Production of Vowels
A vowel is any phoneme in which airflow is impeded only or mostly by the voicing action of the vocal cords.
The well-defined fundamental frequency provided by the vocal cords in voiced phonemes is only a convenience, however, not a necessity, since a strictly unvoiced whisper is still quite intelligible. Our interest is therefore most focused on further modulations of and additions to the fundamental tone by other parts of the vocal apparatus, determined by the variable dimensions of oral, pharyngeal, and even nasal cavities.
Read more about this topic: Place Of Articulation
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