Places of articulation The place of articulation refers to where the narrowing occurs - which active articulator gets close to which passive articulator. In other words, the place of articulation is the point where the airstream is obstructed. In general, the place of articulation is simply that point on the palate where the tongue is placed to block the stream of air 2021/2/232021/2/23 7 Places of Articulation • The place of articulation refers to where the narrowing occurs -- which active articulator gets close to which passive articulator. In other words, the place of articulation is the point where the airstream is obstructed. In general, the place of articulation is simply that point on the palate where the tongue is placed to block the stream of air