SPECIALIZATION OF THE HUMAN SPEECH APPARATUS
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Language, as defined in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, is system of
sounds, words, patterns, etc. used by humans to communicate thoughts and feelings
in a particular group or nation. System in this definition, according to Dardjowidjojo
(2003), refers to the existence of elements related to one another which at last form a
hierarchy constituent. In phonology, for example, those elements are the sounds
existing in a language. Those sounds, then, form a system.
Referring to the above definition, especially sounds, we may not realize that
using a language is a completely difficult skill. The speech acts which are produced in
the form of sounds through the air are actually very complex. We, then, will feel the
difficulty if we hear someone talking in a foreign language and we do not know or
understand the language well. In fact we have to try to analyze the speech acts
produced in order that we can understand the meaning.
One difficulty is that when someone talks, he will produce many words. It is
estimated that in using English, a speaker will produce about 125-180 words per
minute (Gleason and Ratner in Dardjowidjojo), while an Indonesian speaker will
produce around 80-110 words per minute (Dardjowidjojo, 2003). Viewed from the
the amounts of sounds speeched, it is found that when someone speaks he will speech
out between 1500-1800 sounds per minute. The problem is how we can catch, and
then analyze the sounds speeched out in the so called speedy.
Another difficulty is that sounds in a speech act are not speeched one by one
or separately, but they seem speeched out unitedly with other sounds. We, the
listeners, are hoped to be able to separate which one follows which one. When the
sentence Ed had edited it is pronounced normally, it will sound strange and funny,
/ƐdhædƐditidit/, but the native speakers still can interprete it well.
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The voice of a woman, a man, and a child is also different. A man’s voice will
be ‘hard’, while a woman’s will be ‘high’. The differences, of course, will arise
different voices, eventhough they pronounce the same word. The word sleep, which is
pronounced by a man, a woman, and a child, will sound differently. However, we as
the listeners still can interprete it as the same word. How can we do it? To answer the
question, we, then, need to know how the speech acts are produced.
CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
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A. Human and Animal Language
All creatures have a communication system that may make them live in a
group, in a subgroup, and make them cooperate among others (Nababan, 1992). Not
only humans, the animals also have the communication system, called language. It is,
then, questioned whether the languages used by the humans and animals are the same
or not.
Dardjowidjojo (2003) states that there are some special characteristics which
differentiate the humans language from the animals one, namely:
1. Human language has structure-dependence. One cluster of words in a sentence
is not forming an unordered sequence, but one is dependent on the others.
2. Both the language and the users are creative. The users of the language are
creative because they have ability to understand and produce new speech.
While, the language is creative because its structure allows the users to
manipulate the language in accordance with the existing rules.
3. The language can be used to express past phenomenon, future phenomenon,
even imaginary phenomenon.
4. Language has double structure, namely: deep structure and surface structure.
5. The language is acquired continually, passing on from one generation to the
others.
6. The relationship between the words and the thing, action, or situation they
refer to is arbitrary.
7. Language has double pattern. It means the speeches mean nothing unless they
are linked together.
8. The language has semantic concept. When a name is given, the name will
always refers to the concept of the thing.
B. Human of Speech Apparatus
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The source of the sound is from the lungs. The air, pumped by the lungs
through the larynx, goes out through the mouth or the nose. During the process, the
air sometimes is blocked by one of the mouth parts until it is released out. The
blocked air, then, produces sound.
The air pumped out by the lungs passes through a place called glottis. This air,
then, goes through a tube called pharynx. There are two ways in the pharynx: first,
through the nasal cavity and second, through the oral cavity. The sound produced
through the nose termed nasal, while the sound produced through the mouth termed
oral. For the detail, it is shown in the following pictures.
If the human head were cut in half down the midline, the organs of speech would
appear like this:
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There are two parts in oral cavity: the upper part and lower part. Those parts
are described as the followings.
1. Lips: upper lip and lower lip. These lips can be joined to produce sound called
labial, for example [p], [b], [m].
2. Teeth: the upper teeth can touch the lower lip to produce labiodentals sound,
like [f], [v]. The upper teeth can also touch the tip of the tongue to produce
dental sound, like [t], [d] in Indonesian.
3. Alveolar: this part is at the back of upper teeth ridge. The tip of the tongue can
be put on the alveolar to produce alveolar sound, like [t], [d] in English.
4. Hard palate: a part in the upper mouth cavity, in backside of the alveolar. The
front tongue can be put on this part to produce alveopalatal sound, like [c], [j]
in Indonesian.
5. Soft palate or velum: this part is at the back side of the upper mouth cavity.
The back part of the tongue can be put on this part to produce velar sound,
like [k], [g] in Indonesian.
6. Uvula: a soft bone existing on the tip of the upper jaw. Uvula can move to
block or open the tract to the nose. When uvula does not touch the upper part
of the larynx, the air expelled through the nose and it produces nasal sound.
On the other hand, when uvula touches the larynx, the air expelled through the
mouth and it produces oral sound.
7. Tongue: a part which is located in the lower jaw, next to the lips and the teeth.
There are some parts of tongue, namely: tip of the tongue, front tongue, and
back tongue. These parts can be moved forward, backward, upward, or
downward to produce certain sounds.
8. Vocal cords: a couple of membranes on the larynx. These membranes can be
joined, spaced, or widely opened.
9. Pharynx: an air tract to the mouth cavity or the nose cavity.
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10. Nose cavity: a cavity for nasal sounds.
11. Mouth cavity: a cavity for oral sounds.
Figure : The upper part of the larynx
C. How Speech Sounds are Produced
As stated above that the sounds produced are grouped into nasal and oral
sounds. As an addition, the sounds can also be grouped into consonant and vocal
sounds. The differences are on the way of producing them.
1. Consonant sounds
The sounds are produced by using the mouth parts like tongue, lips, and teeth.
These parts are called articulators. There three things should be considered in
producing consonant sounds. First, places of articulation, places on which the
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articulators are located, joined, or put. When the upper lip and lower lip are joined,
they will produce bilabial sounds. Sounds [p], [b], and [m] are the examples. The
difference between the two first sounds and the last sound is on the sound tract they
pass through: [p] and [b] pass through the mouth and they are called oral sounds,
while [m] passes through the nose and it is called nasal sound. Below are the
diagrams showing the processes.
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Second factor is the way of articulation, how the air is expelled from the
lungs. When the air is blocked in the mouth tightly, then it is expelled wholly, the
sound will result plosive sound or stop sound. Sounds [p], [b], [t], and [d] are the
examples.
The third factor is the vocal cords status. As stated above that the vocal cords
can be joined, spaced, or widely opened. When we are not speaking, the vocal cords
will be widely open. When we produce sounds [p], [t], and [k], the vocal cords are
quite open, but they are not voiced. Because the vocal cords are voiceless, the socalled sounds belong to voiceless sounds. However, when the vocal cords are quite
closed and the air pushes them to get open, then there will be voice on the vocal
cords. Therefore, the sounds produced with the vibrating vocal cords are called
voiced sounds.
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Figure : Places of articulation
2. Vocal sounds
It is different from consonant sounds, the vocal sounds are produced based on
the following criterion: (1) low or high tongue, (2) the tongue position, (3) the tongue
tension, (4) the lips form. The upward and downward moves of the tongue will
change the size of mouth cavity. When the tongue is high, the space through which
the air passes will be narrow. The sound produced will also be high. When the tongue
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is low, the mouth cavity will be wider, the lower the tongue, the wider the mouth
cavity will be. The diagram below shows sounds /i/, /e/, and /Ɛ/.
The tongue can also be folded forward or backward. The front and back
positions of the tongue will also play an important role in producing vocal sounds.
When it is combined with the high and the low tongue, the positions will produce
certain vocals. The following diagram will show the production of sounds /u/, /o/, /ɔ/.
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As an addition of the two criterion mentioned above, the tension of nerve
when sound is produced will also affect the vocal sounds production. When we
pronounce /i/ in beat, we can feel the tension of the nerve on our neck, but we will
not feel the same tension if we pronounce bit.
The fourth criterion is the form of the tongue. Certain vocals are produced by
making the lips rounded or spread. Generally, the front vocal sounds like /i/ in tiba
and /e/ in kare are pronounced with rounded lips, while the back vocal sounds like /u/
in buku and /o/ in ruko are pronounced with rounded lips.
Figure : Vocal sounds
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CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
Based on the explanation in the previous discussion part, the writers put
forwards several conclusions, namely:
1. The human language is different from the animal language.
2. The human speech apparatus are: lips, teeth, alveolar, hard palate, soft palate
or velum, uvula, tongue, vocal cords, pharynx, mouth cavity, nose cavity.
3. The kinds of apparatus and the position of apparatus when sounds are
produced will determine the kinds of the sounds themselves.
4. Nasal sounds, oral sounds, consonant sounds, and vocal sounds are the result
of sounds production due to the kinds and position of the apparatus when they
are produced.
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REFERENCES
Dardjowidjojo, Soenjono. 2003. Psikolinguistik: Pengantar Pemahaman Bahasa
Manusia. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
Hornby, A.S. 1989. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (New Edition). Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Hussain, Sarmad. 2009. Phonetics and Phonology: An Introduction. Online
(www.PANL10n.net). Accessed on February 23, 2009.
Nababan, Sri Utari subyakto. 1992. Psikolinguistik: Suatu Pengantar. Jakarta: PT
Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Philips, Colin. 1999. Phonetics I. Online (http://www.ling.udel.edu/heycock).
Accessed on February 22, 2009.
Unanimi. 2008. The Human Speech Apparatus. Online
(http://letstalkofphonetics.blogspot.com/2008/06/human-speechapparatus_16.html). Accessed on February 22, 2009.
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