English Phonetics and Phonology I – I.E.S.

“Aguilares”- 2011
Pass / Fail
Name: ..................................................................... Date: ................................

“ORGANS OF SPEECH” Quiz:

A) Matching. Match the speech organs with their function.

1. Vocal cords a. Motor or engine

2. Lungs b. Amplifier
3. Pharynx c. Food/Air Passage selector
4. Lower jaw d. Vibrator set
5. Epiglottis e. Shaper of oral cavity

B) The odd-one-out. All the following descriptions are true, except for one.
Find it and justify why (on a separate sheet of paper)

1. a) The pharynx is located above the larynx. T

b) Sounds in the English language are produced by this articulator. T
c) It can be divided into three areas for the sake of phonetic study. T
2. a) There are many sounds in English which are produced in the lips. T
b) The lips can adopt more than one position. T
c) They consist of an active articulator and a passive articulator. T
3. a) The root of the tongue is involved in sound production. T
b) It is possible to spread the tongue laterally, producing lateral sounds. T
c) Nasal sounds also involve a contact of a part of the tongue with an area
of the mouth cavity. F

C) Fill-in the gaps. Complete the gaps with only one word:
1. The most prominent part of the larynx, and a section of the Thyroid Cartilage, is called
Adam’s Apple.

2. The raising of the soft palate allows the production of oral sounds. In contrast, its
lowering corresponds with the production of nasal sounds.

3. The technical term for incoming air is inhalation.

4. When the vocal cords are tightly closed and air is pent up below, this sound comes out
with an explosion. We call it glottal stop.

5. The process by which we take in oxygen is called breathing.

D) Complete the following chart with examples from the theory

CAVITIES: any hollow space containing air (can act as a resonator)

ARTICULATORS: they are the tongue, palate, teeth and lips.

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 English Phonetics and Phonology I – I.E.S. “Aguilares”- 2011
Pass / Fail
Name: ..................................................................... Date: ................................

ACTIVE: when they are capable of movement.

PASSIVE: when they are incapable of movement.

E) Summary. Write a summary for the following organs of speech. Do not

write what you are not asked for, just the features that are asked for
between brackets (5 lines per each organ).

 The lungs (structure, parts, boundaries, functions, action, effect on the production of
sounds)

 The Cavities (structure, boundaries)

 The pharynx (structure, divisions, sounds produced)

 The larynx (physiological characteristics, boundaries, structure)

 The alveolar ridge (other names, structure, movements, sounds produced)

 The lips (structure, movements, sounds produced)

 The Vocal cords (function, movements, sounds produced)

 The tongue (structure, division, movements, sounds produced)

 The jaws (structure, movements, sounds produced)

 The Velum or Soft Palate (structure, movements, sounds produced)

F) Speech chain Mind map (mapa conceptual). Create a mind map which
explains the speech chain process in a simple way

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 English Phonetics and Phonology I – I.E.S. “Aguilares”- 2011
Pass / Fail
Name: ..................................................................... Date: ................................

b) it is false because the air is force to pass out through the nose and the tongue
doesn’t any contact with the mouth cavity.

THE LUNGS: They are as 2 large sponges being alternately dilled with air and
emptied of it. They are situated within the thorax and below them there is the
diaphragm. They are inert, in order to expel air they must be squeezed and in
order to take in air they must be allowed to expend. Function: motor or activator
that sets the passage of air into the movements of inhalation and exhalation.

The Cavities: the nasal cavity is constant in dimensions and shape. It extends
from the pharynx to the nostrils; it is separated from the oral cavity by the
palate. The oral cavity is extremely variable in dimensions and in shape. The
base of the oral cavity is occupied by the tongue and the front bounded by the
lips. It’s bounded at the top by the palate.

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 English Phonetics and Phonology I – I.E.S. “Aguilares”- 2011
Pass / Fail
Name: ..................................................................... Date: ................................

The Pharynx: is a single tube situated at the top of the larynx. It is branching into
two other cavities, the nasal above and the oral below. It can change its shape
slightly. It serves as the container of the volume of air so quality of the sounds
changes accordingly of it.

The Larynx: is a fairly rigid structure made up of cartilages. It’s situated at the
top of the trachea and below the pharynx.
Externally we can locate it with our fingers: the cartilage that encloses the front
part is the prominence known as Adam’s apple. Inside of the larynx are the vocal
cords.

The alveolar ridge: It is a convex ridge of the gums behind the upper incisor
teeth. Also known as the alveolar margin is the part between the upper teeth and
the hard palate. The sound produced with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge
is called alveolar sounds, e.g. /s/, /t/, /d/, etc.

The lips: they are capable of the same degrees of movement as the tongue. The
two lips can assume various shapes: close rounding, open rounding, spreading
and neutral.
Speech sounds can be articulated with minimal movements of the lips. The upper
lip and lower lip help to produce bilabial sounds /p, b, m/.

The vocal cords: they are two small bands of muscle and connective elastic
tissues. They can be wide apart, closely together and in light contact. They move
seventy times to more than a thousand times per second. The main function of
the vocal cords is to produce voiced and voiceless sounds.

The tongue: it is principally made of a complex bunch of muscles. It divides in tip,

blade, front and back. It moves backwards and forwards, up and down. The tip of
the tongue helps to produce /t, d, z, etc/. The blade of the tongue helps to
produce /t∫, d∈, ∫, etc/. The front of the tongue helps to produce palatal sound /j/
and the back of the tongue helps to produce /k, g/ sounds.

The Jaws: it is bounded at the top by the palate. The front part is bony and fixed
and the uvula is the soft fleshy tip of the soft palate. Helps in the production of
oral sounds, nasal sounds and nasalized sounds. The lower jaw moves up and
down.

The soft palate: It can be raised or lowered. When it is lowered, the nasal sounds
(/m, n, ŋ/) are produced. When it is raised, the oral cavity and the oral sounds (/p,
t, k, s, etc/) are produced.