articulation

articulation

In phonetics, the shaping of the vocal tract (larynx, pharynx, and oral and nasal cavities) by positioning mobile organs (such as the tongue) relative to other parts that may be rigid (such as the hard palate) and thus modifying the airstream to produce speech sounds. Articulators include the tongue, lips, teeth and upper gum ridge, hard and soft palate, uvula, pharyngeal wall, and glottis. Primary articulation refers either to where or how the vocal tract is narrowed or blocked to produce a consonant, or to the tongue contour, lip shape, and larynx height that determine the sound of a vowel. Other articulators may be used to produce a secondary articulation such as palatalization (the front of the tongue approaching the hard palate), glottalization (complete or partial closure of the vocal cords), or nasalization (simultaneous passage of air through the nasal and oral tracts).

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articulation

1. Zoology

a. a joint such as that between bones or arthropod segments

b. the way in which jointed parts are connected

2. Botany the part of a plant at which natural separation occurs, such as the joint between leaf and stem

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articulation [är‚tik·yə′lā·shən]

(anatomy)

joint

(botany)

A joint between two parts of a plant that can separate spontaneously.

(communications)

The percentage of speech units understood correctly by a listener in a communications system; it generally applies to unrelated words, as in code messages, in distinction to intelligibility.

(control systems)

The manner and actions of joining components of a robot with connecting parts or links that allow motion.

(invertebrate zoology)

A joint between rigid parts of an animal body, such as the segments of an appendage in insects.

(physiology)

The act of enunciating speech.