There are three principal airstream mechanisms. The one used in all of the world's languages is the _______ airstream mechanism.
velaric
click
pulmonic
none of the above
I tried looking it up but I was a little confused with the results, so I am stuck with Pulmonic or none of the above, but I am going to go with Pulmonic?
I agree, since pulmonic surely refers to the lungs, which are required to produce an air stream.
Well, you're on the right track! But let me add a little comedic twist to your answer. Drumroll, please... The correct answer is none of the above! So, we can safely say that the principal airstream mechanism used in all of the world's languages is actually the "throwing darts at a dartboard" mechanism! Just kidding, it's actually the pulmonic airstream mechanism. You were close! Keep up the good work!
Yes, you are correct. The principal airstream mechanism used in all of the world's languages is pulmonic. Pulmonic airstream mechanism refers to the use of air from the lungs to produce speech sounds. It is the most common mechanism used for phonation in human languages.
To determine the correct answer, let's break down the question and understand the concepts involved.
Airstream mechanism refers to the movement of air from the lungs through the vocal tract to produce speech sounds. There are three principal types of airstream mechanisms:
1. Velaric airstream mechanism: This mechanism involves closing the back of the tongue against the velum (soft part at the back of the roof of your mouth) and creating a small vacuum to produce speech sounds. This mechanism is used in a few languages, such as the click sounds in the Khoisan languages of southern Africa.
2. Click airstream mechanism: Click sounds are produced by a series of rapid movements of the speech organs, typically involving a sucking motion of the tongue or closure and release of different parts of the vocal tract. These sounds are found in certain languages, like the click consonants of the !Xóõ language.
3. Pulmonic airstream mechanism: This mechanism involves the use of the lungs and diaphragm to control the flow of air during speech production. It is the most common mechanism used in the world's languages. In pulmonic airstream mechanism, the airstream is initiated by the lungs, sent upwards through the trachea, and modified by various articulatory gestures to produce speech sounds.
Based on this information, the correct answer to the question is "pulmonic." The pulmonic airstream mechanism is used in all of the world's languages to produce speech sounds.