speech

Respiratory mechanisms

Human speech is served by a bellows-like respiratory activator, which furnishes the driving energy in the form of an airstream; a phonating sound generator in the larynx (low in the throat) to transform the energy; a sound-molding resonator in the pharynx (higher in the throat), where the individual voice pattern is shaped; and a speech-forming articulator in the oral cavity (mouth). Normally, but not necessarily, the four structures function in close coordination. Audible speech without any voice is possible during toneless whisper, and there can be phonation without oral articulation as in some aspects of yodeling that depend on pharyngeal and laryngeal changes. Silent articulation without breath and voice may be used for lipreading.

An early achievement in experimental phonetics at about the end of the 19th century was a description of the differences between quiet breathing and phonic (speaking) respiration. An individual typically breathes approximately 18 to 20 times per minute during rest and much more frequently during periods of strenuous effort. Quiet respiration at rest as well as deep respiration during physical exertion are characterized by symmetry and synchrony of inhalation (inspiration) and exhalation (expiration). Inspiration and expiration are equally long, equally deep, and transport the same amount of air during the same period of time, approximately half a litre (one pint) of air per breath at rest in most adults. Recordings (made with a device called a pneumograph) of respiratory movements during rest depict a curve in which peaks are followed by valleys in fairly regular alternation.

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Phonic respiration is different; inhalation is much deeper than it is during rest and much more rapid. After one takes this deep breath (one or two litres of air), phonic exhalation proceeds slowly and fairly regularly for as long as the spoken utterance lasts. Trained speakers and singers are able to phonate on one breath for at least 30 seconds, often for as much as 45 seconds, and exceptionally up to one minute. The period during which one can hold a tone on one breath with moderate effort is called the maximum phonation time; this potential depends on such factors as body physiology, state of health, age, body size, physical training, and the competence of the laryngeal voice generator—that is, the ability of the glottis (the vocal cords and the opening between them) to convert the moving energy of the breath stream into audible sound. A marked reduction in phonation time is characteristic of all the laryngeal diseases and disorders that weaken the precision of glottal closure, in which the cords (vocal folds) come close together, for phonation.

Respiratory movements when one is awake and asleep, at rest and at work, silent and speaking are under constant regulation by the nervous system. Specific respiratory centres within the brain stem regulate the details of respiratory mechanics according to the body needs of the moment. Conversely, the impact of emotions is heard immediately in the manner in which respiration drives the phonic generator; the timid voice of fear, the barking voice of fury, the feeble monotony of melancholy, or the raucous vehemence during agitation are examples. Conversely, many organic diseases of the nervous system or of the breathing mechanism are projected in the sound of the sufferer’s voice. Some forms of nervous system disease make the voice sound tremulous; the voice of the asthmatic sounds laboured and short winded; certain types of disease affecting a part of the brain called the cerebellum cause respiration to be forced and strained so that the voice becomes extremely low and grunting. Such observations have led to the traditional practice of prescribing that vocal education begin with exercises in proper breathing.

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The mechanism of phonic breathing involves three types of respiration: (1) predominantly pectoral breathing (chiefly by elevation of the chest), (2) predominantly abdominal breathing (through marked movements of the abdominal wall), (3) optimal combination of both (with widening of the lower chest). The female uses upper chest respiration predominantly, the male relies primarily on abdominal breathing. Many voice coaches stress the ideal of a mixture of pectoral (chest) and abdominal breathing for economy of movement. Any exaggeration of one particular breathing habit is impractical and may damage the voice.

Brain functions

The question of what the brain does to make the mouth speak or the hand write is still incompletely understood despite a rapidly growing number of studies by specialists in many sciences, including neurology, psychology, psycholinguistics, neurophysiology, aphasiology, speech pathology, cybernetics, and others. A basic understanding, however, has emerged from such study. In evolution, one of the oldest structures in the brain is the so-called limbic system, which evolved as part of the olfactory (smell) sense. It traverses both hemispheres in a front to back direction, connecting many vitally important brain centres as if it were a basic mainline for the distribution of energy and information. The limbic system involves the so-called reticular activating system (structures in the brain stem), which represents the chief brain mechanism of arousal, such as from sleep or from rest to activity. In humans, all activities of thinking and moving (as expressed by speaking or writing) require the guidance of the brain cortex. Moreover, in humans the functional organization of the cortical regions of the brain is fundamentally distinct from that of other species, resulting in high sensitivity and responsiveness toward harmonic frequencies and sounds with pitch, which characterize human speech and music.

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In contrast to animals, humans possess several language centres in the dominant brain hemisphere (on the left side in a clearly right-handed person). It was previously thought that left-handers had their dominant hemisphere on the right side, but recent findings tend to show that many left-handed persons have the language centres more equally developed in both hemispheres or that the left side of the brain is indeed dominant. The foot of the third frontal convolution of the brain cortex, called Broca’s area, is involved with motor elaboration of all movements for expressive language. Its destruction through disease or injury causes expressive aphasia, the inability to speak or write. The posterior third of the upper temporal convolution represents Wernicke’s area of receptive speech comprehension. Damage to this area produces receptive aphasia, the inability to understand what is spoken or written as if the patient had never known that language.

Broca’s area surrounds and serves to regulate the function of other brain parts that initiate the complex patterns of bodily movement (somatomotor function) necessary for the performance of a given motor act. Swallowing is an inborn reflex (present at birth) in the somatomotor area for mouth, throat, and larynx. From these cells in the motor cortex of the brain emerge fibres that connect eventually with the cranial and spinal nerves that control the muscles of oral speech.

In the opposite direction, fibres from the inner ear have a first relay station in the so-called acoustic nuclei of the brain stem. From here the impulses from the ear ascend, via various regulating relay stations for the acoustic reflexes and directional hearing, to the cortical projection of the auditory fibres on the upper surface of the superior temporal convolution (on each side of the brain cortex). This is the cortical hearing centre where the effects of sound stimuli seem to become conscious and understandable. Surrounding this audito-sensory area of initial crude recognition, the inner and outer auditopsychic regions spread over the remainder of the temporal lobe of the brain, where sound signals of all kinds appear to be remembered, comprehended, and fully appreciated. Wernicke’s area (the posterior part of the outer auditopsychic region) appears to be uniquely important for the comprehension of speech sounds.

The integrity of these language areas in the cortex seems insufficient for the smooth production and reception of language. The cortical centres are interconnected with various subcortical areas (deeper within the brain) such as those for emotional integration in the thalamus and for the coordination of movements in the cerebellum (hindbrain).

All creatures regulate their performance instantaneously comparing it with what it was intended to be through so-called feedback mechanisms involving the nervous system. Auditory feedback through the ear, for example, informs the speaker about the pitch, volume, and inflection of his voice, the accuracy of articulation, the selection of the appropriate words, and other audible features of his utterance. Another feedback system through the proprioceptive sense (represented by sensory structures within muscles, tendons, joints, and other moving parts) provides continual information on the position of these parts. Limitations of these systems curtail the quality of speech as observed in pathologic examples (deafness, paralysis, underdevelopment).