Speech Sounds

noun a sign (ʻ) placed over a vowel to indicate that it is pronounced with aspiration or is long or high-toned

verb to pronounce with an audible puff of breath

adjective relating to or denoting a speech sound produced with an audible puff of breath

• The doctor used a syringe to aspirate the fluid from the patient's lungs.
• I had to aspirate the clogged sink with a plunger.
• I hate when I accidentally aspirate water while swimming.
• She tried to aspirate all negativity from her life by surrounding herself with positive people.

verb to double or repeat

adjective having a doubled or repeated consonant sound

• In phonetics, geminate refers to a double or long consonant sound.
• I heard that Italian has geminate consonants, which are pronounced for a longer duration.
• Some people find it hard to pronounce geminate sounds correctly.
• The geminate relationship between the two characters in the movie was evident in their on-screen chemistry.

noun A person who specializes in the study of phonetics, particularly the sounds of speech

• The phonetician analyzed the speech patterns of the patient to diagnose their speech disorder.
• My friend is studying to become a phonetician and learn all about speech sounds.
• I heard that phoneticians have a cool job figuring out how people talk.
• The phonetician's ears were finely tuned to pick up even the slightest nuances in pronunciation.

noun a speech sound produced with continuous, vocal cord vibration

adjective relating to or having a sound characterized by resonance or voiced speech

• The sonant quality of the vowel is crucial in determining its pronunciation.
• He has a sonant voice that carries well in a crowded room.
• I love listening to her sonant laugh, it's so contagious!
• The sonant melody of the wind chimes filled the air with tranquility.

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence

• The professor voiced her concerns about the research methodology during the conference.
• She voiced her opinion about the new project in the meeting.
• I finally mustered up the courage to voice my feelings to her.
• The painting beautifully voiced the artist's inner emotions and struggles.

adjective describing something that lacks sound or vocalization

• The voiceless victims of the war are often overlooked in discussions of conflict resolution.
• The voiceless kids in the classroom need to be encouraged to speak up more.
• It's not cool to ignore the voiceless in our community.
• Her artwork was a powerful expression of the voiceless suffering in society.