CHAPTER II - THE PRODUCTION OF SPEECH

1. The Speech Chain

Any manifestation of language by means of speech is a result of highly complicated series of
events as shown in the process of communication. For example a man looks out of the window and
see the rain coming down, he would say, "It‟s raining". Thus, such simple sentences as It's raining
involves a number of activities on the part of the speaker. In the first place, the linguistic
formulation of the sentence will take place in the brain. The first stage may, therefore, be said to be
psychological. The nervous system transmits this message to the so - called "organs of speech"
and they in turn produce a particular pattern of sound, the second important stage may thus be said
to be articulatory or physiological. The movement of our organs of speech will create
disturbances in the air. These sound waves constitute the third stage in the speech chain, the
physical or acoustic. Since communication generally requires a listener as well as a speaker, these
stages will be reversed at the listening end: the reception of the sound waves by the ears and the
transmission of the information along the nervous system to the brain where the linguistic
interpretation of the message takes place.
2. The Speech Mechanism

Figure 1. The articulators Figure 2. Inside larynx seen from above

2.1. The lungs
The immediate source of speech sounds in the human speech mechanism has developed and
perfected in the process of the historical development of man. The most usual source of energy for
our vocal activities is provided by an air stream expelled from the lungs. Our utterances are,
therefore, largely shaped by the physical limitations imposed by the capacity of our lungs and the
muscles which control the action. We are obliged to pause in articulation in order to refill our
lungs with the air.
2.2. The larynx
The air stream provided by the lungs undergoes important modifications before it acquires the
quality of a speech sound. First of all, in the windpipe, it passes through the larynx containing the
so - called vocal cords. The larynx is situated in the upper part of the wind - pipe. Its forward
position is prominent in the neck below the chin and is commonly called the "Adam's apple".

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2.2.1. Vocal cords
Housed from back to front are the vocal cords: two thick flaps of muscle rather like a pair
of lips. The action of the vocal cords consists in their role as a vibrator set in motion by lung air -
the production of voice (or phonotation). We are able by means of vibrations in pressure from the
lungs to modify the size of the puff of air which escapes at each vibration of the vocal cords; in
other words, we can alter the amplitude of the vibration, with the corresponding change of
loudness of the sound heard by a listener. The normal human being soon learns to manipulate his
speech mechanism so that most delicate changes of pitch and loudness are achieved. Control of his
mechanism is, however, very largely exercised by the air.
2.2.2. Glottis
We use the word glottis to refer to the opening between the vocal cords. If the vocal cords
are apart we say that the glottis is open; if they are pressed together we say that the glottis is
closed. According to Peter Roach, there would be four easily recognizable states of the vocal
cords:

Figure 3. Four different states of the glottis (adapted from Peter Roach)
a- Wide apart
The vocal cords are wide apart for normal breathing and usually during voiceless
consonants like /p/, /f/, /t/, /s/, /k/, etc.
b- Narrow glottis
If air is passed through the glottis when it is narrowed, the result is a fricative sound for
which the symbol is /h/. The sound is not very different from a whispered vowel. It is called a
voiceless glottal fricative.
c- Position for vocal cord vibration
When the edges of the vocal cords are touching or nearly touching, air passing through the
glottis will usually cause vibration which results in voiced sound, for example: /b/, /d/, /g/, etc. The
movement is not at all like the vibration of the string of a musical instrument; what usually
happens is that air is pressed up from the lungs and this air pushes the vocal cords apart so that a
little air escapes. As the air flows quickly past the edges of the vocal cords, the cords are brought

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together again by two forces acting together: firstly, the vocal cords are trying to return to the
shape and position they were in before they were pushed apart, and secondly, the rapid movement
of the air through the narrow glottis causes the edges of the vocal cords to be drawn together. This
opening and closing happens very rapidly and is repeated regularly - around one or two hundred
times per second in a man‟s voice and more in women‟s and children‟s voices.
d- Vocal cords tightly closed.
The vocal cords can be firmly pressed so that air can not pass between them. When this
happens in speech we call it a glottal stop or glottal plosive.
The air - stream, having passed through the larynx, is now subjected to further modifications
according to the shape assumed by the upper cavities of the pharynx and mouth, and according to
whether the nasal cavity is brought into. Use or not. These cavities function as the principal
resonators of the note produced in the larynx.
2.3. The pharyngeal cavity
The pharyngeal cavity extends from the top of the larynx, past the epiglottis and the root of the
tongue to the rear of the soft palate.
2.4. Oral cavity
2.4.1. Roof of the mouth
It is convenient for our purposes to divide the roof of the mouth into three parts: moving
backwards from the upper teeth, first, the alveolar or teeth - ridge which can be clearly felt behind
the teeth; secondly, the bony ridge which forms the hard palate and finally, the soft palate (which
is capable of being raised or lowered), and at extremity of which is the uvula. All these parts can
be easily observed by means of a mirror. The main divisions will be referred to as: dental, alveolar,
hard palate, and soft palate.
2.4.2. Tongue
The tongue has no physical divisions like the palate. It is, however, convenient for the purposes of
phonetics to imagine the surface of the tongue to be divided into the parts (the tip, the blade, the
front, the middle and the back) corresponding to the roof of the mouth. The front is opposite the
hard palate. The back is opposite the soft palate.

Figure 4: Parts of the tongue

2.4.3. Lips
The lips constitute the final part of the mouth cavity. The shape which they assume will affect very
considerably the shape of the total cavity. They may form a complete obstruction to the air -

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stream, which may be momentarily prevented from escaping at all or may be directed through the
nose by lowering of the soft palate. They may be rounded or unrounded.

Recommended Reading:
Asher (1994 : 3051 -3053 ); Crystal (1994 : 124 -132); Lederfoged (1982 : 113 -133 ); Nesterov
(1976 : 17 - 19 ).
ASSIGNMENT 2
I- Questions for Discussion
1- How many stages are there in the speech chain?
2- Where does the most usual source of energy for our vocal activities come from?
3- What role do the cavities play in the production of sounds?
4- How important are the vocal cords? What is the shape of the vocal cords like when we produce
voiced sounds?
5- What kind of sound is produced when the soft palate is raised? Lowered?
6- What are the important parts of the roof of the mouth?
7- What are the important parts of the tongue?
8- How are the lips important in sound production?
II- True /False: Decide whether the following are true or false:
1 - It is said that there are four stages in the speech chain: a - psychological, b- articulatory, c-
acoustic, and d- interpretive.
2 - The larynx, which is situated in the upper part of the windpipe, contains the so-called vocal
cords.
3 - The action of the vocal cords consists in their role as a vibrator set in motion by lung air.
4 - When the edges of the vocal cords are touching or nearly touching, the air passing through the
glottis will usually cause vibration, which produces voiced sounds.
5 - When the vocal cords are wide apart, the sounds produced are voiced sounds.
6 - Nasal, oral and pharyngeal cavities function as the principal resonators.
7 - The lip shape is important in producing either rounded or unrounded vowels.
8 - The main division of the roof of the mouth are dental, alveolar, hard palate, and soft palate.
III- Multiple Choice: Choose the best answer
1-Which of the following is not a stage of the speech chain?
A- psychological B- articulatory C- acoustic D- synthetic
2-The . . . . . . . . . . . . . provide the most usual source of energy.
A- lungs B- ears C- eyes D- lips
3-The larynx is situated in the upper part of the . . . . . . . . .

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A- mouth B- windpipe C- eye D- ear
4- When the vocal cords are touching or nearly touching, the sounds they produced might be:
A- /p, t and k/ B- /s, k and t/ C- /p, s and k/ D- /a:, ɪ and i:/
5-The oral, nasal and laryngeal cavities function as………….of the note produced in the larynx.
A-vibrators B- resonators C- joiner D- filler
6- Which of the following is/ are………the articulators above the larynx?
A- The lungs B- The stomach C- The tongue D- The eyes
7- The… is between the teeth ridge and the soft palate.
A- hard palate B- tongue C- nose D- lungs
8- We use the word glottis to refer to the opening between . . . . . . . . .
A- the eyes B- the ears C- the vocal cords D- the mouth
9- The ….. can be rounded or unrounded.
A- vibrators B- resonators C- joiners D- fillers
10- Which of the following states of the vocal cords is important in the production of vibration?
A- wide apart B- touching or nearly touching each other
C- narrow glottis D- half apart

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