The vocal organs

We have shown in the previous sections how the vocal organs can organise into a rich variety of configurations which in turn can produce a rich variety of speech sounds. We have also seen that the differences in vocal organ configurations can produce patterns which are discernible in the acoustic signal and representations derived from it. We now turn to the question of how this capability can be used to communicate. 

As with any modelling process, we have to reach a compromise between a model which accurately describes the phenomena in question, and one which is simple, effective and suited to praetieal needs. If we tried to capture every aspect of the vocal organs directly, we would have to accoimt for every muscle movement, articulator shape and tissue absorption characteristic directly, and then determine how each of these affected how speech production. This would be a huge undertaking, and even if an accurate description of all these factors could be determined, the result may be too complicated for useful analysis. We therefore have to make quite a niunber of simplifying assumptions in order to obtain a usable model. 

Figure 11.1 A diagram and a model of the vocal organs (a) a mid-sagittal drawing of vocal organs and (b) a model of vocal organs with discrete components identified.

Otolaryngology Also known as ENT (ears, nose, and throat), this is the study of diseases involving the ears and the larynx (organ that helps produce vocal sounds and serves as an air passageway, located in the neck/throat). Studies in this area include allergy, ear infections, pneumonia, rhinitis, sinus infections, strep throat, and others. 

The vomeronasal organ has been implicated in the detection of the female cue that elicits ultrasounds. We previously determined that removal of the vomeronasal organ had a detrimental effect upon the production of high frequency vocalizations by male mice in response to female-generated chemical cues (Bean, 1982 Wysocki et al., 1982) however, the extent of the deficit appeared to depend upon prior heterosexual experience. Males having had encounters with females prior to vomeronasal organ removal produced vocalizations in response to anesthetized females, albeit at reduced levels relative to their SHAM counterparts (Wysocki et al., 1982). The VNX males also vocalized more than SHAM males upon presentation of an anesthetized male. 

The human voice consists of sounds made using the lungs, the vocal cords, the throat, and the lips. The human voice reflects unhealthy features of persons when one or more organs are damaged. Cracking voice, breathy voice, and cough are well-known unhealthy indicators that can be observed by human voices [22]. When a person senses unhealthy features from another person s voice, he thinks that that person has some respiratory problems [23]. That is, everyone can predict somebody s health condition from his voice. Doctors and nurses are trained to identify unhealthy features in human voice that can be related to a... 

Two types of equation are needed to compute the network myoelastic eqmtions that describe the physical behaviour of the walls of the pipes and aerodynamic eqmtions that describe the evolution of the movements and pressures of the air in the network. The variables for these equations are specified by means of 29 parameters that metaphorically describe the actions of the vocal tract muscles and organs, such as cricothyroid, styloglossus, orbicularis oris and masseter, to cite but four. This s)mthesiser is capable of producing utterances with an... 

The DMT-initiated state, which allows prolonged bursts of this vocal energy, he describes as being one of seeing the levels of sound become more dense as they finally materialize into small, gnome-like, machine-like creatures made of material like obsidian froth, which pours from the body, mouth, and sex organs as long as the... 

When nuclear power advocates look for reasons to be hopeful, they find some justifiable optimism. The scientific community is widely supportive. When asked whether nuclear power development should proceed, 89 percent of all scientists and 95 percent of energy experts said yes. 16 The general public is also supportive, with various professional pollsters finding that 65 percent to 75 percent favor nuclear power.17 But turning this support into concrete actions is very difficult because the opposition is well organized, dedicated, and very vocal. 

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