Place of Articulation
The "Place of Articulation" refers to the specific location in the vocal tract where airflow is constricted to produce different speech sounds. This can occur at various points, such as the lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, soft palate, and glottis. Each location creates distinct sounds, contributing to the diversity of language.
For example, sounds produced at the lips, like p and b, are called bilabial sounds, while those made with the tongue against the alveolar ridge, such as t and d, are known as alveolar sounds. Understanding these places helps in the study of phonetics and language development.