Phonology

• Assimilation is a phonological process where a sound becomes more similar to a neighboring sound.
• Distinctive features are characteristics of sounds that signal differences in meaning between words.
• The term "phonetics" refers to the study of speech sounds, while "phonology" is concerned with how these sounds are organized into systems.
• A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes one word from another in a language.
• The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system used to represent the sounds of human language.
• Phonemes are units of sound that distinguish one word from another, such as /p/ in "pat" versus /b/ in "bat".
• Allophones are different forms or realizations of a single phoneme, depending on their position within a word.
• Phonemes are units of language that represent meaningful distinctions in pronunciation.
• Minimal pairs are two words that differ by only one phoneme.
• Phonemes can be classified based on their place of articulation, manner of articulation, voicing, and other factors.
• Sounds produced by blocking airflow through the vocal tract are called stops or plosives.
• Fricatives are produced when there is some obstruction to the flow of air but not enough to completely block it.
• Phonetic processes are changes that occur at the level of individual speech sounds.
• Consonants are produced by obstructing airflow through the mouth, resulting in audible friction or turbulence.
• Minimal pairs are two words that differ only in one phonemic segment, highlighting the importance of individual phonemes in conveying meaning.
• Consonant clusters refer to groups of consonants at the beginning or end of a syllable.
• Vowel length refers to the duration of vowels in speech.
• Stress placement refers to the emphasis placed on certain syllables in a word.
• Consonants can be classified based on their place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing.
• Vowels are produced without obstruction of airflow through the vocal tract.
• Nasals are sounds that involve the release of air from the nose rather than the mouth.
• Liquids are sounds made with a partial closure at one point in the oral cavity.
• The English language has many different dialects with varying pronunciations and accents.
• Dialects can be regional (e.g., Southern American English) or social (e.g., African-American Vernacular English).
• Accent refers to differences in how people speak based on their cultural background.
• There are three types of stress patterns in English: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
• Articulation is the process of producing speech sounds by manipulating our vocal organs.
• Phonetics is the scientific study of how we produce and perceive speech sounds.
• Place of Articulation - where the sound is produced in the mouth
• Manner of Articulation - how the sound is made by manipulating airflow through the vocal tract
• Voicing - whether the vocal cords vibrate during production
• Voiced consonants involve vibration of the vocal cords during production.
• Aspiration occurs when there is a puff of breath released at the beginning of some words or phrases.
• Glottal stop is a brief closure of the glottis that creates a short pause in speech.
• Glides or semi-vowels include sounds like /w/ and /j/.
• Liquids refer to sounds such as /r/ and /l/, which have different realizations depending on the language being spoken.
• English is an Indo-European language, related to other European languages such as Germanic and Romance languages.
• English has evolved significantly throughout history, influenced by various factors including migration, colonization, and technological advancements.
• Accent refers to differences in how words are pronounced within a single dialect.