Different languages each have their own basis of articulation, which means that native speakers will share a certain position of tongue, lips, jaw, possibly even uvula or larynx, when preparing to speak.
[7] Non-native speakers typically find the basis of articulation one of the greatest challenges in acquiring a foreign language's pronunciation.
[8] The term Basis of articulation is used in a slightly different sense to refer to a hypothesized articulatory "baseline" which is neutral in respect of individual vowels and consonants.
This is done in the phonetic framework section of Chomsky and Halle (1968) for the purposes of explaining various distinctive features in terms of their deviation from the neutral position.
[9] More recently, Odden has written "...some features are characterized in terms of the 'neutral position' which is a configuration that the vocal tract is assumed to have immediately prior to speaking.