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).
Read more about Airstream Mechanism: Types of Airstream Mechanism, Pulmonic Initiation, Glottalic Initiation, Lingual (velaric) Initiation, Airstream Contours
Famous quotes containing the word mechanism:
“The two elements the traveler first captures in the big city are extrahuman architecture and furious rhythm. Geometry and anguish. At first glance, the rhythm may be confused with gaiety, but when you look more closely at the mechanism of social life and the painful slavery of both men and machines, you see that it is nothing but a kind of typical, empty anguish that makes even crime and gangs forgivable means of escape.”
—Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)