The Sounds of English : Chapter 28

pp. 243-244

Sound Waves

If you throw a pebble into a pond, what appears to be happening to the water on the surface of the pond?

 

What in fact is happening to the individual molecules of water?

 

What happens to the individual particles of air when sound is transmitted through the air?

 

What device converts the energy of oscillating air particles into electrical energy?

 

Waveforms

What does a waveform show?

 

In a waveform, what does a large movement from the horizontal line show?

 

In a simple utterance, on which kind of sounds does most energy occur?

 

Rank the following sound in terms of amount of energy: fricatives, vowels, plosives, nasals.

 

Is it possible to analyse sounds using a waveform?