Organs of speech

Organs of speech

Vocal cords: vocal cords are two elastic tissues that lie opposite to each other across the windpipe near the larynx. They are united at the front and separated back of the windpipe. The space between them is called glottis. When we breathe in and out, the glottis is open. This is the position of production of the voiceless sounds b,d,g. If the air out paused by the lungs causes these cords to vibrate, the sounds thus produced is known as voiced. P,t,k are examples of this kind.


2. Palate: The palate may be considered as the root of the mouth. It has two parts-hard palate and poet palate.


3. Tongue:Tongue is the most important organ of speech having the greatest variety of movement .It has four parts, viz: lip, blade, front, and back. It is the tongue which is largely responsible for the differences in the sounds of various vowels.


4. Lips: Like the tongue, lips are again very important organs of the mouth for producing the whole colourful range of sounds used in human speech. Lips can take various positions.


5. Uvula: It is known as 'smaller tongue’, it is the pendulum like end of the poet palate.


6. Larynx: popularly known as Adam's apple, it is the upper end of the windpipe which contains and protects the vocal cords.


7. Gullet: This is known as the fond food passage.

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