THE SPEECH MECHANISM
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the
vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its
frequency ranges from 200 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that
part of human sound production in which the vocal folds (vocal cords) are
the primary sound source. Generally speaking, the mechanism for
generating the human voice can be subdivided into three parts; the lungs,
the vocal folds within the larynx, and the articulators. The lung (the pump)
must produce adequate airflow and air pressure to vibrate vocal folds (this
air pressure is the fuel of the voice). The vocal folds (vocal cords) are a
vibrating valve that chops up the airflow from the lungs into audible pulses
that form the laryngeal sound source. The muscles of the larynx adjust the
length and tension of the vocal folds to ‘fine tune’ pitch and tone. The
articulators (the parts of the vocal tract above the larynx consisting of
tongue, palate, cheek, lips, etc.) articulate and filter the sound emanating
from the larynx and to some degree can interact with the laryngeal airflow to
strengthen it or weaken it as a sound source.
The potential speaker needs some experiences before becoming good,
as well as he or she needs to know more about some basics in speech
development including the speech instrument or the speech mechanism.
There is what we called as instruments of speech that are essential elements
in speech delivery. These instruments are called as the speech mechanism
and are divided into four parts namely; the Motor, the Vibrators, the
Resonators and the Articulators or Modifiers.
One of the components of the motor part is the lungs that contain the
air. Another component is the bronchial tubes that converge into the
windpipe forming a nozzle out in which the air that was compressed is
released.
The ribs and the other bones, the cartilage and the other tissues are
also belonging to the motor part. They serve to hold the motor in place,
giving leverage for the application of power.
The muscles are other motor components; these muscles expand
alternately and contract the place that is occupied by the lungs. With this,
the muscles serve alternately in order to draw air into the lungs and
compress this air afterward for expulsion.
The vibrators are the second part of the speech mechanism. When
the air is compressed in the lungs, it will be then directed into the larynx
passing through the trachea. The larynx also called as Adam’s apple contains
a group of small cartilage that are joined together, the larynx contain the
vibrating unit.
The resonator is the third part of the speech mechanism; these are
group of air chambers in the head and in the throat. The resonators are
responsible for amplifying the sound from the larynx and making it louder as
well as modifying the sound’s quality. The principal resonators are the
vestibule, the pharynx, and the nasal cavity which include the mouth and the
sinuses.
The fourth part of the speech mechanism is the articulator or the
modifier. Belong to this part are the lips, the teeth, the jaw and the palate.
These components are responsible in modifying the speech’s sound. They
serve as the movable boundaries of the resonators. As the speaker moves
the articulators, the shape of the resonators is modified as well as the quality
of the tone that is produced.
In phonetics, the airstream mechanism is the method by which
airflow is created in the vocal tract. Along with phonation, it is one of two
mandatory aspects of sound production; without these, there can be no
speech sound.
The organ generating the airstream is called the initiatior; for this reason the
production of airflow is called initiation. There are three initiators used in
spoken human languages:
• the diaphragm together with the ribs and lungs (pulmonic
mechanisms),
• the glottis (glottalic mechanisms), and
• the tongue (lingual or "velaric" mechanisms).
Each may act by increasing pressure in the airstream or by reducing it with
suction. These changes in pressure are often said to involve outward and
inward airflow, and are therefore termed egressive and ingressive
mechanisms; however, ingressive mechanisms often only reduce outward
airflow.
Of these six possible airstream mechanisms, four are found in words around
the world:
• pulmonic egressive, where the air is pushed out of the lungs by the
ribs and diaphragm. All human languages employ such sounds (such
as vowels), and nearly three out of four use them exclusively.
• glottalic egressive, where the air column is pushed upward by the
glottis. Such consonants are called ejectives. Ejective and ejective-like
consonants occur in 16% of the languages.
• glottalic ingressive, where the air column is rarefied as the glottis
moves downward. Such consonants are called implosives. Implosive
and implosive-like consonants occur in 13% of the world's languages.
• lingual ingressive, AKA velaric ingressive, where the air in the mouth is
rarefied by a downward movement of the tongue. These are the clicks.
Clicks are regular sounds in ordinary words in fewer than 2% of the
world's languages, all in Africa.
In interjections, the other two mechanisms may be employed. For
example, in countries as diverse as Canada, Sweden, Turkey, and Togo, a
pulmonic ingressive ("gasped" or "inhaled") vowel is used for back-
channeling or to express agreement, and in France a lingual egressive (a
"spurt") is used to express dismissal. The only language where such sounds
are known to be contrastive in normal vocabulary is the ritual language
Damin; however, that language appears to have been intentionally designed
to be different from normal speech.
Speech Mechanism
Physiological phonetics
• All sounds which come from the mouth and nose are the result of
interruptions and/or modifications of a stream of air moving from the lungs
through:
– trachea
– larynx
– pharynx
– oral cavity
– nasal cavity
2
• Airstream provides energy for speech production
• Any constrictions which create obstacles to free
movement of air through larynx and/or above larynx
create sound
3
A closer look
• 4 speech process
– respiration
– phonation
– resonation
– articulation
HUMAN SPEECH APPARATUS
Stages in voice Production
1.Breathing
2. Phonation
3. Resonation
4.Articulation
STAGE 1 BREATHING2 PHASES
1.Inhalation
Upperpart of the chest expands
Abdomen moves forward2.
Exhalation
Chest and abdomen return to their original
positions
2 PRINCIPAL STRUCTURES
1.
L
ungs serves as the reservoir of air.2.
Dia
p
hragm a large sheet of muscle se
p
arating the chest cavity from the abdomen, formsthe floor of the chest and the roof
of the abdomen
ACTIVITIES TO ATTAIN CORRECT BREATHING IN SPEECH
1.
I
nhale dee
p
ly and/or more ra
p
idly.2.
Maintain a steady
p
ressure of air as you talk.3.
Maintain an adequate breath reserve.
STAGE 2 PHONATION
T
akes
p
lace when voice is
p
roduced in s
p
eaking as the ex
p
iratory air stream from the lungs goesu
p
through the trachea or wind
p
i
p
e to the larynx.
2 PRINCIPAL STRUCTURES
1.
L
arynx
p
rinci
p
al organ of
p
honation; found at the to
p
of the trachea; its
p
rotuberanceis known as the Adams a
pp
le.2.
Vocal cords attached to the walls of the larynx; a
p
air of bundle s of muscles andcartilages, which o
p
en and close at various degrees.
y
I
n silent breathing, V
C
so
p
en wide and let air in and out without hindrance.
