The speech pressure waveform for the English phrase alveolar ridge

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Michael Ashby & John Maidment

Introducing Phonetic Science

Chapter 3: Place of Articulation

Chapter Summary

In this chapter we introduce the concept of place of articulation.  The main areas of articulation for consonants are the lips, upper front teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, soft palate, uvula, the pharynx and the larynx.  The tongue can be viewed as consisting of five main areas: the tip, blade, front, back and root.  An articulation is a narrowing or constriction of the vocal tract caused by an active articulator approaching a passive articulator, or by two active articulators approaching one another.  Articulations may be simple and consist of only one constriction, or they may be complex and consist of two equal constrictions (a double articulation) or of a primary and a secondary articulation.

The chapter includes a brief overview of instrumental techniques for investigating place of articulation: electropalatography, x-ray photography and magnetic resonance imaging and concludes with a look at how places of articulation for oral stop consonants are used by the world’s languages.