Definition: Describing a sound or articulation made with the tip of the tongue turned back against the roof of the mouth.

Example: In linguistics, a retroflex sound is produced by curling the tongue back.

Definition: A type of sound made by curling the tongue back in the mouth, often found in certain languages and dialects.

Example: In some languages, the retroflex sounds can change the meaning of words.

Definition: Describing a way of pronouncing the letter 'r' clearly in words, especially where it appears, such as in 'bar' or 'bard'. This pronunciation is typical in many regions, including parts of the United States and England.

Example: In rhotic accents, the 'r' in 'car' is pronounced clearly, unlike in some non-rhotic accents.

Definition: A type of vowel sound that is pronounced in a relaxed way, often found in unstressed syllables of words, like the 'a' in 'sofa'.

Example: In the word 'banana', the first and last 'a' are pronounced as a schwa sound.

Definition: A type of sound that is similar to a vowel but acts like a consonant in speech, such as the sounds made by the letters 'y' and 'w'.

Example: In the words 'yes' and 'we', the letters 'y' and 'w' are semivowels.

Definition: A type of vowel sound that is pronounced in a relaxed way, often found in unstressed syllables of words.

Example: In the word 'sofa', the 'a' is pronounced as a shwa.

Definition: In a way that produces a hissing sound, often associated with certain consonants like 's' or 'sh'.

Example: The snake moved sibilantly through the grass, making a soft hissing noise.

Definition: Relating to a type of consonant sound that is produced by forcing air through a narrow channel, causing turbulence.

Example: In phonetics, a spirant is a sound like 's' or 'f' that is made by creating friction in the airflow.

Definition: A type of consonant sound produced by forcing air through a narrow opening, causing friction in the vocal tract.

Example: In phonetics, a spirant is a sound like 's' or 'sh' that is made with friction as air passes through the mouth.

Definition: A unit in poetry that has two stressed syllables in a row.

Example: The poem used a spondee to create a strong rhythm.

Definition: Relating to features of speech that go beyond individual sounds, such as intonation, stress, and rhythm.

Example: In linguistics, suprasegmental features play a crucial role in conveying meaning and emotion in spoken language.

Definition: A feature in speech that affects how sounds are pronounced, including aspects like length, stress, tone, and aspiration, which go beyond individual sounds.

Example: In linguistics, suprasegmental features play a crucial role in conveying meaning and emotion in speech.

Definition: In a way that relates to syllables, often referring to how words are pronounced or divided into syllables.

Example: The teacher explained how to pronounce the word syllabically, breaking it down into its individual syllables.