Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-12-08
THE ORGANS OF SPEECH.


In a recent address by David Green.
berger, Principal of the Institute for the I'm
proved instruction of Deaf Mutes, at New
York, and portion of which is published
in the american Annals Of the Deaf and
Dumb, the speaker said, in reference to the
organs of speech above the larynx: l will
briefly mention the passages which the
voice traverses after leaving the larynx
The first in order is the pharynx, ga mus.
culo.membranous sac" which is placed be.
hind the nose, mouth and larynx. Il ex-
tends from the under surface OF the skull to
the lower and back part of the larynx,
where it meets the oe.ophagus, with which
it is continuous. In the adult it measures
about four inches and half. Its breadth
is not uniform, the broadcast part being op-
posite the cornua of the hyoid bone, and
the narrowest point being at its termina-
ton IN the rsophagus. Its smallest d.
mension, from front to rear, is directly
above the larynx and back of thessoft pal
ate. The great advantage of this arrange.
ment is that only slight backward move
ment of the soft palate is sufficient to close
the passage into the nose and force the
breath and voice into the cavity of the
mouth, where they are modified to suit the
purposes of articulation.
The pharynx has seven openings COM
municating with it: the two posterior
mares. the two Eustachian tubes, the
mouth, larynx and esophsgus. All these
cavities have an influence on the voice on
account of the resonance which is produced
in them during the utterance of sound.
The cavities of the nose are, however, OF
the greatest Importance in this regard.
They begin in front at the two anterior
mares. and terminate in the pharynx behind
by the posterior mares. They are separated
from each other by a vertical septum. In
regard to breadth and depth they are very
irregular. If we take into consideration
that they communicate with the mouth,
the Uranium, and several minor cavities,
we may imagine what important resonators
of the voice they form, and what great in
fuence they must have on the timbre OF
the voice To make this description of the
organs of speech complete, the mouth,
tongue, teeth and lips ought to be included,
but being so situated as to be open to view,
discussion of them seems unnecessary.
Although the anatomical structure of the
vocal apparatus is the same in every hu-
man subject, SO far as general principles
are concerned, yet there is great diversity
in matters of detail. In some individuals
the thickness of the vocal cords is greater
in proportion to their length than in 9th.
ers the tissue of these cords does not
have the same degree of elasticity in all
cases, and therefore vibrates more readily
In one than in another; the relative dimen-
sions of the cavities in which the sounds
reverberate vary in different persons, ETC.,
etc, All these circumstances have an i'm
portant bearing on the tone of the voice.
Hence the instances of people whose voices
sound alike are as rare as those of persons
who resemble each other in outward ap-
pearance. One may be in a dark room with
a great number of others whom he knows
and distinguish each of them by his voice +;
and we sometimes recognize friend by
the sound of his voice after years of sepa'
ration, during which the marks OF time
have SO completely altered his looks as to
render recognition by sight impossible.
This popularity of tone in individuals is
also to be found among deaf mutes, before
as well as after they have been taught how
to articulate. We know our pupils by
their voices Just the same as we would an
equal number of hearing children.
Like all the other parts of the body, the
organs of speech are supplied with nerves
which belong to the cerebro.spinal system
i. e., originate from the brain and spinal
cord. The nerves of the vocal organs are
partly sensitive nerves, which transmit the
stimulus of sensation from these organs to
the nerve centers, and partly motor nerves
which transmit the stimulus of motion
| from the nerve centers to the muscles of
the vocal apparatus. The function of the
| former is to make US conscious of the
actions OF the muscles that are brought into
play during articulation, thereby enabling
us to control the degree of tension of these
muscles and to regulate our voices. Hear
ing persons control their voices entirely by
the ear, and pay little or no attention
whatever to the movements OF their organs
of speech In fact they are hardly aware
of these movements. But this is entirely
different in the case of deaf articulators,
who become conscious of the movements
of their vocal organs during articulation
through the sense of touch alone, and have
to control their voices by means of this
sense Therefore the functions of the SEN
sitive nerves of the vocal apparatus play a
more important part in the articulation Of
deaf mute than in ours. In his case these
nerves will, in the course of time, become
80 acute that he can regulate his voice by
| feeling the vibrations in his throat and
chest, the contact between the tongue and
palate, the movements of the lips, etc.