THE SOUNDS OF Sl'F.F.CII MS 



U»0 rironis, a si-li-rtioH has l^cen made of somi- l.'i t\piral examples 

 whieli illustr.ite char.u'terislic consonant and \d\vel \v.i\e forms. These 

 are listed in table II and their properties are described in detail in the 

 follo\vin){ seetions. It m.iy not be amiss to snmmari/e here the basis 

 on wtiieli tlu'M' partienlar records were chosen for pnblication. 



The most important «sound (a, as in father) is represented in 7 of 

 these records, which inclnde six instances of its combination with other 

 sounds. The record of ar (Plate 49) which was chosen is the most 

 characteristic and interesting one of its group. The other vowel records 

 (Plates 9, 40, 89) are sufficiently scattered about the vowel triangle 

 to give an idea of the variation in the high freciuency characteristics 

 which is to be an important subject of discussion later. One record of a 

 female voice (Plate 40) is probably sufficient to show the distinctive 

 fimd.imental, about an octave higher, characteristic of such records. 

 Plate 11)8 was chosen to show the resemblance between I and e, which 

 establishes a natural transition between the vowel and semi-vowel 

 sf)unds. From plates 108, 110 and 124 a good idea of the relative am- 

 plitudes of vowel and semi-vowel sounds can be obtained; a similar 

 observation holds in the comparison of the vowel and consonant 

 sounds of Plates 136, 138, 151, 1.58 and 160. Plates 136 and 138 

 show two extended transients of moderate frequency, the latter in 

 connection with a voiced consonant {hard g); Plate 1.51 is shnilar to 

 136 — but the vowel following the consonant is less suddenly produced. 

 The pair, Plates 1.58 and 160, show the voiced and unvoiced hiss 

 fz and s respectively) a sound of ver>- high frequency, which is the 

 limiting case of this type of consonant. 



The plates reproduced with this paper are reduced slightly (1.5 or 

 20 per cent) in scale, as compared with the original records, to 

 bring them within the page height of the Journal. 



