An American text-book of physiology . the chief physiological distinction between manand the lower animals. Distinctness of articulation, so essential to clearnessof language, not to mention its aesthetic value, depends on the accuracy of themuscular adjustments used in forming sounds, especially consonantal sounds. The speaking is distinguished from the singing voice partly by the fact thatmost sounds in the first case are articulate or formed in the mouth, while inthe latter their quality is only there modified. In singing the tone is sustainedat the same pitch for a considerable interval, w
An American text-book of physiology . the chief physiological distinction between manand the lower animals. Distinctness of articulation, so essential to clearnessof language, not to mention its aesthetic value, depends on the accuracy of themuscular adjustments used in forming sounds, especially consonantal sounds. The speaking is distinguished from the singing voice partly by the fact thatmost sounds in the first case are articulate or formed in the mouth, while inthe latter their quality is only there modified. In singing the tone is sustainedat the same pitch for a considerable interval, while in speaking the voice is con-tinually sliding up and down on the vowel sounds. In speaking the conso-nantal noises and obstructions are more prominent because of their more ^ Voicel sounds owe their origin to vibration of the vocal cords, and theirquality to the selective resonance of the cavities above the cords. In soundingthe series of vowels, a, e, i, o, u (pronounced ah, a, e, o, oo), it is found that the. Fig. 304.—Section of the parts concerned in phonation, and the changes in their relations in sound-ing the vowels A(<^),I («), U() (after Landois and Stirling): T, tongue; p, soft palate; e, epiglottis; g, glot-tis ; h, hyoid bone; 1, thyroid; 2,3, cricoid; 4, arytenoid cartilage. form and size of the mouth-cavity, the position of the tongue, the position ofthe soft palate separating or allowing communication between the nasal andpharyngeal cavities, undergo a progressive change (Fig. 304). Helmholtz hasshown that the vowel sounds owe their differences of quality to the variedresonance of the mouth-cavity, dependent on its shape, through which now one,now another, of the overtones in the note produced by vibration of the vocalcords is reinforced.^ This result is dependent on the fact that when the mouthis set in position for the formation of the various vowel sounds the pitch of its * Browne and Behnke: op. cit., p. 28. * Monroe: Manual of Ph
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