Phonetics The term Phonetics is of Greek origin

Phonetics Ø The term ‘Phonetics' is of Greek origin. It comes from the word ‘phone’, which means ‘sound or voice‘. Ø Phonetics is the scientific study of Production, Transmission, and Reception of speech sounds.

What do the Phoneticians study? The Phoneticians try to study how the various organs of speech — lungs, larynx, soft palate, tongue and lips — function in the production of speech.

Branches of Phonetics Acoustic Phonetics Auditory Phonetics Articulatory Phonetics

Acoustic Phonetics: Study of physical properties of speech sounds, such as frequency and amplitude in the transmission these sounds Analysis of physical properties of sound waves with the help of instruments such as Spectrograph, Phonograph and oscillograph, etc.

Auditory Phonetics: It is the study of hearing and perception of speech sounds

Articulatory Phonetics: v It studies how the organs of speech or articulators produce the sounds of language v It is related to the production of speech sound by the movement of organs of speech — lungs, larynx, soft palate, tongue and lips

Speech Mechanism q For production of speech sounds, as indeed for production of any sound, there must be some disturbance in the air. q Such disturbance in the case of speech sounds is produced by the movement of certain organs of the body such as muscles of the chest, the vocal cords, the tongue, the lips, and so on.

Organs of Speech q Organs of speech or articulators are part of the study of articulatory phonetics. Articulators or speech organs which help us to produce speech sounds are together called Organs of Speech. q Interesting characteristics of these articulators is that though they are helping to produce speech sounds, their primary job is to do something else (breathing, chewing, eating, smelling, tasting, etc. ) for our body than articulate speech sounds.

Organs of Speech

Organs of Speech

Functions of Speech Organs can be divided into three systems: Respiratory System Phonatory System Articulatory System

Respiratory System Initiation: The creation of the airstream mechanism • Through the process of breathing, the system provides an airstream that acts as a source of energy. Without an airstream no amount of activity on the parts of speech organs can produce a sound.

Respiratory System Initiation of airflow: q Your airflow can be initiated in two ways: egressive: breathing out ingressive: breathing in q It is the airstream initiated by the air exhaled from the lungs that is chiefly used for speech production. q This airstream mechanism is called pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism. q English and all other languages of the world, except Sindhi, use the pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism.

Phonatory System Phonation: (voicing of sound) • The airstream released by the lungs undergoes several modifications before it goes out into the atmosphere. • The first such modification is effected in trachea, the wind pipe. • Feel the difference in modification of sounds in words: seal and zeal. A ‘hum’ is felt in ‘z’ while it is not there in ‘s’ sound.

Larynx and Vocal Cords � Larynx is in the upper part of trachea. � The larynx is a box of cartilage and muscle. It is also called ‘Voice Box’ � Its primary function is to act as a valve. � Its front part is prominent in neck and commonly called the ‘Adam’s apple’. � Inside the larynx is situated a pair of lip-like structure, called the Vocal Cords/Folds, which can open and shut like curtains.

Larynx and Vocal Cords �Vocal Cords are placed horizontally from front to back, joined at the front but separated at the back. �As they are separated at the end they can assume number of positions.

Position of Vocal Cords Drawn Wide Apart: q q When the vocal cords are drawn wide apart, there is a wide opening between them, called Glottis. The air can pass freely and vocal cords do not vibrate. The sounds produced in such position are called breathed or voiceless sounds. There is no ‘hum’ in the sound produced. For example: initial sounds-(/p/f/θ/s/) in the words— pot, film, thin, sin.

Position of Vocal Cords Held Loosely Together: q q In this position the air from the lungs can escape only by setting them into vibration. Such vibration gives a ‘hum’ to the sounds produced, which are called voiced sounds. In English all the vowel sounds and the initial consonants sounds-(/b/d/m/n/v/z/) in words – bed, dead, get, men, nest, very, zinc.

Exercise � Speak the words below aloud. Decide whether the sound associated with the underlined segment is voiced or voiceless: Voiced Voiceless bother □ □ rose □ □ many □ □ window □ □ fly □ □ Stop □ □ push □ □ bath □ □

Articulatory System: After passing through the larynx, the airstream is further modified by various speech organs bringing some change in the quality of sound produced. These organs of speech, together constitute the Articulatory System. Parts of Articulatory System: Pharynx, Lips, Teeth ridge, Hard palate, Soft palate, Uvula, tongue as described in the figure on the next slide.

Pharynx Extending from the top of the larynx to the hindermost part of the tongue is Pharynx. The shape and size of the pharyngeal cavity can be modified by contraction or expansion of the muscles of the pharynx, by movement and position of the tongue, affecting quality of sound produced.

The Lips q q The lips play an important role in the matter of articulation. They can be pressed together or brought into contact with the teeth. The consonant sounds which are articulated by touching two lips each other are called bilabial sounds. For example, /p/ and /b/ are bilabial sounds in English. Whereas, the sounds which are produced with lip to teeth contact are called labio-dental sounds. In English there are two labio-dental sounds: /f/ and /v/. Another important thing about the lips is that they can take different shapes and positions. Therefore, lip-rounding is considered as a major criterion for describing vowel sounds. The lips may have the following positions:

q Rounded: When we pronounce a vowel, our lips can be rounded, a position where the corners of the lips are brought towards each other and the lips are pushed forward. And the resulting vowel from this position is a rounded one. For example, vowel sound in the words, pot, boat, put, etc. q Spread: The lips can be spread. In this position the lips are moved away from each other (i. e. when we smile). For example, in vowel sound /i: / is a long vowel with slightly spread lips, as in words, beat, seat, neat, etc. Neutral: Again, the lips can be neutral, a position where the lips are noticeably rounded or spread. For example, in vowel sound /ɑ: / is a long vowel with neutral lips as in words, part, cart, dart, etc. q

The Teeth: q The teeth are also very much helpful in producing various speech sounds. The sounds which are made with the tongue touching the teeth are called dental sounds. Some examples of dental sounds in English words, think, that, fan, van, etc.

The Roof of the Mouth: The roof of the mouth is considered as a major speech organ. It is divided into three parts: The Alveolar Ridge/Teeth Ridge: The alveolar ridge is situated immediately after the upper front teeth. Some alveolar sounds in English include: [t] [d] as in words, ten, day, zoo, etc. The Hard Palate: The hard palate is the concave part of the roof of the mouth. It is situated on the middle part of the roof. It provides obstruction to the outgoing air, causing hissing noise, as initial sound in words, ‘so’ and ‘show’ The Velum or Soft Palate: The lower part of the roof of the mouth is called soft palate. When it is lowered, the air stream from the lungs has access to the nasal cavity. When it is raised the passage to the nasal cavity is blocked. For example: /k/g/ as in words, king, go, and Urdu words, ख़र ब , ग़लत � q q q

The Tongue: The tongue is the most important organ of speech. It is most flexible and can assume a large number of shapes and take different positions, which are significant in view of production of speech sounds. For example: The tip of the tongue is raised and touched with the teeth ridge to produce initial consonant sound in words, to, do, ten, no, etc. Similarly, back of the tongue may be brought in contact with soft palate to produce initial consonant sound in words, kill and girl.

The Tongue: q The tongue is divided into five parts: a. The tip: It is the extreme end of the tongue. b. The blade: It lies opposite to the alveolar ridge. c. The front: It lies opposite to the hard palate. d. The back: It lies opposite to the soft palate or velum. e. The root: It lies at the end of the tongue.

The Uvula: At the end of the soft palate there is a piece of flesh that hangs over the pharyngeal passage. It is called the Uvula. It can be vibrated to produce uvular sounds. The back of the tongue can articulate with the uvula to produce sounds such as the q-sound in Urdu words, क़र ब (near) क म (community)

Classification of Organs of Speech Before concluding this discussion we must know the distinction between Active articulators and Passive Articulators. Active articulators are those organs of speech which move from their position of rest to articulate against other speech organs that do not or cannot move. The latter, which cannot move, are called Passive articulators. For example, in the production of the t, d, n, s, sounds, the tip and blade of the tongue move from their position of rest to articulate against the teeth ridge. The tip and blade of the tongue are therefore active articulator and the teeth ridge is passive articulator. In the production of f-sound in the word, ‘fat’, the lower lip is active articulator and upper teeth are the passive articulator.

Importance of Organs of Speech organs are one of the most important subject in the study of phonetics. The scope of organs of speech is as important as the scope of phonetics. It helps us to understand the articulators which are involved in the production of sounds or phones. A clear conception about articulators can change the style of any individual’s pronunciation. The knowledge helps a native more accurate in his first language (mother tongue). Moreover, it helps a person to be more native like in his or her second language. Overall, a well rounded knowledge of organs of speech is not only necessary for the students of linguistics and phonetics but also for the general people.

Conclusion Producing different speech sounds depends on the movement of speech organs. It is essential to know the movement and the placement of each organ to produce particular sounds. The above descriptions and functions of the organs of speech help a person to produce the consonants and vowels in a right way.