Organs of Speech

Introductory Speech

You might think that speaking comes naturally

like seeing and hearing. Yet it is not something you
can do soon after you are born. Speech is not one
of the five senses, and it has to be learned during
the first few years of life. All babies cry in the first
few seconds or minutes after birth. Crying is the
first use of the vocal organs and the first step
towards speaking. Very soon babies start to coo,
gurgle and babble.
 Definition of Organs of Speech
 Organs of speech or articulators are part of the study of
articulatory phonetics. Articulator or speech organs are
those organs of our body which help us to produce
speech sounds. Interesting characteristics of theses
articulators is that though they are helping to produces
speech sounds, their primary job is to do something else
for our body than articulate speech sounds. Different
linguist defines speech organs in different ways.

 Famous linguist David Crystal in his Dictionary of

Linguistics and Phonetics, defines articulator as:

“…any specific part of the vocal apparatus involved in the

production of a sound is called an articulator”
 How it works
Unlike most animals that have the ability to
communicate through nonverbal means, most humans
produce distinct words to communicate with one
another. Speech is delivered with much speed;
typically, a person who wants to speak does not need
to think too much about what to say. When a person
speaks, his or her thoughts are immediately converted
into a spoken form as soon as the speech organs
receive a signal or instruction from the brain.
Therefore, speech occurs when a person’s brain and
speech organs work together, although the organs of
the respiratory system also play an important role in
this process, as the vocal.
David Crystal divides the articulators into two
different ways according to its mobility. They are:
 Active Articulators  Passive Articulators

A passive articulator is the articulator

An active articulator is the
articulator that does all or most of
the moving during a speech
gesture. The active articulator is
usually the lower lip or some part
of the tongue. These active
articulators are attached to the jaw
which is relatively free to move
when compared to parts of the
vocal tract connected directly to
the greater mass of the skull.
that makes little or no movement
during a speech gesture. The active
articulator moves towards the
relatively immobile passive
articulator. Passive articulators are
often directly connected to the skull.
Passive articulators include the upper
lip, the upper teeth, the various parts
of the upper surface of the oral cavity,
and the back wall of the pharynx.
The Articulators
 The Lungs
The airflow is by far the most
vital requirement for producing
speech sound, since all speech
sounds are made with some
movement of air. The lungs
provide the energy source for the
airflow. The lungs are the spongy
respiratory organs situated inside
the rib cage. They expand and
contract as we breathe in and out
air. The amount of air
accumulated inside our lungs
controls the pressure of the
airflow.
 The Larynx & the Vocal Folds

The larynx is colloquially known as the

voice box. It is a box-like small structure
situated in the front of the throat where
there is a protuberance. For this reason the
larynx is popularly called the Adam’s
apple. This casing is formed of cartilages
and muscles. It protects as well as houses
the trachea and the vocal folds .The vocal
folds are like a pair of lips placed
horizontally from front to back. They are
joined in the front but can be separated at
the back. The opening between them is
called glottis. 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.
The opening of the vocal folds takes different positions:
 Wide Apart: When the folds are wide apart they do not vibrate. The sounds produced
in such position are called breathed or voiceless sounds. For example: /p/f/θ/s/.

 Narrow Glottis: If the air is passed through the glottis when it is narrowed then there
is an audible friction. Such sounds are also voiceless since the vocal folds do not
vibrate. For example, in English /h/ is a voiceless glottal fricative sound.

 Tightly Closed: The vocal folds can be firmly pressed together so that the air cannot
pass between them. Such a position produces a glottal stop / ʔ / (also known as
glottal catch, glottal plosive).

 Touched or Nearly Touched: The major role of the vocal folds is that of a vibrator in
the production of speech. The folds vibrate when these two are touching each other or
nearly touching.. In English all the vowel sounds and the consonants /v/z/m/n/are
voiced.
 Touched or Nearly Touched

The major role of the vocal folds

is that of a vibrator in the
production of speech. The folds
vibrate when these two are
touching each other or nearly
touching. The pressure of the air
coming from the lungs makes
them vibrate. This vibration of the
folds produces a musical note
called voice. And sounds
produced in such manner are
called voiced sounds. In English
all the vowel sounds and the
consonants /v/z/m/n/are
voiced.
 The Pharynx: The pharynx lies between the mouth and the food passage, that is, just
above the larynx. It is just about 7cm long in the case of women and 8cm long in the
case of men.

 The Roof of the Mouth: The roof of the mouth is considered as a major speech organ.
It is divided into three parts:

 The Alveolar Ridge/Teeth Ridge: The alveolar ridge is situated immediately after the
upper front teeth. Some alveolar sounds in English include: /t/d/.

 The Hard Palate: The hard palate is the concave part of the roof of the mouth. It is
situated on the middle part of the roof.

 The Velum or Soft Palate: The lower part of the roof of the mouth is called soft palate..
When it is lowered, the air stream from the lungs has access to the nasal cavity. When
it is raised the passage to the nasal cavity is blocked. For example: /k/g/.
 The Lips: The lips also play an important role in the
matter of articulation. They can be pressed together or
brought into contact with the teeth. The consonant
sounds which are articulated by touching two lips each
other are called bilabial sounds. For example, /p/ and
/b/ are bilabial sounds in English. Whereas, the sounds
which are produced with lip to teeth contact are called
labiodental sounds. In English there are two labiodental
sounds: /f/ and /v/.

Another important thing about the lips is that they can take
different shapes and positions. Therefore, lip-rounding is
considered as a major criterion for describing vowel
sounds. The lips may have the following positions:
 Rounded: When we pronounce a vowel, our lips can be
rounded, a position where the corners of the lips are brought
towards each other and the lips are pushed forwards. And the
resulting vowel from this position is a rounded one. For
example, /ə ʊ/.
 Spread: The lips can be spread. In this position the lips are
moved away from each other (i.e. when we smile). For
example, in English /i: /is a long vowel with slightly spread
lips.

 Neutral: Again, the lips can be neutral, a position where the

lips are not noticeably rounded or spread. For example, in
English /ɑ: / is a long vowel with neutral lips.

.
 The Teeth: The teeth are also very much helpful in producing
various speech sounds. The sounds which are made with the tongue
touching the teeth are called dental sounds. Some examples of
dental sounds in English include: /θ/ð/.

 The Tongue: The tongue is divided into five parts:

a. The tip: It is the extreme end of the tongue.
b. The blade: It lies opposite to the alveolar ridge.
c. The front: It lies opposite to the hard palate.
d. The back: It lies opposite to the soft palate or velum.
e. The root : It lies at the end of the tongue.
 The Jaws: Some phoneticians consider the jaws as
articulators, since we move the lower jaw a lot at the
time of speaking. But it should be noted that the jaws
are not articulators in the same way as the others.
The main reason is that they are incapable of making
contact with other articulators by themselves.

 The Nose and the Nasal Cavity: The nose and its
cavity may also be considered as speech organs. The
sounds which are produced with the nose are called
nasal sounds. Some nasal sounds in English include:
/m/n/ŋ/.
 TheUvula: At the end of the soft palate there is a
piece of fresh that dangles over the pharyngeal
passage. It is called the Uvula. It can be vibrated
to produce uvular sounds.
Table of Possible and Impossible Articulations

The following table makes a distinction between

articulations that are actually used contrastively in
the world's languages, articulations that are not
used but are possible, and articulations that are
impossible. In some cases, articulations marked
with "***" are actually physically impossible and in
some cases "***" marks articulations that are too
difficult to be considered serious possibilities for
linguistic use.
 Active Articulator

Lower Tongue Tongue Front of Back of Root of Vocal

Passive Articulator Lip Tip Blade Tongue Tongue Tongue Folds
Upper
bilabial --- --- *** *** *** ***
Lip
Upper Front labio- (apico-) (lamino-)
--- *** *** ***
Teeth dental dental dental
Alveolar (apico-) (lamino-)
--- --- *** *** ***
Ridge alveolar alveolar
Hard palato-
*** retroflex Palatal *** *** ***
Palate alveolar
Soft
*** *** *** --- velar *** ***
Palate
Uvula
*** *** *** *** uvular *** ***

Pharynx
*** *** *** *** *** pharyngeal ***
Wall

Vocal
*** *** *** *** *** *** glottal
Folds
In the above table:-
*** means not a possible articulation
--- means not found in any language (so far)

From the above table, it can be seen that places of

articulation are completely specified by both the active
and the passive articulator. Some common articulatory
distinctions are not completely captured by
specification of the passive articulator alone.

Note that, with the exception of the lower lip and the
vocal folds, the majority of active articulators are
different parts of the tongue.
 Importance of Organs of Speech

Speech organs are one of the most important subject in

the study of phonetics. The scope of organs of speech
is as important as the scope of phonetics. It helps us to
understand the articulators which are involved in the
production of sounds or phones. A clear conception
about articulators can change the style of any
individual’s pronunciation. The knowledge helps a
native more accurate in his first language (mother
tongue). Moreover, it helps a person to be more native
like in his or her second language. Overall, a well
rounded knowledge of organs of speech is not only
necessary for the students of linguistics but also for the
general people.
 Conclusion
Producing different speech sounds depends on the
movement of speech organs. It is essential to know
the movement and the placement of each organ to
produce particular sounds. The above descriptions
and functions of the organs of speech help a
person to produce the consonants and vowels in a
right way.