Question

Which organ is considered the primary articulator in speech?

• A. Tongue
• B. Lips
• C. Vocal Cords
• D. Soft Palate

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Tongue

Understanding the Tongue as the Primary Articulator

• In Phonetics and Phonology, an articulator is an organ that produces speech sounds by obstructing or modifying the airflow from the lungs.
• The tongue is considered the primary articulator due to its exceptional flexibility, mobility, and ability to adopt various shapes and positions within the oral cavity.
• Its versatile movements allow it to interact with almost all other passive articulators (e.g., teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, soft palate) to produce a vast range of speech sounds.

Key Roles and Parts of the Tongue in Articulation:

• The tongue is broadly divided into several sections, each playing a crucial role in sound production:
  • Tip (Apex): The very front part, used for sounds like /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/ (alveolar sounds) and often for /θ/, /ð/ (dental sounds).
  • Blade (Lamina): The part behind the tip, often involved with the tip for alveolar sounds, or interacting with the palate for sounds like /ʃ/, /ʒ/ (postalveolar sounds).
  • Front (Dorsum - anterior part): The main body of the tongue, crucial for producing front vowels (e.g., /iː/ as in 'see', /ɪ/ as in 'sit') and palatal consonants like /j/ (as in 'yes').
  • Back (Dorsum - posterior part): This section is raised or lowered for back vowels (e.g., /uː/ as in 'moon', /ɒ/ as in 'hot') and used to form velar consonants such as /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ (as in 'sing').
  • Root: The lowest part of the tongue, connected to the pharynx, influences the pharyngeal cavity shape and can be involved in pharyngeal sounds (though less common in English).
• The precise positioning of the tongue – its height, frontness/backness, and tension – largely determines the quality of vowel sounds.
• For consonant sounds, the tongue forms constrictions or complete closures against other articulators, defining the place of articulation (e.g., alveolar, palatal, velar).

Other Articulators and Their Interaction with the Tongue:

• While the tongue is the primary active articulator, other organs act as passive articulators or secondary active articulators:
  • Lips: Form sounds like /p/, /b/, /m/ (bilabial).
  • Teeth: Used for dental sounds like /θ/, /ð/ and labiodental sounds like /f/, /v/ (where lower lip touches upper teeth).
  • Alveolar Ridge: The bony ridge behind the upper front teeth, a common point of contact for the tongue for sounds like /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/.
  • Hard Palate: The roof of the mouth, involved with the tongue for palatal sounds.
  • Soft Palate (Velum): The soft tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth, which can be raised (for oral sounds) or lowered (for nasal sounds like /m/, /n/, /ŋ/).
  • Vocal Cords (Larynx): Responsible for voicing (vibration for voiced sounds like /b/, /d/, /g/, vowels) and voicelessness (no vibration for sounds like /p/, /t/, /k/).
• It's the dynamic interplay between the highly mobile tongue and these other structures that allows for the complex and nuanced production of human speech.