Production of speech sounds Flashcards
The speech mechanism has three functions
production of sounds, breathing and eating
Production of sounds
All of our sounds are the result of muscles contracting. To produce sounds we use the outgoing system of air, following the air passage as we exhale. It’s necessary to consider the whole speech mechanism from bottom to top.
The lungs
They are incapable of active movement, because it’s the diaphragm (a muscle that separates them from the stomach) the organ which impulses the movement. The lungs expand when we inhale and contract as we exhale. They are the source of air.
The larynx
It’s a rigid structure situated at the top of the trachea and below the pharynx, that contains the first valve that interferes with the passage of airstream: the vocal folds, and the epiglottis
The epiglottis
The epiglottis is an elastic piece of cartilage, it acts as a valve. It’s raised during speech and lowered while swallowing to prevent food from going into the lungs.
The vocal folds
The vocal folds are two soft elastic bands/tissue that are capable of movement (vibration). The space that separates them is a V-shape called glottis. The vocal folds can be wide apart, closely together or in light contact. When they’re wide apart, we produce voiceless sounds and it’s used for normal breathing. When they’re closely together we produce a glottal stop sound. Finally, if they’re in light contact, the air comes through them producing the vibration and we make voiced sounds.
Pharynx
After passing through the larynx the air goes through what we call the vocal tract, which ends at the mouth and nostrils. Any hollow space containing air that can change the quality of an existing sound, can act as a resonator. The pharynx is the passage situated at the top of the larynx that communicates with the oral and nasal cavities. It acts as a passageway for food on its way to the stomach and for air on its route to the lungs. Its front wall is formed by the root of the tongue and it can change its shape slightly. The nasal cavity is constant in shape and size and extends from the pharynx to the nostrils. The oral cavity, which is extremely variable, contains many of the articulators
Active articulators
Active articulators are the ones that are capable of movement [the tongue (the tip, the blade, the front, the back, the rims and the root), the lips, the soft palate, the lower jaw
Passive articulators
Passive articulators are incapable of movement (hard palate, alveolar ridge, teeth). The vocal folds can also be considered articulators because they are capable of producing some consonant sounds: the glottal stop (plosive) and /h/ (fricative).
The palate is divided in three parts
alveolar ridge, hard palate and soft palate.
Soft palate
The pharynx is the passage that communicates between the oral and nasal cavities. The entrance to the nasal cavity and the oral cavity is controlled by the soft palate (also called velum). This is a movable part, when it’s raised it closes the passage of the air to the nasal cavity, so the air goes through the mouth producing oral sounds. When it’s lowered it closes the passage of the air to the oral cavity, so the air goes through the nose, producing nasal sounds.
There’s a third way that the air can pass and it creates the “nasalized vowels”, which do not exist in english, although they’re common in french.
The palate
The alveolar ridge is behind the upper teeth, the hard palate is an immovable part that lies over the centre of the mouth, and the soft palate (or velum) is the movable part at the back of the mouth (it can be raised or lowered)
Information we need to know in the description of any sound
That the nature of the air stream when we produce speech sound is outgoing or egressive. The sounds are produced with outgoing air streams.
That the action of the vocal folds allow us to produce voiced sounds (when they’re in light contact), voiceless sounds (when they’re wide apart) and a glottal stop (when they are closely together)
That the position of the soft palate determines where the air goes through, and which type of sound we’re producing. If it’s raised we make oral sounds, and if it’s lowered we make nasal sounds.
Which are the different positions of the articulators. Which are the movable parts, and which contact they need to make to produce different types of sounds. (Place of articulation)
