phonetics

phonetics is defined as the study of the sounds of human speech using the mouth, throat, nasal and sinus cavities, and lungs and can be defined as the study of speech sounds, their production and combination, and their representation by written symbols

Analytical Areas of Phonetics

·         Auditory Phonetics: The study of speech perception and how the brain forms perceptual representations of the input it receives during the course of communication.

·         Articulatory Phonetics: The study of the positions and movements of the lips, tongue, vocal tract, and other speech organs.

·         Acoustic Phonetics: The study of the properties of the sound waves and how they are perceived by the inner ear.

An example of phonetics is how the letter "b" in the word "bed" is spoken - 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.

Place of Articulation

 

·        Bilabial

 

Bilabial consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow out of the mouth by bringing your chapped and/or dry lips together*. 

English contains the following three bilabial consonants:

• /p/ as in "purse" and "rap"
• /b/ as in "back" and "cab"
• /m/ as in "mad" and "clam"

• Labio-dental

Labiodental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by curling your lower lip back and raising it to touch your upper row of jagged teeth*.

English contains the following two labio-dental sounds:

• /f/ as in "fro" and "calf"
• /v/ as in "vine" and "have".

• Dental

Dental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by placing your slimy tongue against your upper teeth*.  

English contains the following two labio-dental sounds:

• /θ/ as is "thick" and "bath"
• /ð/ as in "the" and "rather"

• Alveolar

The alveolar ridge is where your jagged teeth meet your bloody gums*.  Alveolar consonants are created when you raise your tongue to the alveolar ridge so as to block/constrict airflow.  

The English alveolar consonants are as follows:

• /n/ as in "no" and "man"
• /t/ as in "tab" and "rat"
• /d/ as in "dip" and "bad"
• /s/ as in "suit" and "bus"
• /z/ as in "zit" and "jazz"
• /l/ as in "luck" and "fully"

• Post-alveolar

When you retract your tongue back just a bit from the alveolar ridge, the sounds change enough to be recognized as distinct consonants.  

So post-alveolar consonants are those that occur when the tongue blocks/constricts airflow at the point just beyond the alveolar ridge.  The post-alveolar english consonants are as follows: 

• /ʃ/ as in "shoot" or "brash"  
• /ʒ/ as in "vision" or "measure"
• /tʃ/ as in "chick" or "match"  
• /dʒ/ as in "jam" or "badge"

• Palatal

The roof of your mouth is known as the hard palate.  You may know it as: "The place that burns like hell all day when I drink my coffee too fast."  

Palatal consonants are created here when you raise the tongue to this point so as to block/constrict airflow.  

English has only one palatal consonant: 

• /j/ as in "yes" and "bayou"

• Velar

Behind your hard palate you have the velum or soft palate.  Unlike the bony hard palate in front of it, the velum/soft palate consists of soft, mucousy tissue.  
Velar Consonants are created when you raise the back of your tongue to the velum so as to block or restrict airflow.  

English has the following velar consonants:

• /ŋ/ as in "going" and "uncle" (note that the 'n sound' in these words is NOT made at the alveolar ridge, which is why it is distinct from /n/).  
• /k/ as in "kite" and "back"
• /g/ as in "good" and "bug"
• /w/ as in "wet" and "howard"

Glottal

The glottis is made up of your two vocal folds (i.e. vocal cords), and it acts as a sort of bottle cap to your windpipe.  Inhale and then hold your breath for a few seconds while keeping your mouth open.  What you are actually doing to keep the air from expelling out of your lungs by closing your glottis.  

Glottal consonants aren't really consonants; they just play consonant roles in the language.  In English the following things happen at the glottis:

• /h/ as in "hi" and "Bahamas".  Say these words and notice how you're not really constricting or blocking airflow for this /h/ sound, you're just sort of exhaling a little bit harder than you would for a normal vowel sound in transition to the following vowel sound.
• /?/ - This is actually the culprit behind many of the "silent syllables" we discussed in the first lesson. For example, in the phrase "wha(t) time is it?" the /t/ in "what" is dropped and the vowel sound before it is closed at the glottis.

http://www.yourdictionary.com/phonetics

http://www.mimicmethod.com/place-of-articulation.html