The International Phonetic Alphabet recognises the following places
of articulation (among others):
| Bilabial | The point of maximum constriction is made by the coming together of the two lips. |
| Labiodental | The lower lip articulates with the upper teeth. |
| Dental | The tip of the tongue articulates with the back or bottom of the top teeth. |
| Alveolar | The tip or the blade of the tongue articulates with the forward part of the alveolar ridge. A sound made with the tip of the tongue here is an apico-alveolar sound; one made with the blade, a lamino-alveolar. |
| Postalveolar | The tip or the blade of the tongue articulates with the back area of the alveolar ridge. |
| Palatal | The front of the tongue articulates with the domed part of the hard palate. |
| Velar | The back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate. |
| Uvular | The back of the tongue articulates with the very back of the soft palate, including the uvula. |
| Pharyngeal | The pharynx is constricted by the faucal pillars moving together (lateral compression) and, possibly, by the larynx being raised. "It is largely a sphincteric semi-closure of the oro-pharynx, and it can be learned by tickling the back of the throat, provoking retching" (Catford 1978:163). |
| Glottal | The vocal folds are brought together;
in some cases,
the function of the vocal folds can be part of articulation as well as
phonation, as in the case of [ |
The possible places of articulation form a continuum along the upper
surface of the vocal tract; therefore the places listed above should be
seen as arbritary (but conventional) divisions which can be modified if
necessary through the use of additional categories, e.g.,
"interdental",
"alveolo-palatal" or "prevelar". English exemplifies several places of
articulation: bilabial [p], [b] and [m]; labiodental [f], [v] and [
]
(the "m" in "triumph" is labiodental, in harmony with the following [f]
sound); dental [
]
and [ð]; alveolar [t], [d], [n], [s], [z], [
],
[l]; postalveolar [
];
palatal [j]; and velar [k], [
]
and [
].
Uvular
place of articulation is illustrated by the formal pronunciation of
"r" in French or German (a uvular trill [R],
or, often, a voiced fricative), as heard, for example, in classical
singing.
Pharyngeal place of articulation will probably take considerably
more practise for you to perfect, partly because until you can produce
and identify the other fricatives formed in the back of the mouth (i.e.
[x], [
], [
],
[h] and [
]),
you will not be confident that you are not forming any of these
when you are attempting to produce pharyngeal friction. Friction in the
pharynx is created by drawing the root of the tongue backwards, almost
as if being strangled, though not quite as extreme. Once you can
control
the distinction between velar, uvular and glottal friction, the ability
to regulate pharyngeal friction will develop with practise.