1. Speech Anatomy and Articulation
ENGL 310 Phonology and Phonetics
Dr. G.Pérez
January – May, 2014

2. The principal organs of articulation

3. Speech Anatomy Descriptions
alveolar ridge
A short distance behind the upper teeth is a change in the angle of the roof of the mouth. (In some people it's quite abrupt, in others very slight.) This is the alveolar ridge. Sounds which involve the area between the upper teeth and this ridge are called alveolars.
(hard) palate
the hard portion of the roof of the mouth. The term "palate" by itself usually refers to the hard palate.
soft palate/velum
the soft portion of the roof of the mouth, lying behind the hard palate.

4. Speech Anatomy Descriptions
uvula
the small, dangly thing at the back of the soft palate. The uvula vibrates during the r sound in many French dialects.
pharynx
the cavity between the root of the tongue and the walls of the upper throat.
tongue blade
the flat surface of the tongue just behind the tip.
tongue body/dorsum
the main part of the tongue, lying below the hard and soft palate. The body, specifically the back part of the body (hence "dorsum", Latin for "back"), moves to make vowels and many consonants.
tongue root
the lowest part of the tongue in the throat

5. Speech Anatomy Descriptions
epiglottis
the fold of tissue below the root of the tongue. The epiglottis helps cover the larynx during swallowing, making sure (usually!) that food goes into the stomach and not the lungs. A few languages use the epiglottis in making sounds. English is fortunately not one of them.
vocal folds/vocal cords
folds of tissue stretched across the airway to the lungs. They can vibrate against each other, providing much of the sound during speech.
glottis
the opening between the vocal cords. During a glottal stop, the vocal cords are held together and there is no opening between them.
larynx
the structure that holds and manipulates the vocal cords. The "Adam's apple" in males is the bump formed by the front part of the larynx.

6. Place of articulation bilabial labio-dental dental/interdental
The articulators are the two lips. (We could say that the lower lip is the active articulator and the upper lip the passive articulator, though the upper lip usually moves too, at least a little.) English bilabial sounds include /p/, /b/, and /m/.
labio-dental
The lower lip is the active articulator and the upper teeth are the passive articulator. English labio-dental sounds include /f/ and /v/.
dental/interdental
Dental sounds involve the upper teeth as the passive articulator. The active articulator may be either the tongue tip or (usually) the tongue blade -- diacritic symbols can be used if it matters which. Extreme lamino-dental sounds are often called interdental. English interdental sounds include /θ/ and /ð/.

7. Place of articulation alveolar retroflex Palatal
Alveolar sounds involve the alveolar ridge as the passive articulator. The active articulator may be either the tongue blade or (usually) the tongue tip -- diacritic symbols can be used if it matters which. English alveolar sounds include /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/.
retroflex
In retroflex sounds, the tongue tip is curled up and back. Not common in English.
Palatal
Palatal sounds involve the area just behind the alveolar ridge as the passive articulator. The active articulator may be either the tongue tip or (usually) the tongue blade English Palatal sounds include /ʃ/, /ʒ/,/tʃ/, /dʒ/, /r/, and /j/.

8. Place of articulation velar glottal
The active articulator is the tongue body and the passive articulator is the soft palate. English velars include /k/, /g/, and /ŋ/.
glottal
This isn't strictly a place of articulation, but they had to put it in the chart somewhere. Glottal sounds are made in the larynx. For the glottal stop, the vocal cords close momentarily and cut off all airflow through the vocal tract. English uses the glottal stop in the interjection uh-uh (meaning 'no'). In /h/, the vocal cords are open, but close enough together that air passing between them creates friction noise.

9. Manner of Articulation
Obstruents (sounds made with a high degree of air obstruction)
stop:
the active articulator touches the passive articulator and completely cuts off the airflow through the mouth. English stops include: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/.
fricative:
the active articulator doesn't touch the passive articulator, but gets close enough that the airflow through the opening becomes turbulent. English fricatives include /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/.
affricate:
Affricates can be seen as a sequence of a stop and a fricative which have the same or similar places of articulation. The English affricates are: /tʃ/, /dʒ/.

10. Manner of Articulation
Sonorants (sounds made with relatively little obstruction)
nasal:
the air is stopped in the oral cavity, but the velum is down so the air can go out through the nose. English nasals include: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/.
liquids:
Obstruction of the airstream at a point along the center of the oral tract, with incomplete closure between one or both sides of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. They are sometimes called laterals. English liquids are: /l/ and /r/.
Glides:
Like liquids, they are produced with very little obstruction of air.To produce glides, we bring articulators close together and then pull them apart, letting the sound glides off them. Glides are sometimes referred to as “semi-vowels” because they are midway between consonants and vowels. English glides are: /w/ and /j/.

11. Voiced and Voiceless Consonant sounds may be voiced or voiceless.
Sounds that are produced when the vocal folds are vibrating.
/b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /ð/, /z/, /ʒ/, /dʒ/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/, /r/, /w/, and /j/.
Voiceless:
Sounds that are produced when the vocal folds are apart.
/p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /h/, /tʃ/.

12. Consonant Chart
Let’s draw one!!!!

13. Vowels

14. Vowels /i/ = beet /ɔ/ = bought /ɪ/ = bit /ɑ/ = hot /e/ = bait /ə/ = of
/ɛ/ = bet
/æ/ = bat
/u/ = boot
/ʊ/ = book
/o/ = boat
/ɔ/ = bought
/ɑ/ = hot
/ə/ = of
/ʌ/ = but
/aɪ/ = buy
/aʊ/ = how
/ɔɪ/ = boy
/ɝ/ = bird