Airstream Mechanism

In phonetics, the airstream mechanism is the method by which airflow is created in the vocal tract. Along with phonation, it is one of two mandatory aspects of sound production; without these, there can be no speech sound.

The organ generating the airstream is called the initiator; for this reason the production of airflow is called initiation. There are three initiators used in spoken human languages:

• the diaphragm together with the ribs and lungs (pulmonic mechanisms),
• the glottis (glottalic mechanisms), and
• the tongue (lingual or "velaric" mechanisms).