The Articulatory Function of the Larynx and the Origins of Speech

BLS 38: General Session and Thematic Session on Language Contac

The quantal larynx: The stable regions of laryngeal biomechanics and implications for speech production

Purpose: Recent proposals suggest that (a) the high dimensionality of speech motor control may be reduced via modular neuromuscular organization that takes advantage of intrinsic biomechanical regions of stability and (b) computational modeling provides a means to study whether and how such modularization works. In this study, the focus is on the larynx, a structure that is fundamental to speech production because of its role in phonation and numerous articulatory functions. Method: A 3-dimensional model of the larynx was created using the ArtiSynth platform (http://www.artisynth.org). This model was used to simulate laryngeal articulatory states, including inspiration, glottal fricative, modal prephonation, plain glottal stop, vocal–ventricular stop, and aryepiglotto– epiglottal stop and fricative. Results: Speech-relevant laryngeal biomechanics is rich with “quantal” or highly stable regions within muscle activation space. Conclusions: Quantal laryngeal biomechanics complement a modular view of speech control and have implications for the articulatory–biomechanical grounding of numerous phonetic and phonological phenomen

Harsh voice quality and its association with blackness in popular American media

Performers use various laryngeal settings to create voices for characters and personas they portray. Although some research demonstrates the sociophonetic associations of laryngeal voice quality, few studies have documented or examined the role of harsh voice quality, particularly with vibration of the epilaryngeal structures (growling). This article qualitatively examines phonetic properties of vocal performances in a corpus of popular American media and evaluates the association of voice qualities in these performances with representations of social identity and stereotype. In several cases, contrasting laryngeal states create sociophonetic contrast, and harsh voice quality is paired with the portrayal of racial stereotypes of black people. These cases indicate exaggerated emotional states and are associated with yelling/shouting modes of expression. Overall, however, the functioning of harsh voice quality as it occurs in the data is broader and may involve aggressive posturing, comedic inversion of aggressiveness, vocal pathology, and vocal homag

A high-speed laryngoscopic investigation of aryepiglottic trilling

Six aryepiglottic trills with varied laryngeal parameters were recorded using high-speed laryngoscopy to investigate the nature of the oscillatory behavior of the upper margin of the epilaryngeal tube. Image analysis techniques were applied to extract data about the patterns of aryepiglottic fold oscillation, with a focus on the oscillatory frequencies of the folds. The acoustic impact of aryepiglottic trilling is also considered, along with possible interactions between the aryepiglottic vibration and vocal fold vibration during the voiced trill. Overall, aryepiglottic trilling is deemed to be correctly labeled as a trill in phonetic terms, while also acting as a means to alter the quality of voicing to be auditorily harsh. In terms of its characterization, aryepiglottic vibration is considerably irregular, but it shows indications of contributing quasi-harmonic excitation of the vocal tract, particularly noticeable under conditions of glottal voicelessness. Aryepiglottic vibrations appear to be largely independent of glottal vibration in terms of oscillatory frequency but can be increased in frequency by increasing overall laryngeal constriction. There is evidence that aryepiglottic vibration induces an alternating vocal fold vibration pattern. It is concluded that aryepiglottic trilling, like ventricular phonation, should be regarded as a complex, if highly irregular, sound source

The Flute Inside-Out: Tracking Internal Movements in Flute Playing

Analyses in the past have revealed that flute sound production is a complex procedure involving internal movements of the body. The larynx and pharynx in particular play a crucial role. Some authors, advocate for the abdominal muscles, while others, draw attention to the lips and the oral cavity. However, despite the various studies, the physiology of flute playing is limited by lack of empirically-derived information about what happens when a player carries out musical tasks. The present study is an empirical investigation of the role of the larynx and pharynx in flute playing from the perspective of a flute specialist. Specifically, the study aims to determine vocal fold involvement in vibrato, epiglottis movements, arytenoids and epiglottis involvement in articulation, and glottal aperture in tone and dynamics production (soft to loud, loud to soft). A detailed analysis of the relationship between standard flute techniques and the larynx and pharynx mechanisms is presented, making a significant contribution to the flute pedagogical literature. Two male and three female experienced players (referred to in the study as “the participants”) participated in a video-nasendoscopy procedure. The behaviour of the participants’ larynxes and pharynxes while playing a performance protocol specifically designed for this research was observed by a qualified speech pathologist. Specifically, the observer analysed true vocal fold adduction, false vocal fold adduction, laryngeal height, pharyngeal space, epiglottis movement, and arytenoid adduction. This study reveals that laryngeal/pharyngeal participation in flute playing is not limited to vibrato production or specific techniques, such as singing and playing or flutter tongue (tongue rolling effect while playing). The larynx plays a major role in producing flute tone and dynamics and should be considered by pedagogues, performers and health specialists. These findings can assist flute professionals in their daily practice, performances and teaching. Knowing the role of the larynx in vibrato, articulation, pitch control, and dynamics control, reveals a new tool for flute players to use with assurance when preparing any piece of the standard repertoire, or teaching a student

Regional variation in British English voice Quality

This study considers regional variation of voice quality in two varieties of British English - Southern Standard British English and West Yorkshire English. A comparison of voice quality profiles for three closely related but not identical northern varieties within West Yorkshire is also considered. Our findings do not contradict the small subset of previous research which explored regional and/or social variation in voice quality in British English insofar as regionality may play a small role in a speaker's voice quality profile. However, factors such as social standing and identity could perhaps be even more relevant. Even when considering homogeneous groups of speakers, it is not the case that there is a cohesive voice quality profile that can be attached to every speaker within the group. The reason for this, we argue, is the speaker-specificity inherent in voice quality

Voice quality features in the production of pharyngeal consonants by Iraqi Arabic speakers

PhD ThesisThis study investigates nasalisation and laryngealisation in the production of pharyngeal consonants in Iraqi Arabic (IA) and as potential voice quality (VQ) settings of IA speakers in general. Pharyngeal consonants have been the subject of investigation in many studies on Arabic, primarily due to the wide range of variation in their realisation across dialects, including approximant, fricative, and stop variants. This is the first quantitative study of its kind to extend these findings to IA and to investigate whether any of the variants and/or VQ features are dialect- specific. The study offers a detailed auditory and acoustic account of the realisations of pharyngeal consonants as produced by nine male speakers of three Iraqi dialects: Baghdad (representing Central gelet), Basra (representing Southern gelet) and Mosul (representing Northern qeltu) (Blanc, 1964; Ingham, 1997). Acoustic cues of nasalisation and phonation types are investigated in isolated vowels, oral, nasal, and pharyngeal environments in order to unravel the source of the nasalised and laryngealised VQ percept and to establish whether their manifestations are categorical or particular to certain contexts. Results suggest a range of realisations for the pharyngeals that are conditioned by word position and dialect. Regardless of realisation, VQ measurements suggest that: 1- nasalisation increases when pharyngeals are adjacent to nasals, beyond what is expected of a nasal environment; 2- vowels neighbouring pharyngeals show more nasalisation than in oral environments; 3- vowels in pharyngeal contexts and isolation show more laryngealisation compared with nasal and oral contexts; 4- both nasals and pharyngeals show progressive effect of nasalisation, and pharyngeals show a progressive effect of laryngealisation; 5- /ħ/ shows more nasalisation but less laryngealisation effect on neighbouring vowels than /ʕ/; and 6- Baghdad speech is the most nasalised and laryngealised and Basra speech the least. These results coincide with observations on Muslim Baghdadi gelet having a guttural quality (Bellem, 2007). The study reveals that the overall percept of a nasalised and laryngealised VQ in IA is a local feature rather than a general vocal setting