THEORETICAL PHONETICS

LECTURE 3. ARTICULATION.

Read the lecture.

ABSTRACT: This lecture describes articulation as the formation of a speech
sound by constriction of the air flow in the vocal organs at a particular place.
KEYWORDS (TERMS): Articulation; Passive articulators: the upper teeth,
the incisors; alveolar ridge; hard palate; the upper jaw. Active articulators:
pharynx; soft palate, or velum, the uvula; lips, the lower jaw; the tongue:
front, back, center, blade, tip or apex, rims.
This lecture covers the following issues:
1. Active articulators.
2. Passive articulators.
3. The position of the tongue in relation to the upper part of the mouth.
When the air stream passes through the larynx, it enters the long tubular
structure known as the vocal tract. Here it is affected by the action of several
mobile vocal organs – in particular, by the tongue, soft palate, and lips – which
work together to make a wide range of speech sounds. The production of different
speech sounds through the use of these organs is known as articulation.
In describing articulation, it is usual to distinguish between those parts of the
vocal tract that are immobile (‘passive articulators’) and those that can move
under the control of the speaker (‘active articulators’). Within the first category,
we need to recognize:
 The upper teeth, especially the incisors, which are used to form a
constriction for several sounds, such as the first sound of thin ;
 The ridge behind the upper teeth, known as the alveolar ridge, against which
many speech sounds are made, such as [t]; [s];
 The bony arch behind the alveolar ridge, known as the hard palate, which is
used in the articulation of a few sounds, such as the first sound you [j]
All other organs are mobile, to a greater or lesser extent.
Active articulators.
Pharynx. This is a long muscular tube leading from the laryngeal cavity to the
back part of the oral and nasal cavities. It can be narrowed or widened.
Soft palate, or velum This is a broad band of muscular tissue in the rear upper
region of the mouth, whose most noticeable feature is the uvula – an appendage
that hangs down at the back of the mouth.
In normal breathing, the soft palate is lowered, to permit air to pass easily
through the nose – though of course the mouth may be open as well. In speech,
there are three main positions that affect the quality of sounds:
1. The soft palate may be raised against the naso-pharyngeal wall, so that air
escapes only through the mouth. This produces a range of oral sounds – such
as all the vowels and most of the consonants of English.
2. The soft palate may be lowered to allow air to escape through mouth and
nose. This is the position required to produce nasalized vowels as in French
and other languages.
3. The soft palate may be lowered, but the mouth remains closed. In this case,
all the air is released through the nose, as in such nasal consonants as [m]
and [n].

Lips. The lips may be completely closed (as for [p] or [m], or held apart in varying
degrees to produce the different kinds of rounding or spreading used on vowels or
the friction of certain kinds of consonant.
Jaw The lower jaw permits a large degree of movement. It controls the size of the
gap between the teeth and strongly influences the position of the lips.
The tongue.
Of all the mobile organs, the tongue is the most versatile. It is capable of adopting
more shapes and positions than any other vocal organ, and thus enters into the
definition of a very large number of speech sounds: all vowels, and the majority of
consonants. The tongue is a three-dimensional muscle, the whole of which can
move in any of three main directions through the various ‘extrinsic’ muscles:
upwards/forwards (e.g. for [i]); upwards/backwards (e.g. for [u]); and
downwards/backwards (e.g. for [a]). In addition, several intrinsic’ muscles
determine the shape of the tongue, in any position. For example, some muscles
raise or lower the tongue tip, or move it to the left or the right. Others move the
tongue sideways, or form a groove along the middle (as is needed for the
articulation of [s]).
There are no obvious anatomical sections to the tongue, so to classify sounds
we use the position of the tongue in relation to the upper part of the mouth. The
main areas are best located when the tongue is at rest, with its tip behind the lower
teeth.

 front the part opposite the hard palate

 back the part opposite the soft palate
 center the part opposite where the hard and soft palate meet
 blade the tapering part opposite the teeth ridge
 tip or apex the front extremity

Questions and assignments:

1. What is articulation?
2. What parts of the vocal tract are called passive articulators?
3. What parts of the vocal tract are called active articulators?
4. Enumerate passive articulators.
5. Enumerate passive articulators.
6. Mark the vocal organs on the picture.

the hard palate

the alveolar ridge
the soft palate, or velum
the upper teeth (the incisors)
the uvula
the lips
the jaw
the tongue, its parts:
front rims
center blade
tip or apex back