Online phonetics resources

Page maintained by Jennifer Smith ()

Last revision and link check: May 2008

Links added in the last revision are flagged with [NEW]; see section (12).

This is a list of web sites that could be appropriate for use in an introductory phonetics course. Most of the sites on this list include audio, images, or interactive material. The list includes a number of items from the list of phonetics sites compiled by Karen Steffen Chung (see LINGUIST List posts 11.1812, 11.1869, and 11.1964). It also includes other sites that have been discussed on the LINGUIST list, sites I have found from web searches, and sites that people have told me about. Many thanks to the people and organizations who designed the sites that appear on this list and made their work available on the web.

If you find any broken links, please let me know ( jlsmith |A|T| unc |D|O|T| edu ). I would also welcome suggestions for links to add to this page.

Contents of this page

(0) Whole phonetics courses with considerable online materials
(1) Vocal-tract diagrams
(2) The larynx, phonation, and VOT
(3) The vocal tract in action: video clips and animations
(4) Basic acoustics
(5) Spectrograms, acoustic phonetics, and speech synthesis
(6) Speech perception and audiology
(7) Extra practice, tutorials, and self-tests
(8) Audio examples of individual speech sounds
(9) Audio files of non-English words and texts
(10) Dialects and accents of English
(11) IPA resources: charts, fonts
(12) Other useful teaching materials for phonetics/phonology
(13) Other useful resources for research in phonetics/phonology

(0) Whole phonetics courses with considerable online materials

(Relevant subunits also referenced in other sections of this document)

A Course in Phonetics, Peter Ladefoged
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/course/contents.html
Vowels and Consonants, Peter Ladefoged
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/vowels/contents.html
Course materials by Fred Cummins, Northwestern U, 1998
http://cspeech.ucd.ie/~fred/teaching/oldcourses/phonetics/
Course materials by Kevin Russell, U. of Manitoba, 2005
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/linguistics/russell/phonetics/
Audio files for introductory phonetics courses, University of Utrecht
http://www.let.uu.nl/~audiufon/e_index.html

(1) Vocal-tract diagrams

Labeled line drawing of vocal tract, from the SIL Mexico web site
http://www.sil.org/mexico/ling/glosario/E005bi-OrgansArt.htm
Labeled line drawing of vocal tract, University of Lausanne (scroll down)
http://www.unil.ch/Jahia/site/ling/cache/offonce/pid/24434
Customizable vocal tract, by Daniel Hall, U Toronto (also listed in (7))
Specify properties of oral/nasal stops and fricatives; see the corresponding IPA symbol and vocal-tract configuration
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~danhall/phonetics/sammy.html
Photo of sagittal section of head and neck with structures labeled, from the Medical Gross Anatomy Learning Resources web site, University of Michigan Medical School
http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/atlas/rsa3p1.html
Graphic from the Visible Human Project, with labels by Kevin Russell (see also main listing in (0))
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/linguistics/russell/phonetics/anatomy/anatomy.html

(2) The larynx, phonation, and VOT

Three-dimensional, rotatable model of the larynx, from the Medical Gross Anatomy Learning Resources web site, University of Michigan Medical School
http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/qtvr/qtvr_larynx.html
Information on how the larynx is examined and photographed, by K. Marasek, Experimental Phonetics Group, University of Stuttgart
http://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/phonetik/EGG/page13a.htm
Still photos of vocal folds in different stages of vibration, from Fred Cummins's phonetics course (see also main listing in (0))
http://cspeech.ucd.ie/~fred/teaching/oldcourses/phonetics/glottis.html
Still photos of open and vibrating glottis, from a page by Christopher Lemelin, Bucknell University
http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/linguistics/lectures/glottis.jpg
Video demos of vocal-fold vibration (slow motion), from the UCLA Phonetics Lab
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/linguistics/faciliti/demos/vocalfolds/vocalfolds.htm
Tutorial on voicing (diagrams of larynx; waveforms), from University College London
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wtutor?tutorial=siphtra/vb1.htm
Tutorial on VOT in plosives, with audio files of contrasts, from University College London
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/siphtra/plostut2/plostut2.htm
Audio files of different phonation types, by K. Marasek, Experimental Phonetics Group, University of Stuttgart
http://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/phonetik/EGG/page10.htm
Audio files of singing voices (demonstrating emotion, 'modes' of singing, vowels at high pitches, synthesized singing), from Universiteit Utrecht (see also main listing in (0))
http://www.let.uu.nl/~audiufon/data/e_zangstem.html

(3) The vocal tract in action: video clips and animations

Cineradiography demos: two English utterances and one in French, from the X-Ray Film Database project (scroll down)
http://pavlov.psyc.queensu.ca/~munhallk/05_database.htm
X-ray videos of tongue, jaw, larynx position during [ieaou] utterance, from Peter Ladefoged's Vowels and Consonants (see also main listing in (0))
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/vowels/chapter11/chapter11.html
Video demos of vocal-fold vibration: see (2)
Laryngoscopic video clips of glottal and pharyngeal consonants, by John Esling, University of Victoria
http://web.uvic.ca/ling/research/phonetics/lands.htm
3D animations of American English electropalatography data (with audio), from the UCLA Phonetics Lab
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/linguistics/faciliti/facilities/physiology/epg.html#3D
Animation: coarticulation effects (from X-ray data), by Sidney Wood, Lund University
http://www.ling.lu.se/persons/Sidney/coartdem/index.html

(4) Basic acoustics

Animations and demos about waves, from "Zona Land," by Edward A. Zobel
http://id.mind.net/~zona/mstm/physics/waves/waves.html
- Wave Adder -- demonstrates component addition; specify amplitudes and frequencies to add
  http://id.mind.net/~zona/mstm/physics/waves/waveAdder/WaveAdder1.html
- Standing-wave animations, showing harmonics and their addition
  http://id.mind.net/~zona/mstm/physics/waves/standingWaves/standingWaves.html
Tutorials from The Physics Classroom, by Tom Henderson (include animations)
- Waves
  http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/waves/wavestoc.html
- Sound Waves and Music
  http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/sound/soundtoc.html
Examples of waveforms you can see and click to hear, by H. Timothy Bunnell, U. of Delaware
- Waveforms (simple and complex)
  http://www.asel.udel.edu/speech/tutorials/acoustics/time_domain.html
- Line spectra; click on individual components or hear their sum
  http://www.asel.udel.edu/speech/tutorials/acoustics/freq_domain.html
Acoustics and vibration animations, by Dan Russell, Kettering University
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/demos.html
Sound and hearing page from the HyperPhysics site, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University (also listed in (6))
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/soucon.html#soucon
- Sound level measurement
  http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/dbcon.html#c1
- Sound reproduction
  http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/audiocon.html#c1

(5) Spectrograms, acoustic phonetics, and speech synthesis

Monthly Mystery Spectrogram, by Rob Hagiwara, University of Manitoba
Introduction to spectrograms and a new spectrogram to try "reading" each month (plus past examples, with solutions given)
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~robh/
Two models of the glottal-source wave with waveforms and audio files, by H. Timothy Bunnell, U. of Delaware
http://www.asel.udel.edu/speech/tutorials/production/source.htm
Source-filter model of vocal tract, with duck call-source, from the Exploratorium in San Francisco
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/vocal_vowels/vocal_vowels.html
Simplified (Klatt) speech synthesizers, by H. Timothy Bunnell, U. of Delaware
Good for class demo; you can synthesize online
- Vowel synthesizer: enter formants and hear resulting vowels
  http://www.asel.udel.edu/speech/tutorials/synthesis/vowels.html
- CV synthesizer
  http://www.asel.udel.edu/speech/tutorials/synthesis/ceevees.html
A synthesized phrase, from Peter Ladefoged's Vowels and Consonants (see also main listing in (0))
Different parts of the signal can be played separately (i.e., each formant, or high-frequency fricative noise)
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/vowels/chapter7/abirdinthehand.html
Audio files of synthesized speech, from University of Utrecht (see also main listing in (0)): From a vinyl recording accompanying Klatt's (1987) paper on the history of text-to-speech conversion
http://www.let.uu.nl/~audiufon/data/e_milestones_in_text-to-speech_conversion.html
Text-to-speech converter, from the Edict Virtual Learning Centre; uses the Lernout & Hauspie TruVoice speech engine
Type English text and generate a .wav file; choose from several synthetic voices
http://www.edict.com.hk/TextToSpeech/TTStest.htm
Discussion of "sinewave speech" with audio files, by Philip Rubin, Robert Remez, and Jennifer Pardo, Haskins Laboratories
http://www.haskins.yale.edu/research/sws.html

(6) Speech perception and audiology

Sound and hearing page from the HyperPhysics site, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University (also listed in (4))
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/soucon.html#soucon
- Diagrams of the ear
  http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/ear.html#c1
"Promenade 'round the cochlea," by Rémy Pujol et al., L'Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier
Includes drawings and electron micrographs of the cochlea
http://www.iurc.montp.inserm.fr/cric51/audition/english/index_gb.htm
Animation of basilar membrane oscillations, by Gary G. Matthews, from Blackwell Science http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/matthews/ear.html

(7) Extra practice, tutorials, and self-tests

(Additional tutorials are listed in (2) and (4))

Practice with IPA symbols and transcription
- Transcription practice for words/Canadian English, by Kevin Russell (see also main listing in (0))
  Can hear audio and check transcription
- Texts transcribed in IPA for reading practice, by Kevin Russell (see also main listing in (0))
  http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/linguistics/russell/phonetics/readings/readings.html
- Animations showing how to draw certain non-Roman IPA symbols, by Johanna Rubba, California Polytechnic State University
  http://cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba/phon/drawsymbols/
Self-test for properties of English consonants, by Kevin Russell (see also main listing in (0))
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/linguistics/russell/phonetics/practice/consonant/d2intro.htm
Customizable vocal tract, by Daniel Hall, U Toronto (also listed in (1))
Specify properties of oral/nasal stops and fricatives; see the corresponding IPA symbol and vocal-tract configuration
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~danhall/phonetics/sammy.html
Tutorial: basic facts about plosives, from University College London
Useful tutorial for recognizing drawings of places of articulation, but clicking on the accompanying sound files returns a "404 Not found" error
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wtutor?tutorial=siphtra/plostut1/plostut1.htm
Tutorials on prosody: chunking, focus, and pitch, by Sue Peppé and John Maidment, University College London
http://www.eptotd.btinternet.co.uk/pow/powin.htm

(8) Audio examples of individual speech sounds

IPA chart with sound files, from Peter Ladefoged's A Course in Phonetics (see also main listing in (0))
Sample sounds for whole IPA chart; vowel chart has additional link to cardinal vowels
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/course/chapter1/chapter1.html
Online resources from Peter Ladefoged's books
Example words from a wide variety of languages
- Language index from A Course in Phonetics (see also main listing in (0))
  http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/course/languageindex.html
- Vowels and Consonants (see also main listing in (0))
  http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/vowels/contents.html
The UCLA Phonetics Lab Data Collection (also listed in (9))
Includes links to the A Course in Phonetics and Vowels and Consonants materials, plus maps and additional languages
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/index.html
Online Phonetics Course, University of Lausanne
- Consonant sound files: follow the "more about..." links
  http://www.unil.ch/Jahia/site/ling/cache/offonce/pid/24436
- Vowel sound files: follow the links on the left sidebar under "Vowels"
  http://www.unil.ch/Jahia/site/ling/cache/offonce/pid/24437
Cardinal vowels (Jones), from Universiteit Utrecht
http://www.let.uu.nl/~audiufon/data/e_cardinal_vowels.html
Sites with audio files of individual English sounds (English sounds are also covered in the Ladefoged links above; see (10) for more on various dialects of English)
- US English: Sounds of English site for ESL/EFL learners, by Sharon Widmayer, George Mason University, and Holly Gray, Anne Arundel Community College
  Non-technical, but includes photographs of articulations and audio files of individual sounds
  http://www.soundsofenglish.org/pronunciation/sounds.htm
- US and British English: Examples of typical US and British vowels, by George Dillon, U of Washington
  http://faculty.washington.edu/dillon/PhonResources/vowels.html
- British English: Audio examples of consonants and vowels, from the Oxford University Press (China) web site
  http://www.oupchina.com.hk/dict/phonetic/home.html
- British English: "English phonetics and phonology for non-native speakers," by David Brett, University of Sassari
  http://davidbrett.uniss.it/phonology/page%20with%20frames2.htm

(9) Audio files of non-English words and texts

Many languages: The UCLA Phonetics Lab Data Collection (also listed in (8)). Sets of audio files designed to illustrate many different sound contrasts.
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/index.html
Many languages: Free downloadable (zipped) sound files from the IPA; also cassettes and CDs for purchase
http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/sounds.html
Aymara: PDF textbook with embedded links to audio files, by Miguel Huanca, with Amalia and Teófilo Huanca; Center for Latin American Studies, University of Chicago
http://clas.uchicago.edu/publications/aymara/index.html
Chinese (Mandarin?): From Universiteit Utrecht
http://www.let.uu.nl/~audiufon/data/e_onbekende_taal.html
Finnish: Audio files illustrating Finnish proper names, by Kai Nikulainen
http://www.sci.fi/~kajun/finns/
Georgian: Online language course, by Manana Kock Kobaidze and Karina Vamling, Malmö University; follow the "Georgian alphabet" link for information about pronunciation and orthography (with audio files)
http://webzone.imer.mah.se/projects/georgianV04/DEMO/INDEX4.html
Kekchi: From Universiteit Utrecht
http://www.let.uu.nl/~audiufon/data/e_onbekende_taal.html
Norwegian: Text read by speakers from over 50 different dialects; includes transcription. Site by Jørn Almberg and Kristian Skarbø.
http://www.ling.hf.ntnu.no/nos/
Spanish: Web site to accompany The Sounds of Spanish: Analysis and Application, by Robert M. Hammond
http://www.cascadilla.com/ssaa/index.html
Swedish: from Pronouncement Software
http://www.pronouncement.com/pronunci.htm

(10) Dialects and accents of English

International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA), University of Kansas
Includes MP3 audio files of scripted and spontaneous speech representing dialects of English worldwide as well as non-native accents
http://www.ku.edu/~idea/
Evaluating English Accents Worldwide site, University of Otago
Includes audio files of a sample text read by one male and one female speaker of New Zealand, Australian, North American, and British English
http://www.otago.ac.nz/anthropology/Linguistic/Accents.html
National Map of the Regional Dialects of American English, by William Labov, Sharon Ash, and Charles Boberg, University of Pennsylvania, 1997
Map with text discussion of characteristics of the dialects; apparently no audio files
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/NationalMap.html
Canadian Raising page, with audio, by Taylor Roberts, York University (Toronto)
http://www.yorku.ca/twainweb/troberts/raising.html
New Zealand English, with audio, by John Newman, University of Alberta
http://www.ualberta.ca/~johnnewm/NZEnglish/home.html
English Intonation in the British Isles (IViE corpus) site, Oxford University Phonetics Laboratory
Includes audio files and intonation transcriptions of seven British English dialects
http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/~esther/ivyweb/
Foreign accents in English, by linguistics classes at George Mason University.
Audio files of the same English text read by speakers from different native-language backgrounds, with IPA transcriptions of their English pronunciation and (in some cases) information about the native-language phonological system
http://classweb.gmu.edu/accent

(11) IPA resources: charts, fonts

(For transcription practice, see under (7))

The International Phonetic Association web site
Includes full and partial IPA charts, extended IPA symbols for transcribing disordered speech, links to downloadable audio files, and links to sites with IPA fonts
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/ipa.html
Companion web site to the Handbook of the IPA (CUP; site maintained at the University of Victoria)
Includes downloadable IPA charts in PDF format and downloadable audio files
http://web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/handbook.htm
SIL International's downloadable IPA fonts
http://scripts.sil.org/IPAhome
Phonetics font links from the Yamada Language Center, University of Oregon
http://babel.uoregon.edu/Yamada/fonts/phonetic.html
Information on displaying Unicode IPA fonts on web pages, by John Wells, University of London
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-unicode.htm
Graphical IPA Keypad, from the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre
A utility for incorporating IPA symbols into web pages as graphics files
http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/ipa/
The IPA in Braille, from a page by Claude Chaunier
http://clauchau.free.fr/L/phonalph.html

(12) Other useful teaching materials for phonetics/phonology

Online glossaries of phonetics/phonology/linguistics terms
- Glossary of linguistic terms, by J. Albert Bickford and David Tuggy, SIL Mexico (includes Spanish translations of linguistic terms)
  http://www.sil.org/mexico/ling/glosario/E005ai-Glossary.htm
- Glossary for "pronunciation" (phonetics/phonology) terms, from About.com
  http://esl.about.com/library/special/bl_phonemes_explained2.htm
[NEW] The World Atlas of Language Structures Online, edited by Martin Haspelmath, Matthew S. Dryer, David Gil, and Bernard Comrie
http://wals.info/

(13) Other useful resources for research in phonetics/phonology

Todd Bailey's Stress System Database: primary stress systems in 190 languages
http://www.cf.ac.uk/psych/subsites/ssdb/
Language universals archive, by Elena Filimonova and Franz Plank, Universitaet Konstanz
http://typo.uni-konstanz.de/archive/intro/
A list of shareware tools for speech analysis, compiled by the Internet Institute for Speech and Hearing
http://www.speechandhearing.net/laboratory/tools.html
Links: "Speech and science on the Web," by Dani Byrd, USC
http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~dbyrd/linklist.html