Phonetics and Phonology Exercises 1

1. Fill each gap in the following sentences with one or two words.
wind pipe
a. Air from the lungs goes up the (1) ……………..……….…………….. (trachea) and into the
larynx
(2) …………………………………, at which point it must pass between two small muscular
vocal
folds called the (3) ………………..……. cords
……………………. .

b.
vocal cords
If the (4) …………….. ……………… are apart, as they normally are when breathing out,
unobstructed
the air from the lungs will have a relatively (5) …………… passage into the pharynx and
brought together
the mouth. But if the vocal cords are (6) …………………. so that there is only a narrow
passage between them, the pressure of the airstream will cause them to (7)
vibrate
……………….. . Sounds produced when the vocal cords are vibrating are said to be (8)
voiced
…………………, as opposed to those in which the vocal cords are apart, which are said
to be (9) ………………….
voiceless .

voiced
c. Vowels sounds are usually (10) …………………, whereas consonants sounds may be
voiced
either (11) ……………………. voiceless
or (12) ………………… .

d. vocal tract …………….,

e. The shape that the oral tract may take is a very important factor in the production of
sounds produced.
speech as it gives a variety of qualities and resonances to the (17) …………….
open
In the case of a vowel sound, the cavity within the mouth is somewhat (18) ………………..
mouth
and the quality of the vowel is determined largely by the shape of the (19) …………………
tongue
and the position of the (20) ……………………… .

f. closure
For consonant sounds, there may be either a complete (21) ……………... or a narrowing
of the cavity causing friction. An example of the former is the sound /p/ in which there is
lips
a complete closure made by the (22) ………………. . The sound /s/ exemplifies the latter,
where there is a friction caused by a narrowing in the (23) …………….
oral tract.

g. The parts of the oral tract that can be used to form sounds are called the (24)
articulators
………………………….. lower
. The ones that form the (25) ………..……. surface of the oral
tract often move towards those that form the upper surface.
h. The principal parts of the upper surface of the oral tract are: the upper lip, the upper (26)
teeth
…………, the (27) ………………… hard
alveolar ridge………………, the (28) …..…………palate, the soft
velum
palate or (29) ……………, uvula
the (30) ……………. and the pharynx.

i. raised
The soft palate is a muscular flap that can be (31) ………………to press against the back
pharynx
wall of the (32) …………………………….. nasal cavity (?)
and shut off the (33) ………….…………
…………………, preventing air from going through the nose. In this case there is said to
be a velic closure and an (34) ……………….
oral (?) sound is produced.

j. When on the other hand, the soft palate is in its lower position, the air can escape both
through the mouth and the nose. If, however, the mouth is blocked, the air, escapes only
nasal
through the nose, and a (35) ……….……… sound is produced.

lip
k. The principal parts of the lower surface of the oral tract are the lower (36) ………., and
mouth
the (37) ……………… mouth
. The (38) ……………. is usually divided into four parts: the (39)
tip
……………, blade
the (40) ……………., front
the (41) …………….. back
and the (42) ………………. .
There is also the part lying opposite the walls of the pharynx, which is sometimes
root
identified as the (43) …………….. tip
. The (44) …………… and the (45) ……………
blade are the
most mobile parts of the tongue and they lie under the alveolar ridge when the tongue is
front
at rest, whereas the (46) ………………… back
and the (47) ……………. lie opposite the hard
and soft palate respectively.

l. The lips are also important in the production of speech, taking up various different (48)
positions
………………… . They can be held together, completely blocking the (49) ………………..
air flow
as when /p, b, m/ are pronounced. Conversely, they can be kept apart in a spread or
rounding
neutral position or with different degrees of (50) ………………, such as the close-rounded
or open-rounded positions.
 SPEECH ORGANS

A) COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING DRAWING OF THE HUMAN VOCAL TRACT WITH

THE CORRECT NAMES:

1.
hard palate

2
aveolar ridge 3 nasal cavity

4
velum = soft palate
14
upper teeth
5
uvula
13
lips 7
tongue 6
oral cavity

8
12 epiglottis
lower teeth
9 pharynx

10
larynx
11
glottis

LOWER TEETH - LARYNX - LIPS - HARD PALATE - EPIGLOTTIS -

ALVEOLAR RIDGE – NASAL CAVITY - TONGUE – GLOTTIS –

PHARYNX – UVULA – VELUM - UPPER TEETH - ORAL CAVITY