CHAPTER 3
(Yule, 2010, pp. 25-39)
THE SOUNDS OF
LANGUAGE
Speech organs
1
PHONETICS
speech sounds / phonemes (distinctive sounds)
(44 phonemes in English)
1. Articulatory Phonetics (production)
2. Auditory Phonetics (perception)
3. Acoustic Phonetics (sound waves)
In this course: Articulatory Phonetics
(introductory)
2
Respiratory System
& Speech
air in breathing is basic ingredient of speech
air is modified to create different sounds
sounds are produced when we breath out
modification by vocal organs
3
VOCAL ORGANS
organs of the body involved in the production of
speech
Some examples:
Tongue
Palate
Vocal cords
Lungs
Other functions: breathing / eating
4
Vocal Organs
Vocal tract
Larynx
Sub-glottal system
5
SUB-GLOTTAL SYSTEM
a) Lungs
b) Trachea /trəˈkiː.ə/ /
(windpipe)
6
LARYNX
/ˈlær.ɪŋks/
(voice box)
(on top of the trachea)
1) Vocal Cords/Folds
(two elastic bands of
muscle in the throat)
2) Glottis
(the gap between the
vocal cords)
7
Glottal States
Vocal Folds/Cords
Wall of the Larynx
Open vocal cords
(air passes through freely)
e.g. /s/
8
Approximated vocal cords (vibration: open and
close rapidly and repeatedly– around 100 times per
second in men, 200 times in women and children
for a given sound / up to 800 times per second)
e.g. /z/ Test: put your fingers on your throat/ears and
say /s/ and /z/, alternating them.
9
VOCAL TRACT
1) Pharynx /ˈfær.ɪŋks/
(the passage above the
vocal cords)
2) Oral cavity
(space in the mouth)
3) Nasal cavity
(space behind the nose)
10
ARTICULATORS
(parts of the oral cavity)
11
Upper articulators
(upper surface of the oral
cavity)
1) Palate
(the roof of the mouth)
(separates oral and nasal
cavities)
2) Upper teeth
3) Upper lip
12
Lower articulators
(lower surface)
(they are moved toward
the upper surface which is
not mobile)
1) Tongue
2) Lower teeth
3) Lower lip
13
THE PALATE
alveolar
ridge
hard
palate
soft
palate
14
Alveolar Ridge
(behind the upper
front teeth)
hard
rough
fixed
15
Hard Palate
(highest part of the
palate)
(between the
alveolar ridge and
the soft palate)
hard
even
fixed
16
Soft Palate
(velum)
(at the back of the
mouth)
soft
movable
Uvula
the end point of the
soft palate
17
States Of The Velum (Soft Palate)
Lowered position: gap between soft palate and
pharynx; air goes into the nasal cavity and the oral
cavity. (e.g. /m/)
18
Raised position: contact with the back wall of
pharynx; nasal cavity is closed; air goes into the
mouth only. (e.g. /b/ )
19
THE TONGUE
20
Back
Lies under the soft palate/raised to touch the soft
palate and to any point beneath that
21
Front
Lies under the hard palate/raised to touch the hard
palate and to any point beneath that
22
Blade
(between the tip and
the front)
lies under the
alveolar ridge
very mobile
(can touch the lips,
teeth, alveolar ridge
and the hard palate)
23
Tip
(the most forward part)
lies under the alveolar
ridge
very mobile
24
Sides
Raised (curved upwards/pressed firmly against the
sides of the palate/air goes through the centre)
e.g. /s/
Lowered (centre is raised/air goes trough the
sides) e.g. /l/
25
THE LIPS
Positions of the lips
(extreme positions are rare in English)
Closed/Apart /p/ /t/
/m/ /g/
Rounding/Spreading /w/ /v/
Protrusion
(pushed forward/almost none in English)
26
THE TEETH
/f/ /v/ (upper teeth)
/ ð // θ/ (upper and lower teeth)
27
THANK YOU!
28