Articulators involved in sound production

 Articulators are the physical structures in the vocal tract that produce speech sounds. They can be divided into active articulators (which move) and passive articulators (which remain stationary).

1. Active Articulators

These are the parts of the vocal tract that move to create specific speech sounds:

Tongue:

The most versatile articulator. It moves in various ways to produce a wide range of sounds.

• Parts of the tongue:
  1. Tip: Used for sounds like /t/ and /d/ (e.g., top, dog).
  2. Blade: Produces sounds like /ʃ/ (e.g., she).
  3. Front: Helps with vowels like /i:/ (e.g., see).
  4. Back: Used for velar sounds like /k/ and /g/ (e.g., cat, go).
  5. Root: Affects resonance in sounds but is not directly involved in most English speech sounds.

Lips:

The lips can:

• Close completely to form bilabial sounds like /p/, /b/, and /m/ (pat, bat, man).
• Touch the teeth to create labiodental sounds like /f/ and /v/ (fan, van).
• Round or spread to modify vowels like /u:/ (moon) and /i:/ (see).

Velum (Soft Palate):

The velum can raise or lower to direct airflow:

• Raised Velum: Stops airflow from entering the nasal cavity, creating oral sounds (e.g., /p/, /s/).
• Lowered Velum: Allows air to pass through the nasal cavity for nasal sounds like /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/ (man, no, song).

Jaw (Mandible):

The movement of the jaw changes the size and shape of the oral cavity, assisting in vowel articulation and opening/closing consonants.

2. Passive Articulators

These remain stationary and serve as points of contact or constriction for active articulators.

Teeth:

• The upper teeth are used in dental sounds like /θ/ and /ð/ (e.g., think, this).
• The lower teeth can guide airflow for labiodental sounds like /f/ and /v/ (e.g., fan, van).

Alveolar Ridge:

• The bumpy ridge behind the upper front teeth is the contact point for alveolar sounds like /t/, /d/, /s/, and /z/ (top, dog, sun, zoo).

Hard Palate:

• The hard part of the roof of the mouth is involved in palatal sounds like /ʃ/, /ʒ/, and /j/ (e.g., she, measure, yes).

Pharynx:

• The space in the throat affects the quality of sounds by altering resonance.

Glottis:

• The space between the vocal cords. It is involved in glottal sounds like /h/ (e.g., hat) and the glottal stop [ʔ] in some accents (e.g., bottle in Cockney English).

3. How Articulators Work Together

During speech production, active and passive articulators collaborate to create specific sounds. For example:

• /p/: The lips (active articulators) close completely against each other (bilabial), and then release air.
• /s/: The tongue blade (active) comes close to the alveolar ridge (passive), creating a narrow passage for airflow, and producing a fricative sound.

Now, watch the following video so you can better identify the parts: Articulatory Phonetics