Airstream mechanism

In phonetics, the airstream mechanism is the method by which airflow is created in the vocal tract. Along with phonation and articulation, it is one of three main components of speech production. The airstream mechanism is mandatory for sound production and constitutes the first part of this process, which is called initiation. The organ generating the airstream is called the initiator and there are three initiators used in spoken human languages: Though not used in any language, the cheeks may be used to generate the airstream (buccal mechanism, notated {ↀ} in VoQS). See buccal speech.

Airstream mechanism

In phonetics, the airstream mechanism is the method by which airflow is created in the vocal tract. Along with phonation and articulation, it is one of three main components of speech production. The airstream mechanism is mandatory for sound production and constitutes the first part of this process, which is called initiation. The organ generating the airstream is called the initiator and there are three initiators used in spoken human languages: Though not used in any language, the cheeks may be used to generate the airstream (buccal mechanism, notated {ↀ} in VoQS). See buccal speech.