

UNDULATOUY FORCES ACOUSTICS. 



[VENTRILOQUISM. 



the month doM considerably, and the tongue rise to- 

 ward* the roof of the month, to M to contract the oral 

 canal In pronouncing o, he will observe how the lip* 

 are thrown into the form of the letter, the tongue at 

 the MUM time railed from the bottom of the mouth. 

 The form of the rowel o, in most languages, poinU to 

 one source of origin of those representation* of sound* 

 which we call alphabet*. 



Some consonant*, like rowels, can be pronounced with 

 an uninterrupted sound, which continue* a* long a* the 

 expiration can be prolonged, the disposition of the parts 

 within the mouth remaining throughout as at the com- 

 mencement of the sound. Of these, the aspirate h is 

 pronounced with the whole oral canal open; no inter- 

 ruption is offered to the passage of the breath; its 

 sound is the simple result of the resonance of the walls 

 of the cavity during expiration. Others of the same 

 clan, such as m, n, and ng, are produced by continuous 

 expiration through the nasal canal, the aperture of tin 

 mouth being closed either by the lips or by the tongue 

 being pressed against the palate. The mouth is closed 

 by the lips while m is pronounced, the sound being pro- 

 duced by the simple passage of the air through the 

 nasal cavity. When n is pronounced, the mouth is 

 closed by the extremity of the tongue being pressed 

 against the fore part of the palate. Ng is regarded as a 

 simple sound in the words ting and bang. It is pro- 

 duced also by the passage of sound through the nostril, 

 while the posterior part of the tongue is pressed agaiust 

 the palate. Other consonants, again, of the same class, 

 are continuous sounds developed by the valve-like appli- 

 cation of different parts of the mouth to each other, 

 such as /, , r, f. F is pronounced by the application 

 of the lower lip to the teeth. In pronouncing s, tho 

 teeth are brought into contact with each other, while 

 the point of the tongue touches the lower teeth ; in the 

 sound of r, the tongue vibrates against tho palate ; in 

 the sound of /, the point of the tongue is applied close 

 to the palate, and the air escapes between the tongue 

 and the cheeks. The English thixjt. modification of t. 



The mute consonants, with explosive sounds, come 

 next to be spoken of. The organs of speech, by which 

 these sounds are formed, undergo a sudden change of 

 position during their production. The sound commences 

 with the closing of the mouth, and terminates when it 

 opens that is to say, these consonants cannot bo pro- 

 longed at pleasure ; 6, y, d, of which ;>, k, t are modifi- 

 cations, coming under this head. In Bounding b, tho lips 

 are brought together, and close the mouth, while they 

 separate again at the moment the air is expired. In 

 sounding d, the tongue is applied to the anterior part 

 of the palate, or to the upper teeth, so as to close the 

 mouth, which opens with the escape of the breath. In 

 sounding o that is, the hard g, as in gold the mo- 

 mentary closure of the passage through the moiah 

 takes place, more posteriorly, by the application of the 

 back part of the tongue to the palate. In sounding ;), 

 f, and k, the requisite modifications of b, d, and g are pro- 

 duced, by a stronger aspiration during the opening -of 

 the mouth, which was previously closed. All the 

 sounds hitherto mentioned are capable of being pro- 

 nounced in whispered speech. The English y and z 

 cannot be uttered without an accompanying vocal sound. 

 Thus, when an attempt is made to sound the English y 

 in a whisper, the German ch is produced in its stead. 

 All the vowels are capable of being produced equally in 

 whispered speech, and with a vocal tone. Many con- 

 sonant* also, as /, j, r, {, m, n, ng, can be pronounced 

 either with mute sounds or with vocal intonations. The 

 continuous consonant h can only be pronounced in 

 whispered voice ; and it is quite impossible to combine 

 the sounds of the explosive consonants, 6, d, g, and 

 their modifications, p, t, k, with an intonation of tho 

 voice. 



Beside* the ordinary snnnds of consonant* which 

 enter into the formation of languages, other sounds are 

 capable of being produced in the mouth and throat. 

 The smacking sound* produced by the separation, of tho 

 Ueth from the tongue or palate, are reported by tra- 



vellers to occur in the language of the Hottentots, and 

 in those of other African tribes. 



The several sounds and tone* of language can even be 

 imitated by artificial contrivances. When the sound of 

 the voice is made to pass into a cylindrical tube, before 

 which the hand is hold, and then withdrawn, tho sound 

 of 6 is produced ; and if tho tube bo a pipe with a 

 membranous tongue, the sound of v is produced. Various 

 speaking machines, by attention to such principles, have 

 been produced : the most perfect of these is that con- 

 trived by Faber. The automaton, invented by Faber, 

 has a singing voice, extending over twelve notes. The 

 difference in the height of the notes is made by varying 

 the width of the glottis without tension of the cords. 

 In this respect, it is hardly an exact model of tho organ 

 of the human voice. 



The singular faculty possessed by ventriloquists has 

 engaged much of the attention of physiologists. Many 

 different views as to the nature of this kind of speech 

 have been at various times brought forward. 



One of tho oldest and most common ideas on this 

 subject is, that ventriloquism consists in speech pro- 

 iln.v, 1 during inspiration. It is unquestionably possible, 

 though not without difficulty, to articulate during inspi- 

 ration ; and the sounds so produced have some resem- 

 blance to the tones uttered by a ventriloquist. 



A more recent view of the nature of ventriloquism 

 is, that it is a mere imitation, produced iu the larynx, 

 of the various modifications which the voice ordinarily 

 suffers from distance, by tho interposition of a parti- 

 tion, as if the individual < I in a narrow 

 space in a trunk, a cask,' or the like. This view has 

 been supported with much ingenuity by Mayndie. 



The distinguished German physiologist, Miiller, has 

 adopted an idea on this subject which coincides better 

 with the original name of this artifice, lie says that 

 the notes of ventriloquism are produced by inspiring 

 very deeply, so as to protrude the abdominal contents by 

 the deep descent of the diaphragm ; and tho diaphragm 

 being retained in this position, by speaking through a 

 very narrow glottis, expiration is performed very slowly 

 by the lateral walls of the chest alone. He affirms, that 

 the quality which tho voice has, in speaking through an 

 expiration thus performed, is that peculiar to ventrilo- 

 quism, and that sounds may be thus uttered which 

 resemble the voice of a person calling from a distance. 



A very large. share of the artifice practised by the 

 ventriloquist, particularly in the imitation of voices 

 coming from particular directions, lies in tho deception 

 of other senses besides the hearing. The directions in 

 which sounds reach tho ear are never very easily distin- 

 guished ; and when the attention is drawn to a different 

 point, the imagination is very apt to regard tho sounds 

 produced as coming from that quarter. 



Of. the imperfections of speech, stammering is that 

 which has been chiefly investigated ; and it lies in a 

 momentary inability to pronounce a consonant or vowel, 

 or to connect it with the preceding sounds. This impe- 

 diment may occur either iu the commencement or in the 

 middle of a word. When the impediment arises in the 

 middle of a word, the commencement of the word is 

 often several times repeated. Hence stammering is apt 

 to be defined as the successive repetition of one sound. 

 Tho repetition of the commencement of the word, how- 

 ever, is not tho essential defect which constitutes stam- 

 mering ; it merely marks repeated attempts to overcome 

 tho difficulty. Neither is it correct to say that the diffi- 

 culty in stammering lies chiefly in pronouncing the con- 

 sonants, for tho impediment most frequently occurs in 

 tho case of vowels. The best account which has been 

 given of tho nature of -stammering is, that it depends 

 on the momentary closure of the glottis, so that the 

 passage of the air necessary to tho pronunciation of the 

 particular sound is arrested. In persons severely 

 affected with this impediment, there are manifest indi- 

 cations of tho struggle at the glottin, occasioned by the 

 impediment to expiration, in congestion of blood in the 

 head and in tho veins of the neck. The real cause of 

 stammering, therefore, must be described as an unusual 



