Supralaryngeal vocal tract structures include …
All the structures used for speech that are above the larynx
What are cavities?
Three air-filled containers (air can pass through them after it leaves the larynx) where speech is essentially produced
Three cavities
- Pharyngeal cavity
- Oral cavity
- Nasal cavity
Active articulators
Tongue, lips, epiglottis
Passive articulators
Palate (roof of mouth), teeth, pharynx
From the pharynx air can go to …
The nasal cavity, oral cavity, or both
Two dimensions along which air passes out of the vocal tract that affect speech sounds
- Which cavities airstream passes out of (oral, nasal, or both; both produces nasalised vowels)
- Where in the oral cavity the air passes out of (middle -> central, or side -> lateral)
The role of the velum in speech production
Raising the velum stops air from reaching the nasal cavity (so oral sounds produced); lowering the velum allows air to pass into the nasal cavity (so nasal or nasalised sounds produced; also lowered during vegetative breathing)
Five sections of the tongue (front to back)
- Tip (apex)
- Blade (lamina)
- Front
- Back
- Root
Three main aspects of articulation of speech sounds (consonants)
- Voicing
- Place of articulation
- Manner of articulation
Place of articulation comes from …
A passive articulator with which an active articulator makes a constriction of some kind; for oral articulations, the part of the tongue used is that lying below the passive articulator
Three options for manner of articulation
- Stop articulations
- Fricative articulations
- Resonant articulations
What are stop articulations?
Complete closure in oral tract which stops airflow
Four types of stop articulations
- Plosives (stops)
- Nasals (allow airflow through the nasal cavity)
- Trills (stop airflow intermittently)
- Taps (stop airflow momentarily)
What are fricative articulations?
Articulators in close approximation create turbulent airflow
Two types of fricative articulations
- Fricatives
- Affricates
What are resonant articulations?
Articulators in open approximation, air passes smoothly
Two types of resonant articulations
- Vowels
- Approximants consonants (glides, liquids, nasals)
Obstruents are …
Stops, fricatives, and affricates (collectively)
Sonorants are …
Nasals, liquids, and glides (collectively)
Three ways to study articulation
- Electropalatography
- Electromagnetic midsaggital articulography (EMMA)
- Ultrasound
How can you study air pressure and nasal/oral flow?
Using equipment like an oral/nasal flow mask
How can you study vocal folds?
Using nasal endoscopy
