Languages & Linguistics
Larynx
The larynx, also known as the voice box, is a part of the human body located in the throat. It plays a crucial role in producing sounds for speech by controlling the flow of air through the vocal cords. The larynx also helps protect the airway during swallowing and is involved in the production of vocal sounds in various languages.
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9 Key excerpts on "Larynx"
eBook - PDF- Patricia Ashby(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
The role of the Larynx Introducing the sources of sound used in speech, this chapter begins a journey through the vocal tract, starting at the bottom with the Larynx or voice box as it is known in lay terms. This structure (visible only as our Adam’s apple) houses the vocal folds, responsible for voicing sounds (Aah!) or making them voiceless (Shh!), for creating different voice qualities (termed ‘normal’, ‘creaky’, ‘breathy’, etc.), for making the pitch of our voices go up and down (an ability we use to the full in intonation), and even for being a specific place in the vocal tract where we make certain recognizable speech sounds. 2.1 WHAT IS THE Larynx? We need to start this description with a small amount of anatomy. For general linguistic purposes, a small amount is enough. You often see the Larynx (a term familiar to us from when we lose our voice and are told we have laryngitis) described as a box made of cartilages. To an extent, this is true. Figure 2.1 shows this box-like structure made up of cartilaginous ‘walls’. The front wall is the thyroid cartilage, or ‘shield cartilage’ in lay terms, which is responsible for the ‘Adam’s apple’ (the thyroid prominence) and which is located at the front of your neck. The reason for the name ‘shield’ is not just because of its protective role, but also because the cartilage itself has depth (top to bottom) and curves round at the sides, reminding us of the appearance of a riot shield. Behind the thyroid prominence, on the inner surface of the cartilage is the anchor point for the front ends of the vocal folds. The thyroid cartilage is located at the top of the trachea or ‘wind pipe’ – the cartilaginous tube that channels air in and out of the lungs.
eBook - PDFPhonetics
Transcription, Production, Acoustics, and Perception
- Henning Reetz, Allard Jongman(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
During speech, air flows out of the lungs through the trachea and the Larynx and into the vocal tract. This process is actively supported and controlled by the exhalation mus-cle group. Precise control of the air pressure in the trachea is required because the intensity of the speech signal depends partly on this parameter. As already mentioned, the role of the Larynx is essential for speech production, and is treated in detail in the next section. 5.2 Structure and function of the Larynx The Larynx, which is located inside the neck on top of the trachea, contains the vocal folds. Speech sounds are called voiced when the vocal folds vibrate during their production. Speech sounds are called unvoiced or voiceless when the vocal folds do not vibrate (see Section 2.1, but see Section 6.3 for an alternative defini-tion of voicing for plosives in several languages). The vibration of the vocal folds attributes a quality to the speech which is perceived as pitch , giving a certain “melody” to a word or sentence. The next sections cover the anatomy of the Larynx and the principles of vocal fold vibration. Physiology of the Vocal Apparatus 75 5.2.1 Anatomy of the Larynx The Larynx is an adjustable cartilage tube through which air flows with each breath. It is located on top of the trachea and is suspended from the hyoid bone , a horseshoe‐shaped ring located in the upper part of the neck, which supports the tongue root (see Figure 5.5a and b). The trachea consists of cartilage rings with an opening at the back, making them look like small horseshoes. The back part of the half‐rings directly touches the esophagus (gullet) and is made airtight by its tissues and the trachealis muscle . Between the cartilage rings, a series of ligaments surround the entire trachea, enclosing it airtight. Like the trachea, the Larynx on top of it consists of cartilage, muscles, and liga-ments.
eBook - PDF- Bernard Rousseau, Ryan C. Branski, Bernard Rousseau, Ryan C. Branski(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Thieme(Publisher)
From Gilroy A, MacPherson BR, Atlas of Anatomy. Thieme 2012. Illustration by Markus Voll. Larynx 11 Phonation 353 Fig. 11.2 Anterior view of the Larynx in the midline of the neck. The Larynx is continuous with the trachea inferi-orly and with the pharyngeal cavity superiorly. From Gilroy A, MacPher-son BR, Atlas of Anatomy. Thieme 2012. Illustration by Karl Wesker. Fig. 11.3 Coronal section of the head and neck with the pharyngeal walls removed. (a) The laryngeal vestibule is continuous with the pharyngeal cavity above. (b) The esophagus is located immediately posterior and inferior to the Larynx and runs parallel to the trachea (which it obscures in this image). From Gilroy A, MacPherson BR, Atlas of Anatomy. Thieme 2012. Illustrations by Karl Wesker. a b III The Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Language, Swallowing, Hearing, and Balance 354 ing the lower respiratory tract during swallowing. When closed, the Larynx can also act as a pressure generator, enabling expulsion of mucus or foreign substances from the lower airway (e.g., cough -ing or throat clearing). Additionally, if you take a deep breath and then close your Larynx to trap the air below, the thorax (chest) is firmly fixed so that muscular effort can be maximally transferred to the limbs. This helps us to lift heavy objects. Nonbiologic Functions of the Larynx Not all functions of the Larynx are associated with health or physical activity. The Larynx also plays a very important nonbiological role in communica-tion. Phonation allows us to produce various types of sounds during speech production. In speech, some sounds are said to be voiced , meaning that they are produced with phonation. Conversely, some speech sounds are unvoiced , meaning that they are produced without phonation. An example of an unvoiced sound is the /s/ sound in the word “sip,” compared to the /z/ sound in “zip,” which is voiced.
eBook - PDFOtolaryngology
Basic Science and Clinical Review
- Thomas R. Van De Water, Hinrich Staecker(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Thieme(Publisher)
OVERVIEW The Larynx is an intrusion into the pharynx that subsumes many functions, including airway protection, pressure valving, and phonation. This chapter deals predomi-nantly with the latter. It must be remembered, however, that airway protection is the Larynx’s most critical function from a survival standpoint. It is a complex sphincter designed to protect the lower airway from food particles, fluids, and saliva. It does so passively and actively; passively by diverting food around the Larynx and into the piriform sinuses, actively through a series of coordinated muscular activities occurring on a subconscious level with each swallow, resulting in a closed, protected sphincter. The intrinsic muscles act predominantly in this capacity, BIOMECHANICS OF THE Larynx 525 depressing and tilting the epiglottis, medially compressing and adducting the true and ventricular vocal folds, with each swallow. Pressure valving also has phylogenetic survival function. In this capacity, the Larynx closes off the airway to prevent ingress or egress of air, thereby allowing sudden increases in intrathoracic and intra-abdominal pressures to occur.This permits activities such as force-ful micturition, defecation, and weight lifting. Phonation is arguably important for survival. It can be considered, phylogenetically, to be a more recent activity. The capacity to produce highly complex phonatory be-havior appears to be limited to human beings. Laitman and Reidenberg (1993) related phonation to the lower-ing of the laryngeal complex from the basicranium. Its function is primarily subsumed by three groups of muscles: the intrinsic laryngeal muscles related to the arytenoid cartilages, the medial portion (vocalis) of the thyroarytenoid muscles, and the cricothyroid muscles.
eBook - PDF- Daniel E. Lieberman, Daniel E. Lieberman(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Belknap Press(Publisher)
In most mammals, the vocal folds function primarily as a valve to seal off the trachea, thus keeping food out of the airways during swallowing and keeping air in or out of the lungs. The vo-cal folds also generate the energy source for vocalizations as the lungs push puffs of air through the glottis. The pitch of the vocalization is determined by the rate of these puffs, and the loudness is determined by the volume of air in each puff (more on this below). Hyoid The only bone intimately connected to the pharynx is the hyoid. This U-shaped floating bone lies at the base of the tongue, typically 2–3 centimeters below the lower margin of the mandible. The anterior portion of the hyoid, the body, has a semicircular shape that is convex anteriorly; from the body project two pairs of horns (greater and lesser) that partially encircle the top of the laryn-gopharynx (Figures 8.2 and 8.3). The hyoid is suspended from the skull by a series of suprahyoid muscles and ligaments, and from the hyoid is suspended the thyroid cartilage, the largest cartilage of the Larynx. Because the hyoid and Larynx are so tightly bound together, they are often called the hyolaryngeal com-plex. In an upright human breathing normally, the hyoid usually lies beneath the tongue, in front of the third cervical vertebra, and the Larynx lies in front of the fourth to sixth cervical vertebrae (Haralabakis et al., 1993). 1 The posi-tion of the hyoid changes dynamically during speech, swallowing, and other functions, especially those that involve tongue and mandibular movements. The Tongue and Other Muscles I now review some major features of the tongue and the other muscles of the throat that generate the movements of swallowing, speaking, and chewing. The tongue fills much of the oral cavity and oropharynx. In humans, the tongue is round (anteroposteriorly short and superoinferiorly tall), but in most mammals, it is long, flat, and rectangular (Figure 8.3).
eBook - PDFThe Sounds of Language
An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology
- Elizabeth C. Zsiga(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
Can you feel the thyroid cartilage move up in your throat as pitch rises? Such speaker-controlled changes in pitch can be very important to the linguistic message. Thus, the linguistic function of the Larynx is (mainly) to control pitch and voice. Its biological, non-speech, function is to serve as a valve that separates the lungs and the stomach. Other animals that use their mouths to both breathe and eat have valves that serve THE VOCAL TRACT 9 the same non-speech function as the human Larynx, but no other animal has such fine-tuned laryngeal control. The human Larynx is also nearly unique in being placed so low in the throat. In adult humans, the trachea (the passage to the lungs) and esophagus (the passage to the stomach) do not split off until halfway down the throat. In addition, the trachea is in front of the esophagus, so that food and water must pass over the top of the trachea in order to get to the stomach – a surprisingly dangerous arrangement. (Your mother was right – don’t try to talk and eat at the same time.) In other primates and almost all other mammals the trachea extends much higher, up through the back of the mouth so that the trachea can connect directly to the nasal passages. Thus a deer can drink and breathe at the same time: the air going through the nose and down the trachea, with water going around the sides of the trachea rather than over the top. Humans cannot. In order to be able to eat at all without getting food into the lungs, the human must close off the trachea by tightly closing the Larynx when food or drink is being swallowed. The closure is aided by the epiglottis, a flap of tissue attached to the base of the tongue, which folds down over the top of the Larynx, which rises to meet it, during swallowing. Try swal- lowing a few times, paying attention to the muscular sensations.
eBook - ePub- Nigel Hewlett, Janet Mackenzie Beck(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
In some other languages of the world there are, in fact, a few speech sounds that can be produced while holding the breath. This is because airflow within the vocal tract can be initiated by movements of the Larynx or the tongue rather than by respiratory effort. Such sounds are relatively rare, however, and are considered in more detail in chapter 6. For the rest of this chapter, it may be assumed that all sounds are produced using a pulmonic egressive airstream. Practice 4.1 Take a breath and count slowly and clearly until you run out of breath. Notice what happens as you begin to run short of air. You will probably become increasingly aware of the way in which pulses of air are actively pushed out of the lungs using a combination of downward and inward movement of the ribs. Note how far you are able to count before you are forced to stop by lack of air. Try the same counting task while breathing in. Note any changes in the quality of your voice. Are you able to count as far on one breath? Phonation A major classificatory distinction in phonetics relates to what is happening as the air stream passes through the Larynx. A fuller discussion of this process is given in chapter 18, but the brief description that follows should allow an adequate level of understanding for the early stages of phonetic analysis. The Larynx is situated within the neck, just above the top of the trachea. It is a surprisingly complex structure of muscle and other soft tissues within a protective framework of cartilages, and it probably evolved primarily as a mechanism for protecting the airway. The Larynx is usually easily located by identifying the thyroid cartilage. This is the largest cartilage of the Larynx and forms a protective and supporting girdle around the front of the airway. It can be felt, and often seen, as a protuberance at the midline of the neck. It tends to be more prominent in men than in women, and is hence often known as the Adam’s apple
eBook - PDFLaryngeal Function and Voice Disorders
Basic Science to Clinical Practice
- Christopher R. Watts, Shaheen N. Awan(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Thieme(Publisher)
1.2 Introduction Phonation is primarily the result of aerodynamic forces acting on the inherently elastic tissue of the vocal folds, setting them into vibration and creating acoustic energy which we call “ voice. ” The characteristics of this vibration (e.g., the frequency of vibration) may be modified by muscular forces which influ-ence the e ff ective mass and tension of the vibrating folds. We are constantly modifying the aerodynamic and muscular forces underlying voice production to result in the wide variations of pitch and loudness produced in typical speech or in other as-pects of voice function such as singing. When laryngeal structure or physiology is impaired, the re-sult may be a negative impact on laryngeal function, the e ffi -ciency of phonation, communication e ff ectiveness, and subsequent perceptual characteristics of voice quality. The ne-gative impacts on phonation and voice quality are perceptually labeled as dysphonia , which many speech – language patholo-gists will encounter during clinical practice. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the anatomy and physiol-ogy underlying normal, healthy phonation as a foundation to facilitate advanced understanding of impairments that result in dysphonia and their assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, which subsequent chapters will cover. 1.3 Evolution and Biological Roles of the Larynx Voice production is considered an “ overlaid ” or nonbiological function of the Larynx, taking a backseat to respiration, airway protection, and the generation of lung pressure to fixate the thorax during physical activity. According to Hirose, the Larynx evolved as a simple muscular sphincter atop the primitive lung that would protect against entry of water or food. 1 This sphinc-ter evolved into a more complicated valve capable of abduction (separation) or adduction (combination) at various levels with-in the Larynx.
eBook - PDF- Martin J. Ball, Nicole Muller(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Psychology Press(Publisher)
These are two shelves of tissue situated above the true vocal folds, and although they may be used by themselves or together with the true vocal folds in voice production for special effect, their use normally implies that the speaker has a voice disorder. The space between the vocal folds is called the glottis. Although it may seem strange to have a term for a space, rather than a structure, the glottis is important for speech, because the shape of the space between the folds determines many aspects of voice quality (see chap. 4). The glottis can be open or closed (and various degrees in between), although there is always some resistance to airflow from the lungs, because the maximal glottal opening still covers just under half of the cross-sectional area of the trachea. This resistance to airflow actually causes it to accelerate, and can cause a certain amount of turbulence: the sound rh] is in fact turbulent airflow through an open glottis. Further aspects of glottal shape related to phonation and articulation are dealt with in future chapters. Finally, we can also note that the Larynx itself can be moved slightly upward or downward through the use of the laryngeal muscles. This aids in airflow initiation (see chap. 3) by acting as a piston, but a raised or lowered Larynx also plays a role in certain aspects of voice quality (see chap. 4). Above the Larynx is the pharynx, which in turn leads to the oral and nasal cavities: it is these supralaryngeal (or supraglottal) structures that we will examine next. THE SUPRAURYNGEAL SYSTEM The pharynx reaches up from the top of the Larynx to the rear of the oral and the nasal cavities. The inferior part can be termed the oropharynx, with the superior called the nasopharynx. The term laryngopharynx has sometimes been used to denote that portion immediately above the Larynx.
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