National Republican., 1886-03-20
ELECTRIC SCIENCE.
Paper No. 10 of a Series by G. j. Kit
ner, United States Patent oGice-The
Telephone (oontinued).

description OF sound, how II is produced
and transmitted through space, we will de-
vote this paper to an analysis Of the vocal
and auditory organs, and describe the man
ner in which speech is produced and how It
affects the auditory system. All sounds
emitted In the utterance Of articulato
speech take their origin primarily In the
larynX, situated at the upper part OF the
windpipe, where are located the vocal cords,
two thin, sheet-like cords which close the
entire windpipe and lightly touch each
other acro6s the center thereof, their edges
lying thus closely together so rs to permit
Of vibration on the least disturbance when
air is drawn into or forced out Of the lungs
under action Of the respiratory muscles. II
these cords become inilamed, as they often
do when one is afflicted with a cold, hoarso-
ness ensues, oftentimes resulting in total
temporary loss Of the voice, due to an un-
natural separation OF the vocal cords, so
that they C0nnot vibrate as the air passes
between them. At the will OF the speaker
air is drawn into and forced out Of the
lungs between the vocal cords, thus causing
them to vibrate, and by the same volition
they are automatically but unconsciously
heightened or contracted by mus
cular action so as TO correspondlngly
lower or raise the key or pitch OF
the voice, Just as the pitch is low
cred or raised by lengthening and contract
ing string upon violin. At this stage
Of the process Of speaking the action ls en-
tirely similar TO the calls or cries of all the
animal kingdom. II is in the upper por-
tion Of the mouth, and through and by the
aid Of the teeth, the tongue, the roof OF the
mouth, the nasal passages, and the lips,
that the sounds are so modified as to con-
vert them into the desired characteristics
constituting articulate speech. This is
done by changing the size and shape Of the
cavity OF the mouth, and the position Of the
tongue and lips, as necessity demands, and
by controlling the exit and entrance OF air
through the nasal passages. SO then,
speech resolves itself simply into set OF
sound-wave vibrations, taking their origin
primarily at the vocal cords, entirely SINH
lar in their action to the vibrating reeds OF
an organ; 1t isshaped into language through
the volition OF the speaker by set OF
modulations which are attained by training
from early childhood, and only after long
and tedious lessons taught through imita-
tion by the mother. As one rounds up
his words In a clear and distinct man
ner, giving prominence to the vowel
sounds, thereby approaching musical
tones. just in proportion will his
articulation be readily understood, and In
proportion as he talks with half open mouth,
and careless, slovenly accent, or careless
rounding Of syllables and words by neg
lectiDg the conditions necessary TO per-
feet speech, In Just that proportion will the
sounds uttered partake Of iarring, unpleas-
ant sensations, and be individually unin-
telligible to the listener. This should be
well understood by every one who attempts
to talk into telephone, for, although 1t
repeats clearly all that is uttered to II, be-
ing dumb mechanical device, IL refuses
to perform its functions as a repeater OF
good language to him who will not do that
which every lover Of good articulation ap-
preciates and applauds. The articulated
words made up Of the vowel and conson-
ant sounds which compose the alphabet OF
a language come, as we see, from the
mouth as sound waves, taking their first
vibrations from the vocal cords, and are
modified in the manner above described,
| travelling thence through the medium Of
| the air to the ear Of the listener. Here they
| strike upon the tympanum or drum OF the
| ear, which is a thin membrane, not unlike
| the vocal cords In its tissue, and by their
action cause II to vibrate i'm sympathy or
| unison with them. The drum or tympa-
mum is separated from the inner part Of
| the ear by body Of confined air, which has
| normally closed exit into the throat by
| what is known as the Eustachian tube. The
function Of this column of air Is to main
tain equal pressure on both sides OF the
| drum, and to act us cushion against
/
times rendered temporarily deaf by very
intense sound which causes the drum to
force the confined air out into the throat
through the Eustachian tube. IL, on such
occasions, one will make three or four at
tempts to swallow, the equilibrium will be
established and hearing restored at once.
To the tympanum or drum, on Its inner
side, are attached chain of three small
bones, called the hammer, the anvil, and
the stirrup, which are designed to commu-
nicate the sound to the inner ear. These
small bones are connected to the inner ear,
which is filed with liquid and inclosed In
bony or cartilaglnous mass. This liquid
In the inner ear is In contact with or COM
municates to the nerve fbers located In the
vicinity of the brain, the sounds, and at this
point what was before physiological in the
transmission OF sound to the auditory sys-
TEN becomes psychological; or, In other
words, speech uttered by the speaker be-
comes converted into thought by the
listener These auditory nerve flbers
are about 5000 In number In the average
human brain, and each fiber responds
only to tone which is created by body
adapted TO vibrate In unison with 1t, Just as
certain Of the strings Of piano vibrate
when we speak over its sounding board, OF
rs the windows OF a church vibrate when
an organ produces tone or tones which
cause them so to vibrate by sympathy. The
nerves Of this nerve-fber system vibrate In
chords, and thought is made up Of various
combination of nerve-chords, so to speak
Many of these nerye.ibers or chords liz
idle for years, and are brought into action
by familiar sound long since forgotten
thus exemplifying In the mental system 0
parallel to the famous piece of music
known as "The Lost Chord.n The SAINT
popularity is found in the senses Of smell
of sight, and of taste, the whole nervous
I.at. la. fnaN n.la tad 30 A.N Il.
sympathy. Each of these little nerve FIBER
has its compliment in all the sounds tha
the ear can appreciate, and by education
they can be rendered SO delicate In the
response that material increase In one'
hearing faculties can be attained, both II
individual nerve tones and chords OF tn,
same. Musicians arc well aware Of thi
power, as we indicated in our last pape
| that skilled musicians were capable OF de
tecting the higher sets Of harmonics no
apprGCiable by the average human ear.
II is by reason OF this constant strain OF
the auditory system OF the wild animal
owing to his necessity for self-preservatlon
that his sense of hearing becomes so acut
as to far outstrip his higher educated fel
low. being, man, Indeed many wild ami
mails, like the panther, are provided will
external or exposed nerve-flbers, located OF
either side of the nose, which are far NOR
delicate to sounds than the internal nerves
and warn their pOssessoT, even while asleep
of the approach of danger, or Of u victim
There lies always between the speaker an'
tho hearer certain sense Of adaptabillt,
which makes articulation on the part OF tn
one and understanding on the part of tn
other more or less easy or difficult, as tn
case may be, Just as In the ordinary ayoca
tions Of life some men are naturally bette
adapted 10 make themselves more agreea
bic and more popular to all persons tha
others. For the perfect transmission o
speech there must lie bond OF sympath
between the speaker and the hearer.
good listener always pleases a speaker an
unconsciously puts him on his guard b
show his appreciation by uttering distinct
that which he feels is appreciated.
We have not given above, by any means
| nm exhaustive 1iapnosls of the Orpans q