hljóðrásir

Hljóðrásir are the anatomical structures and physiological processes responsible for producing human speech sounds. They encompass the respiratory system, the laryngeal system, and the vocal tract, as well as the articulators that shape sounds. Together they form the source of sound and its subsequent modification in articulation.

The respiratory system provides the airstream that powers speech, driven by the lungs and controlled by the diaphragm and chest muscles. The laryngeal system, centered on the larynx and the vocal folds (cords), can vibrate to create voicing or remain open for voiceless sounds. The vocal tract acts as a resonator, with its size and configuration affecting the acoustic quality of sounds, particularly vowels. Articulators such as the tongue, lips, teeth, hard palate, velum, and the jaw adjust the shape of the airstream to produce different places and manners of articulation, including constrictions, lip rounding, nasalization, and other features.

In linguistics, hljóðrásir are studied in articulatory phonetics and are contrasted with the phonological level of analysis, which concerns the abstract sound system of a language (phonemes and allophones). The concept is central to understanding how languages differ in their sound inventories and how speech is produced, perceived, and transmitted. Applications include language teaching, speech therapy, and speech technology, where knowledge of hljóðrásir informs diagnosis, articulation training, and the design of synthesis and recognition systems.