voice

Place of Articulation.

Jj is for Jottings 144.  Place of Articulation.

We classify the spoken aspects of consonants across 3 dimensions:

  • Place of articulation.
  • Manner of articulation.
  • Voicing.

The voicing dimension specifies whether or not the vocal folds (or cords) are vibrating.  It has already been discussed in Voiced vs voiceless minimal pairs.  And I have outlined the rules for when we voice the normally voiceless /s/ (resulting in /z/).  Most people are completely unaware of doing this, and would be surprised to learn that they are correctly following the rules.  The voicing dimension is rounded off by the article on partial devoicing of consonants. Continue reading →

Voice Disorders and Vocal Nodules.

Jj is for Jottings 76.  Voice Disorders and Vocal Nodules.

Our brown alpaca, Manuel, is trying to open his mouth as widely as he can so we can see if he has vocal nodules.

Manuel is trying to open his mouth as widely as he can so we can see if he has vocal nodules.

 

In my last post I said I’d talk more about voice disorders and how they develop in children.  Vocal nodules, also referred to as screamer’s or singer’s nodules, are a likely result of misuse and abuse of the voice. Continue reading →

Voice Quality and Speech Intelligibility.

Jj is for Jottings 75.  Voice Quality and Speech Intelligibility.

I was reminded the other day about the effects that voice quality can have on the clarity of a person’s speech.  In addition to reduced speech intelligibility caused by speech sound problems (see here), poor voice quality can also interfere with the listener’s ability to understand the message.  I was reminded by this: Continue reading →

/l/ Sound is Different on the End.

Jj is for Jottings 69.  /l/ Sound is Different on the End.

You probably haven’t thought about this before, but /l/ (the slashes indicate the sound rather than the letter name) is pronounced differently when it is the last sound in an utterance or followed by a consonant, compared with when it is followed by a vowel.  And if that sounds like gobbledygook, Continue reading →

Raising a Reader Part 2. Toddlers.

Jj is for Jottings 62.  Raising a Reader Part 2.  Toddlers.

Continuing from the previous article (here), you cannot overestimate the importance of reading with a child at the toddler stage – for intellectual, social and emotional development.  They take in everything: vocabulary and language structure, numbers and math concepts, colours, shapes, opposites and many other language concepts, animals, manners and all kinds of useful information about how the world works. What’s more, when you read out loud, Continue reading →

Raising a Reader Part 1: The Baby.

Jj is for Jottings 61.  Raising a Reader Part 1: The Baby.

There are various things parents can do to maximise their child’s chances of becoming a reader (i.e. someone who is proficient at reading, reads for pleasure and has no difficulty in using reading for information-seeking and the school curriculum.)  We can divide this topic into 4 stages: Baby, Toddler, Emergent Readers and Early Readers.  Question: What stage comes before the Baby stage?  Continue reading →