Speech Production

8 Questions

Movements of the tongue and the lips

By pushing air out of the lungs while producing a noise in the throat or mouth

Gestures of the tongue and lips

About twenty-five

A series of frames from an x-ray movie showing tongue and lip movements

Vibrate to produce sound

Pharynx

Airflow from the lungs

Study Notes

Speech sounds are primarily made through the manipulation of air pressure and flow from the lungs, which then passes through the vocal folds, causing them to vibrate.
Speech gestures are made audible through the vibration of the vocal folds, which produces a sound wave that travels through the vocal tract and out of the mouth and nose.
Humans use their vocal apparatus to impart information through speech, which involves the coordination of multiple physical systems, including the lungs, vocal folds, and articulatory organs.
The tongue and lips make numerous gestures to form the sounds of English, with estimates suggesting around 50-60 different gestures.

Figure 1.1 illustrates the process of speech production, highlighting the roles of the lungs, vocal folds, and vocal tract in shaping speech sounds.
The primary function of the vocal folds during speech production is to produce a sound wave through vibration, which then travels through the vocal tract.
The vocal tract, including the mouth, nose, and throat, shapes the resonance of speech sounds, giving them their unique acoustic characteristics.

The primary source of energy for speech production comes from the contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm and other muscles involved in breathing, which generates the air pressure and flow needed to produce speech sounds.