ABSTRACT
When people begin to learn phonetics for the first time, most are very unfamiliar with the insides of their own mouths. Given how much we all use our mouths, for eating, talking, and facial expression, and how familiar we are with the sensations produced by our tongues, it is remarkable how seldom most people consider the nature of the internal structures of the mouth and throat. This may be partly to do with cultural inhibitions about displaying the inside of the mouth, as exemplified by the convention of covering the mouth when yawning. A necessary first stage in studying phonetics is to be thoroughly familiar with the oral cavity, and the other structures involved in speech production. The practice activities in this chapter are designed to encourage you to explore your own speech production mechanisms and, if possible, those of friends. Comparing the individual characteristics of two or more people may help to raise awareness about how much variation there is inside the mouth and throat. Casual observation of any group of people makes it clear that the basic blueprint for the human face, with two eyes above a centrally placed nose and a mouth, allows for enormous variation in the detailed configuration of these features. Just as much variation is evident in the internal structures.
