Voicing

Voiceless Sounds

Voiceless sounds are made by forcing air past the vocal cords without them vibrating.
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This chart is taken from: http://factsoflifeandlanguage.tumblr.com/post/57072346352/making-sounds-part-2
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(Edwards, 2003, p. 28)

How to tell if it is Voiced or Voiceless...

Voiced Sounds

Voiced sounds are created by forcing air past the vocal cords and causing them to vibrate. 
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This chart is taken from: http://factsoflifeandlanguage.tumblr.com/post/57072346352/making-sounds-part-2

Place of Articulation

The place of articulation is where the airflow is restricted within the vocal tract.

There are 8 places of articulation within the vocal tract. Click each one to hear the sounds created there.
This sound is produced when bringing both lips together.
This sound is produced when touching the bottom lip and upper teeth
This sound is produced when inserting the tip of the tongue between the teeth.
This sound is produced when the tongue is raised along the alveolar ridge.
This sound is produced when raising the front part of the tongue to the palate.
This sound is produced when raising the back of the tongue to the soft palate.
This sound is produced when raising the back of the tongue to the uvula
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Figure 1. The vocal tract, [Figure], An Introduction to Language, 9th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781133890423/id/F102
This sound is produced from the air flow through the open glottis

Manner of Articulation

Trills and flaps

  • These sounds use the tip of the tongue to create a vibrating sound using the alveolar ridge. 

Approximants

  • These sounds have frictional closeness, but do not actually cause friction. 
Manner of articulation discusses how airflow changes when trying to make a sound. Some of the different obstacles are listed below.

Stops

  • Blockage of the airstream within the oral cavity for a short period of time. 

Fricatives

  • Restriction of airflow, so much that it causes friction.

Affricates

  • These are produce by using a stop closure followed immediately by a gradual release of the closer. 

Liquids

  • These sound have minor obstruction within the mouth but not enough to cause friction.

Glides

  • Use little obstruction to the airstream and are always followed directly by a vowel.

Clicks

  • These sounds are exoctic in nature and occur by moving air in the mouth between articulators. 

Features Which Do Not Distinguish Phonemes

Syllabic versus 
Nonsyllabic

  • Syllabic= When a consonant sounds like a vowel.
  • When a syllabic sound may sound vowel-like, a nonsyllabic sound acts as a consonant.

Stress versus 
Nonstress

  • Stress is emphasis placed on a word to differentiate its meaning. 

Aspiration versus Nonaspiration

  • Aspiration adds a small puff of air that will build up before a sound is released
  • Non Aspirated words have little to no buildup of air when the sound is released.

Why it is important for ELL teachers to understand the characteristics of speech.

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  • As a classroom teacher,knowing the parts and production of speech will allow you to teach them better.
  • Teachers can become allies in assisting student diagnose and correct speech errors which leads to great confidence in students.
  • By understanding common errors, a teacher can more readily provide support and training for a student to help them overcome the issue.