Lecture 3: SPEECH PRODUCTION

1. Vocal
Source

Organs

of the airflow the LUNGS.

Placed in the rib-cage.
Speech sounds are produced while we
breathe out, or exhale.
Trachea (windpipe) the tube-shaped
organ through which the air comes into the
mouth.

Breathing in humans

Speech Initiation: Airstream

Mechanisms
1. Lung/pulmonic airflow. The airstream coming
from the lungs. It can be ingressive (while
breathing in) or egressive (while breathing out).
All speech sounds are egressive.
2. Glottalic airflow. The glottis is tightly closed. In
English, the glottal stop [?] is produced in this
way.
3. Velaric airflow. The air is manipulated in the
oral cavity, the back part of the tongue blocks the
passage. Clicks are produced in this way
ingressive direction.

The LARYNX
Larynx

a casing made of cartilage and

muscle, with the forward portion protruding
in the neck (known as Adams apple in the
males).
Important for the speech process because it
contains the VOCAL CORDS.
The vocal cords are two bands of elastic
tissue.
The gap between them is called the
GLOTTIS.

Modes of Phonation

1. Glottis open vocal cords wide apart. Used for

breathing and voiceless sounds.
2. Vocal cords close together in a loose position
they vibrate. Used for the production of voiced
sounds.
3. Vocal cords tightly pressed together glottal
stop produced.
4. Vocal cords narrow causing friction glottal
fricative /h/ produced.
5. Vocal cords close together with a small passage
to the airflow used for whispering.

The Resonating Cavities

The airstream further modified according to the shape

assumed by the upper cavities of the pharynx, mouth
and the presence or absence of the nasal cavity.
The pharynx: The pharyngeal cavity extends from the
top of the trachea and oesophagus to the region at the
rear of the soft palate.
It is divided into three sections: laryngopharynx,
oropharynx and nasopharynx. The activity of the
muscles which affect the shape and volume of this
resonator greatly influences the quality of speech
sounds.

The escape of air from the pharynx may be affected in one of

three ways:
The soft palate may be lowered without any obstacle in the
oral tract
in normal breathing,
during the production of nasal vowels. E.g. French un bon vin
blanc.
This quality is achieved through the function of the nasopharyngeal
cavity. Nasal airflow does not necessarily have to go through the
nose.

The soft palate is lowered, the air escapes through the nose,
but a complete obstruction is made at some point in the
mouth. Therefore, no oral escape is possible. This is how
nasal consonants are produced.
The soft palate is raised, so that air escapes through the
mouth. This is the case of the production of most speech
sounds (E.g. all English vowels, plosives, fricatives, etc.).
Such sounds are called oral sounds.

Some positions of the vocal cords:

VOCAL TRACT