Part I

Getting Started with Phonetics

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In this part . . .

Get the complete lowdown on what phonetics is and why so many different fields study it.

Familiarize yourself with all the human anatomy that play important role in phonetics, including the lips, tongue, larynx, and vocal folds.

Understand how the different parts of anatomy work together to produce individual consonants, vowels, syllables, and words.

Examine the different parts of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to see how phoneticians use it to transcribe spoken speech and begin to make your own transcriptions.

Identify how different speech sounds are classified and the importance of voicing (whether the vocal folds are buzzing), places of articulation (the location in your mouth where consonants are formed), and manner of articulation (how consonants are formed).

See how sounds are broken down to the most basic level (phonemes) and how they work together to form words.