Yes, this observation has definitely been noted and studied by linguists and phoneticians. What you're describing relates to what researchers call "articulatory settings" or "postural settings" — the habitual positions and movements of the speech organs that characterize different languages.

What Research Shows

Different languages do tend to favor distinct articulatory configurations:

• Vowel space: Languages vary in how much of the oral cavity they utilize for vowels. For instance, French tends to use a more forward, compact vowel space compared to English, which uses a wider range.

• Lip positioning: Some languages systematically use more lip rounding (like French or German) while others keep lips more neutral (like many Slavic languages).

• Tongue posture: Languages differ in resting tongue position. Mandarin Chinese, for example, involves different tongue placements for certain consonants compared to English.

• Jaw openness: Arabic and Hebrew often involve more open jaw positions for certain vowels compared to Japanese, which tends toward more closed articulation.

Why This Happens

Several factors contribute:

1. Phonemic inventory: Each language has a unique set of sounds that require specific articulations
2. Coarticulation patterns: How sounds flow together varies by language
3. Cultural/linguistic habits: Speakers develop muscle memory for their native language's patterns
4. Prosodic features: Rhythm and stress patterns affect overall mouth movement

Observable Effects

This is part of what creates recognizable accents. When someone speaks a second language, their native articulatory setting often persists, giving away their linguistic background. Speech therapists and accent coaches work specifically with these differences.

Caveats

It's worth noting that:

• Individual variation exists within any language community
• These are tendencies, not absolute rules
• Dialects and regional variations add further complexity
• Modern research continues to refine our understanding

So yes, your intuition aligns with established phonetic research. The mouth positions aren't fundamentally different anatomically, but the habitual patterns of movement and positioning do vary systematically across languages.

Would you like to explore any particular language comparisons or the implications for things like accent acquisition?

Lumo responded:

Standard Arabic (Modern Standard Arabic or MSA), particularly as heard in formal news broadcasts, is characterized by a highly specific and deliberate articulatory setting. Unlike colloquial dialects which may vary widely, broadcast MSA aims for maximum clarity, neutrality, and adherence to classical phonological norms.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the postural and articulatory characteristics:

1. General Postural Setting

• Jaw Position: The jaw is generally held in a moderately open position, more open than in languages like English or French, but not as wide as in some open-vowel heavy dialects. This openness facilitates the production of the low central vowel /a/ and allows for the deep resonance required for pharyngeal sounds.
• Tongue Rest Position: The tongue tends to sit slightly retracted (pulled back) compared to many European languages. The root of the tongue is often tense, preparing for the frequent production of pharyngeal and uvular consonants.
• Lip Posture: Lips are generally neutral to slightly spread, except during the production of rounded vowels (/u/, /uː/) or labial consonants. There is less habitual rounding than in French or German.
• Airflow and Resonance: The setting emphasizes pharyngeal resonance. The speaker consciously engages the back of the throat to produce the distinctive "deep" or "guttural" quality associated with Arabic, creating a fuller, more resonant timbre than in languages that rely more on oral resonance.

2. Key Articulatory Features by Sound Class

A. The Pharyngeals (The Defining Feature)

The most distinct aspect of the MSA setting is the production of the two pharyngeal consonants:

• /ħ/ (ḥāʾ) and /ʕ/ (ʿayn):
  • Mechanism: These are produced by constricting the pharynx (the throat cavity behind the tongue). The root of the tongue is pulled back and down, narrowing the space between the tongue and the pharyngeal wall.
  • Effect on Posture: This creates a sensation of "throatiness." The larynx may be slightly lowered. This constriction affects neighboring vowels, often causing them to sound darker or more backed.
  • News Broadcast Nuance: In formal speech, these sounds are produced with extreme precision and full constriction, unlike in some dialects where they might be weakened or merged.

B. The Emphatics (Pharyngealized Consonants)

Four consonants are "emphatic" (pharyngealized): /sˤ/ (ṣād), /dˤ/ (ḍād), /tˤ/ (ṭāʾ), and /ðˤ/ (ẓāʾ).

• Mechanism: While the primary articulation happens at the alveolar ridge (for /s/, /t/, /d/) or interdental (for /ð/), there is a simultaneous secondary articulation. The back of the tongue is raised and the pharynx is narrowed, similar to the pharyngeals but less extreme.
• Postural Effect: This creates a "thick" or "heavy" quality. Crucially, this secondary articulation often lowers and retracts the tongue root, which can pull adjacent vowels toward a more back, rounded quality (e.g., the vowel after /ṣ/ might sound closer to /o/ or /u/ than /a/).

C. Uvulars and Velars

• /q/ (qāf): A voiceless uvular stop. The back of the tongue touches the uvula (further back than the soft palate). In news Arabic, this is almost always a hard, deep stop, distinct from the glottal stop /ʔ/ or the velar /k/.
• /x/ (khāʾ) and /ɣ/ (ghayn): Produced at the uvula. The tongue is retracted, and the airflow is turbulent. The setting requires a tight constriction at the back of the mouth.

D. Interdentals

• /θ/ (thāʾ), /ð/ (dhāl), /ðˤ/ (ẓāʾ): The tongue tip is placed between the teeth (interdental).
• Posture: This requires the jaw to be slightly more open than for alveolar sounds, and the tongue tip must protrude slightly. In broadcast speech, this is done very clearly, avoiding the tendency in some dialects to shift these to /t/, /d/, or /s/.

E. Vowel System

• Three Primary Vowels: /a/, /i/, /u/.
  • /a/: Low, central, unrounded. Requires a wide jaw opening.
  • /i/: High, front, unrounded. Tongue is high and forward, lips spread.
  • /u/: High, back, rounded. Tongue is high and back, lips tightly rounded.
• Long Vowels: /aː/, /iː/, /uː/. These are held significantly longer, requiring sustained muscular tension in the articulators.
• Diphthongs: /aj/ and /aw/ are common. The transition is smooth but distinct.

3. Prosodic and Rhythmic Characteristics

• Syllable Timing: Arabic is often described as syllable-timed, meaning syllables tend to have equal duration. In news broadcasts, this results in a steady, rhythmic cadence.
• Stress: Stress is predictable (usually on the penultimate or antepenultimate syllable depending on weight) and is marked by increased intensity and pitch rather than just duration.
• Clarity and Pausing: News anchors use deliberate pausing and clear enunciation to ensure intelligibility across different dialect regions. Glottal stops (hamza) are pronounced distinctly, not elided.

4. Summary of the "Broadcast" Persona

When listening to a news anchor speaking MSA, you are hearing a hyper-articulated version of the language. The speaker:

1. Maximizes the pharyngeal space to ensure /ħ/, /ʕ/, and emphatics are distinct.
2. Maintains a retracted tongue root to facilitate the deep resonance.
3. Avoids reduction of vowels (no schwa /ə/ as in English).
4. Keeps the jaw relatively open to accommodate the low vowel /a/ and the pharyngeal constriction.

This specific setting gives MSA its characteristic "sonorous," "deep," and "precise" quality, distinguishing it immediately from the more relaxed, often fronted, and reduced articulatory settings of colloquial dialects or European languages.