PHONOLOGY

WMSU

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There are two subdisciplines in linguistics which deal with sound:
• Phonetics
• Phonology

• Phonetics deals with all the possible human speech sounds – it

is an inventory of possibilities, as defined by the human vocal
apparatus, or the human perceptual system.

• Phonetics deals with what kinds of sounds humans can make.

• Phonology deals with what languages do with those sounds –

how they select certain sounds, how those sounds are fitted
into their environments, and how they are constructed into
larger and larger units, such as syllables words and so on.
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INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
(IPA)

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INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
(IPA)

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INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
(IPA)

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 A Brief Overview of Phonetics

• Two basic types: consonants and vowels

• We can think of the vocal tract as a noisemaker at

the bottom of a tube whose shape can be modified
at will.

• The noisemaker is the vocal cords which produce a

buzzing sound when the vocal folds are held loosely
together.
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 A Brief Overview of Phonetics

• The tube begins directly above the vocal cords, and

exits at the mouth. There is an option for an
additional exit through the nose (the exit is
controlled by a valve called the velum).

• Most speech is produced with the nasal valve

closed, producing oral speech.

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 A Brief Overview of Phonetics

• If the velum is open and the mouth closed, the

speech is said to be nasal
/m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /ōn/, /an/

• While if the mouth is open also, the speech is said

to be nasalized

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 A Brief Overview of Phonetics

• If the vocal tract is relatively open the sound is

characterized as a vowel

• If the vocal tract is relatively closed, the sound is a

consonant

• Sounds that are made with the vocal tract at an

intermediate state are approximants

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 A Brief Overview of Phonetics

• The closure can be complete, in which case the sound is a

stop (also called plosive)
or
• It can be sufficiently incomplete so that the air must be
forced through, producing a turbulent airstream and a hissing
noise. In this case the sound is a fricative (or spirant).

• It is also possible to combine a complete closure with a

release of that closure sufficiently slow to result in hissing
immediately following the release. This is known as
affricate.
/t/, /sh/, /ch/
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