Speech is voice modulated by the lips, tongue, [Footnote: The tongue is
styled the "unruly member," and held responsible for all the tattling of
the world; but when the tongue is removed, the adjacent organs in some way
largely supply the deficiency, so that speech is still possible. Huxley
describes the conversation of a man who had two and one half inches of his
tongue preserved in spirits, and yet could converse intelligibly. Only the
two letters _t_ and _d_ were beyond his power; the articulation
of these involves the employment of the tip of the tongue; hence, "tin" he
converted into "fin," and "dog" into "thog."] palate, and teeth.
[Footnote: An artificial larynx may be made by using elastic bands to
represent the vocal cords, and by placing above them chambers which by
their resonance will produce the same effect as the cavities lying above
the larynx. An artificial speaking machine was constructed by Kempelen,
which could pronounce such sentences as, "I love you with all my heart,"
in different languages, by simply touching the proper keys.] Speech and
voice are commonly associated, but speech may exist without the voice, for
when we whisper we articulate the words, although there is no
vocalization, _i. e._, no action of the larynx. [Footnote: We can
observe this by placing the hand on the throat, and noticing the absence
of vibrations when we whisper, and their presence when we talk. The
difference between vocalization and non-vocalization is seen in a sigh and
a groan, the latter being the former vocalized. Whistling is a pure mouth
sound, and does not depend on the voice. Laughter is vocal, being the
aspirated vowels, a, e, or o, convulsively repeated.] (See p. 297.)
FIG. 29.
[Illustration: _The Lungs, showing the Larynx._ A, _the
windpipe;_ B, _the bronchial tubes._]
FORMATION OF VOCAL SOUNDS.--The method of modulating voice into speech may
be seen by producing the pure vowel sounds _a, e_, etc., from one
expiration, the mouth being kept open while the form of the aperture is
changed for each vowel by the tongue and the lips. _H_ is only an
explosion, or forcible throwing of a vowel sound from the mouth.
[Footnote: When, in sounding a vowel, the sound coincides with a sudden
change in the position of the vocal cords from one of divergence to one of
approximation, the vowel is pronounced with the _spiritus asper_.
When the vocal cords are brought together before the blast of air begins,
the vowel is pronounced with the _spiritus lenis._--FOSTER.]
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