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Vocal Tract Physiology

Vocal Tract Physiology. April 5, 2013. The Toolkit. There are four primary active articulators in speech. (articulators we can move around ) The lips The lower jaw (mandible) The tongue The velum The pharynx can also be constricted, to some extent.

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Vocal Tract Physiology

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  1. Vocal Tract Physiology April 5, 2013

  2. The Toolkit • There are four primary active articulators in speech. • (articulators we can move around ) • The lips • The lower jaw (mandible) • The tongue • The velum • The pharynx can also be constricted, to some extent. • Separate sets of muscles control each articulator...

  3. Articulatory Speed • The gold medal goes to the tongue tip... • which is capable of 7.2 - 9.6 movements per second. • The rest: • Mandible 5.9 - 8.4 movements per second • Back of tongue 5.4 - 8.9 • Velum 5.2 - 7.8 • Lips 5.7 - 7.7 • Note: lips can be raised and lowered faster than they can be protruded and rounded.

  4. 1. The Lips • The orbicularis oris muscle surrounds the lips. • Contraction compresses and rounds the lips. • A muscle called the mentalis also protrudes the lips. • Contraction of the risorius muscle retracts the corners of the lips... • and spreads them.

  5. By the way... • The vowel [i] is typically produced with active lip spreading. • “Say cheese!” • What acoustic effect would this have? • Lips Normal: • Lips Spread: • Check ‘em out in Praat.

  6. 2. The Jaw • Several different muscles are used to both lower and raise the mandible. • Primary raisers: • Masseter • Temporalis • Internal pterygoid

  7. 2. The Jaw • Several different muscles are used to both lower and raise the mandible. • Lowerers: • Anterior belly digastricus • Geniohyoid • Mylohyoid • Note: in lowering, the mandible also retracts.

  8. Articulatory Control • People can produce vowels perfectly fine even when a bite block holds their jaws open. (Lindblom, 1979) • Adults get the formants right, right from the start... • But kids need a little time to adjust. • Abbs et al. (1984) experimented with pulling down people’s jaws... • when they had to say sequences like [aba] and [afa]!

  9. Abbs et al. EMG data • Lip muscles adjust immediately for the sudden jaw lowering... • Adjustment happens faster than electrical signals can travel to the motor cortex and back!

  10. 3. The Tongue • The muscles controlling the tongue consist of: • Intrinsic muscles • (completely within the tongue) • Extrinsic muscles • (connect the tongue to outside structures) • The intrinsic muscles include: • The superior longitudinal muscle • The inferior longitudinal muscle • Transverse muscles • Vertical muscles

  11. Tongue: Sagittal View • The superior longitudinalmuscle pulls the tongue tip up and back. • Instrumental in producing alveolars and retroflexes. • The inferior longitudinal muscle pulls the tongue tip down and back. • Helps with tongue blade articulations.

  12. Tongue: Coronal View • The transverse muscles pulls in the edges of the tongue, and also lengthens the tongue to some extent. • Helpful in producing laterals. • Contraction of the vertical muscles flattens the tongue. • Interdentals?

  13. Extrinsic #1: Genioglossus • The genioglossus connects the tongue to both the mandible and the hyoid. • Contraction of the posterior genioglossus moves the whole tongue up and forwards. • Crucial in palatals. • Contraction of the anterior genioglossus curls the tongue tip down and back.

  14. Gene-ioglossus Gene Simmons, of the rock band KISS, is famous for his use of the genioglossus muscle.

  15. Extrinsic #2: Styloglossus • The styloglossus connects the tongue to the “styloid process” in front of the ear. • Pulls the tongue up and back. • ...for velar articulations. • May also help groove (sulcalize) the tongue.

  16. Extrinsic #3: Hyoglossus • The hyoglossus connects the tongue to the hyoid bone. • Pulls the tongue down and back. • = pharyngeals • Can also pull the sides of the tongue down.

  17. Extrinsic #4: Palatoglossus • The palatoglossus connects the tongue to the soft palate. • Can be used to raise the back of the tongue. • And also to lower the velum! • Lowering the back of the tongue may inadvertently pull the velum down... • leading to passive nasalization of low vowels. • Note: Great Lakes vowel shift

  18. Chain Shifting • The Great Lakes Shift is called a chain shift, because first one vowel moves... • And then a series of others follow. • In this case, the first shift was: • Theory: vowels have to stay distinct from one another. • So listeners can understand what’s being said.

  19. Back to the Shift • The Great Lakes Shift was first noticed in the 1960s.

  20. The Shift, Diagrammed

  21. 4. Velar Muscles • The levator palatini raises the velum. • (connects the velum to the temporal bone) • The velum is lowered by both the palatoglossus and the palatopharyngeus... • which connects the palate to the pharynx.

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