ARTICULATORY PHONETICS

1|What is articulatory phonetics?
Answer: Articulatory phonetics is the study of how sounds are produced and articulated by the human vocal tract. It is concerned with the form and position of speech organs (e.g. tongue, lips, jaw) and their movements in producing different sounds.

2|What are the different articulatory parameters?
Answer: The different articulatory parameters include place of articulation (where in the vocal tract the sound is produced), manner of articulation (how the sound is produced), voicing (whether or not the vocal cords vibrate during production of the sound), and airstream (the flow of air used to produce the sound).

3|What is the difference between articulatory phonetics and acoustic phonetics?
Answer: Articulatory phonetics is concerned with the physical production of speech sounds, while acoustic phonetics is concerned with the way speech sounds are transmitted and received. Acoustic phonetics is more concerned with the acoustic characteristics of sounds, such as frequency, intensity, and duration.

4|What is the difference between phonetics and phonology?
Answer: Phonetics is the study of speech sounds and how they are produced, while phonology is the study of the sound systems of languages, including how the sounds of a language are used to form meaningful units of communication.

5|How can articulatory phonetics be used to study language?
Answer: Articulatory phonetics can be used to study the ways in which different languages are pronounced, as well as how different languages use the same sounds in different ways. It can also help to identify regional or dialectal differences in pronunciation.

6|What are the different vocal tract configurations?
Answer: The different vocal tract configurations include open (with the mouth open and the tongue low in the mouth), mid (with the tongue in a central position in the mouth), and closed (with the tongue in a high position in the mouth).

7|What is the role of airstream in articulatory phonetics?
Answer: The airstream is the flow of air that is used to produce speech sounds. Different speech sounds require different amounts of airflow, and the airstream is used to control the flow of air.

8|What are the different manners of articulation?
Answer: The different manners of articulation include stops (such as the ‘p’ and ‘b’ sounds), fricatives (such as the ‘s’ and ‘f’ sounds), affricates (such as the ‘ch’ sound), and nasals (such as the ‘m’ sound).

9|What is the difference between phonetics and phonemics?
Answer: Phonetics is the study of speech sounds and their production, while phonemics is the study of the sound systems of languages, including how the sounds of a language are used to form meaningful units of communication.

10|What are the different levels of phonetic description?
Answer: The different levels of phonetic description include segmental (the study of individual sounds and their articulation), suprasegmental (the study of longer units of speech such as syllables and words), and prosodic (the study of intonation and other aspects of speech rhythm).

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