English Phonetics - Yensi Cortes Valencia

- Consonant and Vowel Sounds Recording-20250420_192751.webm   - Suprasegmentals Recording-20250511_223445.webm  

Rising intonation is when the pitch of your voice goes up at the end of a sentence. It’s often used to express: Yes/No questions Uncertainty or doubt Surprise Incomplete thoughts or lists Examples: Are you coming?  (Yes/No question – the voice rises on "coming.") Do you like it?  (Another Yes/No question – rising intonation on "it.")

Falling intonation is when the pitch of your voice drops at the end of a sentence. It’s the most common intonation pattern in English and is typically used in: Statements Wh - questions Commands End of a conversation or thought Examples: 1. It’s time to go.    (A statement: your voice falls on "go.") 2. Where are you going?    (A wh- question: the voice falls on "going.")

A function word is a word that has little or no meaning on its own, but it is essential for the grammar and structure of a sentence. These words help connect content words and show relationships between them. Common Types of Function Words: Prepositions (e.g., in, on) Articles (e.g., the, a) Conjunctions (e.g., and, but) Pronouns (e.g., he, they) Auxiliary verbs (e.g., is, have) Examples: 1. The (article) – “ The cat is sleeping.” 2. And (conjunction) – “She likes apples and bananas.” - Function words do not carry main meaning, but they are vital for correct sentence structure and fluency.

A content word is a word that carries meaning and contributes significantly to the main message of a sentence. These are the words that tell us what someone is talking about. Types of Content Words: Nouns (e.g., dog, book) Main Verbs (e.g., run, eat) Adjectives (e.g., happy, blue) Adverbs (e.g., quickly, always) Examples: Tree (noun) – “The tree is tall.” Jump (verb) – “They jump over the fence.” Unlike function words (like the, is, on), content words are stressed more when we speak because they hold the key information.

 - Voiced Sounds These are sounds produced with vibration of the vocal cords. Examples: b as in "bat" d as in "dog" g as in "go" v as in "van" z as in "zoo" th as in "this" All vowel sounds are voiced (e.g., a, e, i, o, u) - Unvoiced Sounds These are sounds produced without vibration of the vocal cords. Examples: p as in "pen" t as in "top" k as in "cat" f as in "fish" s as in "sun" sh as in "ship" th as in "thing"

  Lips – Used in bilabial sounds like /p/ and /b/ Teeth – Used in dental sounds like /θ/ and /ð/ Tongue – Key for alveolar, palatal, and velar sounds Alveolar Ridge – Used for sounds like /t/ and /d/ Hard Palate – Used in palatal sounds like /ʃ/ Velum (Soft Palate) – Controls nasal and oral airflow Glottis – Produces glottal sounds like /h/

  Bilabial – Both lips touch (e.g., /p/, /b/) Labiodental – Lower lip touches upper teeth (e.g., /f/, /v/) Dental – Tongue tip against upper teeth (e.g., /θ/, /ð/) Alveolar – Tongue tip against alveolar ridge (e.g., /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/) Postalveolar – Tongue just behind the alveolar ridge (e.g., /ʃ/, /ʒ/) Palatal – Tongue against hard palate (e.g., /j/) Velar – Tongue against soft palate (e.g., /k/, /g/) Glottal – Sound produced at the glottis (e.g., /h/)

Definition of Phonetics: Phonetics is the branch of linguistics that studies the physical sounds of human speech. It focuses on how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived. According to Ladefoged (2005), phonetics analyzes "the physical properties of speech sounds, including their articulation and acoustic features." Articulatory Features: Place of articulation (where the sound is produced in the vocal tract) Manner of articulation (how the airflow is modified) Voicing (whether the vocal cords vibrate) Examples: /p/ (voiceless bilabial plosive) /d/ (voiced alveolar plosive) /s/ (voiceless alveolar fricative) Definition of Phonology: Phonology is the study of how speech sounds function within a particular language or languages. It focuses on the abstract, cognitive aspects of sounds and their patterns. Roach (2009) states that phonology "concerns itself with the organization of sounds in particular languages, distinguishing phonemes and their functions....