Tongue

舌

(1) From the phonetic point of view, the importance of the tongue is that it is the organ of articulation most involved in the production of speech sounds - all the vowels and the majority of the consonants (that is, excluding those made at the lips and in the throat). Different parts of the tongue are involved in articulating these sounds, and it has proved convenient to classify sounds with reference to these areas. From front to back, it is usual to distinguish the tip (or apex), blade (or front), centre (or ‘top’), back (or dorsum) and root. The groove running down the centre of the tongue is also significant, in that several sound contrasts can be made by altering its shape. Plotting tongue movements is difficult visually or kinaesthetically, but advances in phonetic instrumentation, such as the electropalatograph, have enabled many of these movements to be displayed with accuracy.

(2) In Chomsky and Halle’s distinctive feature theory of phonology, tongue-body features constitute one of the categories set up to handle variations in place of articulation (cavity features). The placement of the body of the tongue is characterized with reference to three features, all seen as oppositions: high, low and back.

（1）从语音学观点看，舌的重要性在于它是语音产生时使用得最多的发音器官—所有的元音和大多数辅音都靠舌发音（只有用唇或喉发的音除外）。舌的不同部位都用于这些音的发音，实际也证明按这些部位给语音分类较为方便。从前至后，通常区分舌尖、舌叶（或舌前）、舌央（或“舌顶”）、舌后（或舌背）、舌根。沿舌中央的舌沟也起作用，有好几个语音靠改变其形状来区别。舌的动作很难从视觉或动觉上记录下来，但近来语音实验仪器的发展，如电子腭位观察仪的诞生，已使精确显示许多舌的动作成为可能。

（2）在乔姆斯基和哈勒的音系学的区别特征理论中，舌体特征是为描写发音部位的变化而建立的范畴之一（腔特征）。舌的位置是参照三个特征来确定，这三个特征—高、低、后—都被视为对立特征。