throat placement

In American English, the throat placement represents the vowel phonemes found in the words look, at, and it.

Location

The throat placement is located along the vertical midline on the front of the neck. It is approximately three to 4 inches below the tip of the chin on the laryngeal prominence (or Adam's apple). The actual location may vary slightly among cuers, but should be consistent for an individual. It may be placed slightly lower, but should not extend below the hollow between the collarbones and should not leave the neck and be placed on the sternum.

Contact

In general, the point of contact is the tip of the longest extended finger of the handshape. In the case of handshape 8, this is no longer true. When handshape 8 is placed at the throat placement, the index finger is the contact finger (e.g., chip, yin-yang) so that the other extended finger (the middle finger) points away from face and does not cause ambiguity as to which placement is being contacted.

Mnemonics