This document discusses the topics of airstreams and oro-nasal processes covered in a phonetics class. It describes the velaric airstream, which is initiated by a velar closure and produces clicks. The velaric airstream is ingressive and confined to the oral cavity. It also discusses airstream escape and how sounds can be nasal if the airstream exits through the nose or oral if it only exits through the mouth.
This document discusses the topics of airstreams and oro-nasal processes covered in a phonetics class. It describes the velaric airstream, which is initiated by a velar closure and produces clicks. The velaric airstream is ingressive and confined to the oral cavity. It also discusses airstream escape and how sounds can be nasal if the airstream exits through the nose or oral if it only exits through the mouth.
This document discusses the topics of airstreams and oro-nasal processes covered in a phonetics class. It describes the velaric airstream, which is initiated by a velar closure and produces clicks. The velaric airstream is ingressive and confined to the oral cavity. It also discusses airstream escape and how sounds can be nasal if the airstream exits through the nose or oral if it only exits through the mouth.
This document discusses the topics of airstreams and oro-nasal processes covered in a phonetics class. It describes the velaric airstream, which is initiated by a velar closure and produces clicks. The velaric airstream is ingressive and confined to the oral cavity. It also discusses airstream escape and how sounds can be nasal if the airstream exits through the nose or oral if it only exits through the mouth.
Describe the processes involved in initiating the following airstreams: 1. The Velaric airstream State the initiators responsible for this airstream List sounds that are produced by this airstream Describe the oro-nasal processes The Velaric Airstream
The Velaric Airstream is the smallest of all the airstreams.
It is initiated by the Velar Closure, which is created by raising the back part of the tongue to touch the velum. It is strictly only an ingressive airstream. This airstream is confined only in the Oral Cavity. Its initiation also involves two simultaneous closures in the oral cavity. In addition to the velar closure, there must be a second closure which is an articulatory closure, up front in the oral cavity The Velaric Airstream
When these two closures are performed, air is trapped in the oral cavity. To set the moving, the front part of the tongue is lowered. This results in an increase in the size of the oral cavity. A larger oral cavity now containing the same amount of air trapped between the velar closure and the articulatory closure leads to a drop in the pressure of this air. With the drop in the oral air pressure, when the articulatory closure is released, atmospheric air is sucked in, to even up the pressure. This process result in the production of speech sounds called clicks. The Velaric Airstream
Clicks are essentially voiceless sounds since the airstream used in
producing them is entirely in the oral cavity. It is possible to produce them together with sounds that are produced with other airstreams. A combination of Velaric and Pulmonic airstreams is therefore possible. Clicks are so common among the Bantu languages spoken in Southern Africa. Experiment!!
• It’s possible to make velaric
ingressive sounds. • First make a stop closure at the velum, along with another stop closure in front of the velum. • This creates a closed chamber of air between the velum and the forward stop closure. • Step 2: • Expand the closed chamber of air by lowering the tongue.
• The air pressure in the
closed chamber decreases. • Step 3: • Release the forward stop closure. • Air rushes into the mouth. From high pressure (outside) to low pressure (inside) • The rush of air creates a loud “clicking” sound • Step 4: • Release the velar stop closure.
• This may or may not
result in a velar stop release burst. Click Examples
• Clicks can be made at five
different places of articulation. • Languages which use clicks as contrastive sounds are exclusively found in southern and central Africa. • Particularly in the Khoisan languages Airstream Escape
Egressive airstreams exit the vocal tract during the production of
speech sounds. There are two points for the exit of these airstreams. These are the mouth/oral cavity and the nose/nasal cavity. The exit point of the airstream provide another parameter for describing sounds. By this parameter, sounds are either nasal or oral. They are nasal if the airstream exits through the nasal cavity. The sounds are oral if the exit point of the airstream is only the oral cavity. Airstream Escape
Majority of speech sounds are produced with the airstream
exiting through the oral cavity. The exit of the airstream is controlled by the movement of the velum/soft palate. The velum can be raise and pushed back so that it touches the back wall of the pharynx. When this happens, the passage of the airtream into the nasal cavity is sealed off. This closure created by the velum against the back wall of the pharynx is called the Velic closure. If this gesture is maintained during articulation, the only exit point of the airstream will be the oral cavity. Airstream Escape
Oral sounds are then produced.
On the other hand, when the velum is lowered, the passage into the nasal cavity is opened and so the airstream can escape through the nose. While the velum is lowered, it is possible to create a total blockade anywhere in the oral cavity. This is realized by bringing together organs of speech. For example, bringing the two lips together to produce “m” When this is done, the airstream exits the vocal tract only through the nasal cavity. Sounds produced with the airstream exiting only through the nasal cavity are called nasal consonants. Diagram showing Velic Closure and Velic Opening References
