Concepts of Phonetics

Concepts of Phonetics
Phonetics is concerned with how speech sounds are produced on the vocal tract as well as with the physical properties of the speech sound waves generated by the larynx and vocal tract.

Whereas the term phonetics usually refers to the study of the articulacy and acoustic properties of sounds, the term phonology, is often used to refer to the abstract principles that govern the distribution of sounds in a language.

Physiology of Speech
At its fundamental level speech signal is a rapidly flowing series of noises that are produced inside the throat, mouth and nasal passages and that radiate out from the mouth and sometimes the nose.

One common sense view is that learning to speak a language requires only the control of a few muscles that move the lips, jaw and tongue.

These anatomical structures are the most easily observed in any case. In reality the situation is much more complex, for over 100 muscles exercise direct and continuous during the production of the sound waves that carry speech.

These sounds waves are produced by complex interaction of:
•An outward flow of air from lungs
•Modifications of the airflow at the larynx
Additional modifications of the airflow by a position and movements of the tongue and other anatomical structures of the vocal tract.
Concepts of Phonetics