 thumb|250px|places of articulation (passive & active):1. exo-labial, 2. endo-labial, 3. dental, 4. alveolar, 5. post-alveolar, 6. pre-palatal, 7. palatal, 8. velar, 9. uvular, 10. pharyngeal, 11. glottal, 12. epiglottal, 13. radical, 14. postero-dorsal, 15. antero-dorsal, 16. laminal, 17. apical, 18. sub-apical  in articulatory 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 articulatory gesture, an active articulator (typically some part of the tongue), and a passive location (typically some part of the roof of the mouth). along with the manner of articulation and the phonation, this gives the consonant its distinctive sound. the terminology in this article has been developed to precisely describe all the consonants in all the world's spoken languages. no known language distinguishes all of the places described here, so less precision is needed to distinguish the sounds of a particular language. ==overview== the human voice produces sounds in the following manner:titze, i. r. (2008). the human instrument. sci.am. 298 (1):94â101. pm 18225701titze, i.r. (1994). principles of voice production, prentice hall (currently published by ncvs.org), isbn 978-0-13-717893-3. #air pressure from the lungs creates a steady flow of air through the trachea (windpipe), larynx (voice box) and pharynx (back of the throat). #the vocal folds in the larynx vibrate, creating fluctuations in air pressure that are known as sound waves. #resonances in the vocal tract modify these waves according to the position and shape of the lips, jaw, tongue, soft palate, and other speech organs, creating formant regions and thus different qualities of sonorant (voiced) sound. #mouth and nose openings radiate the sound waves into the environment. ==the larynx==  the larynx or voice box is a cylindrical framework of cartilage that serves to anchor the vocal folds. when the muscles of the vocal folds contract, the airflow from the lungs is impeded until the vocal folds are forced apart again by the increasing air pressure from the lungs. this process continues in a periodic cycle that is felt as a vibration (buzzing). in singing, the vibration frequency of the vocal folds determines the pitch of the sound produced. voiced phonemes such as the pure vowels are, by definition, distinguished by the buzzing sound of this periodic oscillation of the vocal cords. the lips of the mouth can be used in a similar way to create a similar sound, as any toddler o
Phonetics