Why Y Is a Vowel Through Physics (and so is W) episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 1, 2026 · 19 MIN

Why Y Is a Vowel Through Physics (and so is W)

from Be Smart. · host Joe Hanson

We’re on PATREON! ►► Join the community https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Human language is an incredible thing: a combination of mouth sounds that we combine into words, sentences, poems, and constitutions. They carry meaning, emotion, and power. But underneath it all, language is really just physics. In this episode, we explore how physics is at the core of every syllable, starting with the first word most of us ever speak. Try the Pink Trombone vocal simulator! - https://experiments.withgoogle.com/pink-trombone References: https://sites.google.com/view/vowel-sounds-physics/home SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub 0:00 Your voice is just physics 1:16 Some basics of linguistics 2:27 There are more than 5 vowels? 4:49 The physics of the vocal tract 7:04 Resonance and sound filters 8:47 How vowels are an acoustic illusion 11:25 Finding vowels in surprising places 13:09 A touching moment 13:45 The extra bits ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Jaap Westera Millennial Glacier Mark Littlehale Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Eric Meer Dustin Karen Haskell Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re on PATREON! ►► Join the community https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Human language is an incredible thing: a combination of mouth sounds that we combine into words, sentences, poems, and constitutions. They carry meaning, emotion, and power. But underneath it all, language is really just physics. In this episode, we explore how physics is at the core of every syllable, starting with the first word most of us ever speak. Try the Pink Trombone vocal simulator! - https://experiments.withgoogle.com/pink-trombone References: https://sites.google.com/view/vowel-sounds-physics/home SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub 0:00 Your voice is just physics 1:16 Some basics of linguistics 2:27 There are more than 5 vowels? 4:49 The physics of the vocal tract 7:04 Resonance and sound filters 8:47 How vowels are an acoustic illusion 11:25 Finding vowels in surprising places 13:09 A touching moment 13:45 The extra bits ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Jaap Westera Millennial Glacier Mark Littlehale Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Salih Arslan Baerbel Winkler Robert Young Eric Meer Dustin Karen Haskell Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why Y Is a Vowel Through Physics (and so is W)

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We’re on PATREON! ►► Join the community https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Human language is an incredible thing: a combination of mouth sounds that we combine into words, sentences, poems, and...

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