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ARTICULATORY PHONETICS

Articulatory Phonetics
Mara Jos Delpiano
Valentina Rivera
Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile
English Phonetics and Phonology I
April 4, 2013

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1. Introduction
Human beings have the faculty to communicate through language and, unlike other beings, we
have a system of our own stored in our brains that allow us to construct meaning among
ourselves. Whenever we speak, many processes occur in order to convey a message. Such
processes include different levels and the one that this paper is to be concerned with is that of
physiological nature: articulatory phonetics.
Phonetics is a scientific study of speech and its main concerns are the discovery of how speech
sounds are produced, how they are used in spoken language, how we can record speech sounds
with written symbols and how we hear and recognize different sounds. (Roach, 2009, p.63).
Articulatory Phonetics is a branch of phonetics that studies articulators and their actions
(Roach, 2009, p.5). Thus, it is going to be concerned with the organs of speech (articulators),
how they work together so as to produce sounds and the different sounds that can be made. In
this paper we will cover the main organs of speech and describe the manner and place in which
they are articulated.
2. Organs of Speech
According to Roach (2009), most of the movements relevant to speech take place in the
mouth and throat area (though we should not forget the activity in the chest for breath
control), and the parts of the mouth and throat area that we move when speaking are
called articulators. Though there are many articulators, Roach (2009) establishes that the
principal articulators are the tongue, the lips, the lower jaw and the teeth, the velum or soft
palate, the uvula and the larynx (p.5).
Vocal tract: Catford (1998), refers to the vocal tract by saying that the vocal tract consists of
the entire respiratory tract, from lungs to nose, plus the mouth(p.7). Moreover, the vocal tract is

ARTICULATORY PHONETICS

where the sounds are produced: the function of the organic phase of the speech is to create
certain aerodynamic conditions-to set the air in the vocal tract in motion, and to control the flow
of air in ways that ultimately generate sounds.(Catford, 1998, p.7).
The image below corresponds to the vocal tract (without lungs), and all the articulators that will
be furtherly described. This illustrates the location of the articulators and how the air flows.

Roach (1998, p.9)

Lips: They are very flexible and therefore make different shapes and have contact with the teeth
to produce sounds. Lips can also be pressed together (when we produce the sound p,b), brought

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into contact with the teeth (as in f,v), or rounded to produce the lip-shape for vowels like u:
(Roach, 1998, p.10).
Teeth: The teeth play some important roles in speech - In dental consonants, for example the
tip of the tongue is in contact with some of the front teeth (Roach, 2009, p.87).
Tongue: The tongue is mainly muscle which allows it to be very flexible. It is also usually
subdivided: the furthest forward section is the tip, and behind this is the blade. The widest part
of the tongue is called the front, behind which is the back, which extends past the back teeth and
down the forward part of the pharynx. Finally, where the tongue ends and is joined to the rear
end of the lower jaw is the root (Roach, 2009, p. 91).
Alveolar Ridge: Ladefoged (1982) defines it small protuberance that you can feel with the tip
of the tongue (p.3). Roach (1998) adds that it is located between the top front teeth and the
hard palate (p.9).
Palate (Hard/Soft Palate/Velum): The hard palate is often called the roof of the mouth
(Roach, 1998, p.9). The palate is divided into Hard Palate which runs from the alveolar ridge at
the front of the mouth to the beginning of the soft palate (Roach, 2009, p.54), and Soft Palate also called Velum- which extends from the rear end of the hard palate almost to the back of the
throat, terminating in the uvula (Roach, 2009, p.54). The velum, on the other hand, allows air
to pass through the nose and through the mouth, but often in speech it is raised so that air cannot
escape through the nose (Roach, 1998, p.9).
Uvula: This articulator is located at the back of the mouth and it is defined by Roach (2009) as
a little lump of soft tissue that you can observe in the back of your mouth dangling from the end
of your soft palate(p.94). Its function is to act as a place of articulation for a range of

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consonants articulated in the back of the mouth(Roach, 2009, p.94), even though it is very small
and human beings could live without it.
Glottis: According to Roach the glottis is the opening between the vocal folds (2009, p. 38).
When vocal folds are in vincing position the glottis is narrowed.

3. Two Classes of Sounds

As stated before, the organs of speech work and function together so as to produce sounds and
help us to communicate. Now we set out to deal with sounds; their classification and how they
are produced.
The first distinction between sounds is that of vowels and consonants, being the stream of air the
difference between them. When a vowel is uttered none of the articulators come very close
together, and the passage of the airstream is relatively unobstructed (Ladefoged, 1982, p. 11),
whereas when a consonant is formed the airstream through the vocal tract must be obstructed in
some way (p. 6). Consonants, in turn, can be classified according to the place and manner of
this obstruction.

3.1 Place of Articulation

Bilabial: A bilabial sound is made with both lips (Roach, 2009, p.9). The lips come together
as in the initial sound of pie, buy and my.
Labiodental: If there is contact between lip and teeth the articulation is labeled
labiodental(Roach, 2009, p.47).
Dental: According to Roach (2009), a dental sound is one in which there is an approximation
or contact between the teeth and some other articulator(p. 22). Ladefoged (1982) adds that the

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articulators involved in dental sounds are those of tongue tip or blade and upper front teeth)
(p.6) as in the words thigh and thy.
Alveolar: Ladefoged (1982) states that the articulators involved in alveolar sounds are the
tongue tip or blade and the alveolar ridge(p. 7) , as in the words tie, die, sigh and lie.
Palato-Alveolar: Sobek (2004) establishes that palate-alveolar sounds occur when the
retracted blade of the tongue articulates with the alveolar ridge and the hard palate (usually
accompanied by some lip-rounding)(p. 17). Ladefoged (1982), in turn, adds that during the
consonants the tip of your tongue may be down behind the lower front teeth, or it may be up near
the alveolar ridge, but the blade of the tongue is always close to the back part of the alveolar
ridge(p. 7).
Post-Alveolar: A sound of this type is articulated by raising the tongue tip towards the rear of
the alveolar ridge. The curling of the tongue backwards is made slightly further back in the
mouth than for the alveolar consonants (Sobek, 2004, p.7).
Palatal: Roach (2009) establishes that consonants in which the tongue makes contact with the
highest part of the hard palate are labelled palatal (p.60)
Velar: This sound is produced when the back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate
(Sobek, 2004, p.17)
Glottal: Sobek (2004) states that a glottal sound occurs when the narrowing of the vocal folds
produces friction noise between them (p.17).

3.2 Manner of Articulation

Plosive: Roach (2009) ...it is possible to regard plosives as the most basic type of consonant.
They are produced by forming a complete obstruction to the flow of air out of the mouth and
nose, and normally this results in a build-up of compressed air inside the chamber formed by the

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closure. When the closure is released, there is a small explosion (see plosion) that causes a sharp
noise. Plosives are among the first sounds that are used by children when they start to speak .
(p.66). At the same time The plosives have different places of articulation. Roach (1998, p.31)
gives the example of p and b which are bilabial the lips pressed together.

Fricative: Roach (1998) states the characteristic of these consonants is ...that when they are
produced, air escapes through a small passage and makes a hissing sound (p.47). Referring to
the quality of the sounds he establishes The quality and intensity of fricative sounds varies
greatly, but all are acoustically composed of energy at relatively high frequency (Roach, 2009,
p.34)

Affricate: According to Roach (2009) an affricate sound is a type of consonant consisting of a

plosive followed by a fricative with the same place of articulation. At the same time Roach
(1998) regards affricate as rather complex consonants. They begin as plosives and end as
fricatives (p.47).

Nasal: Roach (1983) approaches this manner of articulation stating that the basic characteristic
of a nasal consonant is that the air escapes through the nose (p. 46). He also adds that, unlike all
the other consonants, for nasals to occur the soft palate must be lowered and the air does not
pass through the mouth; it is prevented by a complete closure in the mouth at some point

ARTICULATORY PHONETICS

Lateral: A lateral consonant is produced if there is an obstruction to the passage of air in the
centre (mid-line) of the air-passage and the air flows to the side of the obstruction (Roach,
2009, 48).

Approximant: Roach (2009) establishes that this is a term of recent origin, defining
approximant consonants as a sound which makes very little obstruction to the airflow (p.5).

In the chart below all the consonants are classified according to their place and manner of
articulation.
Place of Articulation

Manner of Articulation

Plosive
Bilabial

Fricative

pb
fv

Dental

td

Lateral

Approximant
w

sz

Palato-Alveolar

Nasal
m

Labiodental

Alveolar

Affricate

n
t d

Post-Alveolar

Palatal

Velar
Glottal

kg
()*

h
(Sobek, 2004, p. 15)

4. Conclusion
Consequently, articulatory phonetics is a branch of phonetics that proves to be essential for the
study and analysis of sounds production. It deals with the main elements needed for oral
language to exist and it shows the interaction between such elements, showing how they work

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and how sounds are actually produced. This is a very important branch of phonetics since
without articulators we would not be able to produce speech; they all complement each other and
are necessary for the correct articulation of sounds. The importance of them is also noticeable for
everybody; if someone has a physical impediment, a larger tongue, lacks teeth, or has a cleft
palate, this will determine the way in which that person will produce sounds. The same happens
when somebody has a cold, the nasal cavity is blocked and therefore sounds come out different.
Lastly, articulatory phonetics not only helps us to understand the processes that we must go
through in order to speak; it also makes us reflect upon the production of language and all the
work our brain and body must do.

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References

Catford, J.C. (1988). A Practical Intoduction to Phonetics (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Ladefoged, P. (1982). A Course in Phonetics (2nd ed.). California: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc.
Roach, P. (1988). English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course (2nd ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Roach, P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology Glossary. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.