HOW THE SPEECH ORGANS WORK IN

ENGLISH

CHAPTER TWO
 SPEECH MECHANISM
• In all languages we speak with air from the lungs.
• We draw it into the lungs quickly and we release it slowly and then interfere with
its passage in various ways and at various places.
 VOCAL CORDS
• The air pushed out by the lungs up through the trachea (or windpipe) to the larynx which contains
vocal cords.

• Vocal folds (vocal cords) are two elastic bands of muscle found in the larynx, which take two basic
positions.

1. When the vocal folds are spread apart, the air from the lungs passes between them unimpeded. Sounds
produced in this way are described as voiceless (− V), like /s/.

2. When the vocal folds are drawn together, the

air from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart
as it passes through, creating a vibration effect.
Sounds produced in this way are described as
voiced (+ V), like /m/.
EXERCISE VOICED AND VOICELESS SOUNDS
• The distinction can be felt physically if you place a fingertip gently on the top of
your Adam’s apple (i.e. that part of your larynx you can feel in your neck below
your chin), then produce sounds such as Z-Z-Z-Z or V-V-V-V. Because these are
voiced sounds, you should be able to feel some vibration. Keeping your fingertip
in the same position, now make the sounds S-S-S-S or F-F-F-F. Because these are
voiceless sounds, there should be no vibration.

• Another trick is to put a finger in each ear, not too far, and produce the voiced
sounds (e .g. Z-Z-Z-Z) to hear and feel some vibration, whereas no vibration will
be heard or felt if you make voiceless sounds (e.g. S-S-S-S) in the same way.
 VOCAL CORDS
• Glottis is a gap between vocal cords through which the air can pass freely. The glottis is
considered to be in open state when the folds are apart, and when the folds are pressed
together the glottis is considered to be in close state
• Glottal stop: air from the lungs is compressed below the closed vocal cords and then bursts
out with an explosion.
• If the vocal cords are brought together quite gently, the air from the lungs will be able to
force them apart for a moment, but then they will return to the closed position; then the air
will force them apart again, and they will close again, and so on.
• This is a very rapid process and may take
place as many as 800 times per second.

• Immediately above the larynx is a space;

behind the tongue and reaching up towards the
nasal cavity: this space is called the pharynx.
 THE PALATE
• The palate forms the roof of the mouth and separates the mouth cavity from the nose (or nasal)
cavity.
• It consists of three main parts: the soft palate at the back, the hard palate in the middle, and the
alveolar ridge, just behind the teeth.

1. Alveolar Ridge is that part of the gums situated between the upper front teeth and the hard palate.
➢ Sounds which are made with the tongue touching or close to the alveolar ridge are called alveolars.
These include: /d/, /t/, /s/, /z/, /n/ and /l/.

2. The hard palate is the highest part of the palate, between the alveolar ridge and the beginning of the
soft palate.
➢ Sounds that are made with the hard palate are called palatal sounds, for example /j/.

3. The soft palate or velum is the soft portion of the roof of the mouth, lying behind the hard palate. The
velum performs two important roles in speech:
• The back part of tongue touches the velum in order to make the sounds /k/, /g/, and /ŋ/.
• Normally during speech, the velum is in its raised position, blocking off airflow through the nose. But
during some sounds (the nasal sounds, such as /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/) it lowers and allows air to flow
through the nose.
➢ Sounds that are made with the velum are called velar sounds.
 THE TEETH
• The teeth are immoveable organs of speech.
• The upper front teeth are more important than the lower front teeth in the production of sounds.
• The sounds which are made with the tongue touching the teeth are called dental (e.g. /θ/ and /ð/)
and labiodentals (e.g. /f/ and /v/) sounds.
 THE TONGUE
• The tongue is the most important articulator in the organs of speech because it has the greatest
variety of movement.
• Tongue is divided into four parts namely tip, blade, front, back and root. There are no clear
dividing lines within its structure.
a. The lip: is the extreme end of the tongue.
b. The blade: lies opposite to the alveolar ridge.
c. The front: lies opposite to the hard palate.
d. The back: lies opposite to the soft palate or velum.
• The tip and blade are particularly mobile and they can touch the whole of the lips, the teeth, the
alveolar ridge and the hard palate.
 THE LIPS
• The two lips (upper and lower) are important in speech. They can take up various different
positions:
• They can be pressed together (when we produce the sounds /p/, /b/),
• They can be brought into contact with the teeth (as in /f/, /v/),
• They can be rounded to produce the lip-shape for vowels like /u:/.

• The consonant sounds which are articulated by touching two lips each other are called
bilablal sounds.
• Whereas, the sounds which are produced with lip to teeth contact are called labiodental
sounds.
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