Introduction to Articulatory

Phonetics
Davenport, M. & Hannahs, S. J. (2020). Introducing Phonetics and Phonology (4th
Ed.). London: Routledge.
The Study of Articulatory Phonetics

• Major aspects of speech production:

- the airstream mechanism
- the state of the vocal cords
- the state of the velum
- the place and manner of articulation
 Overview
• Speech sounds are created by modifying
the volume and direction of a flow of air
using various parts of the human
respiratory system.
• Figure. The vocal tract and articulatory
organs.
 1. The Airstream Mechanism
• The most common direction of airflow is
the air flows out from the lungs through the
trachea (windpipe), larynx (in the Adam’s
apple), and vocal tract (mouth and nose).
• All human languages involve this type of
airstream mechanism known as pulmonic
egressive (i.e. from the lungs outwards).
 1. The Airstream Mechanism
• For many, including English, it is the sole
airstream mechanism employed for speech
sounds.
• A number of languages also employ other
possibilities; the air may be moving inwards
(an ingressive airstream mechanism), the
flow itself may begin at the velum (soft
palate) or the glottis (the space between
the vocal cords)- velaric and glottalic
airstreams respectively.
 1. The Airstream Mechanism

• This gives a possible six airstream mechanisms:

- pulmonic egressive (used in all human languages)
- pulmonic ingressive (not found)
- velaric egressive (not found)
- velaric ingressive (used in e.g. Zulu, S. Africa)
- glottalic egressive (used in e.g. Navajo, N. USA)
- glottalic ingressive (used in e.g. Sindhi, India)
 2. The Vocal Cords
• The movement of the air:
lungs trachea larynx vocal cords
• Vocal cords- two flaps of muscle across
the windpipe whose position can be
altered which affect the airflow in different
ways.
• Figure. Open glottis.
 2. The Vocal Cords
• If the vocal cords are far apart (open glottis), then
the air passes through unhindered, resulting in
what is known as a voiceless sound.
• If however, the vocal cords are close together
with only a narrow gap between them, (narrowed
glottis), then as the air is forced through, the
pressure causes the vocal cords to vibrate. This
vibration results in a voiced sound.
 2. The Vocal Cords

• If the vocal cords are completely closed, not

allowing air to pass through at all, it will
cause a build-up of pressure below the vocal
cords; when they are opened, the pressure is
released with a forceful outrush of air (similar
to a cough). The sound produced is known
as a glottal stop.
 2. The Vocal Cords
• If the vocal cords open only at one end, it will
result in what are known as creaky voice
sounds.
• If the vocal cords are apart (much as for
voiceless sounds) but the force of air may still
cause some vibration, it will produce what are
known as breathy voice or “murmured” sounds.
 3. The Velum
• The velum, or soft palate, is a muscular flap at the
back of the roof of the mouth.
• This may be raised, cutting off the nasal tract, or
lowered, allowing air into and through the nose.
• When the velum is raised (known as “velic
closure”), the air can only flow into the oral tract,
that is, the mouth; sounds produced are known as
oral sounds.
 3. The Velum

• When the velum is lowered, air flows into

both mouth and nose, resulting in nasal
sounds.
 4. The Oral Tract
• The position of active articulators (lower lip and
tongue) in relation to the passive articulators
(the upper surfaces of the oral tract).
• Active articulators: the bits that move (lower lip
and tongue). The tongue can be divided into the
tip, blade, front, body, back, and root.
• Passive articulators: the non-mobile parts (the
upper lip, the teeth, the roof of the mouth and the
pharynx wall. The roof of the mouth is further
subdivided into alveolar ridge, hard palate, soft
palate (or velum) and uvula.
 Summary
- We now have a method of describing the
articulation of any speech by specifying
i) the airstream mechanism
ii) the state of the vocal cords
iii) the position of the velum
iv) the place of articulation
v) the manner of articulation
- Thus, the first sound in ‘big’ could be
classified using these five features as
pulmonic egressive, voiced, oral, bilabial stop.