A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

36 articulator model
airflow through the centre of the oral tract, regardless of the location of the
major stricture). Among the claims made for this model are its ability to offer an
integrated account of vowel and consonant articulation in terms of place of
articulation and stricture: for example, in one model, features such as back,
high, and low, as tongue-body features, are linked under the dorsal node, and
rounding under the labial node.
articulator model A theory which aims to integrate phonetics and phonology
into a single model, providing a feature analysis related to the muscular
activity underlying the movements of individual articulating organs. The
approach developed in the 1980s, and has influenced several later conceptions
of phonology, notably feature geometry.
articulatory analog
see speech synthesis
articulatory dynamics A branch of articulatory phonetics which studies the
forces underlying articulatory movements (see articulatory kinematics), such
as the role of the jaw, the contribution of the relevant muscles, and variations
in subglottal air pressure. The subject aims to determine the quantitative
relations among the forces generated by the articulatory muscles, the inertial
and resistive properties of the articulators against which the forces are working,
and the resulting movements.
articulatory kinematics A branch of articulatory phonetics which studies
the readily observable properties of the movements involved in articulation,
without consideration of the underlying forces (see articulatory dynamics).
The relevant parameters would include the distance, duration, acceleration, and
smoothness of an articulatory movement, or the direction of an articulator’s
displacement, the location of its end-point, and the force of its contact. Several
instruments are available to plot such movements, such as the articulometer,
ultrasound, and cineradiography. The subject is especially relevant in relation to
studies of speech rate and clarity.
articulatory phonetics The branch of phonetics which studies the way in which
speech sounds are made (‘articulated’) by the vocal organs. It derives much of
its descriptive terminology from the fields of anatomy and physiology, and is
sometimes referred to as physiological phonetics. This area has traditionally
held central place in the training of phoneticians, the movements involved being
reasonably accessible to observation and, in principle, under the control of the
investigator. The classification of sounds used in the international phonetic
alphabet, for example, is based on articulatory variables. In recent years, there
has been much progress in the development of instrumental techniques for
observing and measuring such factors as tongue, lip, palate and vocal fold
movement; examples include the palatograph, which displays tongue contact
with the palate; the electro-aerometer, which measures the relative flow of air
from mouth and nose; the articulometer, which tracks simultaneously the
movements of several articulators; and electromyography, for the measurement
of muscular movement while speaking. Using such techniques, a far more