Speech Production: Key Vocabulary from the Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering anatomy, speech production, velopharyngeal mechanism, swallowing, source-filter theory, coarticulation, and measurement technologies.

Vocal tract

The flexible air passage from the larynx to the lips and nostrils; acts as a movable filter shaping speech through resonances that change with articulation.

Velopharyngeal closure

Tight seal between the velum (soft palate) and the pharyngeal walls to prevent nasal air from entering the oral speech stream.

Velopharyngeal port

The opening between the velum and the pharynx that can be opened for nasal resonance or closed for oral speech.

Velum (soft palate)

The soft tissue at the roof of the mouth that moves to close or open the velopharyngeal port.

Levator veli palatini

A muscle that elevates the velum to achieve velopharyngeal closure.

Superior pharyngeal constrictor

A muscle that constricts the nasopharyngeal walls to help close the velopharyngeal space.

Palatoglossus

A muscle connecting the soft palate to the tongue; influences velar movement and nasal resonance.

Uvula

The fleshy projection at the back of the soft palate; a landmark on the velum.

Nasal cavity

The air passage behind the nose that conditions air and provides nasal resonance for speech.

Nasal conchae

Three bony scrolls (superior, middle, inferior) inside the nasal cavity that increase surface area for filtering, warming, humidifying air, and resonance.

Nasal septum

The cartilage and bone partition that divides the nasal cavity.

Formants

Resonant frequencies of the vocal tract that define vowel quality; visible as peaks in the speech spectrum.

Nasal formant

A formant-like resonance associated with nasal speech due to nasal coupling.

Anti-formants

Dampened resonances seen in nasalized speech that reduce certain formants.

Nasal resonance

Acoustic quality produced when the nasal cavity participates in sound production.

Hard palate

The bony roof of the mouth; separates oral and nasal cavities; its integrity supports non-nasal speech.

Palatine bone

Bone forming part of the posterior hard palate.

Palatine process

Projection of the maxilla forming part of the hard palate.

Maxilla

The upper jaw bone; contributes to the hard palate and the facial structure.

Oral cavity

The mouth cavity where speech shaping occurs; involved in lip and tongue movements and acoustic shaping.

Lip function

Lip closure and movement contributing to articulation and facial expression during speech.

Tongue

Primary articulator; rapidly changes shape to produce vowels and consonants.

Bolus

A wad of chewed food moved during swallowing toward the pharynx.

Oral transport

Swallowing stage moving the bolus from the mouth toward the pharynx via tongue and jaw actions.

Pharyngeal transport

Movement of the bolus through the pharynx toward the esophagus.

Esophageal transport

Movement of the bolus through the esophagus to the stomach.

Epiglottis

A flap that covers the airway during swallowing to prevent aspiration.

Glottis

The opening between the vocal folds within the larynx.

Larynx

The voice box housing the vocal folds that produce sound.

Stop (plosive)

Consonant produced by brief occlusion of the vocal tract followed by release (e.g., p, t, k); can be voiced or voiceless and often has a VOT component.

Fricative

Consonant produced with a narrow constriction causing turbulent air and a noisy sound (e.g., s, z).

Affricate

Consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative, combining stop-and-fricative features.

Voice Onset Time (VOT)

The interval between stop release and the onset of voicing; shorter for voiced stops and longer for voiceless stops.

Source-Filter Theory

Model describing how a sound source (glottal or other) is shaped by the vocal tract’s resonant filtering.

Glottal source

Vocal-fold vibration generating voicing; can be voiced or voiceless depending on context.

Turbulence

Irregular air flow that creates noise; fundamental to fricatives and some consonants.

Diphthong

A vowel sound that shifts in quality within a single syllable.

Semi-vowel

Glide-like consonants with vowel-like qualities (e.g., /j/, /w/).

Coarticulation

Mutual influence of adjacent sounds on each other during speech production.

Anticipatory coarticulation

Earlier sounds influence the articulation of a following sound (e.g., lip rounding before a rounded vowel).

Carryover coarticulation

Articulatory traits of a previous sound persist into the following sound.

Spectrograph/Spectrogram

Visual representation of speech showing time (x-axis), frequency (y-axis), and intensity (darkness).

Nasal formant

A low-frequency resonance associated with nasal resonance in the spectrogram.

Anti-formants

Dampened formants seen in spectrograms, typically related to nasalization.

Swallowing

Oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal stages moving a bolus to the stomach.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Imaging technique using magnetic fields to visualize body structures and articulators during speech.

Ultrasound

Real-time imaging of tongue and pharyngeal movements; useful but with limited scope.

X-ray (Radiography)

Imaging technique for studying swallowing and articulatory movement; provides skeletal and soft-tissue views.

Electroplatography

Technique to sense tongue contact on an artificial palate to study articulatory patterns.