The organs of speech

Answer the following questions:

1. 
   What parts does the palate (tongue) consist of?
   
2. 
   Where are the vocal chords situated?
   
3. 
   Under what conditions does the flow of air cause the vocal chords to vibrate?
   
4. 
   What speech sounds are produced when the vocal chords are apart (drawn together)?
   
5. 
   What conditions make it possible for the flow of air to pass out through the mouth (nasal) cavity?
   
6. 
   What active (passive) organs of speech do you know?
   
7. 
   Draw the scheme of the organs of speech and speak on the work of the organs of speech.
   

CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH SOUNDS

The work of the speech organs necessary for making speech sounds is called articulation. According to the specific character of their articulation speech sounds are divided into vowels and consonants.

In the articulation of vowels: In the articulation of consonants:

1. 
   the flow of air passes freely (meets no obstruction);
   
2. 
   the flow of air is weak;
   
3. 
   all organs of speech are tense;
   
4. 
   voice prevails over noise;
   
5. 
   vowels are syllable forming sounds.
   

1. 
   the flow of air meets
   

an obstruction;

2. 
   the flow of air is strong;
   
3. 
   the active organs of speech are tense only in the place of obstruction;
   
4. 
   noise prevails over voice;
   
5. 
   consonants are not syllable-forming sounds, as a rule.
   

There is an intermediate type called sonants (sonorants). They have features common to both vowels and consonants. A consonant is characterized by an obstruction, however, the air passage is wide. In producing sonorants voice prevails over noise. Some English sonorants [l] [m] [n] can form a syllable when they are preceded by a consonant and if no vowel sound follows,

e. g. people [pi-pl], seldom [sel-dm], taken [tei-kn]

The phoneme is the smallest language unit that exists in speech as such speech sound which is capable of distinguishing one word from another word, or one grammatical form of a word from another grammatical form of the same word.