# The airstream mechanism used in speaking English primarily involves the "pulmonic

egressive" process. This process relies on the movement of air pushed out from the lungs
(hence "pulmonic") and moving outward through the vocal tract (hence "egressive").

Here’s a breakdown of the steps involved in the airstream mechanism for English speech:

1. **Lung Activation**: The lungs act as the primary source of air pressure. During speech, the
diaphragm and intercostal muscles contract, pushing air from the lungs upward through the
trachea (windpipe).

2. **Airflow through the Glottis**: The airstream passes through the glottis (the space between
the vocal cords). Depending on the position and tension of the vocal cords, the airflow may
cause them to vibrate, producing voiced sounds (like /b/, /d/, /g/) or remain open for voiceless
sounds (like /p/, /t/, /k/).

3. **Articulation in the Oral and Nasal Cavities**: The air then travels into the oral or nasal
cavity, where various articulators (like the tongue, lips, teeth, and velum) modify the airflow to
produce different speech sounds. For example, to produce the sound /s/, the tongue is
positioned close to the alveolar ridge to create a narrow passage, resulting in a hissing sound
as the air passes through.

4. **Air Release**: Finally, the air is released from the mouth or nose, completing the sound
production.

In summary, speaking English involves controlling the airflow from the lungs through the vocal
cords and manipulating it with the articulators in the mouth and throat to create distinct sounds.
This process is coordinated to produce speech sounds that form words and sentences.

Centring diphthongs are vowel sounds in English that move from one vowel to a more central
sound, specifically the "schwa" /ə/ (which sounds like the 'a' in "sofa").

### Examples of Centring Diphthongs:

1. **/ɪə/**
- Words like: *near* /nɪə/, *fear* /fɪə/
- Starts with the vowel sound /ɪ/ (like in "bit") and moves toward /ə/.
2. **/eə/**
- Words like: *air* /eə/, *care* /keə/
- Starts with the vowel sound /e/ (like in "bet") and moves toward /ə/.

3. **/ʊə/**
- Words like: *cure* /kjʊə/, *pure* /pjʊə/
- Starts with the vowel sound /ʊ/ (like in "put") and moves toward /ə/.

These sounds are more common in British English and may be pronounced differently in
American English.

**Pure vowels**, also known as **monophthongs**, are vowel sounds that have a single,
unchanging sound quality throughout their pronunciation. When you pronounce a pure vowel,
your tongue and mouth stay in the same position from the start to the end of the sound. There is
no glide or movement toward another vowel sound.

### Examples of Pure Vowels in English:

1. **/iː/** – as in *see*
2. **/ɪ/** – as in *sit*
3. **/e/** – as in *bed*
4. **/æ/** – as in *cat*
5. **/ʌ/** – as in *cup*
6. **/ɑː/** – as in *car*
7. **/ɒ/** – as in *hot* (in British English)
8. **/ɔː/** – as in *saw*
9. **/ʊ/** – as in *put*
10. **/uː/** – as in *food*
11. **/ɜː/** – as in *bird*
12. **/ə/** – as in the first and last sounds of *banana*

Pure vowels are stable and do not change quality, unlike diphthongs, which shift from one vowel
sound to another.

The major organs of speech are the parts of the body involved in producing and
articulating sounds when we speak. These organs work together to shape the airflow from
the lungs into specific sounds. Here are the key organs and their importance in the production of
speech sounds:
### 1. **Lungs**
- **Role**: Provide the airflow that is essential for producing sounds.
- **Importance**: The lungs act as the primary source of air pressure. Speech is created by
pushing air out of the lungs (pulmonic egressive airstream) and modifying it to produce different
sounds.

### 2. **Larynx (Voice Box) and Vocal Cords**

- **Role**: Located in the throat, the larynx contains the vocal cords (folds).
- **Importance**: The vocal cords vibrate to produce voiced sounds (like /b/, /d/, /g/) or remain
open for voiceless sounds (like /p/, /t/, /k/). The tension, length, and position of the vocal cords
affect pitch and loudness.

### 3. **Pharynx (Throat)**

- **Role**: The cavity behind the nose and mouth that connects to the larynx.
- **Importance**: Acts as a resonating chamber that helps to amplify and modify the quality of
the sound produced by the vocal cords.

### 4. **Oral Cavity (Mouth)**

- **Role**: Contains several articulators that shape and modify the airflow.
- **Importance**: The mouth is the primary space where the speech sounds are formed.
Different parts within the oral cavity are used to create specific sounds:

- **Tongue**: Most flexible articulator; changes shape and position to form different sounds
(e.g., /t/, /d/, /l/, /s/).
- **Teeth**: Help produce sounds like /f/, /v/, /θ/ (as in *think*), and /ð/ (as in *this*).
- **Alveolar Ridge**: The bumpy ridge behind the upper front teeth; the tongue touches or
comes close to this ridge to produce sounds like /t/, /d/, /n/, and /s/.
- **Hard Palate**: The hard part of the roof of the mouth; helps in forming sounds like /j/ (as in
*yes*).
- **Soft Palate (Velum)**: The soft part of the roof of the mouth; can move to block airflow to
the nasal cavity, producing oral sounds (like /k/, /g/). It lowers to allow airflow through the nose
for nasal sounds (like /m/, /n/, /ŋ/).

### 5. **Nasal Cavity**

- **Role**: The space inside the nose.
- **Importance**: When the soft palate (velum) is lowered, air flows through the nasal cavity to
produce nasal sounds like /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/ (as in *sing*).

### 6. **Lips**
- **Role**: Flexible muscles at the front of the mouth.
- **Importance**: The lips shape the sounds by opening and closing or coming together. They
are crucial for producing sounds like /p/, /b/, /m/, /f/, and /v/.
### 7. **Jaw (Mandible)**
- **Role**: Supports the movement of the tongue and lips by opening and closing the mouth.
- **Importance**: Allows the oral cavity to change size and shape, affecting the production and
quality of different sounds.

### 8. **Glottis**
- **Role**: The space between the vocal cords in the larynx.
- **Importance**: Controls airflow and plays a role in producing sounds like the glottal stop (as in
the middle sound in *uh-oh*).

### Summary:
These organs work together to control the airflow from the lungs, shape the sound by vibrating
or altering the vocal tract, and articulate the speech sounds. Proper coordination among these
organs is essential for clear and accurate speech production.

There are **five back vowels** in English. These vowels are made with the tongue positioned
towards the back of the mouth.

### Back Vowels and Tongue Positions:

1. **/uː/** (as in *food*)

- **Tongue Position**: High back. The tongue is high and towards the back, and the lips are
rounded.

2. **/ʊ/** (as in *put*)

- **Tongue Position**: Near-high back. The tongue is slightly lower than for /uː/ but still
towards the back. The lips are loosely rounded.

3. **/ɔː/** (as in *saw*)

- **Tongue Position**: Mid back. The tongue is in the middle of the mouth and towards the
back. The lips are rounded.

4. **/ɒ/** (as in *hot*)

- **Tongue Position**: Low back. The tongue is low and towards the back of the mouth. The
lips are rounded.
- *Note*: This vowel is common in British English.

5. **/ɑː/** (as in *car*)

- **Tongue Position**: Low back. The tongue is very low and flat in the mouth, with the lips
unrounded.
### Summary:
Back vowels are made with the tongue pulled toward the back of the mouth. The lips are usually
rounded, except for /ɑː/.

A diphthong is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds pronounced in a single syllable,

where the sound of the first vowel gradually changes into the sound of the second vowel within
the same syllable. Examples include:

- "oy" in "boy" or "toy"

- "ou" in "out" or "loud"
- "ai" in "pair" or "fair"

Phonetic transcription, on the other hand, is a written representation of spoken sounds using
symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). It aims to accurately represent the exact
sounds of spoken language, including diphthongs.

In phonetic transcription, diphthongs are represented by a combination of two vowel symbols,

with the first symbol indicating the starting sound and the second symbol indicating the ending
sound. For example:

- "oy" would be transcribed as /ɔɪ/ (starting with a mid-back rounded vowel /ɔ/ and gliding into a
close front unrounded vowel /ɪ/)
- "ou" would be transcribed as /aʊ/ (starting with an open front unrounded vowel /a/ and gliding
into a close back rounded vowel /ʊ/)

Phonetic transcription helps linguists, language learners, and speech professionals to:

- Study pronunciation patterns

- Teach pronunciation
- Transcribe spoken language accurately
- Analyze speech disorders