Vocal Tract and Consonants Flashcards
(25 cards)
What is sound?
Pressure fluctuations that reach the eardrum through a medium.
» Causes the eardrum to move
» Auditory system translates movement/ vibrations in neural impulses, which we experience as sound
Sound requires movement
Energy source of sound:
Moves things around
Medium of sound
Where things are bouncing and travelling through, i.e. the air
Receiver of sound:
Detects the movements and interprets them as sound, i.e. the ear and auditory system
Longitudinal or compression wave vs. Transverse wave
See slides for visuals, transverse waves sometimes represent sound, but sound is best represented/ recorded in longitudinal waves
Basic parts of speech anatomy:
Bones: form support structure of the vocal tract
Cartilages: semi-flexible, found in the larynx
Muscles: long strings of cells that can contract to allow movement
Striated skeletal muscles
> Muscles important to speech
Usually act together
Agonist: produces the main movement of an articulator
Antagonist: pulls in the opposite direct for control of movement
Synergist: provides stability to the system, prevents other unwanted motions
Supralaryngeal vocal tract
“Above the larynx”
- refers to the top of the vocal tract, i.e. the mouth, nasal cavity.
Parts:
- Upper and lower lip
- Teeth
- Oral cavity
- Nasal cavity
- Alveolar ridge
- (Hard) palate
- Vellum/ Soft palate
- Uvula
- Pharynx
- Jaw
- Tongue
- Pharynx
- Epiglottis
- Larynx
- Esophagus
Supralaryngeal articulators
Major Articulatory Areas
> Nasal
> Oral
> Pharyngeolayngeal
Main parts of the upper surface of the vocal tract:
> Upper lip/ Labial > exo-/endo-
Teeth/ Dental
Alveolar Ridge
Hard Palate
Soft Palate/ Vellum
Uvula
Pharynx Wall
Main parts of the lower surface of the vocal tract:
> Lower lip
Tongue tip
Tongue blade
Tongue front
Tongue center
Tongue back
Tongue root
Epiglottis
Types of labial and labio-dental articulation
> Exolabio-exolabial
Endolabio-endolabial
Exolabio-dental
Endolabio-dental
Consonants:
> Constricted Vocal Tract
Voiced or Voiceless
Less Acoustic Energy (perceptually softer)
Likely to occur at the edges of a syllable or word
Only some can function as a syllable nuclei
Only some bear pitch information
Large in number
Vowels:
> Open vocal tract
Generally voiced
Higher acoustic energy (perceptually louder)
Occur more at the center of a syllable or word
Functions as syllable nuclei
Function as the pitch-bearing unit
Few in number
Places of articulation + Active/ Passive articulators:
> Bilabial- (AA: Upper and lower lips)
Labio-dential- (AA: Lower lip, PA: Upper front teeth)
(inter)Dental- (AA: tongue tip, PA, Upper front teeth)
Alveolar- (AA: tongue tip/ blade, PA: Alveorar Ridge)
Post-alveolar- (AA: tongue tip or blade, PA: behind alveolar ridge)
Retroflex- (AA: Tongue tip, PA: Hard palate)
Palatal- (AA: Tongue front, PA: Hard palate)
Velar- (AA: Tongue back, PA: Soft palate)
Uvular- (AA: Tongue back, PA: Uvula)
Pharyngeal- (AA: Tongue root, PA: Pharyngeal wall)
Glottal- (AA: Vocal folds)
Epiglottal- (AA: Root of Epiglottis, PA: Pharyngeal wall)
How does the tongue work?
> Muscular hydrostat, similar to an elephant trunk or a tentacle
Intrinsic tongue muscles work internally to squeeze or pull the tongue into different shapes
What is the manner of Articulation?:
How articulators come together
Key distinguishing factor: Constriction
Consonants are produced by:
> Blockage in vocal tract
considerable narrowing of the vocal tract
diversion of airflow to the nasal cavity
Manners of articulation:
> Plosives/ Stops
Nasals
Trill
Tap/ Flap
Fricative
Lateral Fricative
Approximant
Lateral Approximant
Stops/ Plosives
- Closing phase: Articulators move towards each other
- Closure: Vocal tract is completely closed, blocking airflow
- Release: Closure is opened abruptly
Fricatives
> Active articulator comes very close to the passive articulator, forming a narrow passage
Turbulant airflow, friction
Lateral fricative: Narrow constrictions/ passages on the sides of the tongue
Affricates
> 2 manners of articulation
—> Closure, followed by small narrowing
Nearly same place of articulation
Turbulent airflow
Approximants
> AA approaches PA in contriction, but DOES NOT create turbulent airflow
Airflow can be central (/j/) or lateral (/l/)
Glides and semivowels involves movement of articulators (/w/)
Tap/ Flap
> Articulators touch for a brief duration via ballistic movement
E.G. Tom (stop) vs. Atom (flap)
Always voiced
