Phonation

With articulation ( articular Latin = clearly express ) is referred to in the linguistic sense, the formation of the phonemes and words of human languages ​​, so the motor act of speech in the spoken languages ​​and Gebärdens holding hands at the sign languages ​​.

Prerequisite for the phonetic sound education is the breathing which supplies via the lungs breathing air needed to talk. One speaks in this sense also from Phonationsstrom. This is primarily expiratory Phonationsstrom, ie only the exhaled air is normally used phonation. Not all sounds that can be produced with the mouth, are used in a given spoken language and thus are linguistically relevant.

Prerequisite for the formation of the manual gestures, the ability of the arms to perform movements and touching parts of the body, and the hands, with fingers hand configurations. One speaks in the linguistics of sign language of the four parameters in the formation of gestures: hand configuration, hand position, movement, and movement locus. Only a subset of the possible movements of the arms and hand shapes is linguistically relevant in a given sign language. Also, only a limited number of body parts of the hand or hands -talking is touched.

The rest of the article concerns only the phonetic side of the articulation.

• 2.1 emergence of Phonationsstroms
• 2.2 The Phonations and articulation process
• 2.3 Representation and description of speech sounds

The organs of speech

In order to better understand the process of speaking, a picture you have to make about which way the Phonationsstrom takes from the lungs through the bronchi to the oral cavity, ie which speech organs are involved in the process of speaking, and arise as in this way out of breath sounds.

The term speech organs are understood not only the tongue but also the lips, the teeth, the palate, the soft palate, the uvula, pharynx and nasal cavity, and the larynx and the actual respiratory system, where the talk begins. In summary, the supraglottale area, ie the area above the larynx consisting of oral cavity, nasal cavity and pharynx known as the vocal tract or neck tube. All the organs and parts of the extension tube are involved in the articulation of a spoken language: lips, teeth, tongue, palate, soft palate, uvula, pharynx, epiglottis and nasal cavity.

The respiratory system

The term respiratory system, also called the respiratory organs, it often subsumed in addition to the lungs and bronchi, the air-conducting organs, such as trachea, pharynx, nose. A special role in the generation of sounds played by the larynx.

The human larynx

The larynx is composed of cartilage, ligaments and muscles and is characterized by a special mobility. Overall, you can see five Cartilage: cricoid cartilage, thyroid cartilage, arytenoid cartilage and the two so-called epiglottis. The cricoid is a closed ring which widens towards the rear in a large cartilage plate. He sits on the trachea and connected laterally across joints to the thyroid cartilage. The thyroid cartilage consists of two plates, grown together front and back are open and each have a horn up and down. The articulation between the thyroid cartilage and cricoid cartilage is located on the lower horns, so that both cartilage can tilt against each other.

Where the two plates are connected to the thyroid cartilage, there is a connection to the epiglottis, which rises obliquely rearward. It has the shape of a spoon, and made ​​of soft cartilage. He closes the entrance of the larynx to the pharynx.

The larynx is palpated from the outside. When swallowing, you will notice how the epiglottis lays over the laryngeal inlet. Play a special role in the arytenoid cartilage. They sit hinged on the rear upper edge of the cricoid cartilage and look like little pyramids. Next they run out into the vocal processes so-called.

(: See also vocal cords ) stretched between them and the wall of the thyroid cartilage, the two vocal folds. The vocal cords are muscles. They run from the inner edge of the thyroid cartilage in a horizontal line straight to the arytenoid cartilages and are connected by ribbon fabric with the cricoid cartilage.

The arytenoid cartilage can each rotate around its own horizontal axis or outward or inward slide and thus influence the position of the vocal cords, which are associated with them. The relationship between the cricoid and thyroid cartilage on the other hand allowed by mutual tilting an increase or decrease the tension of the vocal folds.

However, the major function of the larynx is not the vocal production. Rather, it controls the path of the breathing air from the outside to the lungs, and vice versa from the lungs to the outside. The epiglottis has a protective function, because it ensures that solid or liquid food from entering the trachea and thus in the delicate lung tissue. Coughing, for example, a complicated process is performed can be removed by the foreign body from the lungs and the bronchi.

The presence of the vocal folds, through the mechanics and especially by the position of the human larynx, however, the formation of " voice" and so speaking is possible.

Process of speaking

In the formation of speech sounds it comes to various coordinated movements between the speech tools mentioned above, ie

To produce a sound, run in the human body following processes:

• Initiation of a Phonationsstroms from the lungs
• Phonationsprozess: Overcoming the vocal folds
• Proper articulation process: the organs of speech are brought into the required position.

Emergence of Phonationsstroms

The lungs can expand by increasing the volume of the thorax by means of the chest muscles, the ribs and the diaphragm and creates a negative pressure so that air can flow through the airways in the lungs. By lowering the ribs and lift the diaphragm, the lungs contract, on the other again. The resulting pressure is pressed back out of the lungs as Exspirationsluftstrom via the bronchial tubes in the trachea. The trachea is elastic, and terminates at the top with the larynx. Only there, in the larynx, decides whether the expiratory flow to Phonationsstrom or not.

The Phonations and articulation process

While the air flowing out of the lungs, it passes through the larynx and the vocal cords. In a relaxed state, the vocal folds in breathing position, ie the glottis is wide open, so that the breathing air can dissipate.

To phonation, ie to initiate the voice production, the vocal folds are in the phonation ( vocal position) brought, that is they are loose to each other and so close the glottis. Due to the air flow, the vocal cords are made ​​to vibrate, ie they open and close, so that the air is released with each opening and closing intermittently in the articulation space. There arise complicated periodic consisting of partials vibrations, also called sounds. The frequency ( approximately 70-1000 Hz are possible ) depends on the length and pitch of the tension of the vocal folds from, which are regulated by position of the arytenoid cartilage or the tilting movement between the cricoid and thyroid cartilage.

Once a primary sound produced in the vocal folds, it flows into the ( existing from the throat, nose and mouth) extension tube. The extension tube is similar to a musical instrument, in which the vibration once generated is modified into a sound. The human vocal tract is thus capable of vibration and thus acts as a so-called resonance chamber. The sounds and sounds produced in the larynx be modulated in the extension tube to speech sounds.

Basically, you have to distinguish between the speech sounds sound sounds and noises sounds. In the isolated articulation of a " sharp " s as in mouse, for example, there is a noise. It is formed ( see figure) is when the glottis in breathing position and between the border of the tongue and the alveolar crest a strait is formed. To produce a sound, so it is not necessary that the vocal folds go in phonation ( vocal position). It is also formed during respiration position a voiceless consonant. In the isolated articulation of a "soft" s as in sun, however, the glottis is contrast in phonation ( see figure). In this very close approximation of the vocal folds arise forces in a series of periodic oscillations enables the airflow ( Bernoulli effect ). The result is a voiced consonant produced by Tight formation between Zungensaum alveolar crest and a sound: the voiced ( soft ) s

A basic distinction in phonetics between the articulator to a place of articulation ( place of articulation ), and finally the manner of articulation.

• The articulator is the active part of the articulation of the places of articulation ( the articulation ) added moves or touches him: lower lip
• Tongue Apex ( tip of the tongue )
• Corona ( Zungensaum )
• Dorsum ( dorsum )
• Radix ( root of the tongue )

• The place of articulation is the relatively immovable part of the extension tube and objective of the articulator. The sounds you designate accordingly:

• Labial ( upper lip )
• Dental ( maxillary teeth )
• Alveolar (dental dam )
• Postalveolar ( halfway between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate )
• Velar ( soft palate / soft palate, velum )
• Uvular ( uvula, uvula )
• Pharyngeal (throat, pharynx )
• Glottal ( vocal folds )

• The manner of articulation is finally the way, how is the contact between the articulator and place of articulation, such as narrow an aperture at / v / as in " wine" or the flow of air in the immediate future (obstruction ) in / b / as in "leg". However, the Phonationsluft may also without having to overcome an obstacle, flow through the vocal tract, as it is for vowels and semi-vowels, a subgroup of the approximants, the case. Vowels, semi-vowels and voiced consonants are sounds that we perceive as speech sounds. Closure, tightness or education unhindered outflow of breathing air are the only three Überwindungsmodi.
• Palatalization
• Velarization
• Pharyngealization
• Glottalisierung
• Labialization

Representation and description of speech sounds

Sounds can be described by specifying the articulating organs. The turnout must be noted that there are fully voiced and partially voiced consonants, depending on voice onset point ( engl. " voice onset ").

Using a phonetic transcription such as the International Phonetic Alphabet can represent the sounds of human languages ​​in the world.