Understanding Phonetics: Accent, Dialect, and Pronunciation

Key Terms in Phonetics

Accent: This is the way a language is pronounced, varying according to geographical location, social class, age, and other factors.

Dialect: A variety of a language that differs from others not only in pronunciation but also in vocabulary, grammar, and word order.

Allophone: A predictable phonetic variant of a phoneme.

RP (Received Pronunciation): The standard form of pronunciation, often used as a reference point.

Vowels

Vowels are produced with no obstruction to the airflow; the air passes freely through the vocal tract from the larynx (voiced).

Types of Diphthongs

• Falling Diphthongs: The first element is more prominent.
• Rising Diphthongs: The second element is more prominent.
• Closing Diphthongs: Characterized by a reduced aperture degree.
• Opening Diphthongs: Characterized by an increased aperture degree.
• Wide Diphthongs: Involve a more radical movement of the speech organs.
• Narrow Diphthongs: The vowels have neighboring positions.
• Centering Diphthongs: The glide is from a marginal vowel to a central vowel.

Consonants

Consonants involve constrictions that narrow the vocal tract at a specific point.

Place of Articulation

Two articulators are involved: the active articulator moves to make the constriction, and the passive articulator is approached.

• Bilabial: Lower lip and upper lip (e.g., /b/, /p/, /m/, /w/)
• Labiodental: Lower lip and upper teeth (e.g., /f/, /v/)
• Dental: Tip/blade of the tongue and upper teeth (e.g., as in "thin" and "this")
• Alveolar: Tip/blade of the tongue and alveolar ridge (e.g., /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/)
• Post-alveolar: Tip of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge (e.g., /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /r/)
• Velar: Body of the tongue and velum (e.g., /k/, /g/, /ŋ/)
• Palatal: Body of the tongue and hard palate (e.g., /j/)
• Glottal: (e.g., /h/)

Manner of Articulation

This refers to the degree of constriction.

• Plosives: The active articulator touches the passive, completely cutting off the airflow (e.g., /p/, /d/, /b/, /k/, /g/, /t/)
• Fricatives: The active articulator doesn't touch the passive but gets close enough to create turbulence (e.g., /f/, /v/, as in "this" and "thin", /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /s/, /z/, /h/)
• Affricates: A sequence of a plosive and a fricative with the same or similar place of articulation (e.g., /tʃ/, /dʒ/)
• Approximants: The active articulator approaches the passive but doesn't get close enough to produce turbulence (e.g., /w/, /r/, /j/, /l/)
• Nasal: (e.g., /m/, /n/, /ŋ/)
• Lateral: The air escapes through the sides of the mouth (e.g., /l/)

State of the Glottis

Inside the larynx, we find the vocal cords. The term "glottis" refers to the opening between the vocal cords.

• Wide Apart: Normal breathing (voiceless sounds)
• Narrow Glottis: The air passes through the glottis when it is narrow, resulting in a fricative sound.
• Vocal Cords Vibrate: When the edges of the vocal cords touch each other or are pressed together (voiced sounds).

Sibilants

Sibilants are a type of fricative created by speeding air through a narrow channel and directing it over the sharp edge of the teeth.