The Vocal Tract

The Vocal Tract

1. The vocal tract is the area from the nose and the nasal cavity down to the vocal cords deep in the throat.

2. The lips: The p sound, b sound, and m sound are created by pressing the lips together,

3. The front of the tongue (including the tip) and the tooth ridge: The tooth ridge is the bony bump directly behind the top front teeth (behind the tooth ridge is the hard palate). the tooth ridge is necessary for production of the t sound, d , ch , j , s , z , sh , zh, l , and n sound.

4. The back of the tongue and the soft palate: The soft palate is the fleshy area at the top, back of the mouth. The back of the tongue interacts with the soft palate to create the k sound, g sound, and ng sound.

5. The deep back of the tongue and the throat: The h sound is created by constricting the area at the very back of the mouth.

6. The nasal cavity The nasal cavity is the uppermost section of the vocal tract. The m sound, n sound, and ng sound are nasal sounds that are created when air is released through the nasal cavity

7. The vocal cords The vocal cords are deep in the throat, and their vibration allows sound to be said more loudly or more quietly

8. Manners of Articulation

   • is the way for airstream is affected as it flows from the lungs and out the nose and mouth
     • OBSTRUENTS
       • STOPS : WHEN THE AIR STREAM ENTERS THE ORAL CAVITY IT BE STOPPED, OBSTRUCTED OR FLOW FREELY
         • ORAL STOP : BILABIAL (K) (p) - ALVEOLAR (t) (d) - VELAR (k) (g)
         • NASAL STOP: BILABIAL (m) - ALVEOLAR (n)
       • FRICATIVE: LABIODENTAL (F) (V) --- DENTAL (THUMB) (FATHER) --- ALVEOLAR (s) (z) GLOTTAL ( h)
       • AFFRICATES: CHICK AND MATCH
     • SONORANTS
       • NASAL: WHEN YOU COMPLETELY BLOCK AIR FLOW THROUGH YOUR MOUTH AND LET THE AIR PASS THROUGH YOUR NOSE. (mad) (clam)
       • LATERAL :WHEN THE TONGUE BLOCKS THE MIDDLE OF YOUR MOUTH SO THAT AIR HAS TO PASS AROUND THE SIDES (LUCK)
       • APPROXIMANT: WHEN TWO ARTICULATORS COME CLOSE TOGETHER BUT NOT QUITE CLOSE ENOUGH TO CREATE AIR TURBULENCE (WET) (HOWARD)
     • INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
       • An alphabet developed by the International Phonetic Association to provide suitable symbols for the sounds of any language. The symbols are based on the Roman alphabet and Greek alphabet. The alphabet was create and developed in the late of 19th century by Paul Passy, Henry Sweet, and Daniel Jones. The IPA is sufficiently rich to label the phonemes of any language and to handle the contrasts between them.
         • CONSONANTS AND VOWELS
           • CONSONANTS
             • /p/ VOICELESS STOP MADE WITH BOTH LIPS
               • /b/ WITH BOTH LIPS
                 • /t/ Voiceless stop made with the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge
                   • /d/ Voiced stop made with the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge
                     • /k/ Voiceless stop made with the back of the tongue on the soft palate
                       • /g/ Voiceless stop made with the back of the tongue on the soft palate
                         • /f/ Voiceless fricative made by putting your upper front teeth on your lower lip
                           • /v/ Voiced fricative made by putting your upper front teeth on your lower lip
                             • /θ/ TH Voiceless fricative made by putting your tongue between your teeth Found in words like: thing, teeth, Athens
                               • /ð/ tongue between your theeth father
                                 • /s/ Voiceless fricative made by putting the tip the tongue nearly on the alveolar ridge Found in words like: see, city, pass, lesson
                                   • /z/ Voiced fricative made by putting the tip the tongue nearly on the alveolar ridge
                                     • /ʃ/ SH Voiceless fricative made by putting the tip the tongue a little bit past the alveolar ridge Found in words like: she, sure, session, emotion, leash
                                       • /ʒ/ Voiced fricative made by putting the tip the tongue a little bit past the alveolar ridge Found in words like: genre, pleasure, beige, equation, seizure, vision
                                         • /tʃ/ Voiceless affricate made with the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge Found in words like: chair, nature, teach
                                           • /dʒ/ Voiced affricate made with the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge Found in words like: gin, joy, edge, did you, judgment
                                             • /h/ Voiceless fricative made by a forced breath through the glottis Found in words like: genre, pleasure, beige, equation, seizure, vision
                                               • /ʔ/ Glottal stop made by shutting and releasing airflow through the glottis Found in words like: uh–oh, kitten, Manhattan, bet, important (American)
                                                 • /m/ Nasal sound formed while the lips are shut Found in words like: man, them, hammer
                                                   • /n/ Nasal sound formed while the tip of the tongue is on the alveolar ridge Found in words like: no, tin, winner
                                                     • ŋ/ Nasal sound formed while the back of the tongue is on the soft palate Found in words like: ringer, sing, finger, drink
                                                       • /ɾ/ A momentary stop-like sound called a flap or tap, caused by the tip of the tongue lightly throwing itself against the alveolar ridge Found in words like: better, hidden, hater, odor
                                                         • /x/ Voiceless fricative made by putting the back of your tongue nearly on your soft palate Found in words like: loch (Scottish), ugh
                                                           • /l/ Liquid created by keeping the tip of the tongue on the upper teeth Found in words like: left, bell, table, please
                                                             • /ɹ/ Liquid created by curling the tongue backward toward the back of the mouth. The tip of the tongue should not be touching any part of the mouth. Found in words like: run, very, probably, far, earnest
                                                               • /j/ Glide created by bringing the middle of the tongue very close to the roof of the mouth, and then releasing Found in words like: yes, neuron, cube
                                                                 • /w/ Glide created by pursing the lips closely together, and then releasing Found in words like: we, queen, Huang, lower
           • VOWELS
             • /æ/
               • /ɑ/
                 • /ɔ/
                   • /ə/
                     • /ɪ/
                       • /i/
                         • /ɛ/
                           • /ɹ̩/ or /ɚ/
                             • /ɜ/
                               • /ʌ/
                                 • /ʊ/
                                   • /u/
                                     • /o/

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