Actions of the Larynx

Laryngeal Settings

Modal Voice Regular vibrations of the vocal folds at a frequency w/in the speaker’s normal range.

Voiceless No vibration of the vocal folds; arytenoid cartilages apart.

Breathy Voice (Murmur) Vocal folds vibrate without appreciable contact; arytenoid cartilages further apart than in modal voices; higher rate of airflow than in normal voice.

Creaky Voice (Laryngealized) Vocal folds vibrating anteriorly, but with the arytenoid cartilages pressed together, considerably lower rate of airflow than in modal voice

L CD Ch2 glottis pics

L CD Ch12 glottis pics

Acoustic correlates to Laryngeal settings

Modal voicing (gradual opening and sharp closing) produces a laryngeal spectrum consisting of a fundamental frequency and harmonics. The higher frequencies gradually taper off in amplitude.

Breathy voicing (more gradual opening and closing) produces a fundamental frequency and some low amplitude harmonics. The more sinusoidal the opening and closing of the glottis, the weaker the harmonics are.

Creaky voicing (sharp opening and closing) produces a fundamental frequency and high amplitude harmonics. The harmonics have more energy than for modal voicing.

What does this mean for the waveform?

· No harmonics: sinusoidal waveform

· Low intensity harmonics: “little bumps” on the carrier period (F0)

· Higher intensity harmonics: “bigger bumps” on the carrier period (F0)

Examples

Listen to L CD examples and examine waveforms with PRAAT software in class.

Hindi (India, Indo-European)

· Voiced, Voiceless, Voiceless Aspirated, Breathy (Voiced Aspirated) stops

Gujarati (India, related to Hindi)

· Voiced and Breathy Vowels

Jalapa Mazatec (Mexico, Oto-Manguean)

· Voiced, Creaky, and Breathy vowels

Mpi (Thailand, Sino-Tibetan)

· Regular and Tense (between Modal and Creaky) vowels

· Tones too!

Air Stream Mechanisms

Pulmonic Egressive Air pushed out from the lungs. Most common mechanism

Pulmonic Ingressive Air sucked into the lungs. Not used contrastively in language (but possible to do!)

Pulmonic Egressive Stop (Plosive) Produced by closure in the oral cavity. Air continues to fill cavity, increasing pressure behind closure. When closure released, air rushes out (the burst).

Glottalic Egressive Stop (Ejective) Produced by a closure at the glottis and in oral cavity. Air is trapped and compressed by raising the glottis and tensing the pharyngeal wall. Oral closure released and air rushes out. Then glottal closure released.

Glottalic Ingressive Stop (Implosive) Produced by closure at the glottis and in oral cavity. Air is rarified by lowering larynx (and sometimes “puffing” cheeks). Oral closure is released and air rushes in. Voiced or Voiceless production.

Note: in voiced version, there might not be a pressure decrease, but the pressure is not increasing as in a plosive.

Examples

Quechua (Peru and Bolivia, Quechuan)

· Ejective consonants

Sindi (India, Indo-European)

· Breathy and Implosive stops

Owerri Igbo (Nigeria, Niger-Congo)

· Breathy, Voiced Implosive, Voiceless Implosive stops