The Speaking Process

There are four stages involved in the speaking process. This includes breathing, phonation,
resonation, and articulation.

4 Stages in the Speaking Process

Stage 1: Breathing Stage

Breathing- is concerned with maintaining life, is secondarily a force assisting in vocalization.

2 Phases of Breathing

Inhalation- Involves the flow of the air into the lungs.

Exhalation

Controlled Exhalation- this involves the flow of the air out from the lungs. The abdominal
muscles contact causing pressure on the diaphragm which then returns to its original dome shape. The
air is thus forced out of the lungs is a controlled stream.

Lungs and Diaphragm- principal bodily structures involved in the breathing process.

Lungs- serves as the reservoir of air.

Diaphragm- important breathing muscle gives pressure to the breath stream.

As you inhale, the lungs increases in volume; at the same time, the diaphragm contacts
and flattens out. The diaphragm descends causing the abdomen to expand.

In speech, correct breathing can be attained by the following helpful activities:

1. Inhale deeply and/or more rapidly.

The amount of air used in speech is not large but a reasonable amount of air is needed to
give strength to the voice.
Vocal Power- comes from behind the breath stream. This pressure in turn, comes from the
muscles in the abdomen and between the ribs.
2. Maintain a steady pressure of air as you talk.
Steady pressure- means that the voice is not weaving or jerky, not booming forth in the first
part of the sentence and not fading into inaudibility as the end comes.
3. Maintain an adequate voice reserve.
You must not keep on talking until you run out of air, but smoothly along the way refill your
lungs with short inhalations.

Stage 2: Phonation Stage

Phonation- takes place when voice is produced in speaking as the expiratory air stream from
the lungs goes up through the trachea or windpipe to the larynx
-this is the production of the sounds due to the vibration of the vocal cords.
- vibration is transmitted to the air columns as sound waves which we hear- the voice.
Larynx- which is the principal organ of phonation that is found at the top of the trachea.
-its protuberance is known as “Adam’s apple”
 Vocal Cords- attached to the walls of the larynx.
A pair of bundles of muscles and cartilages, which open and close at various degrees.
Silent breathing- vocal cords open wide and let air in and out without hindrance.
Whispering- They open partly, let out large amounts of air and produce only frictional
sounds.
In speech- the vocal cords come together under tension and the controlled air pressure
from the lungs cause them to vibrate.
Note: These vocal cords make possible the voiceless and voiced sounds of vowels and
consonants and the various pitches of the voice in speaking and singing.

Stage 3: Resonation Stage

In phonation, the voice produced is weak.
It only becomes strong and rich when amplified and modified by the human resonators.
Resonation- process of voice amplification and modification. This determines the volume of the voice
which we distinguish as loudness or softness as well as the quality which we distinguished as tone color.
Human Resonators
Pharynx- is the common passageway of air and food. It is located behind the nose and mouth and
includes the cavity at the back of the tongue.
Nasal Cavity (Nose)- consists of internal and external portions
a. External Nose
Nostrils- called the opening of the external nose.
b. Nasal cavity- the internal nose. It is the cavity directly behind the external nose through which
the air passes on its way to the pharynx.
Septum- is the structure from the bridge of the nose back though the internal nose.
Oral Cavity (Mouth)- serves as an important resonator as well as the center for the formation of
specific sounds.

Stage 4: Articulation Stage

Articulation- occurs when the tone produced at the larynx is changed into specific sounds.
This refers to the production of individual sounds (vowels, consonants, diphthongs) and syllables.
This is a result of the movement of the articulators towards the points of articulation.
Human Articulators
Lips and jaw- opening and closing of the mouth is made by combined movements of these two.
Lips- is highly lexible and can be moved into numerous positions essential to articulation.
Teeth- serve as important surfaces in articulation.
Hard palate or dome- the bony roof of the mouth serves as an important surface against which the
tongue makes contact in the production of the sound like (l).
Soft palate or velum- is a flexible curtain attached along the rear border of the hard palate.
Tongue- is a flexible organ consisting of muscles, glands and connective tissues.