THE VOICE. 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE VOICE. 



Voice and Speech The Larynx, or Hie Organ of the Voice The Vovil 

 Cords The Laryngoscope The Production oftJie Voice The Use 

 of the Tongue The different Varieties of Voice The Change of 

 Voice Its Compass Purity of Tone Ventriloquy. 



1. Voice and Speech. In common with the majority 

 of the nobler animals, man possesses the power of uttering 

 sounds, which are employed as a means of communication 

 and expression. In man, these sounds constitute the 

 voice ; in th& animals, they are designated as the cry. The 

 song of the bird is a modification of its cry, which is ren- 

 dered possible from the fact that its respiratory function is 

 remarkably active. The sounds of the animals are gener- 

 ally, but not always, produced by means of their breathing 

 organs. Among the insects, they are sometimes produced 

 by the extremely rapid vibrations of the wings in the act 

 of flight, as in the case of the musquito ; or they are pro- 

 duced by the rubbing together of hard portions of the 

 external covering of the body, as in the cricket. Almost 

 all kinds of marine animals are voiceless. The tambour- 

 fish and a few others have, however, the power of making 

 a sort of noise in the water. 



2. But man alone possesses the faculty of speech, or the 

 power to use articulate sounds in the expression of ideas, 

 and in the communication of mind with mind. Speech is 

 thus an evidence of the superior endowment of man, and 

 involves the culture of the intellect. An idiot, while he 



1 . The uttering of sounds by animals ? How produced ? 



2. The evidence of man's superior endowment? What is stated of the idiot? 

 Parrot ? Raven ? 



