The air that flows out of our mouth

The air that flows out of our mouth is modified into speech sounds by the action of certain organs of your body. These organs are commonly referred to as Organs of Speech. The Organs of Speech can be divided into the following three groups: 1. The Respiratory System : - This comprises the lungs, the muscles of the chest and the windpipe (the windpipe is also called the trachea. ) 2. The Phonatory System : - This comprises the larynx. 3. The Articulatory System : - This comprises the nose, the teeth, the tongue, the roof of the mouth and the lips.

ORGANS OF SPEECH -By Archana Singh Govt. Bilasa Girl’s PG Auto College, Bilaspur(CG)

Organs of Speech

The Respiratory System 1. The lungs are spongy bodies 2. They are made up of small sacs called the alveoli. 3. It is in these sacs that the blood is cleaned of its carbon-di-oxide and provided with fresh oxygen from the outer-air. 4. Air is supplied to the alveoli by small tubes called bronchioles. 5. The bronchioles come together into two large tubes called the bronchi. One is on the right and other is on the left. 6. The bronchi join the trachea or the windpipe. 7. It is through the trachea that the air that we breathe in passes through the throat into the lungs. 8. The expiratory lung-air, the air that we breathe out, that is the basis for the articulation of most speech sounds. For this reason the air-stream involving lung-air is called pulmonic-air-stream.

The Pulmonic Air-Stream Mechanism 1. The pulmonic air-stream mechanism consists of the lungs and respiratory muscles. 2. The Walls of the lungs act as the initiator. 3. They are moved by the respiratory muscles so that air is drawn into the lungs or pushed out of them. 4. When the air-stream mechanism is used to push air out, it is called egressive and when it is used to draw air in, it is called ingressive. 5. Most speech sounds make use of a Pulmonic egressive air-stream mechanism.

The Phonatory System The Larynx : 1. The larynx is what is commonly called the Adam’s apple, situated at the top of the windpipe. 2. The air from the lungs has to come out through the windpipe and the larynx. 3. In the larynx we find lip-like structures, these are called the vocal cords. 4. Vocal cords are attached in front and can be separated at the back so can be opened and closed. 5. The opening between the cords is called the glottis.

Voiceless or Breathed Sounds 1. When we produce some speech sounds, the vocal cords are wide apart and the glottis is open. Such sounds produced with a wide-open glottis are called voiceless sounds or breathed sounds. 2. /p/, /t/, /k/, /ch/, /f/, /th/ (thin), /s/, /sh/, and /h/ are voiceless sounds.

Voiced Sounds 1. During the production of certain speech sounds, the vocal cords are loosely held together and the pressure of the air from the lungs makes them open and close rapidly. 2. This is called the vibration of the vocal cords and the sounds produced when the vocal cords vibrate are called voiced sounds. 3. /b/, /d/, /g/, /j/, /v/, /th/ (then), /z/, /m/, /n/, /w/, /r/, and /y/ are voiced sounds.

The Articulatory System comprises of various speech organs: 1. Teeth-ridge 2. The tongue 3. The lips

Teeth-ridge: - 1. The convex bony part of the roof of the mouth which lies immediately behind the upper front teeth is called teeth-ridge. 2. It is also called the alveolar ridge or the alveolum.

Hard palate: 1. Immediately after the teeth ridge, the roof of the mouth becomes concave and it is hard and bony. 2. This bony concave surface is called the hard palate.

Soft palate: - 1. The roof of the mouth when suddenly becomes soft and fleshy. 2. This is called the soft palate and the velum.

The tongue : 1. The tongue can be divided into the tip, the blade, the front, the back and the root. 2. The extreme edge of the tongue is called the tip. 3. Immediately after the tip is the blade and it is the part of the tongue that lies opposite the teeth ridge when the speech organs are at rest. 4. Beyond the blade is the front of the tongue and it is that part of the tongue which lies opposite the hard palate when the speech organs are at rest. 5. Beyond the front is the back of the tongue, which lies opposite the soft-palate when the speech organs are at rest.

Uvula: 1. The fleshy structure hanging loose at the extreme end of the roof of the mouth is called the uvula.

Function of the Soft-palate 1. The soft palate or the velum acts like a valve in opening and closing of the nasal passage. 2. If the soft palate is raised so that it touches the back wall of the pharynx, the passage into the nose is closed. 3. The air then cannot escape through the nose at all. 4. Sounds during the production of which the air escapes only through the mouth are called oral sounds. 5. The closure of the nasal passage of air by raising the velum is called velic closure. 6. /p/, /b/, /s/, and /d/ are oral sounds.

1. If the soft palate is lowered, the passage into the nose is opened. 2. If the passage into the mouth is blocked, the air from the lungs will escape into the outer atmosphere only through the nose. 3. Sounds during the production of which the air escapes only through the nose are called nasal sounds. 4. The opening of the nasal passage of air by lowering the velum or the soft palate is called the velic opening. 5. /m/, /n/ are the nasal sounds.

The lips : 1. The lips play their part in the articulation of certain consonants and vowels sounds.