Phonetics

What this unit covers

The resources here follow the path from how speech is made to how it is written down and heard. Several flashcard decks start with the basics: what phonetics is, the three categories (articulatory, acoustic and auditory), and the difference between spelling and pronunciation. Others go deeper into places and manners of articulation, phonation, fricatives, non pulmonic consonants and the acoustic properties of speech sounds.

Where to start

1. Open the flashcard deck Phonetics Flashcards for key terms such as allophone, diacritics, broad transcription and narrow transcription.
2. Move to the IPA Consonant Flash Cards to learn symbols alongside short descriptions of voicing and place.
3. Look at the mind maps Vowels and Linguistic Phonetics to see pure vowels, long and short vowels, and consonant obstruction and voicing laid out visually.

Using quizzes and maps together

Read a map first, then test yourself. Speech and Speech Production asks about co-articulation, the principal vocal organs and the stages of speech production. Test about Intonation checks what intonation is and what it does in an utterance. History of Phonetics:) takes a lighter look at where the field began, including Panini. If a question surprises you, go back to the matching map and redraw it from memory.

Beyond single sounds

Once individual sounds feel secure, the unit widens. There are several mind maps on prosodic features, stress in simple words and nucleus placement, plus flowcharts contrasting segmental and suprasegmental features. A set of notes compares features of RP and SE pronunciation, which is handy if you are working on accents.

Where it fits

Phonetics sits in the Sound and Structure strand of Linguistics and philology. Teachers can pick decks and quizzes to set as revision tasks, and students can use the same material to check their own understanding.

Choose one deck or map today, then make your own version to keep what you have learned.