology.
The study of the sound system of a language cannot be carried out in complete isolation from the
other components of grammar. The phonological rules, in particular, very often involve reference
to MORPHEMES, which are the minimal units of meaning in a language. Consider the following
(ignoring details involving aspiration and release):
(3) MORPHEME: a minimum unit of distinctive meaning.
a. [riD_r] reader; 2 syllables; 2 morphemes:
/rid/ to interpret print
/_r/ agent
b. [kriyet_r] creator; 3 syllables; 2 morphemes.
/kriyet/ to bring into existence
/_r/ agent
c. [dal_r] dollar; 2 syllables; 1 morpheme.
d. [ntl_r] antler; 2 syllables; 1 morpheme
As the examples in (14) show, morphemes are not necessarily equivalent to either words or
syllables. Further, a particular sequence of sounds can be a morpheme in one word and not
another:
notice [_r] in reader is a morpheme, whereas the [_r] in antler is not. Similarly [rid] is a
morpheme
in reader [rid_r], but not in breeder [brid_r].
Morphemes have different phonetic variants in different contexts just as phonemes do.
Paralleling
the PHONEME/ALLOPHONE relation, we have the MORPHEME/ALLOMORPH relation. An
ALLOMORPH is a conditioned phonetic variation of a morpheme. Consider the following:
(4) ALLOMORPH: a conditioned PHONETIC variation of a morpheme:
a. Negative Prefix:
[_m]: impossible, imbalance
[_n]: intangible, indiscrete
[__]: incorrigible, ingratitude
b. The indefinite article:
[_]: a book, a use, a hotel
[n]: an owl, an honor
4
For the grammarian, one point of particular interest in morphological analysis concerns the
nature
of the variations which specific morphemes show in their phonetic shape. Occasionally, this
variation is peculiar and reflects the idiosyncratic speech habits of individual speakers. For
example,
some English speakers pronounce abdomen with heavy stress on the first syllable, while others
pronounce it with heavy stress on the second syllable. In such cases as this, the rival forms are
said
to be in FREE VARIATION.
More commonly, a variation in the pronunciation of a morpheme is predictable and reflects
specific
rules in the grammar of a particular language. For example, the plural morpheme in English
nouns
is variously pronounced [_z] as in busses, [s] as in bucks, and [z] as in bugs. The occurrence of
each
of these allomorphic variants is predictable in terms of the phonetic environment in which the
plural
morpheme occurs. If the morpheme occurs after [s], [z], [], [ _], [_], or [__], it is realized
phonetically
as [_z], e.g., dresses, sizes, ashes. Otherwise, if it occurs after a voiceless consonant, it is realized
phonetically as [s], e.g., tanks, pipes, slots; if it occurs after a voiced consonant or after a vowel,
it
is realized phonetically as [z], e.g., bulbs, trees, eggs.
J. Discussion of English words derived from Ancient Greek. See handout below on this
webpage.
K. Discussion of Ancient Greek word structure and word classes.
Assignment: Students are given the list of Common Greek prefixes and roots below They must
identify whether the Greek element is a prefix or a root and find at least one other English word
with
that element in it.
5

Acoustic phonetics

Acoustic phonetics is a subfield of phonetics which deals with acoustic aspects of speech
sounds. Acoustic phonetics is the study of sound waves made by the human vocal organs for
communication. Acoustic phonetics deals with the physical medium of speech -- that is, how
speech manipulates sound waves. Acoustic phonetics includes study of fundamental frequency
(pitch), amplitude/intensity (loudness), duration (length), formant estimates, and other physical
aspects of speech sounds. it investigates properties like the mean squared amplitude of a
waveform, its duration, its fundamental frequency, or other properties of its frequency spectrum,
and the relationship of these properties to other branches of phonetics (e.g. articulatory or
auditory phonetics), and to abstract linguistic concepts like phones, phrases, or utterances.

Sound is composed of waves of high- and low-pressure areas which propagate through air. The
most basic way to view sound is as a wave function. This plots the pressure measured by the
sound-recording device against time, corresponding closely to the physical nature of sound.
Loudness may be found by looking at the amplitude of the sound at a given time.
However, this approach is fairly limited. Humans, in fact, don't process sound using this raw
data. The ear analyzes sound by decomposing it into its constituent frequencies, a mathematical
algorithm known as the Fourier transform.

Articulatory phonetics
Articulatory phonetics is the branch of phonetics which studies the organs of speech and their use in
producing speech sounds. Articulatory phonetics is concerned with how the sounds of language
are physically produced by the vocal apparatus. The units articulatory phonetics deals with are
known as gestures, which are abstract characterizations of articulatory events.

Speaking in terms of articulation, the sounds that we utter to make language can be split into two
different types: consonants and vowels. For the purposes of articulatory phonetics, consonant
sounds are typically characterized as sounds that have constricted or closed configurations of the
vocal tract. Vowels, on the other hand, are characterized in articulatory terms as having relatively
little constriction; that is, an open configuration of the vocal tract. Vowels carry much of the
pitch of speech and can be held different durations, such as a half a beat, one beat, two beats,
three beats, etc. of speech rhythm. Consonants, on the other hand, do not carry the prosodic pitch
(especially if devoiced and not nasalized) and do not display the potential for the durations that
vowels can have. Linguists may also speak of 'semi-vowels' or 'semi-consonants' (often used as
synonymous terms). For example, a sound such as [w] phonetically seems more like a vowel
(with relative lack of constriction or closure of the vocal tract) but, phonologically speaking,
behaves as a consonant in that it always appears before a vowel sound at the beginning (onset) of
a syllable.

In studying articulation, phoneticians explain how humans produce speech sounds via the
interaction of different physiological structures.

Generally, articulatory phonetics is concerned with the transformation of aerodynamic energy

into acoustic energy. Aerodynamic energy refers to the airflow through the vocal tract. Its
potential form is air pressure; its kinetic form is the actual dynamic airflow. Acoustic energy is
variation in the air pressure that can be represented as sound waves, which are then perceived by
the human auditory system as sound.

2) Auditory phonetics is the study of how sounds are perceived by the human ear or recognized
by the brain.

The place of articulation defines both the area of the oral-pharyngeal vocal tract where the
constriction is made and the part of the tongue used to form the constriction. This gives us the
following places of articulation:
 bilabial
labial
dental (apico-dental; lamino-dental)
alveolar (apico-alveolar; lamino-alveolar; lamino-postalveolar; sublaminopostalveolar)
palatal (apico-palatal; lamino-palatal)
velar
uvular
pharyngeal
glottal

Task:Which of these places of articulation do you think are used in English (German)?

Click here to see a cartoon on the articulation of both voiced and voiceless apico-alveolar
fricatives. Sounds complicated?? You're going to enjoy this, I promise!

Clark and Yallop use two features to describe the manner of articulation of consonants:
constriction and articulation. The degree of constriction decreases from total closure via partial
constriction to a fully open vowel like manner. Articulation divides into dynamic and stable.
Altogether, there are seven recognized manners of articulation: stop, fricative, approximant,
nasal, flap, tap and trill.

The manners of articulation are described as follows:

Manner Description

formation and rapid release of a complete closure at any point in the vocal tract from the
Stop
glottis to the lips, dynamic articulation (e.g. egressive pulmonic stops: plosives)

potentially stable articulation produced by a constriction in the vocal tract that is narrow
Fricative
enough to create a turbulent airflow

potentially stable articulation in which the constriction is normally greater than in a vowel
Approximant
but not great enough to produce turbulence at the point of constriction

stoppage at some point in the oral cavity, velum is lowered to allow airflow through the
Nasal
nasal cavity, stable articulation

dynamic articulation where there is a brief occlusion in the vocal tract, a single deliberate
Tap
movement to create a closure, equivalent to a very short stop

Flap dynamic articulation where there is a brief occlusion in the vocal tract, one articulator
strikes the other in passing not so much to create a brief closure but more as the
 incidental effect of the articulatory gesture

Trill a dynamic articulation produced by the vibration of any articulator, a series of vibrations

Fricatives

The voiceless Alveolar fricative, /s/ on the IPA

The voiceless Alveolar stop, /t/ on the IPA

Fricatives allow more air to pass than stops, and can be held indefinitely. Whereas stops include
a touching of two articulators, fricatives allow still have a small passage between the articulators,
allowing air to pass between them. As the air passes between the articulators, it creates a certain
amount of turbulence, giving the fricative its sound quality. Note the difference between the
voiceless alveolar stop /t/, on the left, and the voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, on the right. Since
there is no release, as there is in a stop, fricatives can be held as long as the speaker has breath, as
the air continues to flow through the passage created by the articulators.

Affricates

Affricates are a special class of obstruents, and operate similarly to dipthongs, in that they begin
as one consonant and end as another. Affricates begin with the complete closure of the oral tract
through the creation of a stop consonant. However, whereas stops are released either into a
vowel or another stop, affricates release into a fricative at the same place of articulation as the
stop. Thus, instead of completely releasing the active articulator, it is simply moved a little bit
away from the passive articulator. This results in a turbulent release of the air trapped by the
stop. Interestingly, although the IPA recognizes stops at every place of articulation except the
pharynx, and fricatives at every place of articulation, it does not recognize any known affricates
that occur behind the hard palate.
Nasals

The nasal consonants are articulated as stops. However, unlike their oral-stop equivalents, nasal
consonants are articulated with a lowered velum, allowing air to pass through the nose, rather
than through the lips. Although most nasals are voiced, they do not have to be. Every nasal
consonant has an oral equivalent across languages, if not necessarily within languages. Native
speakers generally raise or lower the velum subconsciously, although the difference between a
nasal and oral version of the same stop can be consciously noticed. One way to feel the lowering
of the velum is to prepare the lips for the sound [b], and before releasing the air, change the
sound to [m], which is the nasal equivalent of [b]. The lowering of the velum can be felt as the
sound shifts from [b] to [m]. Another feature of nasals that does not necessarily apply to many
other consonants is that they can be syllabic. In unstressed syllables consisting of a schwa and a
nasal, often the schwa disappears completely, leaving the nasal consonant as the nucleus of the
syllable.

Laterals

Lateral consonants are similar to stops or fricatives in that the tongue approaches, and sometimes
touches, the roof of the mouth. However, the sides of the tongue are contracted in a lateral, so
that instead of the air being restricted, it is merely pushed around the centre of the tongue, still
passing out through the lips without any turbulence. Like nasals, laterals can become syllabic in
the presence of a schwa. English only makes note of one lateral phoneme /l/, although there are
two common variants in spoken English: [l] and []. The first, the so-called clear l is heard in
such words as "light," "leaf," and "let." The second, the dark l is co-articulated with the tongue
raised towards the velum, as well as the primary articulation at the alveolar ridge, and is heard in
words such as "full," "look," and "pale."

Fricatives

The voiceless Alveolar fricative, /s/ on the IPA

The voiceless Alveolar stop, /t/ on the IPA

Fricatives allow more air to pass than stops, and can be held indefinitely. Whereas stops include
a touching of two articulators, fricatives allow still have a small passage between the articulators,
allowing air to pass between them. As the air passes between the articulators, it creates a certain
amount of turbulence, giving the fricative its sound quality. Note the difference between the
voiceless alveolar stop /t/, on the left, and the voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, on the right. Since
there is no release, as there is in a stop, fricatives can be held as long as the speaker has breath, as
the air continues to flow through the passage created by the articulators.

Affricates

Affricates are a special class of obstruents, and operate similarly to dipthongs, in that they begin
as one consonant and end as another. Affricates begin with the complete closure of the oral tract
through the creation of a stop consonant. However, whereas stops are released either into a
vowel or another stop, affricates release into a fricative at the same place of articulation as the
stop. Thus, instead of completely releasing the active articulator, it is simply moved a little bit
away from the passive articulator. This results in a turbulent release of the air trapped by the
stop. Interestingly, although the IPA recognizes stops at every place of articulation except the
pharynx, and fricatives at every place of articulation, it does not recognize any known affricates
that occur behind the hard palate.

Nasals

The nasal consonants are articulated as stops. However, unlike their oral-stop equivalents, nasal
consonants are articulated with a lowered velum, allowing air to pass through the nose, rather
than through the lips. Although most nasals are voiced, they do not have to be. Every nasal
consonant has an oral equivalent across languages, if not necessarily within languages. Native
speakers generally raise or lower the velum subconsciously, although the difference between a
nasal and oral version of the same stop can be consciously noticed. One way to feel the lowering
of the velum is to prepare the lips for the sound [b], and before releasing the air, change the
sound to [m], which is the nasal equivalent of [b]. The lowering of the velum can be felt as the
sound shifts from [b] to [m]. Another feature of nasals that does not necessarily apply to many
other consonants is that they can be syllabic. In unstressed syllables consisting of a schwa and a
nasal, often the schwa disappears completely, leaving the nasal consonant as the nucleus of the
syllable.

Laterals

Lateral consonants are similar to stops or fricatives in that the tongue approaches, and sometimes
touches, the roof of the mouth. However, the sides of the tongue are contracted in a lateral, so
that instead of the air being restricted, it is merely pushed around the centre of the tongue, still
passing out through the lips without any turbulence. Like nasals, laterals can become syllabic in
the presence of a schwa. English only makes note of one lateral phoneme /l/, although there are
two common variants in spoken English: [l] and []. The first, the so-called clear l is heard in
such words as "light," "leaf," and "let." The second, the dark l is co-articulated with the tongue
raised towards the velum, as well as the primary articulation at the alveolar ridge, and is heard in
words such as "full," "look," and "pale."
Respiratory System
Speech organs also work in cooperation with the articulators for sound production. An
example is the respiratory system or lungs, chest muscles, and the windpipe that operates
with the larynx. The larynx at the top of the windpipe has two vocal folds or cords, which
work like lips. Air from the lungs, coordinating with the chest muscles, opens and closes
the vocal cords by vibration, producing phonetic sounds. The respiratory system is
complex, containing many structures that work in coordination to produce phonetics.

In physiology, respiration (often confused with breathing) is defined as the transport of oxygen from the
outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction. This
is in contrast to the biochemical definition of respiration, which refers to cellular respiration: the
metabolic process by which an organism obtains energy by reacting oxygen with glucose to give water,
carbon dioxide and ATP (energy). Although physiologic respiration is necessary to sustain cellular
respiration and thus life in animals, the processes are distinct: cellular respiration takes place in
individual cells of the organism, while physiologic respiration concerns the bulk flow and transport of
metabolites between the organism and the external environment.
PLOSIVE

Use the consonant chart on the right to hear and repeat each one of these plosive consonant
phonemes /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/ in isolation as many times as you need to. To help you
produce the sounds correctly, place a sheet of paper in front of you, you will probably notice
that the paper moves (if you do it properly) as the air streem is released in the manner of a
mini-explosion. Keep trying until the paper moves, it should move more with the voiceless
consonants /p/ /t/ /k/ ,then with the voiced equivalents /b/ /d/ /g/.

Plosives
A plosive is formed by the complete obstruction of the vocal tract by the articulators.
This obstruction is then released, allowing the air to "explode" out of the mouth.

When the air is blocked by the articulator, it begins to raise in pressure. Then, when the air is
released, the high pressure air rushes out into the lower pressure area beyond the blockage. This
results in a burst of air, signifying a plosive. A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a consonant sound
produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. For example, the voiced velar stop /g/ is
formed by pressing the dorsum of the tongue up against the velum. This traps the air, which is
trying to exit, at this point. When the tongue is removed from the velum, the air is allowed to
progress, creating the sound. One key feature of stops is the manner of their release. In isolation,
the release is noticeable, and the air escapes in a rush through the mouth. However, in regular
speech, stops can be released fully, or direct the air not out of the mouth, but into the next sound.
If the air is completely released, the sound is said to be aspirated for voiceless stops, or breathy
for voiced stops. Stops are among the most common sounds across languages, particularly stops
occurring at the lips, alveolar ridge, and velum.

Stops

Stops, also known as plosives, are the result of a complete blocking of the air flow. One
articulator touches another, resulting in a brief cancellation of airflow. The articulators then
move apart, and the air is released.

3. Nasals: nasal consonants involve a lowering of the soft-palate (velum) which

links in the
nasal cavities as additional acoustic resonators. The manner cues for nasals
include the
presence of a low-frequency resonance due to the nasal cavity, and the rapid fall
and rise in
energy as the nasal is made and released. The place cues to nasals mostly arise
from the
second and third formant transitions, as for plosives, see figure 2-6.4. In addition,
the
spectral shape of the nasal itself varies slightly with the place of the obstruction in
the vocal
tract. This seems to be due to the size of the cavity trapped behind the
obstruction which
modifies the filter characteristic of the branched tube. The nasalisation of vowels
is cued by
Definition
Plosive (also known as stops, mutes, occlusives, explosives) sounds are formed by the air being
completely blocked in the mouth and then suddenly released. A plosive is a consonant articulation with
the following characteristics:

One articulator is moved against another, or two articulators are moved against each other, so as to
form a stricture that allows no air escape from the vocal tract. The stricture is, then, total.

After the stricture has been formed and air has been compressed (held) behind it, it is released; that is,
air is allowed to escape.
 If the air behind the stricture is still under pressure when the plosive is released, it is probable that the
escape of air will produce noise loud enough to be heard. This noise is called plosion.

There may be voicing during part or all of the plosive articulation.

Classification
We have 6 Plosive sounds in English: /p/b/t/d/k/g/. The Plosive consonant sounds are generally
described on three bases:

1. Manner of articulation: The manner of articulation is concerned with airflow i.e. the paths it takes
and the degree to which it is impeded by vocal tract constrictions. In other words, manner of
articulation describes how the sound is produced. In the articulation of the plosive sounds, four phases
can be distinguished:

(i) Closing phase: In this stage the two organs move very close to one another and create a complete
closure or blockade.

(ii) Hold/occlusion/compression phase: In this stage the air is held behind the closure.

(iii) Release or burst: The two organs move away from one another (closure is opened) and the air goes
out and the released airflow produces a sudden impulse causing an audible sound (hence the name
plosive).

(iv) Post Release phase: The articulators are now further apart, and the air pressure at the site of the
obstruction has fallen so that the speech sound is no longer a burst with energy in all frequencies, but
bands of aspiration which are more narrowly concentrated and which move toward the formant values
in the next phoneme.

2. Place of articulation: The place of articulation refers to where the sound is produced. The plosives
have different places of articulation. For example, /p/ and /b/ are bilabial since the lips are pressed
together; /t/ and /d/ are alveolar since the tongue blade is pressed against the alveolar ridge; the
plosives /k/ and /g/ are velar sounds since the back of the tongue is pressed against the area where the
hard palate ends and the soft palate begins (velum).

3. Voicing: Voicing refers to whether or not the vocal cords are vibrating. The plosives /p/t/k/ are always
voiceless. On the other hand, /b/d/g/ are sometimes fully voiced and sometimes voiceless. On the basis
of breathe force these 6 plosives can be divided into two groups:

(i) Fortis

(ii) Lenis

Some phoneticians opine that the degree of breath and muscular effort involved in the articulation
between the groups voiceless and voiced are not the same. According to them voiceless (/p/t/k/)
English consonants tend to be articulated with a strong degree of breath and muscular effort. They
produce strong or forceful vibration in the vocal cord. For their strong nature they are called fortis.
Voiced (/b/d/g/) English consonants tend to be articulated with a weak degree of breath and muscular
effort. They produce less vibration in the vocal cord since they need less force. For their weak nature
they are called lenis. Thus the terms fortis and lenis allow one to describe in more precise terms than
'voiced and unvoiced' the articulation of English consonants. They refer to a bundle of articulatory
features which have different distributions in different languages. The most important of those is
perhaps aspiration, a type of sound which could be pronounce with an extra puff of air for which we
may hair a h like sound.

Distribution
The following discussion gives a detailed description of the distribution of the plosive sounds. All six
plosives can occur initially, medially and finally.

1. Initial Position: The closing phase for /p/ t/ k/ and /b/d/g/ takes place silently. During the hold phase
of there is no voicing in /p/t/k/, but in /b/d/g/, on the other hand, we normally very little voicing. The
release phase of /p/t/k/ is followed by an audible plosion, that is, a burst of noise. There is then, in the
post-release phase, a period during which air escapes through the vocal folds, making a sound like h.
This is called aspiration. For example: pin, tin, kin. The release of /b/d/g/, on the other hand, is followed
by weak plosion.

2. Medial position: The pronunciation of /p/t/k/ and /b/d/g/ in medial position depends to some extent
on whether the syllables preceding and following the plosive are stressed (both depend on the context).
In general we can say that a medial plosive may have the characteristics either of final or initial plosives.

3. Final Position: The final /b/d/g/ have little voicing. /p/t/k/ are voiceless. The plosion for both is non
audible. The difference is that the vowels preceding /p/t/k/ are shorter than the ones preceding /b/g/d/

What are fricatives?

A fricative is a consonant sound produced by friction, or increased air pressure, between two oral
structures. These may include the teeth, tongue, lips and palate. The proper production of
fricative sounds requires that each of these structures come in close enough contact to change the
sound without completely stopping it. Since precise placement of the articulators involved is
required to produce a clear, easily understood sound, children tend to develop the ability to make
fricatives later than other sounds.

Fricatives are sibilant sounds produced by partially constricting the flow of air between two
articulators. They are classified based on the place where the constriction occurs, such as at the
lips or further back in the mouth, the structures used to create the friction, and the presence or
absence of voicing. They also require continuous air flow, as opposed to sounds such as p which
stop the air with production. The inability to produce the necessary constriction or the needed air
flow, results in perceptibly distorted sounds and reduced intelligibility.

A fricative is a consonant sound that is created by constricting the vocal tract, causing friction as
the air passes through it. The nine English fricative sounds (the v sound, f sound, voiced th
sound, unvoiced th sound, z sound, s sound, zh sound, sh sound, and h sound) often do not
correlate exactly with any particular sound in an English as a Second Language/English as a
Foreign Language student's native language. This causes substitutions to occur, and those
substitutions often have significant differences from the intended English sound.

Here's what consonant sounds look like (the place of articulation) as they are produced
in the vocal tract.

Bilabial = two lips. Bilabial consonants are produced by creating a closure with both lips.
Labiodental = lower lip and upper teeth. Labiodental consonants are produced by raising the lower lip
to the upper teeth. English has only fricative labiodentals, and no stops.

Interdental = tongue between the teeth, or just behind the upper teeth (also called "dental"). In English,
the interdental consonants are also all fricatives. In the ASCII phonetic alphabet, these sounds are the
voiced [th] and the voiceless [TH].
Alveolar = tongue tip at the alveolar ridge, behind the top teeth. English alveolar consonants are
formed by raising the tip of the tongue to the alveolar ridge, which lies right behind the teeth. There are
both fricatives and stops.

Note that languages differ in how related speech sounds are typically produced. For example, the stops 't'
and 'd' are alveolar in English, but in languages like Spanish, Italian and French they are typically dental,
that is, they are produced with the tongue against the back of the upper teeth (as in todo "all" and detras
"in the back of".) This gives 't' and 'd' a different characteristic sound in these languages, and this is also
one of the features that we use to identify the non-native accent in a speaker of one of these languages
who is learning English.

Palatal = the front or body of the tongue raised to the palatal region or the domed area at the roof
of your mouth. In our ASCII phonetic alphabet, these are the voiceless [S] and the voiced [Z]
Velar = the back of the tongue raised to the soft palate ("velum"), the area right behind the palate.
As with bilabials, English has a limited range of velar consonants. But these are sometimes pronounced
in words borrowed into English from languages which do have velar fricatives, e.g. from German, Bach.
The last sound below (looks like a long tail on the letter "n") is the [N] in our ASCII phonetic alphabet.

Glottal = at the larynx (the glottis is the space between the vocal folds). Locate the glottis (the vocal
folds) in the diagram, below. A glottal stop is a speech sound articulated by a momentary, complete
closing of the glottis in the back of the throat. It exists in many languages, as in English and Hawaiian
uh-oh, O'ahu, and ka'aina.
source of graphics: Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania

In conclusion

The airflow can be modified at various points within vocal organs to produce distinct speech sounds. The
point where a sound is produced is referred to as its place of articulation.