Phonetic and Phonology

Task 1
Question 2: Describe the articulators above the larynx and their role in the production of
speech sounds.
Firstly, we must know that speech sound is produced when the air is exhaled by
the lungs passes through the vocal tract. The air in the vocal tract is then expelled
through the mouth or noses or both. The air that is used to produce speech sound is
called pulmonic air and the process is known as an egressive pulmonic airstream. The
vocal tract consists of seven articulators which are pharynx, velum, hard palate, alveolar
ridge, tongue, teeth and lips.

Pharynx is a tube that starts just above the larynx and ends behind the root of the
tongue. Pharynx length is different between men and women. In women, the pharynx is
7cm long while men is 8 cm. The top end of the tube is divided into two parts. The first
part is being the back of the oral cavity and the other being the back of the oral cavity
and the other being the beginning of the way through the nasal cavity. The pharynx can
be seen by open wide your mouth in front of the mirror.
Next is velum. Velum is also known as soft palate. Velum is the soft part of the roof of
the mouth. It is in a position that allows air to pass through the nose and through the
mouth. We can feel it by lifting the tongue backwards and upwards. The velum ends
with the dangling uvula. Usually, when we speak, the velum will raise so that air cannot

escape through the nose. It may completely block the passage of the nasal cavity so
that the airstream can only escape through the oral cavity. Therefore, the sounds
produced via the oral cavity are called oral sounds like /s/ and /t/. In addition, when we
make the sounds /k/ and /g/ the tongue is on contact with the lower side of the soft
palate and the consonant is known as velar consonant. Besides being raised, the velum
can also be lowered to completely block the oral cavity so that the air can only escape
through the nasal cavity.
Hard palate is always been known as the roof of the mouth. It has a smooth curved
surface which we can feel it by tongue. It is stretches from the alveolar ridge to the
velum. By using this articulator, we can make the palatal sounds where the tongue
closes to the hard palate. The palatal consonant is /j/ in `yes`. Next, alveolar ridge is the
articulator which located between the top front teeth and the hard palate. Its surface is
uneven and is cover with little ridges. We can also feel it by using our tongue. This
articulator produced the sound when the tongue touching it. The sounds made by using
the alveolar ridge are /t/, /d/ and /n/ and is called as alveolar.
Tongue is a very important articulator. If we do not have tongue, it is very hard to
produce speech sound or may not be able to do so at all. Tongue is the most flexible
articulator as it can be stretched, rolled, curled or moved sideways, upwards or
downwards into many different places. The tongue is divided into different parts such as
tip, blade, front, back and root. Next articulator is teeth. Teeth are lined round the upper
and lower sides of the mouth, back almost to the soft palate. Same like alveolar ridge,
the teeth produces speech sound when the tongue is in contact with the upper teeth.
However, when the tongue is in contact with the front teeth, it produces speech sound
// and / /.
Lastly, the articulator which is also important in the formation of speech sounds is lips.
Lips is used to produce the consonant sound such as /p/, /b/, and can also produce the
vowel sound when it is rounded such as /u:/. Sounds that is produce by using lips is
called bilabial. Besides that, there is another sound that is produce by using lips, that is
labiodental,it takes place when the lip is in contact with teeth and the production of the
sound is /f/ and /v/ .