Glossary

acoustic

[əˈkustək] - concerning the physical properties of sound waves

active articulator

[ˌæktəv ˌɑɹˈtɪkjəˌletɹ̩] - the part of the vocal tract that moves in order to cause a narrowing of the vocal tract. The common active articulators are the lower lip, tongue tip, tongue blade, tongue body, and tongue root.

advanced

[ədˈvænst] -

advanced tongue root (ATR)

[ədˌvænst ˈtʌŋ ˌɹut] - the property of a sound that involves pushing the tongue root forward and expanding the pharynx. When applied to vowels, many linguists treat "ATR" as a synonym for "tense".

affricate

[ˈæfɹəkət] - a single sound formed by a stop closure followed by a fricative closure at the same (or very close) places of articulation. Examples: [tʃ], [dz], [pf].

airstream mechanism

[ˈɛɹˌstɹim ˌmɛkənɪzm̩] - the mechanism used to start the air-flow required by a sound.

allophone

[ˈæləˌfon] -

alveolar

[ˌælˈvilɹ̩] or [ˌælviˈolɹ̩]

- adjective for things related to the alveolar ridge

- specifically: a sound made with the region between the alveolar ridge and the upper teeth as the passive articulator.

alveolar ridge

[ˌælˈvilɹ̩ ˈɹɪdʒ] -

alveopalatal

[ˌælvioˈpælətl̩] - a palatalized postalveolar, such as [ɕ] or [ʑ]. (This term is often also used loosely by linguists who fail to distinguish between postalveolar and palatal places of articulation.)

amplitude

[ˈæmpləˌtjud] -

apical

[ˈepəkl̩] or [ˈæpəkl̩] - sounds made with the tip of the tongue as the active articulator.

approximant

[əˈpɹɑksəmn̩t] -the degree of constriction in which the active and passive articulators approach each other, but not closely enough to cause the air passing between them to become turbulent. The approximants of English are [w], [j], [ɹ], and [l].

arytenoid cartilages

[əˈɹɪtəˌnɔjd ˈkɑɹtl̩ədʒəz] -

aspirated

[ˈæspɹ̩ˌetəd] -

assimilation

[əˌsɪməˈleʃn̩] - a process that causes a sound to become more similar to one of its neighbours.

back (vowel)

[ˈbæk ˌvawl] -

Bark

[ˈbɑɹk] -

bilabial

[ˌbajˈlebil̩]

- adjective for things involving both lips

- specifically: the place of articulation of a sound made with both lips as the articulators, e.g., [p], [b], [m].

breathy

[ˈbɹɛθi] -

broad transcription

[ˈbɹɑd ˌtrænsˈkɹɪpʃn̩] -

Canadian raising

[kəˈnedin̩ ˈrezɪŋ] - the property of many Canadian dialects of English (and some others) where the diphthongs /aj/ and /aw/ are pronounced with a higher starting point -- [ʌj] and [ʌw] -- when they occur before voiceless consonants.

cardinal vowel

[ˈkɑɹdn̩l̩ ˈvawl] - In the system of referring to vowel positions created by Daniel Jones (and still often used, especially in Britain), one of the four "equally spaced" front vowels [i, e, ɛ, a], four "equally spaced" back vowels [ɑ, ɔ, o u], or their counterparts with opposite rounding [y, ø, œ, ɶ, ɒ, ʌ, ɤ, ɯ].

central

[ˈsɛntɹl̩]

(of a consonant) not lateral

(of a vowel) made with the tongue body in a position horizontally between front and back

centralized

[ˈsɛntɹəˌlajzd] -

click

[ˈklɪk] -

close

[ˈklos] = high (vowel)

cochlea

[ˈkɑkliə] -the organ in the inner ear that separates incoming sounds into their frequency components and sends that information as nerve impulses to the brain.

coda

[ˈkodə] -the part of the syllable that comes after the nucleus, e.g., [nd] in [ɡɹajnd].

coronal

[ˈkɔɹənl̩] or [kəˈɹonl̩] - a cover term for sounds made with either tongue tip or tongue blade as the active articulator.

closure (phase)

[ˈkloʒɹ̩] - the medial phase of a stop, where the active and passive articulators are touching each other.

coarticulation

[ˌko.ɑɹˌtɪkjəˈleʃn̩] -

creaky

[ˈkɹiki] -

decibel (dB)

[ˈdɛsəbl̩] - a unit of sound intensity (or amplitude), equal to one-tenth of a bel.

degree of constriction

[dəˈɡɹi əv kn̩ˈstɹɪkʃn̩] - the narrowness of the constriction formed by the active and passive articulators. Most common degrees of constriction: stop, fricative, approximant.

dental

[ˈdɛntl̩] -adjective for things involving the teeth
specifically: the place of articulation for sounds with the upper teeth as the passive articulator, such as [θ], [ð].

diacritic

[ˌdajəˈkɹɪtək] - a small IPA symbol placed above, below, or next to another symbol in order to slightly modify that symbol's meaning.

diphthong

[ˈdɪfˌθɑŋ] - a vowel during which the tongue body moves from one position to another.

dorsal

[ˈdɔɹsl̩] - adjective for things involving the tongue body.

dorsum

[ˈdɔɹsəm] - fancy term for the tongue body -- specifically the back part of the tongue body (from the Latin word for "back").

downstep

[ˈdawnˌstɛp] -

ejective

[iˈdʒɛktəv] -

epiglottal

[ˌɛpəˈɡlɑtl̩] -

epiglottis

[ˌɛpəˈɡlɑtəs] -

extended IPA (or extIPA)

[əkˈstɛndəd ˌajˌpiˈe] - a set of additional phonetic symbols and diacritics, used primarily for sounds which do not typically occur in normal adult speech, but may occur in child speech or disordered speech.

f0

[ˌɛf ˈzɪɹo] - abbreviation for fundamental frequency.

F1, F2, F3, etc.

[ˌɛf ˈwʌn], etc. -

faucal pillars

[ˈfɑkl̩ ˈpɪlɹ̩z] -

FFT

Fast Fourier Transform [fæst ˈfʊɹiˌje ˈtɹænzˌfɔɹm] - the most common mathematical technique for finding the spectrum of a waveform.

filter

[ˈfɪltɹ̩] - in the source/filter model, the component that modifies (using resonance) the wave produced by the source. For speech, this is all of the vocal tract above the vocal folds.

flap

[ˈflæp] -

focus accent

[ˈfokəs ˈækˌsɛnt] -

formant

[ˈfɔɹmn̩t] -

Fourier analysis

[ˈfʊɹiˌje əˈnæləsəs] - a mathematical technique for separating a complex wave into the simple waves that make it up.

frequency

[ˈfɹikwənsi] -

fricative

[ˈfɹɪkətəv] - the manner of articulation where the active and passive articulators are close enough together that the air flowing between them becomes turbulent; or a consonant having this manner of articulation, e.g., [f, s, z, θ].

front (vowel)

[fɹʌnt] -

fundamental frequency

[ˌfʌndəˈmɛntl̩ ˈfɹikwənsi] -

glide

[ɡlajd] - a type of approximant which is essentially a vowel occupying a consonant's position in a syllable, such as [j] corresponding to [i] or [w] corresponding to [u].

glottal

[ˈɡlɑtl̩] - adjective for things having to do with the glottis.

glottal stop

[ˌɡlɑtl̩ ˈstɑp] - a consonant formed by closing the vocal folds, symbolized by IPA [ʔ], as in English [ʔʌ̃ʔʌ̃] uh-uh.

glottal wave

[ˈɡlɑtl̩ ˈwev] - the waveform produced by the larynx, before it is filtered by the rest of the vocal tract.

glottis

[ˈɡlɑtəs] - the opening between the vocal folds.

harmonic

[ˌhɑɹˈmɑnək] - one of the simple sine waves that makes up the spectrum of a complex wave.

Hertz (Hz)

[hɹ̩ts] - a measure of a waves frequency: the number of times the wave repeats itself in one second. (also known as "cycles per second")

high (vowel)

[haj] -

implosive

[ɪmˈplosəv] -

intonation

[ˌɪntəˈneʃn̩] -

IPA

[ˌaj ˌpi ˈe] -International Phonetic Alphabet, or International Phonetic Association

labial

[ˈlebil̩] - adjective for things having to do with the lips

labialized

 [ˈlebiəˌlajzd] -

labio-velar

[ˌlebioˈvilɹ̩] - a sound that involves both a bilabial constriction and a velar constriction articulated simultaneously (or with a lot of overlap). E.g., [w], [gb].

laminal

[ˈlæmənl̩] - a sound made with the tongue blade as the active articulator.

laryngeal

[ləˈɹɪndʒl̩] -

laryngealized

[ləˈɹɪndʒəˌlajzd] -

larynx

[ˈlɛɹɪŋks]  -

lateral

[ˈlætɹ̩l̩]  -

lateral release

[ˈlætɹ̩l̩ ɹəˈlis]   -

lax

[læks]   -

length

[lɛŋθ]   -

Linear Predictive Coding (LPC)

[ˈlɪniɹ̩ pɹəˈdɪktəv ˈkodɪŋ] - a computer algorithm for figuring out the formants of a waveform.

linguolabial

[ˌlɪŋɡwəˈlebil̩] - a sound made by the tongue tip or blade touching the upper lip -- very rare.

liquid

[ˈlɪkwəd] -a cover term for "l"-like or "r"-like sonorants.

low (vowel)

[lo] -

medial (phase)

[ˈmidil̩ ˈfez] -

mel

[mɛl] -

mid (vowel)

[mɪd] -

modal voicing

[ˈmodl̩ ˈvɔjsɪŋ] -

monophthong

[ˈmɑnəfˌθɑŋ] - a vowel during which the tongue body stays in more or less the same place, as opposed to a diphthong, where the tongue body moves.

narrow transcription

  -

nasal

[ˈnezl̩]   -1) general, 2) IPA row

nasalized

[ˈnezəˌlajzd] -

nasal release

[ˈnezl̩ ɹəˈlis] -

non-pulmonic

[ˌnɑn pl̩ˈmɑnək]   -

nucleus

[ˈnjukliəs] - the part of the syllable containing the vowel (including any of the vowel's on-glides or off-glides). E.g., the [aj] in [ɡɹajnd].

obstruent

[ˈɑbstɹuənt] - a plosive or a fricative.

offglide

[ˈɑfˌɡlajd] -

offset (phase)

[ˈɑfˌsɛt ˈfez] -

onset (of a syllable)

[ˈɑnˌsɛt] -

onset (phase)

[ˈɑnˌsɛt ˈfez] -

open

[ˈopn̩] = low

oral

[ˈɔɹəl] -

palatal

[ˈpælətl̩] - adjective for things related to the hard palate

- specifically: the place of articulation for sounds made with the hard palate as the passive articulator, such as [j]

palatalized

[ˈpælətəˌlajzd] -

passive articulator

[ˈpæsəv ˌɑɹˈtɪkjəˌletɹ̩] -

pharyngeal

[fəˈɹɪndʒl̩] - adjective for things involving the pharynx, or upper throat.

- specifically: the place of articulation of sounds with the pharynx as the passive articulator.

pharyngealized

[fəˈɹɪndʒəˌlajzd] -

pharynx

[ˈfɛɹɪŋks] -

phonation

[ˌfoˈneʃn̩]- the kind of activity the vocal folds are engaged in. "Voiced" and "voiceless" are the two most common types of phonation.

phoneme

[ˈfoˌnim] -

phonology

[fəˈnɑlədʒi] -

pitch

[pɪtʃ] -

place of articulation (POA)

[ˈples əv ˌɑɹˌtɪkjəˈleʃn̩] -

plosive

[ˈplosəv] -

POA

  - abbreviation for place of articulation

postalveolar

[ˈpost ˌælˈvilɹ̩] - adjective for things involving the area immediately behind the alveolar ridge.

- specifically: the place of articulation of sounds with the postalveolar region as the passive articulation, such as [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], and [dʒ].

pre-aspirated

[ˌpɹiˈæspɹ̩ˌetəd] -

prenasalized

[ˌpɹiˈnezəˌlajzd] -

primary stress

[ˈpɹajˌmɛɹi ˈstrɛs]   -

pulmonic

[ˌpʌlˈmɑnək] - adjective for things involving the lungs, especially for the airstream mechanism where the movement of air is caused by the lungs (i.e., the normal airstream mechanism, as opposed to clicks, ejectives, and implosives).

radical

[ˈɹædəkl̩] - adjective for things involving the tongue root.

 

reduced

[ɹəˈdjust] -

release

[ɹəˈlis] - the offset phase of a stop, where the active articulator stops touching and moves away from the secondary articulator.

release burst

[ɹəˈlis ˌbɹ̩st] -

resonance

[ˈɹɛzənəns] -

response curve

[ɹəˈspɑns ˌkɹ̩v] -a graph of how much a particular object would resonate if it were given various frequencies, graphed with frequency on the horizontally and response curve on the vertical axis.

retracted

[ɹəˈtɹæktəd] - adjective for a sound that occurs with the active articulator somewhat further back in the mouth than it usually is (or further back than the IPA symbol without any diacritics might suggest).

retracted tongue root (RTR)

[ɹəˈtɹæktəd ˈtʌŋ ˌɹut] - a term for sounds which have the tongue root pushed back toward the rear wall of the pharynx -- often used as a synonym for "lax".

retroflex

[ˈɹɛtɹoˌflɛks] - adjective for things involving a curled-up tongue tip.

- specifically: the place of articulation for sounds made with the tongue tip curled back to the postalveolar region or further.

rhotic

[ˈɹotək] - a cover term for "r"-like sounds, including taps and flaps [ɾ] and [ɽ], trills [r] and [ʀ], and the approximants [ɹ] and [ɻ].

rhoticized

[ˈɹotəˌsajzd] -

round

[ɹawnd] - adjective for a sound made with the lips rounded.

schwa

[ʃwɑ] -

secondary articulation

[ˈsɛkn̩ˌdɛɹi ˌɑrˌtɪkjeˈleʃn̩] -

secondary stress

[ˈsɛkn̩ˌdɛɹi ˈstɹɛs] -

segment

[ˈsɛɡmn̩t] -

sibilant

[ˈsɪbl̩n̩t] - another term for a strident

sine wave

[ˈsajn ˌwev] -

sone

[son] -

sonorant

[ˈsɑnɹ̩n̩t] -

source

[sɔɹs] -

spectrogram

[ˈspɛktɹəˌɡɹæm] -

spectral tilt

[ˈspɛktɹl̩ ˈtɪlt] -

spectrum

[ˈspɛktɹəm] - the set of simple waves that a complex wave is composed of.

spectrum diagram

[ˈspɛktɹəm ˈdajəˌɡɹæm] - a representation of a complex wave's spectrum. Ideally has a vertical line (representing frequency and amplitude) for each simple wave -- though computer-generated spectrum diagrams are usually much messier.

stop

[stɑp] -

stress

[stɹɛs] -

striation

[stɹiˈeʃn̩] -

strident

[ˈstɹajdn̩t] - a fricative with especially loud turbulent noise. The strident sounds in English are [s, z, ʃ, z, tʃ, dʒ], but not [f, v, θ, ð].

suprasegmental

[ˌsupɹəˌsɛɡˈmɛntl̩] -

syllabic consonant

[səˈlæbək ˈkɑnsənənt] - a consonant that occurs in the nucleus of a syllable, that is, in the position of a syllable where you normally expect a vowel.

tap

[tæp] -

tense

[tɛns] -

tone

[ton] -

tongue blade

[ˈtʌŋ ˌbled] - the flat part of the surface of the tongue immediately behind the tongue tip.

tongue body

[ˈtʌŋ ˌbɑdi] -

tongue root

[ˈtʌŋ ˌɹut] -

tongue tip

[ˈtʌŋ ˌtɪp] -

trill

[tɹɪl] -

triphthong

[ˈtɹɪfˌθɑŋ] -

unreleased

[ˌʌn ɹəˈlist] -

upstep

[ˈʌpˌstɛp] -

uvula

[ˈjuvjələ] - the dangly piece of tissue forming the farthest back and lowest part of the soft palate.

uvular

[ˈjuvjəlɹ̩] - adjective for things involving the uvula.

- specifically: the place of articulation for sounds with the uvula as the passive articulator, such as [q] or [ʀ].

velar

[ˈvilɹ̩] -adjective for things involving the velum, or soft palate.

- specifically: the place of articulation for sounds with the velum as the passive articulator, such as [k], [ɡ], and [ŋ].

velarized

[ˈviləˌrajzd] - adjective for sounds having a velar approximant [ɰ] as a secondary articulation.

velar pinch

[ˈvilɹ̩ ˈpɪntʃ] - a characteristic pattern of formant transitions often found for velar consonants, where F2 and F3 approach each other.

velum

[ˈviləm] - the soft palate.

vocal folds

[ˈvokl̩ ˌfoldz] -

voice bar

[ˈvɔjs ˌbɑɹ] - a thin, dark, horizontal bar often seen at the bottom of a spectrogram during voiced sounds.

voice onset time (VOT)

[ˌvɔjs ˈɑnˌsɛt ˌtajm] - the length of time between the release of an oral stop closure and the beginning of vocal fold vibration for the following voiced sound (usually a vowel). Voiceless unaspirated plosives usually have VOTs close to zero (i.e., the stop's release and the onset of voicing happen at about the same time). Aspirated plosives have longer VOTs.

voiced

[vɔjst] - adjective for sounds made with vocal fold vibration.

voiceless

[ˈvɔjsləs] - adjective for sounds made without vocal fold vibration.

waveform

[ˈwevˌfɔɹm] - a diagram of the vibrations of a wave, with time shown on the horizontal axis and pressure variation or amplitude on the vertical axis.

wavelength

[ˈwevˌlɛŋɡθ] - the spatial distance between comparable points in two successive cycles of a wave (e.g., between peak and peak or between trough and trough). Inversely related to frequency: high-frequency waves have shorter wavelengths; low-frequency waves have longer wavelengths.

Wh-question

[ˌdubl̩ju ˈetʃ ˌkwɛstʃn̩] - a question that expects a specific piece of information (as in "What did you eat?"), as opposed to yes/no question (as in "Are you hungry?"). Called "Wh-questions" because most of the question words used in this type of question in English begin with "wh": who, what, where, why, when, how.

yes/no question

[ˌjɛs ˈno ˌkwɛstʃn̩] - a question that expects either a "yes" or a "no" for an answer (as in "Are you hungry?"), as opposed to a Wh-question, which expects a specific piece of information (as in "What did you eat?").