The Eight Parts of Human Speech Organs & Their Definitions
Human speech is one of our species' defining qualities. In order to make this speech, eight different organs must work together.
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Lips, Teeth, Tongue
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Lips form different shapes, such as an oval, and movements in order to make different sounds. Sounds can be formed by using the teeth to shape the lips, in combination with the tongue, or to block air from escaping the mouth. The tongue moves throughout the mouth and with many of the other organs, as well as making shapes like the lips, in order to formulate speech.
Uvula
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The uvula is used to make guttural sounds. It helps to make nasal consonants by stopping air from moving through the nose.
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Glottis
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The glottis is used in controlling the vibration made by the vocal chords, in order to make different sounds.
Alveolar Ridge
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To make different sounds, known as alveolar sounds, the tongue touches the ridges found on this organ.
Hard Palate
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Like the alveolar ridge, the tongue touches and taps the palate when articulating speech.
Velum (Soft Palate)
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The movable velum can retract and elevate in order to separate the mouth from the nasal cavity, helping to make speech less nasally. When the tongue hits the velum, it also makes a special sound called the velar consonant.
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