USING YOUR VOICE Unit 1 Section 3a

Vocabulary Articulation Breathiness Diaphragm Inflection Larynx Nasality Pitch Pronunciation Range Rate Resonance Trachea Vocal cords Voiced

Identifying the Generators of Sound Primary generators: Vocal folds (vocal cords) Muscles that form the larynx Respiration Cycle Inhalation Air passes through the larynx (voice box) and the trachea (windpipe) and is drawn into the lungs Exhalation air in the lungs pushed back through the larynx and trachea through the throat and out through the mouth or nose

Inhalation and Exhalation

Using Respiration for Speaking Slight changes in regular breathing include Burst of air from the lungs up to the larynx to set the vocal cords into vibration You inhale more swiftly and more deeply than you do during normal breathing You prolong the airflow as you exhale Muscles in the chest wall contract to counteract the force of the diaphragm so that all your air does not escape at once Prevents “gulping” of air in order to finish sentences

ACTIVITY 1: Breathing exercises

Understanding the Resonators Resonance: reinforcement produced by vibration Resonators of sound for speech: Bones in the chest, neck and head Cavities of the throat, nose, and mouth A cavity is a partially enclosed area A cavity’s natural range of sound depends on Size, shape, texture of the material forming the cavity, and size of the opening of the cavity

Resonators Throat: Pharyngeal cavity Nose: Nasal cavity Mouth: Oral cavity

ACTIVITY 2: Experimenting with Sound Production Loop a large rubber band over your hands and stretch it as far as possible. Pluck the band with your thumb. Describe the sound. Move hands closer together and continue plucking. How do the sounds change? How do your findings relate to the process of producing human speech?

Identifying the Articulators of Sound Articulation: shaping of speech sounds into recognizable oral symbols that go together to make up a word The major articulators are in the mouth: Tongue Hard and soft palates Teeth Lips

Diagram of the Mouth

The Sounds of English Pronunciation International Phonetic Alphabet Symbols frequently used in speech Phonetic Chart of IPA symbols

Classification of Sounds Voiced: vocal cords are vibrating when the sound is being made Voiceless: vocal folds are held open so that air breathed out does not vibrate them Consonants Plosives Fricatives Nasals glides

Improving Vocalization Pitch: highness or lowness of the sound Key: average pitch at which you speak Melody: variations in pitch to give expression to the voice Range: spread between the lowest and highest notes you can speak comfortably Inflection: upward or downward glide of your pitch as you speak Rising Falling Circumflex Step

Improving Vocalization Volume Loudness or intensity of sound Depends on the force exerted to produce speech tone

Activity 5: Experimenting with Loudness Place your hands around your waist like a belt. In a normal voice say “Get over here as fast as you can.” Say the same sentence very loudly. On at last three of the words, you should feel a sharp tensing of the stomach muscles. Say it again. This time try to stop your stomach muscles from moving. What happens to your voice?

Improving Vocalization Rate Speed at which you talk Normal speed: 120-160 words per minute Rate is influenced by a number of factors, including the emotional content of the message

Activity 6: Timing Your Rate of Speech With a partner, take turns reading a passage in a book or magazine. Time each other. Count the number of words in the passage and figure out the rate of speech.

Improving Vocalization Quality Tone of your voice Personal vocal quality is the tone that makes your voice identifiable as yours. Most common quality problems Nasality Breathiness Hoarseness harshness

Correcting Articulation Problems Substituting one sound for another Common problems da for the, radder for rather, dose for those tink for think, anyting for anything excape for escape, expecially for especially bref for breath, bof for both coutn’t for couldn’t, woutn’t for wouldn’t jist for just git for get, pin for pen

Correcting Articulation Problems Leaving out a Sound (omission) Common problems dropping “d”: frien, gole dropping “t”: mos, jus, kep, bes dropping “l”: hep, sef, woff, sauve dropping initial “h” after other words: see’um, gave’er dropping “e” along with a consonant sound: Probly, member

Correcting Articulation Problems Adding an Extra Sound Common problems soften for sofen filum for film, athaletic for athletic, childaren for children idear for idea, drawr for draw ahold for hold, especial for special, ascared for scared

Correcting Articulation Problems Transposing sounds Common problems aks for ask hunderd for hundred perscribe for prescribe, perfer for prefer childern for children, modren for modern

Sending Effective Vocal Messages Breathe properly Resonate sounds effectively Articulate clearly Use vocal variety and appropriate emphasis

REVIEW QUESTIONS Unit 1 Section 3a 1. What is the basic difference between the breathing process used in regular breathing and the process used by a person who is speaking? 2. Define resonance. 3. Identify three major cavity resonators and explain how each affects the sound of the voice. 4. What are the major articulators? 5. What is the difference between pitch and volume? 6. What are the four major vocalization problems that relate to the quality, or tone, of the voice? 7. What are the four major articulation problems that can be remedied with practice?