Linguistics - Phonetics

Here you will learn some English words related to phonetics such as "vowel", "palatal", and "allophone".

review-disable

review

flashcard-disable

flashcard

spelling-disable

spelling

quiz-disable

quiz

start-learning
Linguistics
aspirate [noun]

(phonetics) a consonant that is pronounced accompanying a strong expulsion of air

(phonetics) a syllable that consists of one vowel that is followed by a consonant, ending the syllable

‌(phonetics) a speech sound produced by interfering with or stopping the flow of air through the mouth or nose

Ex: She struggled with blending consonants at the beginning of words during her reading lessons .

(phonetics) a consonant that is sounded with the vocal tract half-open, allowing the air to pass through

vowel [noun]

‌(phonetics) a speech sound produced without interfering with the flow of air coming through the mouth or nose

Ex: Vowel changes in different languages can significantly affect pronunciation and meaning .
palatal [noun]

(phonetics) a speech sound produced by the blade of tongue near or touching the hard palate or the back of the roof of mouth

phoneme [noun]

the smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish meaning, often represented by a specific symbol in phonetic notation

Ex: Phonemes are abstract units that are realized as various allophones in different phonetic contexts .
alveolar [noun]

a sound produced with the tip or blade of the tongue touching or near the alveolar ridge

(phonetics) a gliding speech sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable

Ex: The Spanish language includes several diphthongs that blend vowels smoothly .

a specific class of consonant sounds produced with the tongue near or touching the area just behind the alveolar ridge

a specific class of consonant sounds produced with the tongue in contact with or close to the upper front teeth

a specific type of consonant sound that begins as a stop consonant and releases into a fricative, characterized by a brief period of complete closure followed by a slow release of air

(phonetics) a consonant that is sounded with the vocal tract half-open, allowing the air to pass through

a specific type of consonant sound produced by allowing air to flow over the sides of the tongue, while maintaining closure in the center of the mouth

Ex: In some dialects , lateral consonants can vary in pronunciation depending on their position in a word .
plosive [noun]

(phonetics) a consonant that is produced by a sudden stop of the airflow and releasing it again, using the lips, teeth or palate

pitch [noun]

the degree of highness or lowness of a tone that is determined by the frequency of waves producing it

Ex:
prosody [noun]

(phonetics) a subdivision of phonetics dealing with stress and intonation

schwa [noun]

(phonetics) an unstressed central vowel that is produced with the tongue in a lax position, represented by /ə/ symbol

sibilant [noun]

(phonetics) a consonant that makes a hissing sound when pronounced

stress [noun]

(phonetics) an added force when pronouncing a syllable or word

Ex: In poetry , stress plays a crucial role in creating rhythm and meter , shaping the overall flow of the verse .
velar [noun]

(phonetics) a consonant pronounced by the back of the tongue approaching the soft palate

a symbol that indicates which syllable in a word is uttered with more emphasis

syllable [noun]

a word or part of a word, which contains a vowel sound and usually one or more consonants

Ex: Each syllable in the poem must match the rhythm .
trill [noun]

(phonetics) a /r/ sound that is produced by a rapid vibration of the tongue against the palate

tone [noun]

a pitch or pitch pattern in speech that distinguishes words in tonal languages

Ex: A change in tone can completely alter meaning .
glide [noun]

(phonetics) a speech sound produced while moving the tongue from its initial position

glottal [noun]

(phonetics) a speech sound produced by opening and closing the glottis

(phonetics) a consonant made by fully closing the glottis releasing an audible airstream

(phonetics) the rising and falling of the voice when speaking

Ex: In some languages , intonation can change the meaning of a word or phrase , as in Mandarin Chinese , where different intonation patterns distinguish between words with the same phonetic sounds .
labial [noun]

(phonetics) a speech sound that is produced using one or both lips

(phonetics) a consonant that is uttered using the lips and teeth

(phonetics) ‌a speech sound that is made by the lips and soft palate

a syllable that ends with a vowel sound and does not have a consonant sound following it

nasal [noun]

(phonetics) a consonant that is pronounced by resonating the nose with the mouth fully closed

the way a word is pronounced

Ex: He struggled with the pronunciation of some English sounds .
rhythm [noun]

the patterned arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in speech or poetry

Ex: He studied the rhythm of Shakespearean verse .

(phonetics) the strongest emphasis in a word of two or more syllables when it is uttered

(phonetics) the second strongest emphatic syllable of a word or phrase when it is uttered

the physical movements and coordination of speech organs, such as the tongue, lips, and vocal cords, to produce speech sounds

voice [noun]

the sounds that a person makes when speaking or singing

Ex: The singer 's voice filled the concert hall with emotion .

a speech sound that is produced with the vocal cords vibrating, resulting in a vocalic or resonant quality

a speech sound produced without vibration of the vocal cords, resulting in the absence of vocal cord involvement in its production

length [noun]

the duration of a speech sound, whether it is a vowel or a consonant

the phenomenon in which speech sounds overlap or influence each other in their articulation, resulting in modified or assimilated articulatory characteristics

the representation of speech sounds using a system of symbols that accurately captures the precise articulatory, acoustic, and perceptual properties of the sounds, allowing for detailed phonetic analysis

a type of phonetic transcription that represents the general phonetic characteristics of speech sounds, often using a simplified set of symbols and not indicating fine phonetic details or allophonic variations

a detailed form of phonetic transcription that includes additional phonetic symbols and diacritics to represent finer phonetic details such as specific articulatory features, allophonic variations, and suprasegmental aspects of speech

a feature of vowel sounds in phonetics that describes the shape and position of the lips during their articulation, indicating whether the lips are rounded or unrounded

a classification of vowel sounds in phonetics that are produced with the front part of the tongue positioned closer to the front of the mouth

a classification of vowel sounds in phonetics that are produced with the back part of the tongue positioned closer to the back of the mouth

a distinction in vowel sounds based on how tense or lax the muscles are when pronouncing them

a vowel sound that is produced with greater muscle tension in the vocal tract, resulting in a longer duration and often a more prominent or "tense" quality compared to lax vowels

a vowel sound that is produced with less muscle tension in the vocal tract, resulting in a shorter duration and a more relaxed or "lax" quality compared to tense vowels

toneme [noun]

a distinctive unit of pitch or tone in a particular language or phonological system, representing the phonemic or contrastive aspect of tonal variation

a consonant sound produced with the back of the tongue approaching or making contact with the roof of the mouth, such as /k/, /g/, and /ŋ/

a consonant sound produced with the tip of the tongue placed between the upper and lower front teeth

phone [noun]

(phonetics) a distinct sound uttered, considered as a physical occurrence not as a part of the sound system

a variant pronunciation of a phoneme, which can occur due to phonetic differences in specific contexts or environments within a language

Ex: Linguists analyze the distribution of allophones within a language to understand its phonological rules and patterns .