THE LARYNX AND ARTICULATE SPEECH. 247 



SPEECH. 



Speech is a combination of vocal sounds (vowels) , with 

 noises (consonants) . Vowels have musical and harmonic 

 properties ; consonants are not tones in this sense at all . 



The vowels, A, K, I, O, U, and their derivatives are 

 produced by changing the relative dimensions of the reson- 

 ance cavities connected with the voice-box. As far as the 

 vocal cords are concerned the same vibrations might pro- 

 duce all of the different vowels. Which vowel it shall be is 

 determined by the resonance cavities . Thus , no matter which 

 vowel we sound, the vocal cords act alike if the pitch be 

 the same, and whether it shall be A, E, I, O, U, or any of 

 their derivatives will depend upon the quality or timbre 

 which is given to these vibrations by the sounding cavities. 

 Any one can assure himself of this by sounding A, as in 

 father, and then without any change in the vocal cords 

 change his mouth to the position of O, and then OO. I is, 

 of course, a combination consisting of A, as in father, and 

 E as in feet. The same is true of U, consisting of E, as in 

 feet, and OO as in loose. That the production of the 

 vowels is dependent upon the form of the resonance cavities 

 is a subject which each person interested can so easily 

 verify for himself that further discussion seems unnecessary. 



Consonants are sounds which are produced in most in- 

 stances with little help of the vocal cords, but are brought 

 about by modifications of the manner in which the blast of 

 air is expelled through the mouth. For instance, the cur- 

 rent of air may be interrupted near the teeth, as in the con- 

 sonant T, or by the tip of the tongue, as in the letter D, or 

 by the lips, as in the letter P, or even by the soft palate at 

 the root of the tongue, as in the letter G (in the word go) . 

 Some of the consonants are produced by a sudden explosive 

 blast of airj as for instance. D, G, B, K, T, P. Others are 

 continuous, being produced by the rush of air through nar- 

 row passages either between the lips, as in F, or the teeth, 

 as in S, or when the approximation is still closer, as in TH. 

 In the case of L, the tongue is pressed against the hard 



