TAJWEED IN DEPTH

Lesson 2 | The Vocal System

The vocal system is divided into 5 parts

1. الجوف - The airway/passage from the lungs to the lips and beyond

2. الحلق - The Throat

3. اللسان - The Tongue

4. الشفاه - The Lips

5. الخيشوم - The Nasal Cavity

How Sound is Produced

Sound is produced when there is a meeting of two parts, or a separation of two parts, or mere vibration.

1. التصادم - The Meeting of Two Parts: This happens when a letter has a sukun (ﹿ), with the exception of the letters of Madd/Elongation (المد) and Leen (اللين). The sound of the letter is produced when the tips of the points of articulation meet. In order to identify the point of articulation of a letter, you should precede the letter with a hamzah(أ) with Fatha(ﹷ), and put a sukun on the letter itself (أَمْ - أَطْْ). The point where these two parts in your mouth or vocal system meet is the point of articulation of the letter in question.

2. التباعد - The Separation of Two Parts: This happens when a letter has a vowel sign on it, either a fatha , kasra, or dammah. The sound of the letter is produced by separating the two parts of the mouth or vocal system that meet with the corresponding vowel sound (بَ بُ بِ - مَ مُ مِ).

3. الإهتزاز - The Vibration of the Vocal Cord: This is present only in the Madd (ا و ي) and Leen letters (و ي). The sounds emanate from air flow from the lungs, causing the vocal cord to vibrate, without any need for any parts of the mouth or vocal system to meet or separate from each other.

Pronouncing the Vowel Sounds Correctly

Fatha - In order to properly pronounce fatha, you must open your mouth in a vertical motion. Similar to saying “Aaaa” at a doctor’s office, but without sticking out your tongue.

Dammah - When pronouncing dammah you should round your lips to force the sound out through the round opening. This makes a “long U” sound as in pronouncing the word “puke”.

Kasra - To properly pronounce Kasra you must open your mouth in a horizontal motion, lowering your lower jaw. It would look like you are smiling, or pronouncing the word “geek”.

Sukun - As for pronouncing a letter with sukun, ensure you don’t open your mouth vertically, nor horizontally, nor rounding your lips while making the sound in order to avoid the sound carrying any of the vowels as described above.