Linguistics - Articulatory Phonetics

 ARTICULATORY PHONETICS 

1. The Larynx and voicing 

❑ As air is pushed out from the lungs, it moves up the trachea into the larynx. In the larynx, the airflow encounters the vocal folds. 

_ Vowels across languages are usually voiced; however, consonants are generally divided into voiced and voiceless ones: 

-  Voiced consonants: [b],[d],[g],[v],[ð],[z],[ʒ],[ʤ] 

-  Voiceless consonants: [p],[t],[k],[f],[θ],[s],[ʃ],[ʧ] 

- Nasals: [m], [n], [ŋ] are inherently voiced 

- Glides: [w], [j] are inherently voiced 

Note that to each voiceless consonant often corresponds a voiced one. Thus, speech sounds in all languages can be divvied into two large classes: voiced and voiceless.

1. The state of the velum (soft palate) = Oral and nasal airflow 

The condition of the velum – whether it is raised or lowered, that determines whether a sound is nasal or oral.

English Phonetics Oral tract

Air can way out the vocal field over the mouth or the nose. This is controlled by the placement of the velum. 

If the velum is advanced, then the nasal cavities are closed off. then, air cannot pass into them, and it should exit the vocal tract over the mouth. Sounds with airflow exiting out of the mouth only are said to have oral airflow. 

If the velum is lowered, air flows over the nasal cavities. If the air flows into the nose, the airflow is nasal. 

 If you are saying a [s] sound and nip your nose, you would notification that you can facility continuing the [s] sound. This is because [s] is oral: makes a tight seethe and velum is raised and makes a tight seal, forbidding escape of air into the nose. On the other side, if you pinch your nose and say a [m] sound, you will notification that you can only confining the [m] sound for a very stumpy time.

Articulatory Phonetics oral tract

Speech Production: Consonant Articulation 

1. How are consonants made? 

2.What’s the mechanism used to produce consonants? 

3.How are consonant classified? 

Speech Production: Consonant Articulation “A consonant sound is created when the airstream is stopped or restricted in some point in the vocal tract. that s mans, consonants are created with obstruction of the articulatory passageway or some narrowing”.

Articulatory Actives

We assort consonants as stated by to the following characteristics:

(a) whether or not the vocal folds are vibrating (voicing). 

(b) whether or not air is flowing through the nasal cavity (nasality). 

(c) wherever constriction is made (its place of articulation) or in the mouth the stoppage. 

(d) whether the sound is made merely constricted airstream (its manner of articulation) or with a fully stopped.

Place of Articulation: Horizontal Axes  

Place of articulation: by place of articulation, we mean the area in the mouth where the continental closure or construction take place. Most of places of articulation are qualified by illusion to the passive articulator. Our description of them with the lips, working the way down the vocal tract.

Place of Articulation: Horizontal Axes  

Place of articulation refering to the horizontal relationship between Articulators. It specifying the placment of the highest point of the active articulator (usually some part of the tongue, but the lower lip may also be the active articulator) in relation to the passive articulator.

• Bilabials [p] [b] [m] 

• Labiodentals [f] [v]: Also use lips to form [f] and [v]. Articulate theses sound by touch the lower lip to the upper teeth. 

• Interdentals [θ] [ð] inserting the tip of the tongue between the teeth. 

• Alveolars [t] [d] [n] [s] [z] [l] [r] All seven of these sounds are pronounced with the tongue raised in various ways upon the alveolar ridge. 

• Palato-Alveolar [ʃ] [ӡ] [ʧ] [ʤ] [j]. For theses sounds, which place into mission [mɪʃən], cheap [ʧip], measure [mɛӡər], judge [ʤʌʤ], and yoyo [jojo], the constriction occurs by raising the front part of the tongue to the palate.

• Velars [k] [g] [ŋ] are produced by raising the back of the tongue to the soft palate/ velum. final sounds of the words and the initial kick [kɪk] and gig [gɪg] and the final sounds of the words back [bæk], bag [bæg], and bang [bæŋ] are all velar sounds. 

• Glottal [h] [Ɂ]. Glottal sounds are produced when the vocal cords are temporally held together and then released.

Note that when two consonants have the same place of articulation, they are referred to as homorganic, that is to say, they are articulated by the same speech organ. For example, [b] [m], which are both produced by the contact of the lips, are homorganic.

Manner of Articulation: Vertical Axes  

Manner of articulation: With manner of articulation, it means the kind of constriction or closure used in making the sound. i.e. the space between the articulators (usually known as stricture); anything from being close together, to wide apart, preventing air escaping, allowing air to flow into unhindered.

1. When we place the articulators close together and force the air through a narrow channel, we produce FRICATIVES [f] [v] [θ] [ð] [s] [z] [ʃ] [ӡ] [h] 

2. When the articulators are squeezed together (known as complete closure), a blockage to the airflow is formed, causing air pressure to build up behind the blockage. When the blockage is removed, the air is unchained in an impulse. The sounds produced in that way are known as STOPS; these maybe oral (with velum raised), or nasal (lowered velum) Stops (Plosives) [p] [b] [m] [t] [d] [n] [k] [g] [ŋ], or as in the first and last sounds in ‘bad’.

Manner of articulation refers toward the vertical relationship between passive articulators, i.e. the space between them (usually known as stricture); anything from being close together, preventing air escaping, allowing air to flow through unhindered, to wide apart.

3. Affricates: [ʧ] and [ʤ]. These two sounds are produced by a stop closure followed immediately by a gradual release of the closure that produces an effect characteristic of a fricative. The palatal sounds when begin and end the words church, voiced affricates, judge are voiceless, respectively.

Manner of articulation referring to the vertical relationship between passive articulators and the active, i.e. the space between them (usually known as stricture); anything from being close together, allowing air to flow through unhindered, preventing air escaping, to wide apart.

4. Approximants: The sounds [w], [j], [r], and [l] may also be called approximants because the articulators approximate a frictional closeness, but no actual friction occurs. a. [l] and [r] are liquids. There is free air passage and both contact: there is some obstruction of the airstream into the mouth, but not enough to cause any real friction or constriction. These sounds are liquids. They are articulated in differently, as like as described in the earlier alveolar section, but also are grouped as like as a class because they are acoustically same. 

Manner of articulation referring to the vertical relationship between the active and the passive articulators, i.e. the space between them (usually known as stricture); anything from being close together, preventing air escaping, allowing air to flow through unhindered, to wide apart.

5. Approximants: [w], [j], [r], and [l] Sounds, may also be called approximants because the articulators approximate a frictional closeness, but no actual friction occurs. b. Approximants: Glides [j] [w]. The sounds [j] and [w] as in /w/ went, quiet, once; /j/: yawn, fuel, few are produced with little obstruction of the airstream. The result is a smooth, vowel like sound. [w] is a labio-velar glide; [j] is a palatal glide. Glides are produced with an articulation like that of a vowel; however, they move quickly to another articulation. The tongue sled Fastly into place for pronouncing the next vowel, hence the term glide.