Place of Articulation - Place of Articulation (passive)

Place of Articulation (passive)

The passive place of articulation is the place on the more stationary part of the vocal tract where the articulation occurs. It can be anywhere from the lips, upper teeth, gums, or roof of the mouth to the back of the throat. Although it is a continuum, there are several contrastive areas such that languages may distinguish consonants by articulating them in different areas, but few languages will contrast two sounds within the same area unless there is some other feature which contrasts as well. The following areas are contrastive:

• The upper lip (labial)
• The upper teeth, either on the edge of the teeth or inner surface (dental)
• The alveolar ridge, the gum line just behind the teeth (alveolar)
• The back of the alveolar ridge (post-alveolar)
• The hard palate on the roof of the mouth (palatal)
• The soft palate further back on the roof of the mouth (velar)
• The uvula hanging down at the entrance to the throat (uvular)
• The throat itself, AKA the pharynx (pharyngeal)
• The epiglottis at the entrance to the windpipe, above the voice box (epiglottal)

These regions are not strictly separated. For instance, in many languages the surface of the tongue contacts a relatively large area from the back of the upper teeth to the alveolar ridge; this is common enough to have received its own name, denti-alveolar. Likewise, the alveolar and post-alveolar regions merge into each other, as do the hard and soft palate, the soft palate and the uvula, and indeed all adjacent regions. Terms like pre-velar (intermediate between palatal and velar), post-velar (between velar and uvular), and upper vs lower pharyngeal may be used to specify more precisely where an articulation takes place. However, although a language may contrast pre-velar and post-velar sounds, it will not also contrast them with palatal and uvular sounds (of the same type of consonant), so that contrasts are limited to the number above if not always their exact location.