This chapter introduces how human language is spoken — how we make sounds, how
we study them, and how we write them down using the IPA (International Phonetic
Alphabet). It’s the foundation of phonetics and phonology.
It answers questions like:
● How do we physically make speech sounds?
● Why do "pat" and "bat" sound different?
● How can we write down the exact sounds of any language?
PART 1: PHONETICS — The Physical Side of Sound
Phonetics is all about the science of speech sounds — how we produce, hear, and
measure them.
A. Articulatory Phonetics
This is the main focus of the chapter. It deals with how your mouth, tongue, teeth, lips,
and vocal cords work together to make sounds.
Think of your mouth like a musical instrument:
● The lungs push air.
● The vocal cords vibrate or stay still.
● The tongue and lips shape the sound.
B. Voicing
● Voiced sounds: Your vocal cords vibrate (like [z], [b], [d]).
● Voiceless sounds: No vibration (like [s], [p], [t]).
Try this: Say “zzz” and “sss” — feel your throat vibrate on “zzz”?
PART 2: CONSONANTS — Made by Blocking Air
Consonants are made when you block or restrict the air in some way.
They’re described by:
A. Place of Articulation – Where in your mouth the sound is made
Place How It Works Example
Bilabial Both lips touch [p], [b], [m]
Labioden
tal Lower lip + upper teeth [f], [v]
Dental Tongue touches teeth [θ] (think), [ð] (this)
Tongue touches the ridge behind
Alveolar teeth [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], [l]
[ʃ] (sh), [ʧ] (ch),
Palatal Tongue and hard palate [ʤ] (j)
Velar Back of tongue and soft palate [k], [g], [ŋ] (sing)
Glottal Made in the throat (glottis) [h], [ʔ] (uh-oh)
B. Manner of Articulation – How the air is affected
Mann
er Description Example
Air is completely stopped, then
Stop released [p], [t], [k], [b], [d], [g]
Fricati
ve Air is forced through a narrow opening [f], [s], [v], [z], [ʃ], [θ]
Affric
ate Stop + fricative [ʧ] (ch), [ʤ] (j)
Nasal Air goes through the nose [m], [n], [ŋ]
Liquid Air flows around the tongue [l], [r]
Tongue moves smoothly to another
Glide position [w], [j] (yes)
PART 3: VOWELS — Made With Open Airflow
Unlike consonants, vowels are made with no obstruction of airflow.
They’re described using:
● Tongue Height: High, Mid, Low
● Tongue Position: Front, Central, Back
● Lip Rounding: Rounded or not
Vow Exam
el ple Description
High front,
[i] see unrounded
[u] boot High back, rounded
[ɛ] bed Mid front
[æ] cat Low front
[ʌ] cup Mid central
[ɑ] father Low back
PART 4: DIPHTHONGS — Vowel Glides
Diphthongs are like two vowels in one. Your tongue starts in one spot and glides to
another.
Sou Exampl
nd e
[aɪ] my, buy
how,
[aʊ] now
[ɔɪ] boy, toy
say,
[eɪ] day
go,
[oʊ] home
PART 5: IPA – The Alphabet for Sounds
English spelling is not reliable for representing how words sound. So, linguists use the
IPA — one symbol per sound.
Wo Spelli
rd ng IPA
/
Pat pat pæt
/
/
Bat bat bæt
/
See see /si/
Fis /
h fish fɪʃ/
PART 6: PHONOLOGY – The Mental Side of Sound
While phonetics is about physical sounds, phonology looks at how we mentally
organize those sounds.
Key Concepts:
● Phoneme: Smallest unit of sound that changes meaning
o /p/ vs /b/ in pat vs bat
● Allophones: Slight variations of a phoneme that don’t change the word
o [p] vs [pʰ] (unaspirated vs aspirated in spin vs pin)
● Phonotactics: Rules about which sounds can go where in a word
o English allows "str-" (street) but not "tl-" at the beginning.
PART 7: LANGUAGE VARIATION
Speech sounds can vary across:
● Regions (accents),
● Social groups (sociolects),
● Individual people (idiolects).
Even with differences, shared rules help people understand each other.
SUMMARY
● Phonetics = physical production of sounds
● Phonology = mental rules behind sound patterns
● Consonants are made by restricting airflow
● Vowels are made with open airflow and shaped by tongue/lip position
● IPA helps us write sounds precisely
● Phonemes = important sounds; Allophones = variations
● QUIZ: The Sounds of Language
● Part 1: Multiple Choice
● 1. Which of the following is a voiced sound?
A) /p/
B) /s/
C) /b/
D) /t/
●
● 2. The sound /θ/ (as in think) is classified as:
A) Voiced dental fricative
B) Voiceless dental fricative
C) Voiced alveolar stop
D) Voiceless bilabial stop
●
● 3. Which pair of words differ by only one phoneme?
A) cat – cart
B) pit – bit
C) sing – song
D) dog – dogs
●
● 4. What type of sound is /ʧ/ as in “church”?
A) Fricative
B) Affricate
C) Glide
D) Nasal
●
● 5. What part of the mouth is used to produce bilabial sounds?
A) Lips and teeth
B) Tongue and alveolar ridge
C) Both lips
D) Glottis
●
● Part 2: True or False
● 6. All vowels are produced with some form of airflow blockage.
●
● 7. The IPA stands for “International Phonetic Alphabet.”
●
● 8. [p] and [pʰ] are different phonemes in English.
●
● Part 3: Short Answer
● 9. What is the difference between a phoneme and an allophone?
