Articulatory phonetics deals with the production of speech sounds. It studies the movement and positioning of articulators like the lips, jaw, tongue, and soft palate. Consonants are produced with complete or partial constriction of the vocal tract, while vowels have an open vocal tract. The place of articulation refers to where in the vocal tract the constriction occurs, while manner of articulation describes the type of constriction, such as a stop, fricative, or nasal.