Framework of Articulatory Phonetics

Phonetics is a term standing for "the branch of linguistics that deals with the sounds of speech and their production, combination, and description, and representation by written symbols" (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1992). There are three kinds of phonetics, viz.: 1) Acoustic phonetics, which is concerned with the study of the speech as heard, i.e. its waveform; 2) Experimental phonetics, which usually involves the manipulation of the waveform and makes psycho-acoustic tests to identify which aspects of sounds are essential for understanding, and for the recognition of linguistic categories; and 3) Articulatory phonetics, the oldest branch of the subject, which investigates the ways in which sounds are made. Thus, the phonetician is trained to recognize, produce, and analyze speech sounds. During the XXth century, phonetics has developed as a laboratory subject, in which instruments are used to study the production of speech in the vocal tract. For example, by monitoring the positions and movements of organs, breath flow, and air pressure. Electropalatography uses an artificial palate to record, display, and store data on articulatory movements inside the mouth (McArthur, 1992). Basically, articulatory phonetics is a branch of human physiology, whereas acoustic phonetics is a branch of physics.

"There are two points of view from which sounds can be profitably studied and

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the lungs will have a relatively free passage into the pharynx and the mouth. But if the vocal cords are adjusted so that there is a narrow passage between them, the airstream will cause them to be sucked together. As soon as they are together, there will be no flow of air, and the pressure below them will be built up until they are blown apart again. The flow of air between them will then cause them to be sucked together again, and the vibratory cycle will continue. Sounds produced when the vocal cords are vibrating are said to be voiced, as opposed to those in which the vocal cords are apart, which are said to be voiceless. The air passages above the vocal cords are known collectively as the vocal tract. For phonetic purposes, they may be divided into the oral tract within the mouth and the pharynx, and the nasal tract within the nose. Many speech sounds are characterized by movements of the lower articulators, i.e. the tongue or the lower lip, toward the upper articulators within the oral tract. The upper surface includes several important structures from the point of view of speech production, such as the upper lip and the upper teeth. The alveolar ridge is a small protuberance just behind the upper front teeth that can easil
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