speech mechanisms + consonants

segments

• consonants

• vowels

  → brain makes sense of speech stream even if language unknown brain recognises c & vowels that resemble mother tongue

suprasegments

• stress

• rhythm

• intonation

  → brain recognises stressed elements & form general idea of rhythm & impression of intonation (= melody of language)

speech mechanism: power mechanism

airstream process

• provides energy for sound production

• consists of

  • diaghragm

  • lungs

  • bronchi

  • trachea

  • larynx

  • pharynx

  • oral & nasal cavities

speech mechanism: vibrator mechanism

phonation process

• corresponds to vocal cords that are in larynx

• glottis = opening between vocal cords

• vocal cords can be..

  • open → voiceless sound (consonant)

  • partially closed → whisper

  • held close together

  • vibrating

    held close together + vibrating → voiced sounds

manner of articulation: approximant

• one articulator is close to another but not enough to cause turbulent airflow

→ we , yacht, raw

manner of articulation: fricative

• close approximation of two articulators → airstream is partially obstructed

• turbulent airflow → hissing sound

→ fie, vie, thigh, thy, sigh, zoo, shy

manner of articulation: nasal

• closure in mouth but soft palate is not raised → air can go through nose → not complete obstruction of airstream

→ my , nigh

manner of articulation: plosive / stop

• closure in the mouth & raising of soft palate → nasal tract blocked off → complete obstruction of airstream

• air pressure builds up + is released with small burst

→ pie, buy, tie, dye, kye, guy

manner of articulation: lateral approximant

• obstruction of airstream at center of oral tract with incomplete closure between one or two sides of the tongue

→ lie

manner of articulation: affricate

• air is first stopped similar to a plosive followed by a slow release of the air through a constriction similar to a fricative

→ church , joy

place of articulation: palatoalveolar

• constriction between alveolar ridge & hard palate

(fricative → ʃ , ʒ ; affricative → dʒ , tʃ )

place of articulation: glottis

glottal

• vocal cords

(fricative → h)

place of articulation: soft palate

velar

• constriction between back of tongue & velum

(plosive → k , g ; nasal → ŋ ; approximant → w )

place of articulation: hard palate

palatal

• constriction between front / middle of tongue and palate

(approximant → j)

place of articulation: teeth ridge

alveolar

• constriction between tip of tongue & alveolar ridge

(plosive → t, d ; fricative → s , z ; nasal → n ; lateral approximant → l )

postalveolar

• constriction between blade/ tip of tongue & postalveolar region

(approximant → r)

place of articulation: teeth

labiodental

• constriction between lower lip & upper front teeth

(fricative → f, v)

(inter-)dental

• constriction between tip of tongue & upper teeth

(fricative → θ , ð)

place of articulation: lip

• (bi-) labial

  → constriction between lower & upper lip

  (stop → p & b , nasal → m , approximant → w )

voicing

vibrating = voiced sound (zzz)

not vibrating = voiceless sound (sss)

• open → voiceless sound (consonant)

• partially closed → whisper

• held close together

• vibrating

  held close together + vibrating → voiced sounds

fotis vs. lenis articulation

fortis = voiceless sound produced with more force (higher tension)

lenis = voiced sound produced with weak force (little muscular tension)

speech mechanism: resonator mechanism

oro-nasal process

• consists of

  • pharynx

  • larynx

  • mouth cavity

  • nasal cavity

    → voice becomes strong only when modified & amplified (= increase in strength) by human resonator

speech mechanism: obstructor mechanism

articulatory process

consonants speech sounds produced with obstruction of airflow

articulators:

• active obstruction → lips, tongue (tip, blade, front, back)

• passive obstruction → teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate

classifying consonants

1. voicing

2. place of articulation

3. manner of articulation