Phonetics

The Sound of ‘Th’: A Rare Phoneme

The "th" sounds in "think" and "that" feel utterly ordinary to English speakers, but they are linguistic superstars on the…

3 months ago

The Problem with Voice-to-Text

Ever dictated a simple message only to have your phone produce utter nonsense? The frustration is real, but the reasons…

3 months ago

Why Can’t Your Dog Say ‘Pizza’?

Ever wonder why your dog can't just ask for a slice of pizza? The answer lies not in their intelligence,…

3 months ago

The Sound of a Vowel: What Are Formants?

Why does an 'ee' sound so different from an 'oo', even when sung at the exact same pitch? The secret…

3 months ago

The Internet’s New Accent

You know that robotic, strangely chipper text-to-speech voice narrating countless online videos? It’s more than just a convenient feature; it's…

3 months ago

The Lombard Effect: Shouting to Be Heard

Ever found yourself practically shouting into your phone on a busy street? That involuntary impulse to raise your voice in…

3 months ago

The Pitch of Power: A Leader’s Voice

Beyond the words themselves, our brains rapidly process the *music* of speech—its pitch, rhythm, and tone—to make snap judgments about…

3 months ago

The Mechanical Mouth: A History of Speech Synthesis

From the bellows-powered talking heads of the 18th century to the neural networks that voice our smart assistants, the quest…

3 months ago

The Tongue’s Thousand-Word Marathon

Speaking feels effortless, but it's a high-speed athletic event happening right in your mouth. Discover the incredible biomechanics of articulation,…

3 months ago

The Caloric Cost of Speech

We often think of language as purely mental, but speaking is a physical act that burns calories. This post explores…

3 months ago

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