Phonetics is the scientific study of speech sounds and their production, transmission, and perception. It examines speech sounds from three perspectives: articulatory phonetics studies sound production, acoustic phonetics studies sound transmission, and auditory phonetics studies sound perception. Phonetics also examines the anatomy involved in speech production and the manner and place of articulation that define consonant and vowel sounds. Key terms used in phonetics include manner classes like stops, fricatives, and nasals that describe how consonants are formed, as well as vowel qualities like height, advancement, and rounding that define vowel production.

1. By:
Julián Marín Hoyos
B.E. Teaching English as a Foreign Language
PHONETICS

2. Phonetics (pronounced /fəˈnɛtɪks/, from the Greek: φωνή,
phōnē, 'sound, voice') is a branch of linguistics that
comprises the study of the sounds of human speech. 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.
PHONETICS

3. PHONETICS
Phonetics is the scientific study of speech
sounds. Phoneticians are interested in how
people produce and understand speech
sounds. Using symbols from the International
Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), phoneticians
transcribe the sounds of any language in the
world. Here are some important phonetic
terms to help you, all described in plain
English.

4. The field of phonetics is a multilayered 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 listener.
These areas are inter-connected through the common mechanism of
sound, such as wavelength (pitch), amplitude, and harmonics.
PHONETICS

5. FORMULATION TO INTERPRETATION

6. PHONETICS

7. A source-filter system produces human speech. Speech begins with a
breathy source. The airflow beginning at the lungs causes sound to be
produced through vibration and hissiness at the larynx (also referred to
as your voicebox) in your throat. You then shape this sound through a
filter, the passageways of the mouth and nasal cavity (nose). As you
move your tongue around in your mouth to different areas, different
tube-like vocal tract shapes are created. These shapes result in
different sounds. Here are some important terms related to speech
anatomy:
WHAT PRODUCES SPEECH:
YOUR SPEECH ANATOMY

8. YOUR SPEECH ANATOMY
Alveolar ridge: A bony ridge at the roof
of your mouth about a half-inch behind
your upper teeth.
Glottis: The hole (or space) between
the vocal folds in your throat.
Larynx: Also referred to as the Adam’s
apple, it’s the voice box made of
cartilage in your throat that holds your
vocal folds.
Lips: Important for forming consonants
such as in “pat,” “bat,” “mat,” “fat,” “vat,”
and “wet”. They’re protruded for some
vowels.
Palate: Roof of the mouth, divided into
hard palate (front) and soft palate (back).

9. YOUR SPEECH ANATOMY
Pharynx: A tube that connects the larynx to
the oral cavity (mouth), located at the far
back of your throat.
Teeth: Used to make dental sounds such as
/θ/ in “teeth” and /ð/ in “those”.
Tongue: The most important organ of
speech production. A large muscle capable
of amazing shape changes, used for speech
and feeding.
Uvula: A dangling piece of tissue at the very
end of the soft palate (the velum) that can
act as a place of articulation for consonants
in many languages.

10. YOUR SPEECH ANATOMY
Velum: Another name for the soft
palate, the back part of the roof of
the mouth that is not supported by
bony cartilage.
Vocal folds: Also known as the
vocal cords, they’re two small flaps
of muscle (about a half-inch long)
in the larynx that vibrate and create
speech.

11. You make consonants by completely or partially blocking
airflow during speech. You can do this in different ways: you
can completely block airflow, push air through a groove or slit
to make a hissing sound, block air then make a hiss, or bring
the speech articulators (the organs of speech) close together
to shape sound. The result is different manners of articulation
(different ways of making a sound). You need to be able to
label all these processes in order to work with speech in a
clinical or educational setting. Here are some key terms for
consonant manner of articulation.
HOW CONSONANTS ARE FORMED:
THE MANNER OF ARTICULATION

13. Affricate: A stop followed by a fricative with the same place
of articulation, such as /ʧ/ as in “chip” and /ʤ/ as in “germ.”
Approximant: A sound made by bringing articulators together
to shape airflow, while not blocking air or causing hissing.
Examples include “read,” “weed,” “lead,” and “you.”
Flap: A rapidly made stop consonant, usually voiced, such as
the “t” in “Betty” as pronounced in American English.
Fricative: A hissy consonant, such as in “fat,” “vat,” “thick,”
“this,” “sip,” “zip,” “ship,” and “leisure”. It’s made by producing
friction in the airstream.
HOW CONSONANTS ARE FORMED:
THE MANNER OF ARTICULATION

14. Glide: A subgroup of the approximants, also called semivowels,
including the sounds /j/ as in “you” and /w/ as in “we”.
Lateral: Sounds made by directing airflow around the sides of
the tongue, such as /l/ in “listen”.
Liquid: The other two English approximants (besides glides), /l/
and /ɹ/.
Nasal: Sounds produced with airflow escaping through the
nasal passage, such as in “meat,” “neat,” and “sing“.
Stop: Also known as plosive, a sound made with complete
closure of the oral cavity.
HOW CONSONANTS ARE FORMED:
THE MANNER OF ARTICULATION

15. You make vowels in a different way than consonants.
Vowels don’t involve air blockage, but instead require a
more continual sound flow and sound shaping.
Phoneticians describe vowel production in terms of HAR:
Height (whether the tongue is high, mid, or low in the
mouth).
Advancement (how front or back the tongue is).
Rounding (whether the lips are protruded, for sounds
like the “oo” of “boot.”)
HOW VOWELS ARE FORMED: SOME BASIC
VOWEL TYPES IN PHONETICS

16. HOW VOWELS ARE FORMED: SOME BASIC VO
WEL TYPES IN PHONETICS

17. Another way is to consider place of articulation (where in
the mouth the tongue is placed) and manner of articulation
(how the sound is made) features.
Monophthong: A vowel with a single sound quality, such
as the middle sound in “rat” or “bit”. These sounds are
made with one tongue position.
Diphthong: Sounds that glide from one vowel to another,
such as in “cow,” “boy,” and “fight”. These sounds are
made with two tongue positions.
HOW VOWELS ARE FORMED: SOME BASIC
VOWEL TYPES IN PHONETICS

18. BIBLIOGRAPHY
-Wikipedia. Phonetics. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonetics
-Dummies.com. Phonetics. Retrieved from
http://www.dummies.com/education/language-
arts/grammar/phonetics-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/