Linguistics: Theoretical Phonetics

Revised as of
10 Mar 2023

Phonetics, a category in theoretical linguistics, explores the physical production of the sound of language and focuses on how listeners perceive the sounds of language and how the vocal tract produces the sounds of language.

Other Posts on Theoretical Linguistics

Other posts on the primary theoretical categories can be explored:

• Intro to Theoretical Linguistics
• Generative – the theory that human language speakers have an idea of what the rules are and are able to learn in a short time with little effort
• Phonology – the abstract study of the sound systems of languages in their cognitive aspects
• Pragmatics – the study of how language is used (in context)
• Semantics – the study of words and meanings
• Syntax – the study of how words and phrases make sentences

Linguistics is . . .

. . . the systematic study of the nature, structure, and variation of language (of which grammar is a part), which describes how people use language. For the writer, how words are used (or spelled!) determines a character’s social and educational level and the time period for the story.

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Phonetics
Part of Speech: Linguistics, Theoretical
Definition: Divides a continuous stream of speech, i.e., sentences into words and words into sounds, into distinct parts and recognize the parts in other words. POST CONTENTS Grapheme Phoneme Allophone Phone Acoustic Phonetics Frequency vs Amplitude Formant Harmonics Periodic vs Aperiodic Waves Sine Wave vs Complex Wave Transient vs Continuous Sound Auditory Phonetic Segmental Consonants Vowels Monophthong Diphthong Triphthong Articulatory Phonetic Parts Producing Sound Glottis Larynx Lips Nasal cavity Oral cavity Pharynx Velum Tongue Place of Articulation Alveolar Palato-Alveolar Interdental Linguolabial Glottal Palatal Uvular Velar Velum Bilabial Labiodental Retroflex Manner of Articulation Speech Sounds Obstruent Sonorant Subclasses of Obstruents and Sonorants Affricate Continuant Approximant Glide Click Ejective Flap/Tap Fricative Implosive Lateral Liquid Nasal Stop, a.k.a. plosive Trill Vowels Voicing Voiced Voiceless
Grapheme	While a grapheme is not a sound and is the opposite of a phoneme, it is still relevant for writers.
Return to top or post contents	Definition: The smallest unit of a written language and may represent a syllable or unit of meaning with a letter or group of letters that represent a single phoneme. It may or may not correspond to a single phoneme nor carry the same meaning. Graphemes also include other printed symbols such as punctuation marks. There are approximately 250 graphemes in English. A.k.a. phonogram Credit to: Emily
	In English, /x/ represents the phonemes while a single character in Japanese may represent a syllable. Grapheme (Written) Phoneme (Sound) ai ay ey ei eigh a-e /ā/ x /k//s/ ea /ā/ /ē/ /ĕ/
Phoneme	Definition: The smallest unit of spoken sound that can be grouped into syllables within a language. The phoneme is often the one thing that distinguishes one word from another.
Return to top or post contents	If swapped with another phoneme, it could change one word to another. There are approximately 44 phonemes in English and includes short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, digraph sounds such as /sh/, /th/ voiced and unvoiced), /ch/, and single consonant sounds. Most people consider the dipthong sounds /oy/ and /ou/ to be single phonemes as well. Linguistically, /ng/ and /ar/, /or/, /er/, /ear/, /oar/, and schwa are also phonemes. While phonemes are usually restricted to vowels and consonants, some linguists extend its application to cover phonologically relevant differences of pitch, stress, and rhythm. Features used to differentiate between words include: Voicing Place of articulation Manner of articulation Other languages use different syllable structures. A.k.a. morphophoneme, phonetic feature, segment
	Phoneme Represents Letters /n/ n nn kn gn pn
	Indicating Phonemes
	Two types of brackets are used in linguistics to indicate phonemes: Slashes – /p/ Used in phonemic transcription, a.k.a. broad transcription, which does not include “predictable” information Records only those “significant” sounds, which, if substituted one for the other, will change the meaning of the word. Square brackets – [p] Used for phonetic transcription, a.k.a. narrow transcription, and includes as much detail as the transcriber feels is necessary Records the minute details of pronunciation, which are important to give the learner a native-like grasp on pronunciation
	Broad Transcription Narrow Transcription cool /kul/ [kʰul]
	Examples:
	The words kid and kit end with a distinct phoneme — /d/ and /t/, making each a word with a distinct meaning.
Allophone	Definition: A set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. A positional variant is a specific allophone that is predictable from the phonetic context in a given situation. A free variation is another type of allophone in which an alternative pronunciation of a word (or of a phoneme in a word) doesn’t affect the word’s meaning.
Return to top or post contents	Each [l] in little is pronounced slightly differently with the second one sounding slightly deeper. These different ls always occur in different environments in words, which are known as complementary distribution.
	Spoken Word Allophone Phoneme stop [t] /t/ top [tʰ] /t/ pin [pʰ] /p/ spin [p] /p/
Phone	Definition: Any distinct, absolute speech sound or gesture, regardless of whether the exact sound is critical to the meanings of words. A phone is not specific to any language.
Return to top or post contents	There are two distinct phones: the /p/ sound in pun [ph], which requires aspiration, and spun ([p], which is without aspiration
	Spelling Examples of Sound
	Spelling Pronunciation though ðo thought θɔt through θru rough rʌf bough baʊ would wʊd
	Issue: The same sound may be represented by many letters or a combination of letters.
	he people key believe seize machine Caesar seas see amoeba
	Issue: The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) uses symbols to represent the pronunciation of individual sounds, as the same letter may require a different sound in different words.
	father badly many village made
	Issue: A combination of letters may represent a single sound.
	shoot character Thomas either physics rough coat deal
	Issue: A single letter may represent a combination of sounds.
	xerox
	Issue: Some letters in a word may not be pronounced at all.
	autumn sword resign pterodactyl lamb corps psychology write knot
	Issue: There may be no letter to represent a sound that occurs in a word.
	cute use
	Phonetic Alphabet for English
	Consonants p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil ɧ ring f feel s seal h heal v veal z zeal l leaf θ thigh ʧ chill r reef ð thy dʒ gin j you ʃ shill ʍ which w witch ʒ measure Vowels i beet ɪ bit e bait ε bet u boot ʊ foot o boat ɔ bore æ bat a pot bar ʌ butt ə sofa aɪ bite ʊ bout ɔɪ boy
Acoustic Phonetics	Definition: Focuses on the physical properties of the sounds of language and analyzes sound wave signals that occur within speech through varying frequencies (Hz), intensities (dB), and durations (t) by looking at a waveform.
Return to top or post contents	A tuning fork is a good example. A fascinating bit of history notes that the Edison phonograph and the telephone contributed to the evolving science of acoustic phonetics. Acoustic analyses include: Frequency vs Amplitude Periodic vs Aperiodic Waves Sine Wave vs Complex Wave Transient vs Continuous Sound
Frequency vs Amplitude	A.k.a. pitch vs loudness/intensity
Return to top or post contents	Frequency Amplitude Usually expressed as Hertz (Hz) Usually expressed in decibels (dB) Calculates the number of complete cycles on a periodic waveform with a repeating pattern Measures the distance between the resting position and the maximum displacement of the waveform The higher the number of cycles per second, the higher the frequency and perceived pitch The higher the waveform, the louder the sound Measured on the x-axis Measured on the y-axis
	Formant
	Definition: A resonance of the vocal tract (located above the larynx and constantly changing shape as we speak, which in turn changes the quality of the vowel). Changing the shape of the vocal tract changes the frequency of the formant. A.k.a. tract resonance
	Harmonics
	Definition: A simple wave with f0 the first harmonic, a.k.a. H1. There is a harmonic at each interval of the f0 up to infinity.
Periodic vs Aperiodic Waves	Periodic Wave Aperiodic Wave
Return to top or post contents	Regular and repetitive cycles, such as sine and complex waveforms A very random pattern meaning the f0 cannot be calculated Such speech sounds are voiced, e.g., vowels and nasals Such speech sounds are voiceless, e.g., a voiceless fricative
Sine Wave vs Complex Wave	Sine Wave Complex Wave
Return to top or post contents	Waveforms with very simple, regular repeating patterns Waveforms with a complex pattern Known as the fundamental frequency (f0), the course of the lowest frequency in a harmonic vibration The f0 counts the number of cycles per second on a waveform The number of cycles in the waveform reflects the number of times the vocal folds have opened within the time frame displayed Made up of two or more simple sine waves Measured in Hz Measured in Hz
Transient vs Continuous Sound	Transient Continuous
Return to top or post contents	A form of aperiodic sound A form of aperiodic sound A sound that builds up pressure behind a closure, and then has a sudden burst/release which shows up as a spike on a waveform Shows up as an irregular, random pattern on the waveform A typical transient sound would be a plosive, such as [p] or [b] in the English sound system Typical of many voiceless fricatives, such as [f] and [s] in the English sound system. Has high amplitude
Auditory Phonetics	Definition: Focuses on how listeners perceive and respond to the sounds of language.
Return to top or post contents	It is segmental . . . Consonants, and Vowels . . . and prosodic: Loudness Pitch Tempo
Segmental
Consonants	Definition: Speech sounds that are articulated with a complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, generally produced by the modification of an airstream exhaled from the lungs.
Return to top or post contents	The respiratory organs used to create and modify airflow are divided into three regions: Larynx Subglottal system Vocal tract, a.k.a. supralaryngeal The airstream can be: Egressive – out of the vocal tract Ingressive – into the vocal tract The sounds include: Click consonants – articulated through the rarefaction of air using the tongue, followed by releasing the forward closure of the tongue Glottalic – uses an airstream created by movements of the larynx without airflow from the lungs Pulmonic – the airstream is produced by the lungs in the subglottal system and passes through the larynx and vocal tract Consonants use place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing and are the main divisions of the International Phonetic Alphabet consonant chart.
Vowels	Definition: Syllabic speech sounds that are pronounced without any obstruction in the vocal tract and defined in relation to a set of reference vowels called cardinal vowels.
Return to top or post contents	Three properties are required to define vowels: Tongue height Tongue backness Lip roundedness Three types of vowels: Monophthong Diphthong Triphthong
Monophthong	Definition: A vowel articulated with a stable quality. There are twelve monophthongs in English.
Return to top or post contents	/i/ see unique feel /ɪ/ wit mystic little /e/ set meant bet /æ/ pat cash bad /ʌ/ bus come but /ɑ/ half part father /ɒ/ not what cost /ɔ/ port caught all /ə/ alone butter /ɜ/ beard word fur /ʊ/ wood could put /u:/ you music rude
Diphthong	Definition: A combination of two separate vowels in the same syllable. Dipthongs vary around the world between dialects, languages, and continents. Opinions differ as to whether there are eight or ten diphthongs in English. A.k.a. gliding vowel, vowel pair
Return to top or post contents	/aɪ/ cry my like bright lime /eɪ/ bake rain break eight lay /əʊ/ go oh slow loan though /aʊ/ bound house brown how now /eə/ pair lair stare care bear /ɪə/ career here near year pier /ɔɪ/ boy coy toy foil oil coin /ʊə/ fur sure lure pure manure
Triphthong	Definition: A combination of three pure vowels that glide into each other. There are five triphthongs in English.
Return to top or post contents	/eɪə/ layer player /aɪə/ lire fire /ɔɪə/ loyal royal /əʊə/ lower mower /aʊa/ power hour
Articulatory Phonetics	Definition: Focuses on how the vocal tract produces the sounds of language: Place of articulation Manner of articulation Voicing
Return to top or post contents	Most speech sounds are produced by pushing air through the vocal cords: Glottis – opening between the vocal cords Larynx – voice box Lips – two major variables are lip-rounding (or labialization) and lip protrusion Nasal cavity – nose and the passages connecting it to the throat and sinuses Oral cavity – mouth Pharynx – tubular part of the throat above the larynx Tongue – changes in the shape of the tongue control vowel height, the dimension of backness and frontness while a change in the shape of the front of the tongue, results in a rhotic or rhotacized vowel Velum, a.k.a. soft palate, palatal velum, or muscular palate – acts as the “gatekeeper” to the nasal cavity controlling airflow through the nasal cavity
Place of Articulation	Rule: Consonants are sounds produced with some restriction or closure in the vocal tract and are classified based in part on where in the vocal tract the airflow is being restricted.
Return to top or post contents	The sounds in the vocal tract are: Alveolar – four different ways that are produced by raising the tongue to the alveolar ridge in some way Palato-Alveolar, a.k.a. alveo-palatal, alveolo-palatal, palatal, palato-alveolar, postal aveolar – occurs deeper in the mouth CORONAL: Interdental a.k.a. dental – produced by putting the tip of the tongue between the teeth Linguolabial – produced by using both the tongue and the upper lip Glottal – produced by restricting the airflow through the open glottis ([h]) or by stopping the air completely at the glottis (a glottal stop: [Ɂ]). Does not involve the tongue at all. DORSAL: Palatal – produced by raising the front part of the tongue to the palate Uvular – produced by raising the back of the tongue to the uvula Velar – produced by raising the back of the tongue to the soft palate or velum LABIAL: Bilabial – produced by bringing both lips together Labiodental, a.k.a. labio-dental) – produced by touching the bottom lip to the upper teeth Retroflex – produced when the tongue curls up slightly on itself A.k.a. feature of place, phonetic feature of place, point of articulation
	Rule: Vowels are sounds produced by the passage of air through the larynx and the vocal tract. Most vowels are voiced, i.e., the vocal folds are vibrating. In some marginal cases, the vocal tract is open, so that the airstream is able to escape without generating fricative noise.
Manner of Articulation	Definition: The configuration and interaction of the articulators (speech organs such as the tongue, lips, and palate) when making a speech sound.
Return to top or post contents	Articulators do affect vowels, but manner is mainly concerned with consonants. Oral sounds – produced with the velum raised to prevent air from escaping out the nose Nasal sounds – produced with the velum lowered to allow air to escape out the nose CAUTION: Place and manner of articulation, voiceless and voiced, and the subclasses will mix together in a confusing array of possibilities.
	rope / robe fine / vine seal / zeal [rop] / [rob] [faɪn] / [vaɪn] [sil] / [zil]
Speech Sounds:	The airstream is affected as it flows from the lungs and out of the mouth and nose — voiceless and voiced — which helps us distinguish words, which are divided into: Obstruent Sonorant
Obstruent	Definition: All consonants, it’s a speech sound such as [k], [ʤ], or [f] that is formed by obstructing airflow.
Return to top or post contents	Typically voiceless, but voiced obstruents are common. Subdivided into: Affricate Fricative Plosive (oral stops)
Sonorant	Definition: Articulated with a noticeable turbulence caused by an imbalance of air pressure in the vocal tract.
Return to top or post contents	Does not obstruct airflow and so resonates. Typically voiceless. Primarily vowels, which are subdivided into: Nasals like [m], [n], [ɪ], [ŋ], [ɻ], [w], [j] Liquids like [l] and [r] Semivowels like [j] and [w] A.k.a. resonant
Subclasses of Obstruents and Sonorants	Affricate Continuant Approximant Glide Ejective Flap, a.k.a. tap Fricative Click Ejective Implosive Lateral Liquid Nasal Stop Trill
Affricate	Rule: Produced by a stop closure that is released with a lot of friction in a combination of a stop and a fricative. Affricates are a type of obstruent.
Return to top or post contents	Palatal [ʧ][ʤ] Voiceless cheese Voiced jump
Continuant	Rule: A speech sound produced by the airflow being continuous through the oral cavity. Mostly affecting consonant sounds — fricatives and approximants — and it does include vowels. Also appears in phonology.
Approximant	Rule: A gray area between consonants and vowels with w and y known as semivowels. Sometimes liquids and glides are put together into one category because the articulators approximate a frictional closeness but do not actually cause friction. A.k.a. frictionless continuant
Return to top or post contents	[w] [j] [r] [l]
Glide	Rule: A type of approximant produced with very little obstruction of the airstream and is always followed by a vowel. A.k.a. semivowel
Return to top or post contents	ʍ Bilabial Palatal Velar Voiceless [w]which [w]which Voiced [w]wipe [j]you [w]wipe
Click	Definition: Produced when the back of the tongue is used to create a vacuum in the mouth, causing air to rush in when the forward occlusion (tongue or lips) is released.
Return to top or post contents	May be oral or nasal, stop or affricate, central or lateral, voiced or voiceless. They are extremely rare in normal words outside Southern Africa. The disapproving sound tsk in English is a consonant in Zulu and some other southern African languages. The lateral click used to encourage a horse, giddy up, in English is a consonant in Xhosa.
Ejective	Definition: A voiceless glottalic egressive consonant that is an obstruent.
Return to top or post contents	They are extremely common in northwest North America, and frequently occur throughout the western parts of both North and South America. The ‘ indicates a stop, in this case a velar ejective stop. Ejectives are a type of obstruent. Rule: Produced with a simultaneous closure of the glottis.
	[p’]quite rare [k’]most common [t’] [q’] [s’]
Flap	Rule: Produced by a flick of the tongue against the alveolar ridge. Types include: Lateral flap A.k.a. tap (some linguists distinguish flaps from taps)
Return to top or post contents	[r] [ɾ]
Fricative	Rule: Produced by severely obstructing the airflow so as to cause friction.
Return to top or post contents	Types of fricatives include: Sibilant – the most common type where the airflow is guided by a groove in the tongue toward the teeth, creating a high-pitched and very distinctive sound Lateral fricative – a rare type of fricative, where the frication occurs on one or both sides of the edge of the tongue Fricatives are a type of obstruent. A.k.a. spirant
	[x], [ɣ] Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Glottal Voiceless [f]fine [θ]thigh [s]sue [ʃ]shoe [h]high Voiced [v]vine [ð]thy [z]zoo [ʒ]measure
Implosive	Definition: A voiced alveolar consonant that is obstruent. Implosives are indicated by modifying the top of a letter (voiced stop) with a rightward-facing hook.
Return to top or post contents	[ɗ ] [ɓ] [ʄ] [ɠ] [ʛ]
Lateral	Rule: A consonant sound produced by raising the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth so that the airstream flows past one or both sides of the tongue.
Return to top or post contents	The l sounds of English, Welsh, and other languages are laterals.
Liquid	Rule: Produced by causing some obstruction of the airstream in the mouth, but not enough to cause any real friction.
Return to top or post contents	Alveolar Voiceless [r]rye Voiced [l]lye
Nasal	Rule: Consonants or vowels articulated with a lowered velum (soft palate) such that you let air out of your nose as you pronounce them.
Return to top or post contents	Bilabial Alveolar Velar [m] [n] [ŋ]
Stop	Rule: Produced by completely stopping the air flow in the oral cavity for a fraction of a second.
Return to top or post contents	Stops are a type of obstruent. A.k.a. plosive
	Voiceless [p]pie [b]buy [m] [t]tie [d]die [n] Voiced [k]kite [g]guy [ŋ] [ʧ] [ʤ] [Ɂ](Ɂ)uh-(Ɂ)oh
Trill	Rule: Produced by rapidly vibrating an articulator.
Return to top or post contents	[r]* [ɾ] * Szczegielniak uses [r] to represent the central liquid as in the word ready rather than as a trill.
Manner of Articulation: Vowels	Definition: Vowels are classified by whether or not the lips are rounded, if the tongue is in the front or back of the mouth, or how high or low the tongue is.
Return to top or post contents	Round vowels Produced by rounding the lips English has only back round vowels; other languages, such as French and Swedish, have front round vowels. [u] [ʊ] [o] [ɔ] Dipthongs A sequence of two vowel sounds See also monophthong [aɪ] [aʊ] [ɔɪ] Nasalization Produced with a lowered velum, allowing air to pass through the nose In English, speakers nasalize vowels before a nasal sound beam bean bingo The nasalization is represented by a diacritic, an extra mark placed above the letter [bĩn]bean
	High vowels [i] [ɪ] [u] [ʊ] Mid vowels [e] [ε] [o] [ə] [ʌ] [ɔ] Low vowels [æ] [a] Front vowels [i] [ɪ] [e] [ɛ] [æ] Central vowels [ə] [ʌ] Back vowels [u] [ɔ] [o] [æ] [a]
	Tense vowels Definition: Produced with greater tension in the tongue May occur at the end of words [i]beat [e]bait [u]boot [o]boat [a]hah [aɪ]high [aʊ]how Lax vowels Definition: Produced with less tongue tension May not occur at the end of words [ɪ]bit [ɛ]bet [ʊ]put [ɔ]bore [ɔɪ]boy [æ]hat [ʌ]hut [ə]about
Voicing	Definition: Vibration of the vocal cords, via the glottis, that allows the making of sounds, distinguishing between plosives, affricates, and fricatives. These consonant sounds can be: Voiced (vibration), or Voiceless/unvoiced (no vibration)
Voiced	Rule: Produced when the vocal cords are together and vibrate as air passes through.
Return to top or post contents	[n] is a voiced, alveolar, nasal sound
Voiceless	Rule: Produced with the vocal cords apart so the air flows freely through the glottis, which are divided into: Aspirated – pronouncing a sound with an exhalation of breath Unaspirated A.k.a. unvoiced
	Aspirated Unaspirated pool [pʰull] spool [spul] tale [tʰel] stale [stel] kale [kʰel] scale [skel]

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Resources for Phonetics

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

“Accent (sociolinguistics).” Wikipedia. 29 Dec 2020. Web. 29 Dec 2020. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accent_(sociolinguistics)>. This page includes links to audio files on accents.

“Acoustic Analysis: The Sound Spectrograph.” Topics in Phonetics. Linguistics 401. Lecture 3. Simon Fraser University. n.d. Web. 27 Feb 2021. <http://www.sfu.ca/~mcrobbie/Ling401/Lecture3.pdf>.

“Auditory Phonetics.” Ello. <http://www.ello.uos.de/field.php/PhoneticsandPhonology/AuditoryPhonetics>.

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Brooks, Cleanth and Robert Penn Warren. Modern Rhetoric. 3rd ed. Harcourt, 1972.

Cassin, Barbara. Dictionary of Untranslatables: A Philosophical Lexicon. Princeton, 2014.

Chung, Sandy and Geoff Pullum. “Grammar.” Linguistic Society. n.d. Web. 23 March 2019. <https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/grammar>

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Emily. “A Phoneme, A Grapheme, A Morpheme: What’s the Difference?” The Literacy Nest. Aug 2019. Web. 25 Feb 2021. <https://www.theliteracynest.com/2019/08/a-phoneme-a-grapheme-a-morpheme.html>.

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Gramley, Dr Vivian. “Articulatory-Acoustic-Auditory Phonetics.” Universität Bielefeld. n.d. Web. 26 Dec 2020. <https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/lili/personen/vgramley/teaching/HTHS/review.pdf>.

Kessler, Brett and Rebecca Treiman. “Syllable Structure and the Distribution of Phonemes in English Syllables.” Washington University. 6 Nov 2002. Web. 23 Jan 2021. <http://spell.psychology.wustl.edu/SyllStructDistPhon/CVC.html>.

Kittelstad, Kit. “Diphthong Examples.” Your Dictionary. n.d. Web. 27 Dec 2020. <https://examples.yourdictionary.com/diphthong-examples.html>.

Klammer, Thomas P., Muriel R. Schulz, and Angela Della Volpe. Analyzing English Grammar. 4th Ed. Pearson, 2004.

Klofstad, Casey A., Stephen Nowicki, and Rincy C. Anderson. “How Voice Pitch Influences Our Choice of Leaders.” American Scientist. n.d. Web. 27 Jan 2021. <https://www.americanscientist.org/article/how-voice-pitch-influences-our-choice-of-leaders>.

“Loudness.” School of Critical Studies. College of Arts. University of Glasgow. n.d. Web. 27 Dec 2020. <https://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/STELLA/LILT/loudness.htm>.

Mistretta, Stefani. “The Top-Down Approach: American English Pronunciation.” Pronunciation in Action. n.d. Web. 27 Jan 2021. <https://www.pronunciationinaction.com/top-down>.

⸻. “Rhythm in Phonetics, Poetics, and Style.” ThoughtCo. 4 Nov 2019. Web. 22 Feb 2021. <https://www.thoughtco.com/rhythm-phonetics-poetics-and-style-1692065>.

Ogden, R. An Introduction to English Phonetics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 30-35. 2009.

Orpi, Delilah. “The 6 Types Of Syllables.” Thrive Literacy Corner. 11 Aug 2020. Web. 23 Jan 2021. <http://thriveedservices.com/the-6-types-of-syllables/>.

Parsons, Chris. “The Difference Between Consonants and Vowels.” Selfabet. 23 Apr 2015. Web. 25 Feb 2021. <https://www.spelfabet.com.au/2015/04/the-difference-between-consonants-and-vowels/>.

“Phonetics.” Wikipedia.com. 21 Dec 2020. Web. 26 Dec 2020. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonetics>.

“Rhythm.” Literary Devices. n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2021. <https://literarydevices.net/rhythm/>.

“Semantics.” Wikipedia.org. 12 Feb 2021. Web. 20 Feb 2021. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantics#Formal_semantics>.

“Sort of Alphabetic Table of IPA Characters.” IPA4Linguists. PBWorks.com. n.d. Web. 12 Dec 2020. <http://ipa4linguists.pbworks.com/f/IPA_Chart2.pdf>.

“Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.” Stanford University. n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2021. <https://plato.stanford.edu>.

Szczegielniak, Adam. “Phonetics: The Sounds of Language.” Scholar. Harvard University. n.d. Web. 6 Dec 2020. <https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/adam/files/phonetics.ppt.pdf>.

Szynalski, Tomasz P. “The Sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet.” Antimoon.com. n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2020. <http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm>. This page has so MANY resources, so if you’re fascinated by phonetics, check it out.

“What is Linguistics?” UC Santa Cruz. 4 Aug 2017. Web. 6 Dec 2020. <https://linguistics.ucsc.edu/about/what-is-linguistics.html>.

“What is Linguistics and Why Study It?” College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. University of Arizona. n.d. Web. 6 Dec 2020. <https://linguistics.arizona.edu/content/what-linguistics-and-why-study-it-0>.

Williamson, Graham. “Tempo.” Voice. SLTinfo. 31 Jan 2014. Web. 27 Dec 2020. <https://www.sltinfo.com/tempo/>.

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Cardinal Vowel Tongue Position-Front is courtesy of Daniel Jones, An Outline of English Phonetics, 9th ed. Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd., 1972, is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. The background was removed and the face’s colors were changed in Photoshop.