Articulatory

Phonetics
 Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.E)
 The voice is articulated by the lips and the
tongue.
 When the air is expelled through the empty
space it produces a sound, because of the
resonances in the skull.
 The tongue articulates by its strokes.
 If the tongue would not articulate, man would
not speak clearly and would not be able to
produce a few simple sounds.
Stages of the Speaking Process:

Breathing stage

Phonation stage

Resonation stage

Articulation stage
BREATHING
STAGE
Breathing, which is primarily
concerned with maintaining
life, is secondarily a force
assisting in vocalization. It
consists of two phases ---
inhalation and exhalation.
 Lungs
• Serve as the
reservoir of air
• As you inhale, fill
the lungs
comfortably in
preparation for
speaking.
 Diaphragm
• A large sheet of
muscle separating the
chest cavity from the
abdomen
• Forms the floor of the
chest and the roof of
the abdomen
• Gives pressure to the
breath stream
PHONATION
STAGE
Phonation takes place when voice
is produced in speaking as the
expiratory air stream from the
lungs goes up through the
trachea or windpipe to the
larynx.
 Larynx
• Principal organ of
phonation
• Found at the top
of the trachea
• Protuberance is
known as the
“Adam’s apple”
 Vocal Cords
• A pair of bundles
of muscles and
cartilages
• Open and close
at various
degrees
 Trachea
• Also known as
windpipe
• Passageway of
air going up
from the lungs
RESONATION
STAGE
The voice produced in phonation is
weak. It becomes strong and rich
only when amplified and modified
by the human resonators.
Resonation is the process of voice
amplification and modification.
 Pharynx
• Common passageway for
air and food
• Located behind the nose
and mouth and includes
the cavity at the back of
the tongue
• Divisions of the pharynx:
– Nasal pharynx
– Oral pharynx
– Laryngeal pharynx
 Nose
• Consists of the external and
internal portions
• Nostrils – openings of the
external nose
• Nasal cavity – internal nose;
directly behind the external
nose through which the air
passes on its way to the
pharynx
• Septum – divides the
external and internal nose
into two separate
passageways
 Mouth
• Divided into the vestibule
and the oral cavity
proper
• Vestibule – felt by placing
the tongue tip outside
the teeth but inside the
lips
• Oral cavity – felt by
retracting the tongue,
closing the jaws and
moving the tongue about
RESONATORS:
Upper
part
of the
Oral larynx
pharynx
cavity
Nasal
cavity
 RESONATION EXERCISE: Pronounce the letters
according to its size. (biggest letters mean
loudest sounds)

e e ou
a a

o b i i mn
u m m b pp
b ptl n o
a k h hb v
 RESONATION EXERCISE: Read the black
syllables softest and the red syllables
loudest.
Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa
Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma
La la la la la la la la la
Ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa
Va vavavavavavavava
ARTICULATION
STAGE
Articulation occurs when the tone
produced in the larynx is changed
into specific sounds. This is the
result of the movement of the
articulators towards the points of
articulation.
 Lips
• Highly flexible
• Can be moved
into numerous
positions
essential to
articulation
 Teeth
• Serve as
important
surfaces in
articulation
• Embedded in the
alveolar ridge or
gum ridges of the
oral cavity
 Dome
• Also known as the
hard palate
• Bony roof of the
mouth
• Serves as an
important surface
against which the
tongue makes
contact
 Uvula
• Small nub on the
lower border of
the soft palate
• Movable tip at
the midline of
the free border
of the soft palate
 Velum
• Also known as the
soft palate
• Separates the nasal
pharynx from the
oral cavity
• A flexible curtain
attached along the
rear border of the
hard palate
 Tongue
• Flexible organ consisting
of muscles, glands and
connective tissues
• Parts of the tongue:
– Apex or tip
– Blade
• Front
• Center
• Back
• root
 Articulators
Lower jaw

Uvula Lower lip

Velum Tongue
 Upper lip

Upper teeth

Points of Upper
articulation alveolar ridge

Hard palate

Soft palate
 Consonants
 The sounds of all languages fall into TWO
classes: Consonants and Vowels
 Consonants are produced with some
restriction or closure in the vocal tract that
impedes the flow of air from the lungs.
 Caveat: In Phonetics, the term Consonants and
Vowels refer to SOUNDS, not the letters that
represent them.
Speech Mechanism
b
 Bilabials [p] [b] [m]
Articulated by bringing the lips together
 Labiodentals [f] [v]
Articulated by touching the bottom lip to
the upper teeth
 Interdentals [Ѳ] [ᶞ] both spelled as the
Articulated by inserting the tip of the tongue
between the teeth.
 Alveolars [t] [d] [n] [s] [z] [l] [r]
Articulated when the tongue is raised in
various ways
 Palatals [ʃ] [ʒ] [ʧ] [ʤ] [j]
Articulated by raising the front part of the
tongue to the palate
 Velars [k] [g] [ŋ]
Articulated by raising the back of the tongue
to the soft palate or velum
 Uvulars [R] [q] [G]
Articulated by raising the back of the tongue
to the uvula.
 Glottals [h] [?]
Articulated from the flow of air through the
open glottis, and past from the tongue and lips
 Stops [p] [b] [m] [t] [d] [n] [k] [g] [ŋ] [ʧ] [ʤ] [?]
The air streams are completely blocked in
the oral cavity for a short period of time.

[p] [b] are bilabial stops

[t] [d] alveolar stops
[k] [g] velar stops
[ʧ] [ʤ] palatal affricates
[?] glottal stop
 Fricatives [f] [v] [Ѳ] [ᶞ] [s] [z] [ʃ] [ʒ] [x] [y] [h]
The airflow is so severely obstructed that it
causes friction

[f] [v] are labiodental fricatives

[Ѳ] [ᶞ] are interdental fricatives
[s] [z] are alveolar fricatives
[ʃ] [ʒ] are palatal fricatives
[x] [y] are velar fricatives
[h] is a glottal fricative
 Affricates [ʧ] [ʤ]
Produced by a stop closure followed immediately
by a gradual release of a closure that produces an
effect characteristic of a fricative.
 Liquids [l] [r]
Some obstruction of the airstream in the mouth but
not enough to cause any real constriction or
friction.
 Glides [j] [w]
Produced with little obstruction of the airstream
 Approximants [w] [j] [r] [l]
The articulators approximate a frictional closeness
but no actual friction occurs.
 Voiced and Voiceless Sounds
 Sounds are VOICELESS when the vocal cords
are apart so that air flows freely through the
glottis into the oral cavity.
Examples: [p] [s] in super
 Sounds are VOICED if the airstream forces its
way through and causes them to vibrate.
Examples: [b] [z] in buzz
 Eureka Moments…

 Try putting a finger a finger in each ear and

say…
“z-z-z-z-z-z”
“s-s-s-s-s-s”

 Whisper….
“Sue”
“Zoo”
 Syntactic Drills:
Contrast Within a Sentence

- Don’t sit in that seat.

- Did you at least bring the list?
- Is that a sick sheep?
- Do you have six sheep?
- Do you have six sick sheep on the ship?
- What did you do with dad’s deed?
- In the green grotto the gray gremlin grinned
and growled at the grown ups.

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Now let’s practice some paradigmatic drills with strong vowel sounds
that Chinese speakers have particular difficulty with.
Column I (spread) Column II (neutral)
1. Don’t sleep on the floor. Don’t slip on the floor.
2. The peach was excellent. The pitch was excellent.
3. He beat them again. He bit them again.
4. Are they leaving there? Are they living there?
5. They skied on the ice. They skid on the ice.
6. The son has reason. The sun has risen..
7. That’s a high heel. That’s a high hill.
8. It was a terrible scene. It was a terrible sin.
9. They always heat their food. They always hid their food .

10. It was beyond our reach. It was beyond our ridge.

11. Do you see the peak? Do you see the pig?
12. Is that a black sheep? Is that a black ship?
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The mouth only opens a little for the vowel sounds
in Column I, whereas it opens a lot for Column II.

cut cot
Column I Column II
1. He had good luck. He had a good lock.
2. They made a hut. They made it hot.
3. That color is beautiful. That collar is beautiful.
4. Are the cups over there? Are the cops over there?
5. She’s standing by the duck. She’s standing by the dock.
6. Is that done? Is that Don?
7. He tried to rub them. He tried to rob them.
8. I think they’re stuck. I think they’re in stock.
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Column I has central vowel sounds. The lips are neutral or
slightly rounded. For Column II, push the tongue high and
back and round the lips strongly.

[U] [u]
Column I Column II
1. His foot was dirty. His suit was dirty.
2. The birds could. The birds cooed.
3. Do you think he’s full? Do you think he’s a fool?
4. They stood it on the stove. They stewed it on the stove.
5. It was a long pull. It was a long pool.
6. They should again. They shoot again.
7. That looks wonderful. That Luke’s wonderful.

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