The Phases of Speech

• THE PHASES OF SPEECH
By Catford
Dr.Sundarabalu
Dept.of Linguistics
Bharathiar University
sunder_balu@yahoo.co.in
This is how people communicate: This is how neurons communicate:
Transmitter Receptor Neurotransmitter Neuroreceptor

THE PHASES OF SPEECH
• When someone speaks to someone, the sequence
of events is, In response to the need to
communicate about some event the speaker
conceptualizes the event in a particular way and
then encodes that conceptualization in a form
placed down by the grammar of his language.

• The linguistically encoded utterance is
externalized and apprehended by the hearer
through the agency of a series of events that we
term the phases of speech. Hearing is two –
• internal and external

• These phases start in the speaker, and culminate (To reach
the highest point or degree; climax) in the hearer decoding the utterance and
arriving at a conceptualization which, assuming he
is familiar with the speaker’s language, closely
matches the speaker’s conceptualization, which was
the start of the process. (Zapraszamy,)

• The processes of conceptualization and
coding/decoding are outside the domain of
phonetics.
• The purely phonetic part of the speech process
begins, we assume, with the implementation of a
short term neural programme in the central
nervous system, which is produced by the lexico-
grammatical structure of the utterance and
determines the nature and the sequencing of
everything that follows. We may call this the
neurolinguistic programming phase of the
utterance.
• Programming- already fixed /or written in gene-DNA

Alternative approach and methods-9
1. Nero-linguistics Programming
The period from the 1970s through the
1980s viewed a major paradigm shift in
language teaching

• NLP is a powerful, practical and specific approach in
the direction of allowing you to achieve your goals
and make your life
• gathering information about their internal external view
of the world,(walk)
• NLP is collection of techniques, pattern, and strategies
for supporting effective communication, personal growth
and change, and learning. It is based on a series of
underlying assumptions about how the mind works and
how people act and interact (Narman 1997:14)
• The assumptions of NLP refer to attitudes to life ,to
people and to self discovery and awareness
• However , in NLP neuro refers to beliefs about the brain
and how it function :
• Programming refers to observable patterns (referred to as
‘programs’) of thought and behavior.

• Rapport is an essential basis for successful communication -
if there is no rapport there is no (real) communication.
• (It is mind process/ sound Process. If you have good sound
in your body people like you otherwise ? )
• Sensory perception : noticing what another
person is communication, consciously and
nonverbally. This can be expressed as “Use your
senses .Look at , listen to, and feel what is
actually happening”.

Goals of Neurolinguistics
• To find where the language is represented
in brain.
• To find how language is represented in
brain.
• To find how the nervous system function
in the act of expression and
comprehension.(language processing studies).

The network of connections whereby signals can be
transmitted from one part of the body to another is known as the
nervous system. This system is subdivided into the Central
Nervous System (CNS) and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).
It contains billions of nerve cells, some of which relay
information to and from connections with the peripheral nervous
system, others of which transfer information within the central
nervous system.
The CNS consists of the brain, the spinal cord which consists
to it, and their associated membranes and fluids. The system is
immensely complex, and its potential for processing information
needs to be appreciated.
The PNS consist of the cranial nerves and the spinal nerves.
The Nervous System

CN I
CN III
CN VII
CN IX
CN XI
CN II
CN IV
CN VI
CN VIII
CN X
CN XII
CN V
Parts of Cranial Nerves

Names and Functions of Cranial Nerves
Name and Number Functions of Sensory Component Functions of Motor Component
I. Olfactory Smell (no motor nerve)
II. Optic Vision (no motor nerve)
III. Oculomotor Sensations from eye muscles Eye movements, pupil construction
IV. Trochlear Sensations from eye muscles Eye movements
V. Trigemial Sensations from skin of face, nose, and
mouth
Chewing, Swallowing
VI. Abucens Sensations from eye muscles Eye movements
VII. Facial Taste from the anterior two-thirds of the
tongue, visceral sensations from the head
Facial expressions, crying, salivation, and
dilation of blood vessels in the head
VIII. Statoacoustic Hearing, equilibrium (no motor nerve)
IX.Glossopharyngeal Taste and other sensations from throat and
posterior third of tongue
Swallowing, salivation, dilation of blood
vessel
X. Vagus Taste and sensations from neck, thorax, and
abdomen
Swallowing, control of larynx,
parasympathetic nerves to heart and
viscera
XI. Accessory (no sensory nerve) Movements of shoulders and head;
parasympathetic to viscera
XII. Hypoglossal Sensation from tongue muscles Movements of tongue

COMMON PROBLEMS OF DYSLEXIA
The most commonly encountered problems are as follows:
1. Number and letter recognition
2. Letter reversals
3. Word recognition
4. Number, letter and word recollection
5. Spelling problems
6. Punctuation recognition
7. Fixation problems
8. Word additions and omissions
9. Poor comprehension

• Thereafter, in a sequence no doubt determined
during the stage of neurolinguistics
programming, specific motor commands flow
out through motor nerves to muscles in the
chest, throat, mouth, etc. As a result, these
muscles contract-in whole or in part,
successively or simultaneously, more or less
strongly. We call this whole process of motor
commands (the outflow of neural impulses from the central nervous system), together
with the Permanently related muscle
contractions, the neuromuscular phase.

• As a result of the muscular contractions occurring
in this neuromuscular phase, the organs to which
these muscles are attached adopt particular
postures or make particular movements the
ribcage (set of curved bones in chest.) may contract, the vocal folds
in the larynx may be brought close together, the
tongue adopt a particular configuration, and so
on.
• In short, the follow-up to the neuromuscular
phase is a posturing or movement of whole
organs in the vocal tract. We therefore call this
the organic phase.

• The movements of organs during the
organic phase act upon the air contained
within the vocal tract. They compress the
air, or dilate it, and they set it moving in
various ways-in rapid puffs, in sudden
bursts, in a smooth flow, in a rough,
eddying, turbulent stream, and so on. All of
this constitutes the aerodynamic phase of
speech.

Vocal Sound Production
Diaphragm action pushes air from the lungs
through the vocal folds, producing a periodic
train of air pulses. This pulse train is shaped by
the resonances of the vocal tract. The basic
resonances, called vocal formants, can be
changed by the action of the articulators to
produce distinguishable voice sounds, like the
vowel sounds.

Although our one-mass model is a
closer representation of actual vocal
fold oscillation than the myoelastic-
aerodynamic model, some
refinements will make the model
even more like human phonation.
http://www.ncvs.org/ncvs/tutorials/voiceprod
/tutorial/model.html

• As the air flows through the vocal tract during
the aerodynamic phase the things that
happen to it set the air molecules oscillating
in ways that can be perceived by our sense of
hearing. In other words, the aerodynamic
events generate sound-waves, and these
constitute the acoustic phase of speech.

Sense organs
Language in –sound form, liquid form, concrete , abstract ,form/form less

Definition of sense
Sense refers to the inherent(natural)
meaning of the linguistic form; it is
concerned only with intra-linguistic
relations. It is the collection of all the
semantic features of the linguistic
form; it is abstract and de-
contextualized(In general)
Sense / feeling: The firm/strong /doubt-
free/clear awareness of something

• In the acoustic phase, an airborne sound-wave
radiates from the speaker's mouth and reaches the
ear of anyone within hearing distance, including
the speaker himself. The sound-wave, interrupting
on the hearer's ear-drum, sets it vibrating in step
with the wave-form, and these vibrations are
transmitted, by the little bones of the middle ear,
to the inner ear, or cochlea, where they stimulate
sensory endings of the auditory nerve.

basilar membrane: analysis of sound frequencies
Ref:The analysis of sound frequencies by the basilar membrane. (A) The fibres of the basilar membrane become progressively wider and more
flexible from the base of the cochlea to the apex. As a result, each area of the basilar membrane vibrates preferentially to a particular sound
frequency. (B) High-frequency sound waves cause maximum vibration of the area of the basilar membrane nearest to the base of the cochlea; (C)
medium-frequency waves affect the centre of the membrane; (D) and low-frequency waves preferentially stimulate the apex of the basilar
membrane. (The locations of cochlear frequencies along the basilar membrane shown are a composite drawn from different sources.)
Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

(Ref:The mechanism of hearing. Sound waves enter the outer ear and travel through the external auditory canal until they
reach the tympanic membrane, causing the membrane and the attached chain of auditory ossicles to vibrate. The motion of
the stapes against the oval window sets up waves in the fluids of the cochlea, causing the basilar membrane to vibrate. This
stimulates the sensory cells of the organ of Corti, atop the basilar membrane, to send nerve impulses to the brain.)
Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/536/The-mechanism-of-hearing?topicId=175622
ear: hearing mechanism

Sound Map
These many words and sounds signalling warnings, friendship, and daily routine are a natural
part of the day for people who hear
http://www.gallaudet.edu/clerc_center/information_and_resources/info_to_go/hearing_loss_information/hearing_loss_for_older_children.html

SOUND AND THE EAR
Each part of the ear has a special role to play in the hearing process. It's a process that
begins only when sound reaches the ear.
Variations in Air Pressure and Corresponding Waveform

Sound is defined as vibrations transmitted through a solid, liquid or gas capable
of being detected by the ear
When we hear a sound, it’s usually the result of air molecules being set in motion around a
vibrating object (the sound source). We usually call the invisible vibration of these air
molecules “sound waves.” Sound waves are detected by our eardrums, which are connected to
nerves within our brains.

The cochlea divided into three regions called: the scala vestibuli, scala media, and scala
tympani.

The sound from a tuning fork is pure and has a smooth, regular sound-wave pattern.
A hammer's sound has an irregular, ''spiky'' wave, which is typical of a noise.
http://theemster.com/sound.htm
Pure sound -noise

• Neural impulses from the nerve-endings travel up
the auditory nerve to the brain, where they give
rise to sensations of sound. We call this whole
process of peripheral stimulation and afferent
neural transmission the neuroreceptive phase.

• Finally, an interpretative process occurs in which the
coming neuroreceptive signals are identified as this
or that particular vocal sound or sound-sequence.
This is the phase of neuroolinguistic identification,
which we can regard as more or less the verse of the
neurolinguistic programming phase with which the
phonetic event began.

• Though there may always be some awareness of sound in
this phase, the identification as particular speech-sounds is
usually below the threshold of consciousness. In the actual
exchange of conversation, attention is directed more to the
meaning of what is said than to the sounds by which that
meaning is manifest.
• The final steps in the process-the hearer's decoding and
ultimate conceptualization-are outside the domain of
phonetics, just as were the matching conceptualization and
encoding in the speaker.

summarize the phases of speech :
(l) Neurolinguistics programming: the selection,
sequencing, and timing of what follows.
(sequencing-Biochemistry) the procedure of determining the order of amino
acids in the polypeptide chain of a protein (protein sequencing) or of
nucleotides in a DNA section comprising a gene (gene sequencing)
The firm/strong /doubt-
free/clear awareness of
something

1. Neuromuscular phase: transmission of outbound
(motor) neural impulses and the contraction of
individual muscles.
(impulses-Physiology The electrochemical transmission of a signal along a nerve fiber
that produces an excitatory or inhibitory response at a target tissue, such as a
muscle or another nerve.)
• A neurotransmitter is a chemical released by a neuron to
communicate with other cells
ax·on-that process of a neuron by which
impulses travel away from the cell body;
synapse / the site of functional apposition
between neurons, where an impulse
is transmitted from one to another,
usually by a chemical
neurotransmitter released by the
axon terminal of the presynaptic
neuron.

• (3) Organic phase: postures and movements of
whole organs.
• postures -A position of the body or of body parts

• (4) Aerodynamic phase: dilation,
compression, and flow of air in and through
the vocal tract.
• Dilation- The act of expanding

(5) Acoustic phase: propagation of sound-waves
from speaker's vocal tract.
Propagation of sound waves through air
Ref: wave motion is the propagation of sound from one place to
another. When a person speaks, the molecules of air near the mouth of
the speaker are disturbed resulting in vibration of these molecules
about their mean positions. These vibrating molecules in turn push the
nearby molecules and the process continues until the molecules of the
air near the listener's ear start vibrating. These disturbances vibrate the
eardrum and these vibrations of the eardrum in turn sends the message
to the brain through nerve connections. In this case also, it is the
disturbance, which moves forward and not the particles of air.
propagation :sound waves, is transmitted
through a medium such as air or water.

(6) Neuroreceptive phase: peripheral auditory
stimulation and transmission of inbound neural
impulses.
This is how people communicate: This is how neurons communicate:
Transmitter Receptor Neurotransmitter Neuroreceptor
How does the brain communicate?
The brain is a communications
center of the body, consisting of
billions of neurons, or nerve cells.
Networks of neurons pass messages
back and forth to different structures
within the brain, the spinal column,
and the peripheral nervous system.
These nerve networks coordinate and
regulate everything we feel, think,
and do. Each nerve cell in the brain
sends and receives messages in the
form of electrical impulses. Once a
cell receives and processes a
message, it sends it on to other
neurons. The messages are carried
between neurons by chemicals called
neurotransmitters.

• (7) Neurolinguistic identification: potential or
actual identification of incoming signals as specific
speech-sounds.

• In addition to all this we must take note of two other
phases, aspects, of the speech process. These are the
two kinds of feedback: kinesthetic feedback and
auditory feedback.
• As the organs of speech posture and move about in the
performance of speech, sensory nerve-endings within
the muscle and on the surfaces of the organs are
stimulated by music contraction and by contact and
pressure.
• We may be, but often are not, conscious of this
feedback as proprioceptive sensations (feelings of
muscular contraction and tension) and tactile sensations. As a
general name for these proprioceptive and tactile
sensations we use the term 'kinaesthesis', hence
kinaesthetic feedback.

• The second type of feedback consists of the
stimulation of the speaker's peripheral hearing
organs by the sound-wave issuing from his own
mouth which reaches his ears both externally, by
air conduction, and internally, by bone
conduction. This is auditory feedback.

• These feedback systems monitor and control
speech by inserting into the motor system
information concerning the continuing muscular,
organic, aerodynamic, and acoustic events. Much
of phonetic training involves making these
feedbacks, especially kinaesthetic or proprioceptive
feedback, conscious.
• Analysis, and conscious control, of the activities of
speech must be based upon awareness of what the
vocal organs are doing and this awareness is
derived from the feedback systems.

• Of the seven phases of speech described above
only three lend themselves conveniently to
categorization for general phonetic purposes:
these are the organic phase, the aerodynamic
phase, and the acoustic phase. Traditionally,
phonetic classification has been based on the
organic phase.
• This was the basis of classification of the earliest
phoneticians-the Indian grammarians of 2,500
years ago-and also of the ancient Greek and
Roman grammarians, the medieval Arab
grammarians, and the English phoneticians from
Elizabethan times onwards.

• The acoustic phase has only been fully accessible
since the development in the twentieth century
of electronic devices for acoustic analysis, such as
the cathode-ray oscilloscope and the sound
spectrograph in the 1930s and 1940s.
Nevertheless, since such instruments became
available an enormous amount has been learned
about the acoustic phase, and the study of this
phase of speech is known as acoustic phonetics.

• The aerodynamic phase is also accessible to
instrumental investigation and aerodynamic data
have been used since the nineteenth century,
chiefly as a means of acquiring information about
the preceding, organic, phase: by looking at
variations in the rate of airflow out of the mouth,
measuring intra-oral pressure, and so on, one can
make many useful inferences about the organic
activities that give rise to these aerodynamic
effects.
• It is only recently that the suggestion has been
made that there should be a more or less
independent aerodynamic phonetics, parallel to
acoustic phonetics.

• General phonetic taxonomy, however-that is, the
general or basic classification of speech sounds-is
still based on the organic phase, with some
contributions from aerodynamic and acoustic
phonetics where helpful.
• This type of phonetics is often called articulatory
phonetics, a term which is somewhat inaccurate,
since, as we shall see, articulation is only one
(though a very important one) of the
components of speech sound production.

Summarize the phases of speech :
1. Neurolinguistics programming: the selection, sequencing,
and timing of what follows.
2. Neuromuscular phase: transmission of outbound (motor)
neural impulses and the contraction of individual muscles.
3. Organic phase: postures and movements of whole organs.
4. Aerodynamic phase: dilation, compression, and flow of air
in and through the vocal tract.
5. Acoustic phase: propagation of sound-waves from speaker's
vocal tract.
6. Neuroreceptive phase: peripheral auditory stimulation and
transmission of inbound neural impulses.
7. Neurolinguistic identification: potential or actual
identification of incoming signals as specific speech-sounds.
Sources-Catford

The Phases of Speech

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