ABSTRACT
The first major distinction that needs to be made concerns the route taken by the air flowing out from the lungs. When we described the organs of speech, you may remember that we looked at the behaviour of the velum and described the way in which it was capable of directing the airflow. The velum acted like a valve or door, moving down to create an opening through which air could enter the nasal cavity or being held in the raised position, closing the nasal cavity off and only permitting airflow into the mouth.
