17. Three Tutorials on Voicing and Plosives
Below are links to three excellent
tutorials by John Maidment of the University College London that will help you
understand how plosives work, and about voice onset time, or VOT.
(1)
Start with the tutorial on the basics of voicing here:
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wtutor?tutorial=siphtra/vb1.htm
You should go through the tutorial several
times, until you have thoroughly mastered the material in it. You will know
some of the more basic material; pay special attention to whatever is new. Also
take some long close looks at the illustrations of the larynx so their appearance
and structure become increasingly familiar to you. (Note: the sound files may
not work.)
Test yourself: What are 'periodic' sounds? Aperiodic
sounds? How does a voiced aperiodic sound differ from a voiceless aperiodic
sound?
(2)
Next is the Tutorial on Plosives (Part 1) at:
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wtutor?tutorial=siphtra/plostut1/plostut1.htm
Again, the sound files don't seem to be workingˇVask
in class about sounds you're not sure of.
Test yourself: What is a passive articulator?
An active articulator? What are the three stages of a plosive? Give the IPA
symbols for the voiced and voiceless versions of stops with the following points
of articulation: dental, alveolar, bilabial, retroflex, palatal, velar, uvular.
(3) Third
and last is the Tutorial on Plosives: VOT and aspiration. (The sound
files seem to work OK on this one.)
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/siphtra/plostut2/plostut2.htm
Test yourself: What is zero VOT?
Negative VOT? Positive VOT? Describe voiced, unvoiced and aspirated plosives
in French, English and Mandarin.
Try making waveforms of the sounds
covered in this tutorial with WASP, and see how closely they correspond to those
in the tutorial.
Now on to another sound toy...
Next:
Playtime:
Virtual Theremin
(and a little about
frequency and amplitude)
on
to next page back index
I index
II home