User:Sengai Podhuvan/Phonemes (Articulations), Tolkappiyam 1-3



Speech is articulated with the four segments such as (1)speech-effort, (2)speech-organs, (3)positions of speech-organs and (4)moving of speech-organs, according to Tolkappiyam. (1-83)

Relevant message is given below in the order of the original text noted within brackets or seperately.

Speech effort
Raising wind starts from diaphragm (a muscular sheet below the longs). On the way it touches 8 vocal organs. Head, pharynx, larynx are the three places where they touch. Teeth, lip, tongue, nose and palate are the five places where they play before producing voice.

(According to modern science the larynx or voice box is the anchor of vocal folds. It impedes the airflow from the lungs to create vocal folds. A periodic cycle in speech organs produces phonemes.)

hard and soft consonants

 * soft consonants articulate through the nasal region (1-100)

medial consonants

 * Medial consonants are neither hard nor soft.
 * Secondary phonemes articulate as their primary phonemes. (1-101)

difference from Sanskrit
(There is no plosive variations in Tamil script as there is in Sanskrit. Consonant clustering either may be articulated with or without plosive)
 * The functional shaping of the air through pulmonary, glottal, velar, palate, teeth and nasal parts were only spoken above. The phonic measure of each distinctive sound spoken in 'Anthanar' treatises are unimpeachable. (1-102)