Relationship of lingual and intraoral air pressures during syllable production.

Abstract

The production of many consonant sounds requires a buildup of air pressure within die oral cavity. This buildup often results from resistance to air flow created in the vocal tract by tongue movements. This study investigated the relationship of tongue pressure to intraoral air pressure. Four male speakers repeated VCV syllables containing /t/, /d/, and /n/ combined with /i/, /α/, and /u/. Each combination was repeated at a constant rate at three intensity levels. Air-pressure variations associated with the consonants were recorded from the oral-pharyngeal region while tongue pressures were recorded from behind the maxillary central incisors and above the left and right maxillary molars. The results show that for stop-consonant production, air pressures and lateral tongue pressures vary in parallel manner, whereas tongue tip pressures appear to act independently of both air and side tongue pressures. Vocal intensity changes are an exception to this in that both intraoral air and tongue pressures increased as intensity increased, the greatest change occurring for tongue tip pressures.