Organ of Speech, Function, Manner and Place of Articulation

The organs of speech.

 

The function of the eight parts of human speech organs

Lips, Teeth, Tongue, Uvula, Glottis, Alveolar Ridge, Alveolar Ridge, Hard Palate, and Velum (Soft Palate)

Lips form different shapes, such as an oval, and movements in order to make different sounds. Sounds can be formed by using the teeth to shape the lips, in combination with the tongue, or to block air from escaping the mouth. The tongue moves throughout the mouth and with many of the other organs, as well as making shapes like the lips, in order to formulate speech. The uvula is used to make guttural sounds. It helps to make nasal consonants by stopping air from moving through the nose. The glottis is used in controlling the vibration made by the vocal chords, in order to make different sounds. The alveolar ridge helps us to make different sounds, known as alveolar sounds, the tongue touches the ridges found on this organ. Hard palate, like the alveolar ridge, is the organ of speech where the tongue touches and taps the palate when articulating speech. The movable velum can retract and elevate in order to separate the mouth from the nasal cavity, helping to make speech less nasally. When the tongue hits the velum, it also makes a special sound called the velar consonant

(Mary Freeman.  The Eight Parts of Human Speech Organs & Their Definitions. Accessed from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5114438_eight-human-speech-organs-definitions.html)

Table of Consonant

 

Mode of Production / Manner of Articulation	Viceless	Voiced	Place of Articulation	Keywords
Plosives or stops	p	b	bilabial	pin	bin
	t	d	alveolar	tin	din
	k	g	velar	cap	gap
Fricatives	-	w	bilabial	-	west
	f	v	labio-dental	fan	van
	q	ð	intra-dental	thin	then
	s	z	alveolar	sue	zoo
	-	l	alveolar		leaf
	-	r	alveolar		red
	ʃ / š	Ӡ / ž	alveo palatal	shoe	measure
	-	J / y	palatal		yes
	h	-	glottal	hat
Affricates	tʃ / ǰ	dʒ / č	alveo palatal	chew	jew
Nasals		m	bilabial		man
		n	alveolar		name
		ŋ	velar		song

 (C. Baruah : 2004; 32).

  

Manner of Articulation

1. Stops or plosives. The manner of articulation of stop or plosive sounds is produced by complete ‘stopping’ of the airstream and let it go abruptly.
2. Fricatives. The manner of articulation of stop or plosive sounds is produced by almost blocking the airstream and pushing the air through a narrow opening. By pushing the air through, a type of friction is produced and the produced sounds are called fricatives.  If you for example put your palm in front of your mouth when producing fricative sounds, you feel the stream of air being pushed out.
3. Affricates. The manner of articulation of affricate sounds is produced by a brief stopping followed by an obstructed release which results in some friction.
4. Nasals. The manner of articulation of nasal sounds is produced by lowering the velum and following the airstream to flow out through the nose to produce nasal sound (Yule:2003; 46)

Place of articulation

1. Bilabials. Bilabials are produced through upper and lower lips.
2. Labiodentals. Labiodental sounds are produced through the upper teeth and the lower lip.
3. Dentals. Dental sound is produced by placing the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth.
4. Interdental or intra-dental   is sometimes applied to describe a manner of pronunciation with the tongue tip between the upper and lower teeth.
5. Alveolars. Alveolar sound is produced through the front part of the tongue placed on the alveolar ridge.
6. Alveo-palatals. These are produced by placing the tongue at the very front of the palate, which is near the alveolar ridge.
7. Velars. The production of velar sound is done by placing the back of the tongue against the velum
8. Glottal. This is produced without the active of the tongue and other parts of the mouth. This sound is produced in the glottis- a space between the vocal cords and the larynx (Yule: 2003; 42-44).

George Yule. 2003. The Study of Language. Cambridge University Press.

Mary Freeman.  The Eight Parts of Human Speech Organs & Their Definitions. Accessed from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5114438_eight-human-speech-organs-definitions.html)

T.C. Baruah. 2004. Ninth edition. The English Teacher’s Handbook. Sterling Publishers Private Limited. P. 32.

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