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An accessible yet in-depth introductory textbook on the basic concepts of phonetics, fully updated and revised


This broad, interdisciplinary textbook investigates how speech can be written down, how speech is produced, its acoustic characteristics, and how listeners perceive speech. Phonetics: Transcription, Production, Acoustics, and Perception introduces readers to the fundamental concepts of the discipline, providing coverage of all four areas of phonetics. This comprehensive textbook also familiarizes readers with concepts from other disciplines related to phonetics-such as physiology, anatomy, and psychology-through relatable, real-life examples.


Now in its second edition, the text has been substantially revised to improve clarity and currency, based on student feedback received by the authors over the past decade. Brief "Nutshell" introductions have been added to all chapters to provide a clear overview of key points within the body of the text. Expanded content to this new edition examines voice quality, the acoustic correlates of different phonation types, intonation, and different theories of speech perception. Written in a clear and concise style by two of the field's leading scholars, this textbook:





Covers related relevant areas, including vocal fold vibration and the physiology of the ear

Offers examples from other languages to highlight aspects of phonetics not found in English

Includes chapter-by-chapter exercises, engaging illustrations, and a detailed glossary

Features a companion website containing additional resources such as figures and sound files



Phonetics: Transcription, Production, Acoustics, and Perception, 2nd Edition is an ideal text for both introductory and advanced courses in phonetics and speech science, general linguistics, related disciplines such as psychology, speech pathology, and audiology, and for anyone interested to learn about how we speak and hear.

Phonetics - Transcription, Production, Acoustics, and Perception

Preface to the First Edition xi





Preface to the Second Edition xiii





About the Companion Website xiv





1 About this Book 1





1.1 Phonetics in a nutshell 2





1.2 The structure of this book 6





1.3 Terminology 8





1.4 Demonstrations and exercises 8





2 Articulatory Phonetics 9





Articulation in a nutshell 9





2.1 Phonation at the larynx 10





2.2 Basic articulatory terms 11





2.3 The articulation of consonants 14





2.3.1 Place of articulation 15





2.3.2 Manner of articulation 15





2.3.3 Other classification schemes 18





2.4 The articulation of vowels 20





3 Phonetic Transcription 24





Transcription in a nutshell 24





3.1 Types of transcription 25





3.2 Consonants 28





3.2.1 Plosives 29





3.2.2 Nasals 30





3.2.3 Fricatives 30





3.2.4 Affricates 31





3.2.5 Approximants 32





3.3 Vowels 33





3.4 Diacritics and other symbols 38





3.5 Transcription of General American English 39





3.5.1 Consonants 40





3.5.1.1 Aspiration, voicing, and devoicing 40





3.5.1.2 Coarticulation 41





3.5.1.3 Consonantal release 42





3.5.1.4 Flaps and taps 43





3.5.1.5 Glottal plosives 43





3.5.1.6 Velarization 44





3.5.1.7 Syllabic consonants 45





3.5.1.8 Intrusion 45





3.5.1.9 Duration 46





3.5.2 Vowels 48





3.5.2.1 Duration 48





3.5.2.2 Effects of following consonants 49





4 Place and Manner of Articulation of Consonants and Vowels 52





4.1 Consonants 53





4.1.1 Labials 55





4.1.2 Coronals 56





4.1.3 Dorsals 57





4.1.4 Gutturals 59





4.2 Additional manners of articulation 59





4.3 Vowels 60





4.4 Secondary articulations 63





5 Physiology of the Vocal Apparatus 66





Physiology in a nutshell 66





5.1 The subglottal system: lungs, bronchi, and trachea 69





5.1.1 Anatomy of the subglottal system 69





5.1.2 Movements of the lungs 71





5.1.2.1 Breathing in (inspiration, inhalation) 71





5.1.2.2 Breathing out (expiration, exhalation) 72





5.1.3 The volumes of the lungs and their control over time 72





5.1.4 Loudness and the air pressure in the lungs 74





5.2 Structure and function of the larynx 74





5.2.1 Anatomy of the larynx 75





5.2.2 Vocal fold vibration 78





5.2.2.1 The Bernoulli effect and the aerodynamic theory 78





5.2.2.2 The myoelastic theory of vocal fold vibration 81





5.2.2.3 Two?mass theory of vocal fold vibration 83





5.2.2.4 Muco?viscose, cover body, and flow?separation theory 84





5.2.2.5 One cycle of vocal fold vibration 85





5.2.3 Loudness and larynx signal 86





5.2.4 Register 88





5.3 Vocal tract 89





5.3.1 Pharynx 89





5.3.2 Nasal tract and velum 90





5.3.3 Oral tract 92





6 Airstream Mechanisms and Phonation Types 95





Airstream mechanisms and phonation in a nutshell 95





6.1 Airstream mechanisms 96





6.1.1 Glottalic airstream mechanisms 96





6.1.2 Velaric airstream mechanism 100





6.2 Phonation types 102





6.3 Voicing, voicelessness, and aspiration in plosives 103





6.4 Common and rare sounds 110





7 Basic Acoustics 113





Basic acoustics in a nutshell 113





7.1 Sound waves 115





7.1.1 Sound waves are variations in air pressure 115





7.1.2 Origin and propagation of sound waves 115





7.1.3 The speed of sound 118





7.1.4 Relative positions within a sound wave 119





7.1.5 Longitudinal waves and transverse waves 120





7.2 Measuring sound waves 120





7.2.1 The microphone 121





7.2.2 The oscillogram or waveform 122





7.3 Acoustic dimensions and their units of measurement 123





7.3.1 Frequency 123





7.3.1.1 Period duration 124





7.3.1.2 Period duration and period frequency 125





7.3.1.3 Period frequency and wavelength 127





7.3.1.4 Representing F0 over time 128





7.3.2 Amplitude 129





7.3.2.1 Representing amplitude changes over time 134





7.3.3 Phase 136





8 Analysis Methods for Speech Sounds 139





Analysis in a nutshell 139





8.1 Digitizing acoustic signals 141





8.1.1 Digitizing in the time and amplitude domains 142





8.1.2 Sampling rate 143





8.1.3 Quantizing resolution 145





8.2 Types of acoustic signals 148





8.3 Analyzing acoustic signals 151





8.3.1 Fourier transformation 152





8.3.1.1 Summing up signals: Fourier synthesis 152





8.3.1.2 Decomposing signals: Fourier analysis 154





8.3.1.3 Harmonic frequencies 155





8.3.1.4 Discrete Fourier transformation and "fast Fourier transformation" 158





8.3.1.5 Fourier transformation for non?periodic signals 158





8.3.2 What information can be seen in a spectrum? 159





8.3.3 "Windowing" in spectral analysis 161





8.3.3.1 The relation between window size and spectral resolution 164





8.3.3.2 The relation between resolution in the time and frequency domains 165





8.3.4 Other spectral representations: the spectrogram 166





8.3.5 The LPC spectrum 169





8.3.6 The cepstrum and cepstrally smoothed spectrum 172





9 The Source-Filter Theory of Speech Production 175





The source-filter theory in a nutshell 175





9.1 Resonance 176





9.1.1 Resonating frequencies of cylindrical tubes 177





9.1.2 Resonating frequencies of non?cylindrical tubes 180





9.2 Damping 183





9.3 Filters 183





9.3.1 Vocal tract filter 187





9.3.2 Radiation at the lips and nostrils 187





9.4 Formants 189





9.4.1 Formant frequencies 190





9.4.2 Formant bandwidth and quality 192





9.5 Sources for speech sounds 193





9.5.1 The glottal source: phonation for a modal voice 193





9.5.1.1 Jitter 196





9.5.1.2 Shimmer 197





9.5.1.3 Harmonics?to?noise ratio (HNR) 198





9.5.1.4 H1?H2 measure and spectral tilt 198





9.5.2 Breathy voice 198





9.5.3 Creaky voice 200





9.5.4 The noise source: turbulence 201





9.5.4.1 Whisper 202





10 Acoustic Characteristics of Speech Sounds 206





Acoustic characteristics in a nutshell 206





10.1 Vowels 207





10.2 Consonants 213





10.2.1 (Central) approximants 213





10.2.2 Fricatives 215





10.2.3 Plosives 219





10.2.4 Nasals 221





10.2.5 Lateral approximants 223





10.2.6 Affricates 224





10.3 Summary 226





10.4 Variability and invariance 227





10.4.1 A theory of acoustic invariance 228





11 Syllables and Suprasegmentals 234





Syllables and suprasegmentals in a nutshell 234





11.1 Syllables 236





11.2 Stress 238





11.3 Length 243





11.4 Tone and intonation 245





11.4.1 Tone 246





11.4.2 Intonation 249





12 Physiology and Psychophysics of Hearing 256





Hearing in a nutshell 257





12.1 The external ear 258





12.2 The middle ear 259





12.2.1 Increase in pressure in the middle ear 259





12.2.2 Sound attenuation in the middle ear 260





12.2.3 Pressure equalization in the tympanic cavity 261





12.2.4 The oval window 262





12.3 The internal ear 262





12.3.1 Pressure waves in the cochlea 263





12.3.2 The basilar membrane as an oscillating body 265





12.3.3 Resonance theory 265





12.3.4 Objections to the resonance theory 266





12.3.5 Traveling wave theory 266





12.4 The structure of the basilar membrane 267





12.4.1 Outer hair cells 268





12.4.2 Inner hair cells 269





12.4.3 Frequency coding along the basilar membrane 270





12.4.4 Oto?acoustic emissions 271





12.5 Auditory frequency scales 272





12.5.1 Linear scales 272





12.5.2 Logarithmic scales 273





12.5.3 Mel scale 274





12.5.4 Bark scale 275





12.5.5 Equivalent rectangular bandwidth (ERB) scale 277





12.6 Auditory loudness scales 278





12.7 Auditory time scales 279





13 Speech Perception 281





Speech perception in a nutshell 282





13.1 Vowels 284





13.1.1 Extrinsic versus intrinsic normalization 285





13.2 Consonants 288





13.2.1 Approximants 289





13.2.2 Fricatives 290





13.2.3 Nasals 291





13.2.4 Plosives 292





13.3 Contributions of the motor theory of speech perception 295





13.3.1 Categorical perception 296





13.3.2 Is speech "special"? 301





13.3.2.1 Non?speech perception 303





13.3.2.2 Animal perception 304





13.4 Theories of speech perception 305





13.5 The role of linguistic experience in speech perception 309





13.6 Summary 313





Appendices





A.1 Mass, Force, and Pressure 315





A.2 Energy, Power, and Intensity 317





A.3 The Decibel (dB) 320





A.3.1 RMS amplitude 320





A.3.2 RMS amplitude and loudness 324





A.3.3 Calculations with dB values 327





B.1 Physical Terminology 330





B.2 Mathematical Notations 332





C.1 Formant Values 336





C.2 Fundamental Frequency Values 337





D.1 Glossary 338





References 355





Index 368