Лекция: Organs of speech

All speech sounds of English are made with some movement of air when it moves out of the lungs/lANz/. We draw it into the lungs quickly and we release it slowly. The air passes through the wind-pipe /'wInd paIp/ and comes to the larynx /'lxrINks/. The larynx has several very important functions in speech. It is situated in the neck. The front of the larynx comes to a point and you can feel this point at the front of your neck – particularly if you are a man and/or slim. This point is commonly called the Adam’s Apple. Inside the larynx there are thevocal cords /'vqVkql kLdz/(vocal folds/fqVldz/). These are two thick bands of muscle (like elastic tissue) lying opposite each other across the air passage, rather like a pair of lips (see Figure 1). At the front the vocal cords are joined together. The opening between the vocal cords is called glottis /'glPtIs/. If the vocal cords are apart we say that the glottis is open; if they are pressed together we say that the glottis is closed. This seems quite simple, but in fact we produce a very complex range of changes in the vocal cords and their positions. These changes are often important in speech.

Figure 1. The vocal cords.

So, we distinguish 4 main positions of the vocal cords:

1. Wide apart (Fig. 1a)

The vocal cords are wide apart for normal breathing and usually for voiceless consonants.

2. Narrow glottis (Fig. 1b)

If air is passed through the glottis when it is narrowed, the result is a fricative sound [h].

3. Vibration (Fig. 1c)

When the edges of the vocal cords are touching each other, or nearly touching, air passing through the glottis will cause vibration. Air is pressed from the lungs and this air pushes the vocal cords apart for a moment so that a little air escapes. Then the vocal cords are brought together again. Then the air will force them apart again, and they will close again. This opening and closing happens very quickly (it may take place as many as 800 times per second) and is repeated regularly. If the vocal cords vibrate we will hear the sound that we call voice.

4. Tightly closed (Fig. 1d)

The vocal cords can be firmly pressed together so that air cannot pass between them. When this happens in speech we call it a glottal stop. The compression of the air may be very great and when the vocal cords are opened suddenly the air bursts out with a sort of coughing noise.

After passing through the larynx, the air goes to the pharynx/'fxrINks/. It is a tube which begins just above the larynx. It is about 7 cm long in women and about 8 cm in men, and at its top it is divided into two, one part being the back of the mouth cavity /'kxvItI/ and the other being the beginning of the nasal cavity (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. The articulators.

upper teeth hard soft palate (velum)