Artikulaatsioon

Artikulaatsioon refers to the act or manner of producing speech sounds. It involves the coordinated movements of various speech organs, primarily the tongue, lips, teeth, and palate, to shape the airstream from the lungs into distinct sounds. This process is crucial for intelligibility and understanding in spoken language. Different languages utilize different sets of articulatory gestures, leading to a wide variety of sounds.

The primary articulators are the passive articulator (like the teeth or alveolar ridge) and the active articulator (usually the tongue). The place of articulation describes where in the vocal tract the constriction is made, such as bilabial (both lips), alveolar (tongue tip behind the teeth), or velar (back of the tongue against the soft palate). The manner of articulation describes how the airstream is modified, for example, by stopping it completely (plosives like 'p' or 't'), creating friction (fricatives like 's' or 'f'), or allowing air to pass through the nose (nasals like 'm' or 'n'). Vowels are produced with a less constricted airflow, their distinction arising from the position of the tongue in the mouth and the shape of the lips.

Problems with articulation can lead to speech impediments, affecting a person's ability to communicate effectively. Speech therapy often focuses on improving articulatory precision and coordination. The study of articulation is fundamental to phonetics, the branch of linguistics concerned with the physical aspects of speech.