Human Speech Organs

Human beings are capable of producing a very wide range of sounds that can be used for linguistic communication. This is made possible by certain unique physical characteristics. These characteristics have to do with the teeth, the lips, the mouth cavity, the tongue and the larynx.

Human teeth are upright, and do not slant outwards like those of apes. They are also all roughly the same height (or length). Both of these characteristics are important in producing sounds such a s / v and th, in which the teeth are involved.

The muscles of human lips are intricately interlaced, which makes them very flexible. This is important for the production of sounds such as þ, b, m and w which involve the movement of the lips.

The human mouth is relatively small, and can be opened and closed rapidly. The tongue is flexible, which makes it possible for humans to shape a wide variety of sounds.

The larynx, or ‘voice box', is a tube leading down from the throat to the lungs. It contains the vocal cords, which vibrate during the production of some sounds. Above the larynx there is a long cavity, called the pharynx, which helps to increase and prolong the sounds that are produced by the larynx.

Described together, these organs are called the speech organs or the vocal tract (or channel).

The Use of Sounds in Languages

Any normal baby born anywhere in the world is capable of making all of the sounds that are used in human communication. However, it will only learn to attach importance to the sounds and combinations of sounds that are used by the language that it hears around it in the community where it is brought up.

For example, any normal baby anywhere is potentially able to learn to say the th sound used in English words such as bath. However, there are many languages that do not use this sound. The babies who grow up learning these languages do not need this sound, so they ‘lose’ their ability to produce it.

The same is true of sounds that English speakers find difficult.