Phonetics Reference
Consonant Classification
Place of Articulation
| Place | Where | English Examples |
|---|---|---|
Bilabial |
Both lips |
/p/, /b/, /m/ |
Labiodental |
Lower lip + upper teeth |
/f/, /v/ |
Dental |
Tongue + teeth |
/th/ (thin), /th/ (this) |
Alveolar |
Tongue + alveolar ridge |
/t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/ |
Post-alveolar |
Behind alveolar ridge |
/sh/, /zh/, /ch/, /j/ |
Palatal |
Tongue + hard palate |
/y/ (yes) |
Velar |
Tongue + soft palate |
/k/, /g/, /ng/ |
Glottal |
Vocal folds |
/h/, glottal stop (uh-oh) |
Manner of Articulation
| Manner | How | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Stop/Plosive |
Complete airflow blockage then release |
/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/ |
Fricative |
Narrow constriction causing turbulence |
/f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /sh/, /h/ |
Affricate |
Stop + fricative combined |
/ch/ (church), /j/ (judge) |
Nasal |
Air through nose |
/m/, /n/, /ng/ |
Lateral |
Air around tongue sides |
/l/ |
Approximant |
Close but no turbulence |
/r/, /w/, /y/ |
Vowel Space
English Vowel Chart
| Position | Front | Back |
|---|---|---|
High (close) |
/i/ (beat), /I/ (bit) |
/u/ (boot), /U/ (book) |
Mid |
/e/ (bait), /E/ (bet) |
/o/ (boat), /aw/ (bought) |
Low (open) |
/ae/ (bat) |
/a/ (bot) |
Key Phonetic Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
Voiced vs Voiceless |
Vocal folds vibrate (voiced: /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/) or not (voiceless: /p/, /t/, /k/, /s/) — place hand on throat to feel |
Aspiration |
Puff of air after voiceless stops in English — /p/ in "pin" is aspirated, in "spin" is not |
Minimal Pair |
Two words differing by one phoneme — bat/pat, ship/chip — proves phonemic distinction |
Allophone |
Variant pronunciations of same phoneme — aspirated/unaspirated /p/ in English are allophones |
Phoneme |
Smallest unit that distinguishes meaning — /p/ and /b/ are distinct phonemes in English (pat vs bat) |
Syllable Structure |
Onset + nucleus + coda — "strength" = /str/ + /E/ + /ngth/ (complex onset and coda) |
Stress |
Emphasized syllable — REcord (noun) vs reCORD (verb) — stress can change meaning and category |
Intonation |
Pitch pattern over utterance — rising = question, falling = statement in English |
IPA for Spanish Learners
| Sound | IPA | Spanish Example |
|---|---|---|
rolled r |
/rr/ |
perro, rojo (word-initial) |
flap r |
/r/ |
pero, caro (intervocalic) |
ny |
/ny/ |
espanol, nino |
ll |
/y/ or /zh/ |
llamar (varies by dialect) |
j |
/x/ |
joven, gente (like German "ch" in Bach) |
b/v |
/b/ or /B/ |
Both pronounced same; /B/ between vowels |
d |
/d/ or /D/ |
/D/ (soft, like "th" in "this") between vowels |