Phonetics

Chapter 2How the speech organs work in English?

How many speech organs can you name? Are some of them more important than the others?1We speak with air from the lungs

2The bicycle horn

Bulb, reed, tube= lungs, larynx, vocal tract The bicycle horn can produce only one sound.The human vocal tract can be altered in many ways to produce a large variety of sounds. 3The Speech Organs

The Larynx A cylindrical structure made of muscles behind Adams apple.

The vocal cords (folds) are two small bands of elastic tissue lying across the air passage.

Feel your Adams apple as in the picture. 5Positions of the vocal cordsOpened apart so that air passes freely to produce voiceless sounds (several consonants). Opened and closed quickly to cause rapid vibration for voiced sounds (all vowels and some consonants). Closed and opened suddenly to release compressed air for a glottal stop //.

Experiment1: with /ssss/ vs. /zzzz/ and /ffff/ vs. /vvvvv/ Experiment2: hold your breath as if youre carrying a heavy weight, then release it. Do it several times to feel the click. The glottal stop is optional in English but essential in Arabic. 6The Pharynx Immediately above the larynx, it is the space behind the tongue connecting to the nasal cavity. There are no pharyngeal sounds in English.

Arabic The pharyngeal wall is the back of your throat.

7Articulators in the oral cavity These are used together to form an obstruction to the air passage:

Upper articulators: upper lip, teeth, surface of mouth (palate).Lower articulators: lower lip, teeth and tongue. Active articulator (upper) vs. passive articulator (lower)8The Palate The bony structure at the roof of the mouth.Palatal sounds are made with the front of the tongue against the palate (yes).

Move your tongue across the palate to feel its regions.You can easily see your soft palate in a mirror if you say the vowel /a:/. 9Soft palate (velum) The soft area behind the palate.Sounds made using the velum are called velar (luck, lug, lung).

Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Feel where the bones end and the soft palate or velum starts. Symbols for velars. 10The soft palate ends with the uvula A long thin structure at the back of the mouth.English does not have uvular sounds.

Arabic 11The soft palate is used to open and close the nasal cavity Sounds made with the soft palate raised are called oral (most of the sounds). Sounds made with the soft palate lowered are called nasal (ram, ran, rang). French has nasalized vowels (un)

Say /mmm/ and then block your nose (as if you have a cold).Experiment difference between /nnnnn/ and /ssss/ by switching between them and feeling the movement. p and m, t and n 12Alveolar ridge Part of the gums behind the upper front teeth.Alveolar sounds include /t d n s z l/. Postalveolar sounds are made with the tongue at the back of the alveolar ridge (she, cheese, judge, pleasure). Retroflex sounds are made with the tongue curled back behind the alveolar ridge (red).

Very important for producing a large number of English sounds. /t/ is alveolar in English not dental. Symbols for postalveolars. Experiment difference between /s/ and // or /z/ and //. 13TeethDental sounds are made with the forward part of the tongue articulating with the upper teeth (thin and then). The lower front teeth are not very important for speech.

Symbols Dont put your tongue out. Just put its tip very close to the edge of the teeth. 14Tongue The tongue is the most important speech organ as it has the greatest variety of movement.

Tongue helps in producing both consonants and vowels. p. 1815Lips They articulate together to form bilabial sounds (p, b, m).The lower lip articulates with the upper teeth to form labiodental sounds (f, v).Lips can be rounded or spread. English has no exaggerated lip movements compared other languages.

Very little movement of the jaw is needed to speak English, not more than half an inch. You can speak while holding a pipe between your teeth!16Summary When you study the movements of speech organs for a certain English sound, compare them with a similar sound in your language.

Name the vocal organs

Study this figure for next time. 18