Phonetic+features

**Phonetic features that do not distinguish phonemes.**

**Phonemes- are the individual sounds of speech. Sounds of speech are generally divided into two categories: Vowels and Consonants.**

** Vowel sounds are made when there is no blocking of the vocal tract. The following picture provides a visual of the vocal tract and indicates where the vowel phonemes are produced. **

Consonants are speech sounds that are made when there is some aspect of blockage to the vocal tract. Teeth, tongue, and lips are common sources of obstruction.



**In the English language there are always exceptions. One of these exceptions is the letter Y. It is most commonly a consonant, but is also a vowel in other words. ** ** Examples of y as a vowel are: ** ** My ** ** Hymn ** ** Myth ** ** By **

** An example of a phonetic feature that does not distinguish phonemes is stressed and non-stressed syllables. **

**Stressed parts of a word that are said with more force.**

**Non-stressed syllables are the parts of the word that are said with less stress.** **Examples:** PersonNEL TOtally InDUstrial ToMAto  FanTAstic

** Another example of phonetic features that do not distinguish phonemes is aspirated and non-aspirated sounds. **

** Aspirated sounds produce a puff of air after a stop. These stops are voiceless. **

** Examples: ** ** Sto ** p p ** ot ** k <span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 27pt;">** ey ** p <span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 27pt;">** ie **

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 27pt;">** The final example is syllabic and non-syllabic. ** <span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 27pt;">** Some phonemes can become syllabic or vowel like. This happens in words where n or l are a weakly stressed syllable following a strongly stressed syllable. ** <span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 27pt;">** Kitt ** en <span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 27pt;">** butt ** on <span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 27pt;">** litt ** le <span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Comic Sans MS&#39;; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 27pt;">** tunn ** el

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; letter-spacing: 2pt;">(Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, 2009)