[lojban-beginners] Pronouncing "x"

[Ronald Guida <ronguida@mindspring.com>]

I am learning to pronounce Lojban "x", which is not an English sound.  I 
think I have figured it out, so I want to share how I figured it out in 
the hope of helping others.

First, I took a crash course in phonetics, courtesy of Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_of_articulation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manner_of_articulation

Second, I pronounced English "ch" and "sh", as in:

English: "ch ch ch ch-shhhh"
IPA: "tʃ tʃ tʃ tʃʃʃʃʃʃʃ"
X-SAMPA: "tS tS tS tSSSSSSS"
Lojban: "tc tc tc tcccccc"

and noted the difference between a stop and a fricative.  I can 
pronounce "ch" followed immediately by a long "sh" because "sh" is a 
fricative that uses the same place of articulation as the end* of ch. 
[*Note: I perceive "ch" as a single sound, even though the IPA 
represents it as two sounds.]

Third, I attempted to do this with "k" and "X".  I can pronounce a train 
of "k"s and then attempt to make them run together.  I can also 
pronounce a ejective "k" by taking a deep breath and forcing excessive 
air out with my "k" sound.  If I hold the shape of my mouth immediately 
after the release that creates the "k" sound, then the extra air will 
produce turbulence and the resulting sound is somewhat like "X".  The 
point of these two exercises is to become aware of the shape of my mouth 
during the "release" phase of producing "k" and to get an idea of that 
"X" probably sounds like.  By holding this shape, I can then pronounce 
"k k k kXXXXXX".  I can also note that "kXXXXX" sounds somewhat like the 
sound of a crash cymbal.

Fourth, using a flashlight and a mirror, I can open my mouth wide and 
look inside to see my soft pallet and my uvula.  If I pronounce "k" with 
my mouth wide open, I can see the back of my tongue lift up, block the 
soft pallet for a moment, and then release, producing the "k" sound 
(unvoiced velar stop) upon release.  I can also feel the contact between 
my soft pallet and the back of my tongue.  If I pronounce "kXXXXX", I 
can see and feel the same movements as K, followed by a sound with the 
back of my tongue lifted up, but not all the way up.  I also attempted 
to pronounce "XXXXXX" (unvoiced velar fricative) without the initial 
"k".  At this point, I am fairly confident that I know what "X" sounds 
like and that I am pronouncing it correctly.

Fifth, I am trying to pronounce an "X" preceded and/or followed by a 
vowel.  The two problems I am having are (1) sometimes I am pronouncing 
a "k" or a pause (a silent "k") right before the "X", and (2) sometimes 
I am pronouncing an "h" instead of an "X".  These are coordination 
problems that can only be eliminated through practice.

-- Ron