BANKING UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
SUPPLEMENTARY
MATERIAL OF
ENGLISH
PHONETICS
& PHONOLOGY
Compiled by:
Le Thi Minh Thuy (M.A.)
Vo Thi Bao Chau (M.A.)
Ho Chi Minh City, 09/2020
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGÂN HÀNG TP.HCM
KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ
TÀI LIỆU
THAM KHẢO
MÔN NGỮ ÂM –
ÂM VỊ HỌC
Lê Thị Minh Thủy
Võ Thị Bảo Châu
Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, 09/2020
INTRODUCTION
The importance of intercultural communication is growing in a globalized and ever‐changing
world. In this context, the role of English as an international language cannot be denied. The
knowledge of English Phonetics and Phonology, i.e. how particular sounds are produced, their
properties, how we perceive speech and what happens to speech sounds when we speak fast, helps
us to speak clearly and understand others correctly, which is of utmost importance, especially in
intercultural contexts.
The present resource book is designed as a supplement to Peter Roach’s (2010) textbook English
Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course and may be used to accompany lecture courses on
English Phonetics and Phonology at university level. It is equally suitable for self‐study and for
in‐class situations with a teacher. The book gives students practice in pronunciation and
transcription of English sounds, enhances their understanding of phonological structures and rules,
and improves speaking and listening skills.
The resource book consists of eight chapters. Each contains both summary of theory and plenty of
practice.
CONTENT
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS ..................................................3
PRACTICE ...............................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 2: THE PRODUCTION OF SPEECH SOUNDS ...........................16
PRACTICE .............................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 3. THE CLASSIFICATION OF VOWELS ....................................24
PRACTICE .............................................................................................................26
CHAPTER 4. THE CLASSIFICATION OF CONSONANTS .........................34
PRACTICE .............................................................................................................39
CHAPTER 5: THE SYLLABLE ..........................................................................54
PRACTICE .............................................................................................................62
CHAPTER 6: STRESS IN ENGLISH AND WEAK FORMS ..........................73
PRACTICE .............................................................................................................83
CHAPTER 7: ASPECTS OF CONNECTED SPEECH ..................................105
PRACTICE ...........................................................................................................110
CHAPTER 8: INTONATION ............................................................................118
PRACTICE ...........................................................................................................125
SUGGESTED ANSWER.....................................................................................127
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 179
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
1. Definitions of Phonetics and Phonology
Both phonetics and phonology are important components of linguistics, which is the science that
deals with the general study of language. While phonetics is the study of the sounds made by the
human voice in speech, phonology is the study of how sounds pattern and function in a given
language (Lodge, 2009).
Phonetics describes the concrete, physical form of sounds (how they are produced, heard and
how they can be described), while phonology is concerned with the function of sounds, that is
with their status and inventory in any given language. In other words, phonetics studies the actual
sounds that we produce while phonology studies the abstract patterns of the sounds in our
mind (Ladefoged, P. & Johnson, K., 2011).
2. Types of phonetics
Ashby (2013) believes that speech can be examined in various ways, corresponding to the stages
of the transmission of the speech signal from a speaker to a listener.
a. Articulatory phonetics is concerned with the articulation of speech, i.e. the position,
shape, and movement of articulators, such as the lips, tongue, and vocal folds.
b. Acoustic phonetics is concerned about the physical nature of the speech signal.
c. Auditory phonetics is the study of how the ear receives the speech signal.
Acoustic phonetics
Pressure
Pressure
Articulatory phonetics
Auditory phonetics
High Frequency Wave
Time
Period
Low Frequency Wave
Time
Period
3. Letters, sounds, and symbols
In the study of phonetics, symbols are used to represent sounds. We cannot use the ordinary letters
of the alphabet to symbolize sounds as there are obvious differences between pronunciation and
ordinary spelling. These letters may have totally different values from those which learners are
3
accustomed to. In addition, many English sounds may be spelt in a large number of different ways.
(Skandera & Burleigh, 2005).
4. Accents and dialects in English
Accents are several ways in which the language can be pronounced. Dialects refer variations in
grammar and vocabulary. Varieties refer all these aspects of language variation – pronunciation
together with grammar and vocabulary (Skandera & Burleigh, 2005).
One variety of English pronunciation which has traditionally been connected with the more
privileged section of the population is variously referred to as ‘Oxford English’, ‘BBC English’
and even ‘the Queen’s English’, but none of these names can be considered at all accurate. For a
long time, phoneticians have called it Received Pronunciation (or RP). The term ‘Received
Pronunciation’ seems to have caught on with the media and has begun to have wider currency with
the general public (Roach, 2009).
5. Segments, phonemes, and allophones
Speech is a continuous flow of sounds with interruptions only when necessary to take in air to
breathe, or to organize our thoughts. The process of dividing up this continuous flow into smaller
chunks that are easier to deal with is called segmentation, and the resulting smaller sound units are
termed segments (Lodge, 2009).
A phoneme can be defined as the smallest distinctive, or contrastive, unit in the sound system of
a language. In other words, a phoneme contrasts meaningfully with other speech sounds.
Phonemes are abstract, idealized sounds that are never pronounced and never heard. Actual,
concrete speech sounds can be regarded as the realization of phonemes by individual speakers, and
are referred to as allophones (Skandera, & Burleigh, (2005).
The allophones of a particular phoneme typically have phonetic similarity.
•
They usually sound fairly similar to each other.
•
They are usually articulated in a somewhat similar way.
The occurrence of allophones in this instance is predictable. They can be considered as
complements to each other; where one occurs the other cannot. Such an allophonic patterning is
termed complementary distribution (McMahon, 2002).
4
Example
6. Phonemic and phonetic transcription
According to Lodge, (2009), phonetic transcription can be defined as a system of alphabetic
writing in which each symbol represents one and only one distinct elementary speech sound and
one of the phonetic alphabets that are widely used is that of the International Phonetic Association.
A phonetic transcription can indicate minute details of the articulation of any particular sound by
the use of differently shaped symbols, e.g. [Ɂ ɹ], or by adding little marks (known as diacritics) to
a symbol, e.g. [ẽ ḅ]. In contrast, a phonemic transcription shows only the phoneme contrasts and
does not tell us precisely what the realisations of the phoneme are.
A broad phonetic transcription may be defined as a transcription obtained by using the minimum
number of symbols requisite for representing without ambiguity the sounds of the language in
question (without reference to other languages).
If it is desired to have separate symbols for all the sounds occurring in several languages and
dialects, a very large number of symbols and diacritical marks will be necessary. Transcriptions of
this kind are called narrow phonetic transcriptions.
5
SYMBOLS FOR VOWEL PHONEMES
Monophthongs
Diphthongs
ɑː
park
ə
potato
aɪ
light
eə
there
æ
flat
ʌ
cup
eɪ
play
ɪə
fear
e
bed
ɜː
third
ɔɪ
toy
ʊə
tour
ɪ
ship
iː
feet
əʊ
coat
ɒ
not
ɔː
four
aʊ
house
ʊ
look
u:
food
SYMBOLS FOR CONSONANT PHONEMES
Voiceless
Voiced
p
pen
b
bad
t
tea
d
did
k
cat
ɡ
get
s
see
z
zoo
ʃ
shoe
ʒ
vision
tʃ
chain
dʒ
jam
f
fall
v
van
θ
thin
ð
this
h
hat
m
man
n
now
ŋ
sing
l
leg
r
red
w
wet
j
yes
7. Minimal pairs and minimal sets
McMahon, (2002) defines a minimal pair as a pair of words distinguished by a single sound. For
example, if we take the word ‘man’, and replace the first sound by /p/, we get a new word ‘pan’.
Meanwhile, a minimal set is a set of words distinguished by replacing one sound with another.
For example, man, ban, tan, ran, etc. can make a minimal set. Instead of changing the initial
consonant, we can also change the vowel (e.g. mean, moan, men, mine, moon) or the final
consonant (e.g. man, mat, mad).
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8. Homophones and homographs
Another feature of English is that some pronunciations correspond to multiple spellings. According
to Ashby (2013), homophones are words that look different but sound exactly the same.
Example:
•
Cs, seas, sees and seize are all pronounced /siːz/,
•
rowed and road /rəʊd/,
•
file and phial /faɪl/
•
passed and past /pɑːst/
•
two, too, and to /tuː/
Homographs, on the other hand, are words which are pronounced differently but spelt exactly
the same.
Example:
•
bow /baʊ/ (‘bending from the waist or the front end of a boat’) and bow /bəʊ/ (an elaborate
knot in a piece of ribbon or about a piece of musical equipment)
•
lead /led/ (‘a kind of metal’) and lead /liːd/ (‘to go first’)
•
wind /wɪnd/ (‘current of air’) and wind /waɪnd/ (‘to turn round’)
7
PRACTICE
Activity 1.1
Decide whether these statements describe phonetics (A) or phonology (B). Write A or B.
1. This is the science of speech sound. ____________
2. It deals with the abstract side of the sounds of a language. ____________
3. It deals with “actual” physical sounds as they are manifested. ____________
4. It is the study of the selection and patterns of sounds in a single language. ____________
5. It is the term used for the study of sound in human language. ____________
6. It is the business of describing the sounds that we use in speaking. ____________
7. It is concerned with the function of sounds. ____________
8. It describes the concrete, physical form of sounds. ____________
9. Phonologist is the term used for linguists who study this. ____________
10. Phonetician is the term used for linguists who study this. ____________
Activity 1.2
Decide which branch of phonetics, (a) articulatory, (b) acoustic or (c) auditory, these statements
describe. Write (a), (b) or (c).
1. It describes how sounds are made. ____
2. It is concerned with the perception, categorization, and recognition of speech sounds. ____
3. It studies the vibrations in the air caused by sounds travelling in the air from the speaker’s
mouth to the hearer’s ear. ____
4. It informs theories of speech production. ____
5. It deals with the physical nature of speech sounds. ____
6. It is related to listening to speech sounds and thinking about exactly what they sound. ____
Activity 1.3
Compare the sounds in bold in the following words and decide if they have the same or different
pronunciations. Explain your answer.
1. the a’s
in
father, fall, any, ago, watch
2. the i’s
in
grind, machine, bird
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3. the u’s
in
rule, put, hut
4. the o’s
in
stove, move, love
5. the ea’s
in
meat, head, great, bear
Activity 1.4
Underline the word in which a consonant is not pronounced.
0. pencil, hour, cousin
1. cupboard, pub, pupil
6. country, child, knife
2. bird, tiger, snake
7. island, address, some
3. wall, science, cave
8. window, paint, pencil
4. tall, desk, half
9. hundred, green, white
5. Wednesday, Monday, Sunday
10. lamp, autumn, bath
Activity 1.5
Put the following words into sets that begin with the same sound.
knight, cat, king, get, gnat, guest, calm, quay, quest, west, vest, want, vase
Activity 1.6
Complete the sentences with the right words given.
dialect
accent
regional
variety
social
1. A(n) ______________ is a way in which the language can be pronounced.
2. The term ‘______________’ is used to cover variation in grammar and vocabulary.
3. A ‘______________’ refers all these aspects of language variation – pronunciation
together with grammar and vocabulary.
4. ______________ variation involves differences between one place and another.
5. ______________ variation reflects differences between one social group and another.
This can cover such matters as gender, ethnicity, religion, age and, very significantly,
social class.
9
Activity 1.7
How many phonemes are there in the following words?
Word
No. of phoneme
Word
1. booth
6. through
2. debt
7. writer
3. yacht
8. lesson
4. key
9. homophone
5. bought
10. imagination
No. of phoneme
Activity 1.8
Look at these words. Three of the four words include the same phoneme – which word is
different from the others?
1. a. church
b. Chester
c. such
d. ridge
2. a. shape
b. hiss
c. push
d. passion
3. a. German
b. justice
c. chicken
d. postage
4. a. yacht
b. university
c. major
d. you
5. a. gate
b. pig
c. germs
d. great
6. a. cat
b. nice
c. ceiling
d. sensitive
7. a. think
b. mother
c. mammoth
d. thanks
8. a. vision
b. buzz
c. zip
d. lazy
Activity 1.9
Decide whether phoneme(s) or allophone(s) fit the blanks in the following sentences.
1. A _______________ is a member of a set of abstract units which together form the sound
system of a given language and through which contrasts of meaning are produced.
2. Only the _______________ of a _______________ can exist in reality as concrete
entities.
3. _______________ are real and they can be recorded, stored and reproduced, and
analyzed in acoustic or articulatory terms.
4. The _______________ is an abstract unit which may be realized as any one of a number
of _______________.
10
Activity 1.10
Write the CV-patterns for each of the following English words:
Word
Pattern
Word
1. spin
6. attack
2. cream
7. psychic
3. tomato
8. assign
4. Spain
9. text
5. wrong
10. announce
Pattern
Activity 1.11
Look at the phoneme for each question: which one of the four words contains that phoneme?
1. /ʌ/
a. month
b. mouth
c. math
d. test
2. / ɪ/
a. bean
b. buy
c. pine
d. pill
3. /ʊə/
a. tour
b. took
c. pure
d. food
4. /e/
a. the
b. feed
c. then
d. this
5. /ɑː/
a. call
b. park
c. one
d. cap
6. /eɪ/
a. our
b. lime
c. crack
d. game
7. /eə/
a. fear
b. bar
c. beer
d. bear
Activity 1.12
Are the following pairs of words minimal pairs? Circle Yes or No.
1. right - write
Yes / No
6. sitting – seating
Yes / No
2. caught – court
Yes / No
7. chews – choose
Yes / No
3. three – tree
Yes / No
8. bowl – bowel
Yes / No
4. knot – not
Yes / No
9. walk – work
Yes / No
5. pool – pull
Yes / No
10. grate – great
Yes / No
Activity 1.13
Create two minimal pairs with each given word by replacing the consonants in different word
positions.
11
Consonant
Initial
pea, sea
Medial
charter
charmer, charger
Final
0. /t/
tea
seat
1. /p/
pack
mapping
ape
2. /m/
mate
slimming
room
3. /s/
seek
leasing
class
4. /ʃ/
sheet
mashed
bash
5. /l/
lash
rolling
coal
6. /f/
feel
refined
staff
7. /n/
knee
sneak
bone
8. /d/
dash
budding
bed
9. /ɡ/
gain
plugging
wig
10. /z/
zip
buzzing
seize
seed, seal
Activity 1.14
Create three words with contrasts by supplying different vowels in the following consonantal
frames.
0. /b__t/
beat, bait, bet
6. /l__n/
1. /s__l/
7. /k__n/
2. /pl__/
8. /d__m/
3. /sp__k/
9. /t__k/
4. /m__θ/
10. /ɡr__nd/
Activity 1.15
Look at each pair of words: are they homophones or not? Choose True if you think they are
homophones, False if you think they are not.
1. where / wear
True / False
6. out / ought
True / False
2. sow / saw
True / False
7. flour / flower
True / False
3. sum / some
True / False
8. peace / piece
True / False
4. wood / would
True / False
9. caught / court
True / False
5. thought / fort
True / False
10. chews / choose
True / False
12
Activity 1.16
Which word does not rhyme with the word given?
1. eight
a. straight
b. wait
c. white
d. mate
2. bright
a. feet
b. tonight
c. white
d. bite
3. tall
a. ball
b. hole
c. small
d. crawl
4. hen
a. when
b. ten
c. again
d. pain
5. sew
a. go
b. though
c. mow
d. flew
6. nose
a. laws
b. grows
c. froze
d. toes
7. fun
a. one
b. moon
c. sun
d. son
8. mean
a. seen
b. teen
c. men
d. clean
Activity 1.17
The following spelling errors would be impossible for most computer spelling checkers to deal
with. Supply a suitable homophone to correct each of the sentences.
Correction
0. You’ll get a really accurate wait if you use these electronic scales.
1. Why don’t you join a quire if you like singing so much?
2. The people standing on the key saw Megan sail past in her yacht.
3. Harry simply guest, but luckily he got the right answer.
4. Passengers are requested to form an orderly cue at the bus stop.
5. The primary task of any doctor is to heel the sick.
6. For breakfast, many people choose to eat a serial with milk.
7. Janet tried extremely hard, but it was all in vein, I’m sad to say.
8. Why is the yoke of this egg such a peculiar shade of yellow?
9. The gross errors in the treasurer’s report are plane for all to see.
Activity 1.18
Transcribe the following sets of homographs.
0.
Homograph
Transcription
Meaning
live
/laɪv/
‘not dead’
13
weight
live
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
/lɪv/
‘to be alive’
refuse
to decline
refuse
rubbish
close
near
close
to shut
convict
prisoner
convict
to find guilty
desert
sandy wasteland
desert
to run away
invalid
not legally acceptable
invalid
sick person
sow
to scatter seeds
sow
female pig
tear
liquid from the eye
tear
to rip up
house
building for living in
house
to provide accommodation
wound
injury
wound
past tense of ‘to wind’
10. bass
low pitch
bass
kind of fish
Activity 1.19
Fill in the gaps in the following sentences.
1. When a word is written with phonetic symbols we say it is _____________.
2. The sounds of spoken language are divided into two basic types, _____________ and
_____________.
3. Many phonemes may be pronounced (“realized”) in more than one way; these different
realizations are called _____________.
14
4. We can add marks to phonetic symbols to provide more information about them. These
marks are called _____________.
5. The symbols that we use are based on the Alphabet of the _____________.
6. A phonetic transcription that gives a lot of detail is called a _____________transcription.
7. When we consider two related sounds in a relationship where one of them can only occur
where the other cannot occur, we say that the sounds are in _____________.
15
CHAPTER 2: THE PRODUCTION OF SPEECH SOUNDS
Traditionally, there are three systems of speech organs that have different functions in the speech
production process (Ashby, 2013).
1. The respiratory system
Speech is produced by moulding and moving the articulators of all kinds around an airstream. In
most cases this air is expelled from the lungs, so it is called egressive pulmonic air. The airstream
goes up the windpipe (or the trachea) and then passes through the larynx (known familiarly as the
‘Adam’s apple’). Inside the larynx are the two vocal folds (also called the vocal cords).
The air passages above the larynx are known as the vocal tract, which may be divided into the
oral tract, within the mouth and pharynx (the space at the back of the mouth), and the nasal tract,
within the nose. When the flap at the back of the mouth is lowered, air goes in and out through the
nose (Ashby, 2013).
2. The phonatory system
As cited in Roach (2009), inside the larynx are the two vocal folds (also called the vocal cords).
The gap between the vocal folds is termed the glottis. Three possibilities of the vocal folds’ actions
have been mentioned:
•
If the glottis is open, i.e. if the vocal folds are apart, the air passes through without causing
the vocal folds to vibrate. Sounds produced in this way are called voiceless. Voiceless
sounds are made with more force, or higher tension. This is called a fortis articulation.
•
If the glottis is narrow, i.e. if the vocal folds are together, the airstream forces its way
through and causes the vocal folds to vibrate. Sounds produced in this way are called
16
voiced. Voiced sounds are usually made with a relatively weak breath force, or little
muscular tension. This is called a lenis articulation.
•
A third possibility is that the glottis is closed, i.e. the vocal folds are firmly pressed together,
and the airstream is stopped completely. Such a glottal closure can produce only one sound,
which is called a glottal stop or glottal plosive.
3. The articulatory system
3.1. Articulators above the larynx
The air passages above the larynx are known as the vocal tract, which may be divided into the oral
tract within the mouth and pharynx, and the nasal tract within the nose.
The parts of the vocal tract that can be used to form sound are called articulators. While active
articulators are organs that move (often voluntarily and in a controlled fashion), passive
articulators cannot move but are the target for active articulators (Ashby, 2013).
3.2. Vowels and Consonants
Sound is produced by the interference of the flow of air through the mouth (and nose). Consonants
are created when the pulmonic airflow is directly restricted or obstructed and cannot escape from
the oral cavity without creating audible friction. By way of contrast, vowels are created when the
airflow is not crucially restricted or obstructed. Therefore, pulmonic air can escape the oral cavity
without creating audible friction.
The production of a special type of consonant called approximants, for example, involves about
the same type of tongue activity than the production of vowels, which is why some classifications
of speech sounds propose a third group of sounds called semi vowels (Skandera & Burleigh, 2005).
17
PRACTICE
Activity 2.1
Label the diagram using the words in the box.
pharynx
nasal cavity
oral cavity
larynx
lungs
vocal folds
vocal tract
trachea
Activity 2.2
Label the diagram of the larynx using the words in the box.
glottis
vocal cords
trachea
18
larynx
Activity 2.3
Match the position of the vocal folds and the sounds they can produce in the position.
a. Voiced sounds
b. Glottal stop
c. Voiceless sounds
Activity 2.4
Which of the following sounds are pronounced with the glottis open?
1. dʒ
4. s
7. eɪ
10. f
2. ɑː
5. ŋ
8. ʃ
11. j
3. ɒ
6. u:
9. aʊ
12. ɡ
Activity 2.5
Which of the following sounds are pronounced with the glottis narrow?
1. əʊ
4. ʃ
7. l
10. ʒ
2. s
5. u:
8. h
11. θ
3. ə
6. n
9. ɪə
12. ʌ
Activity 2.6
State the voicing of the underlined sound in each word below. Write Voiced or Voiceless.
1. bee
3. hike
5. fish
7. vine
9. listen
2. reason
4. hang
6. jungle
8. peach
10. lime
19
Activity 2.7
Label the diagram using the words in the box.
nose
upper lip
tongue
upper teeth
pharynx
lower teeth
lower lip
Activity 2.8
Decide whether these following articulators are active (A) or passive (P).
1. alveolar ridge
3. tongue
5. hard palate
2. soft palate / velum
4. lips
6. teeth
Activity 2.9
Name the active articulator for each of the underlined sounds below.
1. those
5. mess
2. keep
6. rich
3. revile
7. pet
4. final
8. yacht
20
Activity 2.10
Give the phonetic symbol for the initial consonant sound(s) in each of the following words.
1. rhetoric
11. psalm
2. one
12. chorus
3. know
13. chaste
4. Thomas
14. charade
5. sure
15. shave
6. cereal
16. gnat
7. jaguar
17. wrong
8. unity
18. zero
9. pheasant
19. ghost
10. theme
20. science
Activity 2.11
Give the phonetic symbol for the medial consonant sound(s) in each of the following words.
1. toughen
11. listen
2. visage
12. plumber
3. alloy
13. cupboard
4. descent
14. soften
5. measure
15. measles
6. away
16. author
7. errand
17. leather
8. ocean
18. psyche
9. adjourn
19. future
10. aghast
20. lawyer
21
Activity 2.12
Give the phonetic symbol for the final consonant sound(s) in each of the following words.
1. froth
11. phase
2. miss
12. lathe
3. stomach
13. tongue
4. indict
14. comb
5. ledge
15. brogue
6. itch
16. mall
7. sign
17. rough
8. niche
18. beige
9. hiccough
19. hopped
10. ooze
20. solemn
Activity 2.13
Which of the following words begin with a voiceless consonant?
1. phase
3. heartache
5. embargo
7. chaos
9. write
2. banana
4. pneumonia
6. knock
8. X-ray
10. honest
Activity 2.14
Which of the following words have a voiceless consonant between the two vowels?
1. easy
3. pleasure
5. breathy
7. racer
9. classy
2. clothing
4. mission
6. leather
8. tougher
10. fever
Activity 2.15
Which of the following words have a voiceless consonant at the end?
1. rays
5. breathe
9. dose
13. comb
17. perform
2. worse
6. off
10. of
14. prince
18. distinguish
3. wise
7. does
11. path
15. show
19. match
4. faces
8. cloth
12. people
16. obey
20. sing
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Activity 2.16
Change the voicing of the underlined consonants in the words below. Which new English
words do you get?
1. beg
6. lacy
11. fleece
2. wait
7. reviews
12. cart
3. few
8. bigger
13. ice
4. chump
9. fuzzy
14. ridge
5. thy
10. etching
15. host
Activity 2.17
Fill in the gaps in the sentences below.
1. Inside the larynx there are two flaps of muscle which are called the vocal _________ or
vocal _________.
2. The space between them is known as the _________.
3. When they are tightly closed they can be made to produce a _________ stop.
4. When they are close together and air is passed between them, the resulting vibration is
called _________ or _________.
5. _________ articulators are organs we can move.
6. _________ articulators are organs that are fixed or stationary.
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