Articulation base

In phonetics, the term “ basis of articulation” or “ articulatory setting ” refers to the basic posture of the organs of articulation and their type of movement when ready to speak.

Every language has its own base of articulation, which means that for every language there is a typical basic posture of the lower jaw , lips and tongue , muscle tension, soft palate and larynx standing ready to speak. The term continues to denote the totality of all articulatory properties that are characteristic of all speakers of a language community , such as a general nasalization or velarization of the sounds. This applies not only to different languages, but also to different varieties of a language. For example, with Swabian and Saxon speakers of German, a general nasalization can be observed, and with speakers of Bavarian dialects, a 'dark' timbre can be observed due to a deep, relaxed tongue position in the lower area.

For non-native speakers, the articulation base represents a major challenge in learning the foreign-language phonology. Speaking with the articulation base of the source language usually results in a foreign-language accent , even if the individual sounds are reproduced largely correctly.

literature

• Vockeradt, Werner. The German and English articulation base . Inaugural dissertation, Greifswald 1925.
• Eisen, Barbara. Phonetic Aspects of Interlingual Interference: Investigations on the Articulation Basis on Haesitation Particles of Non-Native Speakers of German . Frankfurt / M. etc .: Verlag Peter Lang 2001.