Overview of speech production - physical aspects
Main “components” and mechanism of speech production:
- the energy source = the lungs & the diaphragm;
- when speaking, the air flow is forced trough the glottis between the vocal cords & the larynx to 3 main cavities: - the pharynx; - the oral cavity; - the nasal cavities.
- the glottis = the most important sound source in the vocal system
- the vocal cords modulate the air flow by rapid opening & closing ? cause buzzing sound of the vowels and voiced consonants (fundamental frequency: 110-300 Hz).
- the oral cavity = one of the most important parts of the vocal tract; its size, shape and acoustic are varied by the movements of: palate; tongue; lips; cheeks; teeth.
- the lips control the size & shape of the mouth opening trough which the speech sound is radiated.
For speech production, there are responsible:
- visible parts: lips, tongue, cheeks, teeth
- invisible parts: vocal cords, glottis
Department of Informatics
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki