By Dr.

Trần Thị Thanh Diệu

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ORGANS OF SPEECH and TERMS

1. Organs of speech
The main organs of speech are located in the head and neck. Below is a diagram locating the various
parts: Articulator above the larynx: (Caùc boä phaän phaùt aâm phía treân thanh quaûn)

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 By Dr. Trần Thị Thanh Diệu
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2. Often used terms

2.1. Noun
 Nose = muõi
 Upper lip = moâi treân
 Lower lip = moâi döôùi
 Upper teeth = raêng haøm treân
 Lower teeth = raêng haøm döôùi
 Alveolar ridge = gôø / bôø raêng
 Tongue = löôõi: (Sub-divíion: tip, blade, front, back and roof: choùp löôõi, löôõi, maët, soáng, goác löôõi)
 Hard palate = ngaïc (cuùa / khaåu caùi / voøng mieäng) cöùng: “roof of the mouth”
 Soft palate = ngaïc (cuùa / khaåu caùi / voøng mieäng) meàm
 Velum = löôõi gaø
 Pharynx = haàu / hoïng: (is a tube which begins the larynx (about 7cm long: women, 8cm: men)
 Larynx = thanh quaûn

2.2. Adjective
 Labial refers to the lips.
 Dental refers to the teeth.
 Nasal refers to the nasal region.
 Oral refers to the mouth cavity.
 Alveolar refers to the ridge behind the top teeth in the mouth cavity.
 Palatal refers to the hard palate, or roof of the mouth.
 Velar refers to the soft palate or velum.
 Pharyngeal refers to the back of the throat, or throat cavity.
 Glottal refers to the glottis, the structure which closes and opens the vocal tract.
 Trachea is the windpipe.
 Oesophagus leads to the stomach.

3. Brief introduction of sounds in English

Sound: Phonetics, the word originates from Greek φωνή for sound/voice is about the physical production
and perception of sounds of speech. Phoneticians are more concerned with the sounds of speech than the
symbols (semiotics) used to represent them. The English language has about 13 vowel and 24 consonant
phonemes (depending upon dialect), which have multiple allophones. This differs from the lay definition
based on the Latin alphabet, where there are 21 consonants and 5 vowels (although sometimes y and w
are included as vowels). Sounds depend on the place of articulation and manner of articulation. Another
important factor in the sounds we make is voicing. This is the due to the vibration of the vocal chords. If
the vocal chords do not vibrate during the production of the sound, it is known as unvoiced, likewise, if
the vocal chords do vibrate, it is known as voiced. There are two main kinds of sound: Consonant and
Vowel. We can decide whether a particular sound was a vowel or a consonant on phonetic ground (in
relation to how much they obstructed the aiflow) or on phonological gorunds (vowels and consonants
having different distribution)