Editing Place of articulation (section)

{{Short description|Place in the mouth consonants are articulated}}{{More footnotes|date=August 2018}}
[[File:Places of articulation.svg|thumb|250px|Common approximate places of articulation (passive & active):<br>1. Exo-labial, 2. Endo-labial, 3. Dental, 4. Alveolar, 5. Post-alveolar, 6. Pre-palatal, 7. Palatal, 8. Velar, 9. Uvular, 10. Pharyngeal, 11. Glottal, 12. Epiglottal, 13. Radical, 14. Postero-dorsal, 15. Antero-dorsal, 16. Laminal, 17. Apical, 18. Sub-apical]]
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In [[articulatory phonetics]], the '''place of articulation''' (also '''point of articulation''') of a [[consonant]] is an approximate location along the [[vocal tract]] where its production occurs.<ref name=SOWL>{{Cite book |last=Ladefoged |first=Peter |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/31867443 |title=The sounds of the world's languages |date=1996 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |others=Ian Maddieson |isbn=0-631-19814-8 |location=Oxford, OX, UK |oclc=31867443}}</ref>{{rp|10}} It is a point where a constriction is made between an active and a passive articulator. Active articulators are organs capable of voluntary movement which create the constriction, while passive articulators are so called because they are normally fixed and are the parts with which an active articulator makes contact.<ref name=Zsiga2013>{{Cite book |last=Zsiga |first=Elizabeth C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/799024997 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |title=The sounds of language: an introduction to phonetics and phonology |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4051-9103-6 |location=Chichester |oclc=799024997}}</ref>{{rp|24}} Along with the [[manner of articulation]] and [[phonation]], the place of articulation gives the consonant its distinctive sound.

Since [[vowel]]s are produced with an open vocal tract, the point where their production occurs cannot be easily determined. Therefore, they are not described in terms of a place of articulation but by the relative positions in [[vowel space]]. This is mostly dependent on their formant frequencies and less on the specific tongue position and lip rounding.<ref name=Bickford2006>{{Cite book |last=Bickford |first=Anita C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/76160059 |title=Articulatory phonetics: tools for analyzing the world's languages |date=2006 |publisher=SIL International |others=Rick Floyd |isbn=978-1-55671-165-7 |edition=4 |location=Dallas, Tex. |oclc=76160059}}</ref>{{rp|34}}

The terminology used in describing places of articulation has been developed to allow specifying of all theoretically possible contrasts. No known [[language]] distinguishes all of the places described in the literature so less precision is needed to distinguish the sounds of a particular language.{{r|SOWL|p=39}}