Articulatory Phonetics

(LEARN IPA SYMBOLS FOR STANDARD ENGLISH PHONES ONLY)

Vocal tract  (see diagram inside your book's cover page)

All speech sounds involve 3 processes working together:

a) airstream process - source of air 

b) phonation procesS - vocal cords behavior

c) oro-nasal process - movement of tongue, lips, velum

I. airstream process - three airstream mechanisms

1. pulmonic airstream mechanism - regular breathing

a. pulmonic egressive - air being exhaled (commonest)

b. ingressive - air being inhaled (rare)

2. glotallic airstream mechanism-involve a glottal stop

a. glotallic ejective - glottis stopped and pushed up

b. glotallic implosive - glottis stopped and drawn down

3.  velaric airstream mechanism

     clicks - only in Khoisan lang's, SW Africa)

4. other aMs not used in natural human lang.

Buccal - air trapped in cheek donald duck voice

gastric - burped air  

II. phonation process - behavior of the vocal cords

1. voicing - both vocal cords vibrating freely along their entire length

     voiced sounds - nearly all vowels, some consonants

2. AT REST - vocal cords completely at rest- voiceless sound

3. Whisper - vocal cords tense but not vibrating

4. murmur - front (ligamental) portion of vocal cords closed, but vibrating

    BREATHY sounds

5. LARYNGEALIZATION - back portion of vocal cords closed, but vibrating

     laryngealized, or creaky sounds  

III. oro-nasal process

1. Degree of blockage (how much air gets through)

    obstruents - consonants with high degree of blockage

    sonorants - consonants with lower degree of blockage

    vowels - very little blockage

2. place of articulation (two articulators)

3. manner of articulation (how the articulators move)