Phonetics: Places of Articulation 1.2

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This exercise will help you strengthen your knowledge of places of articulation: the locations in the vocal tract where passive and active articulators come into contact to varying degrees during sound production. This exercise is based on the sounds of Standard American English.

There are several discrepancies as to how to categorize phonemes that are articulated between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate. In our materials, we make distinctions between alveolar sounds, alveo-palatal (or post-alveolar) and true palatals (otherwise simply called palatal). In some texts, the latter two places of articulation are conjoined and labeled palatal. This works at a very introductory level, however; when learning the sounds of the world, these distinctions become essential.

For more information on places of articulation in Standard English, please refer to the tutorial 'Places of Articulation in Standard English'.

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Question 1

Do [d] and [dʒ] share the same place of articulation?

A	no
B	yes Hint: [d] is produced with the front of the tongue raised toward the alveolar ridge and is thus alveolar, whereas [dʒ] is produced between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate , making it alveo-palatal or, at the introductory level, simply palatal.

Question 2

Do [s] and [l] share the same place of articulation?

A	no Hint: Both [s] and [l] are produced with front of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge. They are both alveolar.
B	yes

Question 3

Do [h] and [θ] share the same place of articulation?

A	yes Hint: [h] is produced with the glottis (vocal cords) spread and is thus glottal, whereas [θ] is produced with the front of the tongue either against the back of the upper teeth or between the upper and lower teeth, making it dental.
B	no

Question 4

Do [n] and [ɹ] share the same place of articulation?

A	yes
B	no Hint: Both [n] and [ɹ] are produced with the blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge. They are both alveolar. In Standard English, most of us do not feel the blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge when articulating /ɹ/ as we do when articulating /t/; however, the alveolar ridge is where most of the constriction is present.

Question 5

Do [t] and [θ] share the same place of articulation?

A	yes Hint: [t] is produced with the front of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, whereas [θ] is produced with the tip of the tongue against (or between the upper and lower) teeth and is thus dental.
B	no

Question 6

Do [t∫] and [∫] share the same place of articulation?

A	yes
B	no Hint: Both [t∫] and [∫] are both produced with the body of the tongue against the area between the hard palate and the alveolar ridge, making them both alveo-palatal (or palatal, at the introductory level).

Question 7

Do [m] and [w] share the same place of articulation?

A	yes
B	no Hint: Both [m] and [w] are produced with both lips in contact; thus are both bilabial. It is important to note here that some sound symbol charts place /w/ as a velar glide. This distinction is language-specific (dependent upon the language that is being studied).

Question 8

Do [n] and [ŋ] share the same place of articulation?

A	yes Hint: [n] is produced with the front of the tongue against the alveolar ridge and is thus alveolar. [ŋ], on the other hand, is produced with the dorsum (tongue body) raised against the velum, or soft palate, and is thus a velar.
B	no

Question 9

Do [g] and [ŋ] share the same place of articulation?

A	no Hint: Both [g] and [ŋ] are produced with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) raised against the soft palate (velum). They are both velar.
B	yes

Question 10

Do [t] and [p] share the same place of articulation?

A	yes Hint: [t] is produced with the front of the tongue against the alveolar ridge and is thus alveolar, whereas [p] is produced with both lips in contact, making it bilabial.
B	no

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Phonetics: Places of Articulation 1.2

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