Editing Place of articulation

{{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]]
{{IPA notice}}

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}}

==Overview==
The human voice produces sounds in the following manner:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Titze |first=Ingo R. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/27897589 |title=Principles of voice production |date=1994 |publisher=Prentice Hall |isbn=0-13-717893-X |location=Englewood Cliffs, N.J. |oclc=27897589}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Titze |first=Ingo R. |date=January 2008 |title=The Human Instrument |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-instrument |journal=Scientific American |volume=298 |issue=1 |pages=94–101 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0108-94 |pmid=18225701 |bibcode=2008SciAm.298a..94T |issn=0036-8733|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

#[[Air pressure]] from the [[human lung|lungs]] creates a steady flow of air through the [[vertebrate trachea|trachea]] (windpipe), larynx (voice box) and [[human pharynx|pharynx]] (back of the throat). Therefore, the air moves out of the lungs through a coordinated action of the diaphragm, abdominal muscles, chest muscles and rib cage. 
#The [[vocal folds]] in the larynx vibrate, creating fluctuations in air pressure, known as [[sound wave]]s.
#[[Acoustic resonance#Resonance of a tube of air|Resonances]] in the vocal tract modify these waves according to the position and shape of the lips, jaw, tongue, [[soft palate]], and other speech organs, creating [[formant]] regions and so different qualities of [[sonorant]] ([[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]) sound.
#Mouth radiates the sound waves into the environment.
#Nasal cavity adds resonance to some sounds such as {{IPA|[m]}} and {{IPA|[n]}} to give nasal quality of the so-called [[nasal consonants]].

==The larynx==
The ''[[larynx]]'' or ''voice box'' is a cylindrical framework of [[cartilage]] that serves to anchor the [[vocal folds]]. When the [[muscle]]s of the vocal folds contract, the airflow from the lungs is impeded until the vocal folds are forced apart again by the increasing air pressure from the lungs. The process continues in a periodic cycle that is felt as a vibration (buzzing). In singing, the vibration [[frequency]] of the vocal folds determines the [[pitch (music)|pitch]] of the sound produced. Voiced [[phoneme]]s such as the pure vowels are, by definition, distinguished by the buzzing sound of this periodic [[oscillation]] of the vocal cords.

The lips of the mouth can be used in a similar way to create a similar sound, as any [[toddler]] or [[trumpeter]] can demonstrate. A rubber [[Balloon#Balloons as decoration or entertainment|balloon]], inflated but not tied off and stretched tightly across the neck produces a squeak or buzz, depending on the [[tension (physics)|tension]] across the neck and the level of [[pressure]] inside the balloon. Similar actions with similar results occur when the vocal cords are contracted or relaxed across the larynx.

==Active articulators==
The active articulators are movable parts of the vocal apparatus that impede or direct the airstream, typically some part of the tongue or lips.{{r|Bickford2006|p=4}} There are five major parts of the vocal tract that move: the lips, the flexible front of the tongue, the body of the tongue, the root of the tongue together with the [[epiglottis]], and the [[glottis]]. They are discrete in that they can act independently of each other, and two or more may work together in what is called ''coarticulation''.{{r|SOWL|p=10-11}}

The five main active parts can be further divided, as many languages contrast sounds produced within the same major part of the vocal apparatus. The following 9 degrees of active articulatory areas are known to be contrastive (sorted such that the top-most is in the front-most area of the mouth and the bottom-most is in the rear-most area of the mouth):{{r|SOWL|p=10-15}}
*The lower lip (''{{lcons|labial}}'')
*Various parts of the front of the tongue (''{{lcons|coronal}}''):
**The [[Tongue tip|tip of the tongue]] (''{{lcons|apical}}'')
**The upper front surface of the tongue just behind the tip, called the [[Tongue blade|''blade'']] of the tongue (''{{lcons|laminal}}'')
**The surface of the tongue ''under'' the tip (''{{lcons|subapical}}'')
*The body of the tongue (''{{lcons|dorsal}}'') which is sometimes further divided into front and back
*The base {{aka}} root of the tongue and the throat (''{{lcons|pharyngeal}}'')
*The [[aryepiglottic fold]] inside the throat (''[[aryepiglottal]]'')
*The [[glottis]] at the very back of the windpipe (''[[Glottal consonant|glottal]])'' 

In [[bilabial consonants]], both lips move so the articulatory gesture brings the lips together, but by convention, the lower lip is said to be active and the upper lip passive. Similarly, in [[linguolabial consonant]]s the tongue contacts the upper lip with the upper lip actively moving down to meet the tongue; nonetheless, the tongue is conventionally said to be active and the lip passive if for no other reason than that the parts of the mouth below the vocal tract are typically active, and those above the vocal tract are typically passive.

In dorsal gestures, different parts of the body of the tongue contact different parts of the roof of the mouth, but it cannot be independently controlled so they are all subsumed under the term ''dorsal''. That is unlike coronal gestures involving the front of the tongue, which is more flexible.

The epiglottis may be active, contacting the pharynx, or passive, being contacted by the aryepiglottal folds. Distinctions made in these laryngeal areas are very difficult to observe and are the subject of ongoing investigation, and several still-unidentified combinations are thought possible.

The glottis acts upon itself. There is a sometimes fuzzy line between glottal, aryepiglottal, and epiglottal consonants and [[phonation]], which uses these same areas.

==Passive articulators==
The passive are the more stationary parts of the vocal tract that the active articulator touches or gets close to; they can be anywhere from the lips, upper teeth, gums, or roof of the mouth to the back of the throat.{{r|Bickford2006|p=4}} Although it is a continuum, there are several contrastive areas so languages may distinguish consonants by articulating them in different areas, but few languages contrast two sounds within the same area unless there is some other feature which contrasts as well. The following 9 degrees of passive articulatory areas are known to be contrastive (sorted such that the top-most is in the front-most area of the mouth and the bottom-most is in the rear-most area of the mouth):
*The upper lip (''{{lcons|labial}}'')
*The upper teeth, either on the edge of the teeth or inner surface (''{{lcons|dental}}'')
*The [[alveolar ridge]], the gum line just behind the teeth (''{{lcons|alveolar}}'')
*The back of the alveolar ridge (''{{lcons|post-alveolar}}'')
*The [[hard palate]] on the roof of the mouth (''{{lcons|palatal}}'')
*The [[soft palate]] further back on the roof of the mouth (''{{lcons|velar}}'')
*The [[uvula]] hanging down at the entrance to the throat (''{{lcons|uvular}}'')
*The throat itself, a.k.a. the [[human pharynx|pharynx]] (''{{lcons|pharyngeal}}'')
*The [[epiglottis]] at the entrance to the windpipe, above the voice box (''{{lcons|epiglottal}}'')

The regions are not strictly separated. For instance, in some sounds in many languages, the surface of the tongue contacts a relatively large area from the back of the upper teeth to the alveolar ridge, which is common enough to have received its own name, ''{{lcons|denti-alveolar}}''. Likewise, the alveolar and post-alveolar regions merge into each other, as do the hard and soft palate, the soft palate and the uvula, and all adjacent regions. Terms like ''pre-velar'' (intermediate between palatal and velar), ''post-velar'' (between velar and uvular), and ''upper'' vs. ''lower'' pharyngeal may be used to specify more precisely where an articulation takes place. However, although a language may contrast pre-velar and post-velar sounds, it does not also contrast them with palatal and uvular sounds (of the same type of consonant) so contrasts are limited to the number above, if not always their exact location.

==Table of gestures and passive articulators and resulting places of articulation==
The following table shows the possible combinations of active and passive articulators.

The possible locations for [[sibilant]]s as well as non-sibilants to occur are indicated in <span style="border: 1px dashed red;">dashed red</span>. For sibilants, there are additional complications involving [[tongue shape]]; see the article on [[sibilant consonant|sibilant]]s for a chart of possible articulations.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! !! Front/back → !! colspan=4|[[Anterior consonant|Front]]
! style="border-left: 3px solid;" colspan=3|Back
|-
! !! Major class → !! Labial !! colspan=3|[[Coronal consonant|Coronal]]
! style="border-left: 3px solid;" colspan=3|"[[Guttural consonant|Guttural]]"
|-
! rowspan=2|[[Grave and acute|Acute/grave]]<br>↓
! Active articulator →
! rowspan=2|Lower lip<br>([[Labial consonant|Labial]])
! rowspan=2|Tongue blade<br>([[Laminal consonant|Laminal]])
! rowspan=2|Tongue tip<br>([[Apical consonant|Apical]])
! rowspan=2|Underside of tongue<br>([[Subapical consonant|Subapical]])
! rowspan=2 style="border-left: 3px solid;"| Tongue body<br>([[Dorsal consonant|Dorsal]])
! rowspan=2|Tongue root<br>([[Radical consonant|Radical]])
! rowspan=2|Larynx<br>([[Laryngeal consonant|Laryngeal]])
|-
! Passive articulator<br>↓
|-
! rowspan=2|Grave
! Upper lip
| [[bilabial consonant|bilabial]] || [[linguolabial consonant|linguolabial]] || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"|
| style="border-left: 3px solid; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
|-
! Upper teeth
| [[labiodental consonant|labiodental]] || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
| style="border-left: 3px solid; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
|-
! style="border-top: 3px solid;" rowspan=5|Acute
! style="border-top: 3px solid;"| Upper teeth
| style="border-top: 3px solid; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="border-top: 3px dashed red; border-left: 3px dashed red;"|{{lcons|interdental}} || style="border-top: 3px dashed red;"| {{lcons|dental}}|| style="border-top: 3px dashed red; background: #c0c0c0;"| 
| style="border-left: 3px dashed red; border-top: 3px solid; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0; border-top: 3px solid;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0; border-top: 3px solid;"| 
|-
! Upper teeth/[[alveolar ridge]]
| style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="border-left: 3px dashed red;"| [[denti-alveolar consonant|denti-alveolar]] || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"|
| style="border-left: 3px dashed red; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
|-
! [[Alveolar ridge]]
| style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="border-left: 3px dashed red;"| [[laminal consonant|laminal]] [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]] || [[apical consonant|apico-alveolar]] || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
| style="border-right: 3px dashed red; border-top: 3px dashed red; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
|-
! Back of alveolar ridge <br>([[postalveolar]])
| style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="border-left: 3px dashed red;"| [[palato-alveolar consonant|palato-alveolar]] || [[retroflex consonant|apical retroflex]] || style="background: #c0c0c0;" | 
| style="border-right: 3px dashed red; border-bottom: 3px dashed red; "| [[alveolo-palatal consonant|alveolo-palatal]] || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
|-
! Hard palate (front)
| style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="border-left: 3px dashed red; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || | [[retroflex consonant|retroflex]]
| style="border-left: 3px dashed red;"| [[palatal consonant|palatal]] || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
|-
! style="border-top: 3px solid;" rowspan=6|Grave
! style="border-top: 3px solid;"| [[Soft palate]]
| style="background: #c0c0c0; border-top: 3px solid;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0; border-top: 3px dashed red;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0; border-top: 3px dashed red;"| || style="border-top: 3px dashed red;"| subapical velar
| style="border-left: 3px solid; border-top: 3px solid;"| [[velar consonant|velar]] || style="background: #c0c0c0; border-top: 3px solid;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0; border-top: 3px solid;"| 
|-
! [[Uvula]]
| style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
| style="border-left: 3px solid;"| [[uvular consonant|uvular]] || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
|-
! [[human pharynx|Pharynx]]
| style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
| style="border-left: 3px solid; background: #c0c0c0;"| || [[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal]] || [[epiglotto-pharyngeal consonant|epiglotto-pharyngeal]]
|-
! [[Epiglottis]]
| style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
| style="border-left: 3px solid; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || [[epiglottal consonant|(ary-)epiglottal]]
|-
! [[Glottis]]
| style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| 
| style="border-left: 3px solid; background: #c0c0c0;"| || style="background: #c0c0c0;"| || [[glottal consonant|glottal]]
|-
|}

A precise vocabulary of compounding the two places of articulation is sometimes seen. However, it is usually reduced to the passive articulation, which is generally sufficient. Thus ''dorsal–palatal'', ''dorsal–velar'', and ''dorsal–uvular'' are usually just called "palatal", "velar", and "uvular". If there is ambiguity, additional terms have been invented, so ''subapical–palatal'' is more commonly called "retroflex".

''Note:'' Additional shades of passive articulation are sometimes specified using ''pre-'' or ''post-'', for example ''prepalatal'' (near the border between the [[postalveolar]] region and the [[hard palate]]; ''prevelar'' (at the back of the [[hard palate]], also ''post-palatal'' or even ''medio-palatal'' for the middle of the hard palate); or ''postvelar'' (near the border of the [[soft palate]] and the [[uvula]]). They can be useful in the precise description of sounds that are articulated somewhat farther forward or back than a prototypical consonant; for this purpose, the "fronted" and "retracted" IPA diacritics can be used. However, no additional shade is needed to phonemically distinguish two consonants in a single language.{{efn|Occasionally claims to the contrary are met. For example, some dialects of [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]] are said to distinguish palatal, prevelar and velar consonants. In reality, the dialects distinguish [[palato-alveolar]] ([[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] [[postalveolar]]), {{lcons|palatal}} and {{lcons|velar}} consonants; the claim is based on the imprecise usage of "palatal" to mean "palato-alveolar".}}

==Homorganic consonants==
{{main|Homorganic consonant}}
Consonants that have the same place of articulation, such as the alveolar sounds {{IPA|/n, t, d, s, z, l/}} in [[English language|English]], are said to be [[Homorganic consonants|''homorganic'']]. Similarly, labial {{IPA|/p, b, m/}} and velar {{IPA|/k, ɡ, ŋ/}} are homorganic. A homorganic nasal rule, an instance of [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]], operates in many languages, where a nasal consonant must be homorganic with a following stop. We see this with English ''i'''n'''tolerable'' but ''i'''m'''plausible''; another example is found in [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]], where the present tense of ''ba'' "hide" is ''mba'' "is hiding", while the present of ''sun'' "sleep" is ''nsun'' "is sleeping".

==Central and lateral articulation==
{{main|Lateral consonant}}
The tongue contacts the mouth with a surface that has two dimensions: length and width. So far, only points of articulation along its length have been considered. However, articulation varies along its width as well. When the airstream is directed down the center of the tongue, the consonant is said to be ''central''. If, however, it is deflected off to one side, escaping between the side of the tongue and the side teeth, it is said to be ''[[lateral consonant|lateral]]''. Nonetheless, for simplicity's sake the place of articulation is assumed to be the point along the length of the tongue, and the consonant may in addition be said to be central or lateral. That is, a consonant may be lateral alveolar, like English {{IPA|/l/}} (the tongue contacts the alveolar ridge, but allows air to flow off to the side), or lateral palatal, like Castilian Spanish ''ll'' {{IPA|/ʎ/}}. Some [[Indigenous Australian languages]] contrast dental, alveolar, retroflex, and palatal laterals, and many [[Native American languages]] have lateral [[fricative]]s and [[affricate]]s as well.

==Coarticulation==
Some languages have consonants with two simultaneous places of articulation, which is called [[co-articulated consonant|coarticulation]]. When these are [[doubly articulated consonant|doubly articulated]], the articulators must be independently movable, and therefore there may be only one each from the major categories ''labial, coronal, dorsal'' and ''pharyngeal''.

The only common doubly articulated consonants are [[labial–velar consonant|labial–velar]] stops like {{IPA|[k͡p]}}, {{IPA|[ɡ͡b]}} and less commonly {{IPA|[ŋ͡m]}}, which are found throughout [[Western Africa]] and [[Central Africa]]. Other combinations are rare but include [[labial–alveolar consonant|labial–(post)alveolar stops]] {{IPA|[t͡p d͡b n͡m]}}, found as distinct consonants only in [[Yélî Dnye language|a single language in New Guinea]], and a [[uvular–epiglottal consonant|uvular–epiglottal]] stop, {{IPA|[q͡ʡ]}}, found in [[Somali language|Somali]].

More commonly, coarticulation involves [[secondary articulation]] of an [[approximant consonant|approximantic]] nature. Then, both articulations can be similar such as labialized labial {{IPA|[mʷ]}} or palatalized velar {{IPA|[kʲ]}}. That is the case of English {{IPA|[w]}}, which is a velar consonant with secondary labial articulation.

Common coarticulations include these:

* [[Labialization]], rounding the lips while producing the obstruction, as in {{IPA|[kʷ]}} and English {{IPA|[w]}}.
* [[Palatalization (phonetics)|Palatalization]], raising the body of the tongue toward the hard palate while producing the obstruction, as in [[Russian language|Russian]] {{IPA|[tʲ]}} and {{IPA|[ɕ]}}.
* [[Velarization]], raising the back of the tongue toward the soft palate ([[soft palate|velum]]), as in the English dark el, {{IPA|[lˠ]}} (also transcribed {{IPA|[ɫ]}}).
* [[Pharyngealization]], constriction of the throat ([[human pharynx|pharynx]]), such as [[Arabic language|Arabic]] "emphatic" {{IPA|[tˤ]}}.

==See also==
*[[Articulatory phonetics]]
*[[Manner of articulation]]
*[[Relative articulation]]
*[[Tongue shape]]
*[[Sibilant]]
*[[Index of phonetics articles]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~danhall/phonetics/sammy.html Interactive places and manners of articulation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220011219/http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~danhall/phonetics/sammy.html |date=2007-12-20 }}

{{articulation navbox}}
{{IPA navigation}}

[[Category:Place of articulation| ]]
[[Category:Phonetics]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]