Chapter 2: The Sounds of Language
Learning Objectives
- Understand how sounds can be categorised based on how they are produced.
- Explore how we produce the different sounds in our language
- Describe the role of syllables and syllable structure in language
- Explore the presence of phonological rules in various languages
This chapter is an introduction to various articulatory building blocks that make up human language: sounds and syllables. We will explore how we define the specific sounds of language and how we can describe them. You may encounter a lot of technical terminology and it may appear difficult at first to understand these terms. However, you will find it worthwhile as you will gain valuable insight into how you speak. You will also find it easier to understand the rest of this book as the classification of sounds forms the basis for a lot of what we will be discussing later.
