LESSON 4: PARTS OF THE VOCAL ORGAN
ARTICULATORS
◐ Lips – it is a visible body part at
the mouth of humans and many
animals. They serve for creating
different sounds mainly the
labial, bilabial, and labio-dental.
◐ Teeth – it is a hard, calcified
structure found in the jaws in
front of the mouth. They are also
responsible for creating sounds
mainly the labio-dental (which
the tongue touching the front teeth
| e.g., /f/ and /v/ and lingua-dental
(e.g., /ð/ and /Ø/).
◐ Tongue – it is the most
important articulator of speech.
Its wide variety of possible
movements, it assists in forming
the sound of speech.
◐ Alveolar Ridge – it is a
structure that lies directly behind
the upper front teeth. It is the
bumpy area which articulates with
the tongue for the articulation of
alveolar sounds. It is also
considered as an important
structure in speech.
◐ Hard Palate – is a thin
horizontal bony plate of the skull,
the concave part of the roof of the
mouth. The interaction between
the tongue and the hard palate
is essential in the formation of
certain speech sounds.
(notably /t/, /d/, and /j/).
◐ Velum (Soft Palate) – the lower
part of the roof of the mouth. The
back of the tongue articulates at
this area to form velar sound. Its
main function is to separate the
nasal cavity from the oral cavity
in to produce the oral speech
sounds.
◐ Uvula – it functions in tandem
with the back of the throat, the
palate and air coming up from the
lungs to create a number of
guttural and other sounds. It is
used to articulate a range of
consonant sounds known as
uvular consonants.
PHARYNX
◐ The part of the throat that is
behind the mouth and nasal cavity
and above the esophagus and the
larynx, or the tubes going down to
the stomach and the lungs. The air
passes through here from the
lungs into the mouth to produce a
sound.
LUNGS
◐ It provide the energy source for
the airflow. The airflow is by far the
most vital requirement for
producing speech sound since all
speech sounds are made with
some movement of air.
LARYNX
◐ It is an organ in the top of the
neck of tetrapods involved in
breathing, producing sound, and
protecting the trachea against food
aspirations. It is commonly called
 LESSON 4: PARTS OF THE VOCAL ORGAN
the voice box. It houses the vocal
folds, and manipulates pitch and
volume, which is essential for
phonation.

VOCAL CORDS (VOCAL FOLDS)

◐ Are the folds of tissues in the

throat that are key in creating
sounds through vocalization. The
size of vocal cords affects pitch of
voice. It is open when breathing
and vibrating for speech or singing,
the folds are controlled via the
various nerve. Vocal cords vibrate
during the articulation of vowels
and of many consonants. It is
responsible for voice and
voicelessness of sounds. When
there is no vibration then that is
voiceless sound.