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In Phonetics , the place of articulation (also '''point of articulation''') of a Consonant is the point of contact, where an obstruction occurs in the Vocal Tract between an active (moving) articulator (typically some part of the tongue) and a passive (stationary) articulator (typically some part of the roof of the mouth). Along with the Manner Of Articulation and Phonation , this gives the consonant its distinctive sound. Types of articulation A place of articulation is defined as both the active and passive articulators. For instance, the active lower lip may contact either a passive upper lip ( Bilabial , like ) or the upper teeth ( Labiodental , like ). The hard Palate may be contacted by either the front or the back of the tongue. If the front of the tongue is used, the place is called Retroflex ; if back of the tongue ("dorsum") is used, the place is called "dorsal-palatal", or more commonly, just Palatal . There are five basic active articulators: the lip (" Labial Consonant s"), the flexible front of the tongue (" Coronal Consonant s"), the middle/back of the tongue (" Dorsal Consonant s"), the root of the tongue together with the Epiglottis (" Radical Consonant s"), and the Larynx (" Laryngeal Consonants "). These articulators can act independently of each other, and two or more may work together in what is called ''coarticulation'' (see below). The passive articulation, on the other hand, is a continuum without many clear-cut boundaries. The places linguolabial and interdental, interdental and dental, dental and alveolar, alveolar and palatal, palatal and velar, velar and uvular merge into one another, and a consonant may be pronounced somewhere between the named places. In addition, when the front of the tongue is used, it may be the upper surface or ''blade'' of the tongue that makes contact (" Laminal Consonant s"), the tip of the tongue (" Apical Consonant s"), or the under surface (" Sub-apical Consonant s"). These articulations also merge into one another without clear boundaries. Consonants that have the same place of articulation, such as alveolar t, d, s, z, l in English, are said to be homorganic. Table of active articulations and places of articulation List of places where the obstruction may occur
(All of the above may be Nasalized , and most may be Lateralized .)
Nasals and laterals
Coarticulation Some languages have consonants with two simultaneous places of articulation, called Coarticulation . When these are Doubly Articulated , the articulators must be independently movable, and therefore there may only be one each from the categories labial, coronal, dorsal, and radical. (The glottis controls Phonation and sometimes the Airstream , and is not considered an articulator.) However, more commonly there is a Secondary Articulation of an Approximantic nature, in which case both articulations can be similar, such as labialized labials, palatalized velars, etc. Some common coarticulations include:
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