The term affricate is used to describe a sound which is articulated in two ways. There is complete closure of the vocal tract, as in a stop, but the release has turbulent airflow like a fricative. Examples of affricates in English are 
as in chip and 
as in gyp.
The term alveolar is used to describe a sound which is articulated at the alveolar ridge, which is between the teeth and the hard palate. Examples of alveolar sounds are /t/ as in tip, /d/ as in dip, /s/ as in sip, /z/ as in zip, and /n/ as in nip.
The term back is used to describe a vowel sound which is articulated with the tongue body toward the back of the vocal tract. Examples of back vowels in English are 
as in boot, 
as in book, 
as in boat, 
as in bought (some varieties of English) 
as in father.
The term coronal is used to describe a sound which is articulated by the blade or tip of the tongue. Examples of coronal consonants in English are 
as in tip, 
as in dip, 
as in sip, 
as in nip, 
as in ship, and 
as in rip.
A vowel that has two parts, a vowel nucleus, and a second vowel-like glide. Examples are [aI] as in the English words right [®aIt] and line [laIn], and [çI] as in the English words coin [kçIn] and oil [çIl].
A formant is a frequency at which the vocal tract resonates. The F1 formant tends to shift with the height of the tongue body, with a low F1 signifying a high tongue body. The F2 formant tends to shift with the backness of the tongue body, with the difference between F2 and F1 indicating relative backness of the tongue body. A low F2-F1 signifies a tongue body that is back in the vocal tract.
The term fricative is used to describe a sound which is articulated with almost a complete closure, but with just enough of an opening to create turbulence in the airflow. Examples of fricative sounds are /f/ as in fat, /v/ as in vat, /s/ as in sip, /z/ as in zip, and /S/ as in ship.
The term glide is used to describe a sound which is articulated with very little constriction of the vocal tract. There is no contact between the articulator and the vocal tract. Examples of glides in English are 
as in yell and 
as in well.
The term high is used to describe a vowel sound which is articulated with the tongue raised in the vocal tract, creating a relatively closed vocal tract. Examples of high vowels in English are 
as in beat, 
as in bit, as in boot, and as in book.
The term interdental is used to describe a sound which is articulated by placing the tongue between the teeth. Examples of interdental sounds are 
as in thick and 
as in this.
The term lax refers to a feature of vowels that has been argued to stem from a number of articulatory mechanisms. One such mechanism is the relaxed status of the articulators. Another possible mechanism is the non-advanced position of the tongue root during production of the vowel. In English, some lax vowels are the vowels /I/,/E/,/U/, and /ç/, as in mitt, met, book, and caught (in some dialects of English, the vowel /ç/ has fused with /a/. The complementary feature of lax is tense.
The term nasal is used to describe a sound in which the velum is lowered, allowing air to flow through the nasal cavity. Examples of nasal sounds are [n] as in net and [m] as in met.
The term stop (or plosive) is used to describe a sound which is articulated with a complete closure of the vocal tract. Examples of stop sounds are /p/ as in pat, /k/ as in cat, and /d/ as in dot.
The term tense refers to a feature of vowels that has been argued to stem from a number of articulatory mechanisms. One such mechanism is the tensing of the articulators. Another possible mechanism is the advanced position of the tongue root during production of the vowel. In English, some tense vowels are the vowels /i/,/e/,/u/, and /o/, as in meet, mate, moot, and mote. In English, these particular tense vowels are produced with an offglide, or secondary vowel articulation. Therefore, the tense vowels in English would be pronounced /iy/, /ey/, /uw/, and /ow/. The complementary feature of tense is lax.
The term velar is used to describe a sound which is articulated at the soft palate (velum). Examples of velar sounds in English are 
as in cap and 
as in gap.
The term voice refers to the activity of the vocal folds during the production of a sound. If the vocal folds are vibrating, the sound is said to be voiced. If the vocal folds are not vibrating, the sound is said to be voiceless. Examples of voiced sounds are /g/ as in gap, /z/ as in zap, and /m/ as in map. Examples of voiceless sounds are /k/ as in cap, and /s/ as in sap.
© 2001 The Language Samples Project