Dept. for Speech, Music and Hearing
Quarterly Progress and
Status Report
A descriptive model of
laryngeal articulation in
speech
Lindqvist-Gauffin, J.
journal:
volume:
number:
year:
pages:
STL-QPSR
13
2-3
1972
001-009
http://www.speech.kth.se/qpsr
STL-QPSR 2-3/1972
I.
A.
SPEECH PRODUCTION
A DESCRIPTIVE MODEL O F LARYNGEAL ARTICULATION IN SPEECH
J. Lindqvist
Abstract
In a previous p a p e r ( i ) we have suggested a two-dimensional model of
l a r y n g e a l articulation for production of phonatory types u s e d in different
languages. A mechanism for controlling downward pitch inflections w a s
a l s o discussed. The model was based on observations made with fiber
optics i n s e r t e d through the n a s a l passage(2). The philosophy of the model
w a s that laryngeal speech m e c h a n i s m s a r e closely related to m o r e basic,
phylogenetically old, laryngeal m e c h a n i s m s a s s o c i a t e d with breathing,
phonation, and protection. E s s e n t i a l l y the same ideas a r e used in the
p r e s e n t paper to d e s c r i b e m o r e explicitly the function of the l a r y n x in
t e r m s of a hypothetical model.
Introduction
The laryngeal m u s c l e s a r e organized in functional groups.
a c t s in one o r m o r e of these groups.
Each muscle
An independent control of a single
m u s c l e i s a difficult t a s k , although not impossible, but can be r e g a r d e d a s
a l e s s n a t u r a l activity.
In o r d e r t o develop such a c t i v i t i e s it i s n e c e s s a r y
t o have a n a c c u r a t e control of the r e s u l t of the action by m e a n s of, f o r instance, acoustic feedback.
However, in speech communication a v e r y p r e -
c i s e control of the acoustic signal i s neither possible nor n e c e s s a r y .
Per-
ception m a k e s u s e of the redundancy inherent in speech which allows g r e a t
variability in the signal.
Coarticulation effects a r e t h e r e f o r e generally not
compensated for(3) and thus the speech a p p a r a t u s i s f r e e within l i m i t s t o
produce the speech in the m o s t natural way.
In the s e a r c h f o r these natu-
ral a r t i c u l a t o r y g e s t u r e s which it m a y be reasonable to look f o r among
those which a r e innately organized, o r thc basic laryngeal g e s t u r e s , the
phylogenesis of the larynx m a y give valuable information.
Unfortunately
t h e r e a r e divergent opinions about the nature of the basic l a r y n g e a l functions.
We t h e r e f o r e s t a r t our discussion with some a s p e c t s of the evolu-
tion of the human larynx.
The conclusions made in t h i s paper a r e p r i m a r -
ily based on our own observations with fiberoptics, but f a c t s found in the
l i t e r a t u r e a r e a l s o considered(4)
.
STL-QPSK 2-3/1972
Basic l a r y n g e a l functions
An important fcnction of the l a r y n x i s to work a s a sphincter.
Phylo-
genetically t h i s sphincter exhibits two functions, one r e l a t e d to a i r -trapping
and one to protection of the subglottic system. We will a r g u e h e r e that in
thc human l a r y n x these two functions make u s e of the s a m e laryngeal m e c h ar.ism.
The a i r -trapping inlet and outlet valve s have been the t r u e and
f a l s e vocal fold;,
r e spectively.
A h - t r a p p i n g , which h a s some influence
on the p e c t o r a l girdle function in, for instance, the a p e s when swjnging
f r o m a branch(5) i s not important f o r human beings. Instead the t r u e vocal
i
folds have been specialized f o r phonation and the r e t r o g r e s s i o n of the f a l s e
I
vocal folds h a s made these s t r u c t u r e s l e s s efficient a s a valve f o r a i r trapping.
Effective a i r - t r a p p i n g in the human l a r y n x i s in o u r opinion a l ways supplemented by the mechanism of the protective c l o s u r e . T h i s
c l o s u r e i s a t a l e v e l above the glottis and i s made between the tubercle of
.
the epiglottis, the cuneiform c a r t i l a g e s , and the arytenoid c a r t i l a g e s (6)
In Fig. I-A-I a scquence of f r a m e s f r o m a f i l m r e g i s t r a t i o n of t h i s type
of laryngeal c l o s u r e i s shown.
Our experimental observations indicate
that breath-holding i s often p e r f o r m e d with the r e s p i r a t o r y m u s c l e s and
not by closing the l a r y n x , but s o m e t i m e s , a s e. g. if the i n t r a t h o r a c i c
p r e s s u r e i s r a i s e d , a s when someone coughc, this protective c l o s u r c i s
used.
The l a r y n x i s a l s o active during respiration(7).
in the m u s c l e s that adduct and abduct the glottis.
the glottis i s u s e d f o r phonation.
T h i s activity i s found
The adducted state of
Evolutionary evidence indicate s that
phonation i s not exclusively connected with speech ( s e e ref. 5). Consequently it s e e m s reasonable to conclude that the adducted state of the
glottis, the "voicing position", i s a b a s i c and language independent laryngeal function.
F r o m the d i s c u s s i o n given above we can identify t h r e e basic laryngeal
functions r e l a t e d to breathing,
phonation, and protection.
The c o r r e sponding p o s t u r e s o r positioning of the l a r y n x a r c the breathing position, the
voicing position, and the protective c l o s u r c (8)
.
Innately organized m u s c l e
groups a r e used for movements intermediate and superimposed on these
postures.
The movement f r o m the open position (breathing position) to
the voicing position i s called glottal adduction and the movement f r o m the
voicing position to the open position i s called glottal abduction.
The m u s c l e s
E
3.
STL-QPSR 2-3/1972
u s e d for these movements a r e p o s t e r i o r c r i c o - a r y t e n o i d s which abduct
the vocal folds, and the i n t e r -arytenoid m u s c l e which adducts the vocal
folds.
E M G - m e a s u r e m e n t s indicate that probably no other m u s c l e a c t i -
vitie s a r e nece s s a r y f o r the se movement n(O) although it i s traditional to
attribute a n adducting function to s e v e r a l i n t r i n s i c l a r y n g e a l m u s c l e s .
The observed movements of the arytenoids a r e a rocking o r r o t a t o r y
moverr.ent around the cylindrical joint on the crizoid c a r t i l a g e in a d o r s o l a t e r a l direction.
Movements f r o m e i t h e r the open o r the voicing position to the p r o t e c tive c l o s u r e a r e made by inhibiting the c r i c o - t h y r o i d m u s c l e s and by a c tivating a l l sphincter m u s c l e s of the l a r y n x including the ary-epiglottic
sphincters.
The ary-epiglottic s p h i n c t e r s a r e h e r e defined a s the a r y -
epiglottic, the oblique arytenoid, the thyro-epiglottic, and the e x t e r n a l
t hyro-arytenoid m u s c l e s ( lo). In o u r opinion the ary-epiglottic s p h i n c t e r s
a r e of p r i m a r y importance.
The movements of the a r y t e n o i d s f r o m voic-
ing position to closed position take place in a f o r w a r d tilting direction t o w a r d s the t u b e r c l e of the epiglottis(").
The t u b e r c l e of the epiglottis i s
a t the s a m e t i m e pulled d o r s a l l y , by a rotation of the thyroid c a r t i l a g e
about i t s joint, and a p p r o a c h e s the arytenoids.
Evolution of language and speech h a s a l s o made u s e of a functional
differentiation of the sphincter m u s c l e s which h a s enabled a fine control
of pitch and phonation types.
T h i s we will d i s c u s s in the following section.
Thc r o l e of the e x t r i n s i c m u s c l e s on laryngeal articulation i s l e s s known;
probably they take a n important p a r t in the regulation of pitch and p o s sibly a l s o in the protective c l o s u r e ( i 2 ) .
Ilowever, it s e e m s reasonable
to a s s u m e that even for pitch regulation thc i n t r i n s i c l a r y n g e a l m u s c l e s
(including crico-thyroidcus) a r e of p r i m a r y importance and we will r e s t r i c t o u r d i s c u s s i o n to these m u s c l e s .
Laryngeal speech functions
So f a r we have d i s c u s s e d the basic l a r y n g e a l m e c h a n i s m s .
protection, and phonation have been considered.
Breathing,
Now we will t u r n to thc
question how these m e c h a n i s m s m a y be utilized in speech.
The speech posture of the l a r y n x i s \-?it11 the vocal folds in voicing p o s i tion.
In t h i s position the vibrations of tlie vocal folds a r e m o s t e a s i l y s u s -
tained but if the a i r velocity i s sufficient they can a l s o vibrate in a m o r e
STL-QPSR 2-3/1972
open position.
4.
The laryngcal speech g e s t u r e s a r e dynamic in t h e i r n a t u r e
and they appear a s a modulation of the spccch posture.
T h r e e functions of the l a r y n x of communicative importance a r c d i s c u s s e d h e r e : to dcvoice, to change the quality of the voice, and to control
the pitch.
T h e r e a r e two types of devoicing g e s t u r e s which s e c m to be
u s e d by s p e a k e r s of any language.
These a r e the glottal abduction g e s t u r e ,
that i s a n articulation towards the open position of the l a r y n x (breathing
position), and the laryngeal c l o s u r e g c s t u r c , which i s a r t i c u l a t e d towards
thc closed l a r y n x position (protective c l o s u r e ) , see Lindqvist, ref. 1.
An example of a n a l m o s t complete laryngeal c l o s u r e is given in Fig. I-A- 1.
The m u s c l e s activated f o r the abduction g e s t u r e a r e the p o s t e r i o r
c r i c o -arytenoidei and f o r the adduction ge s t u r e the inter -arytenoideus.
The laryngeal c l o s u r e g e s t u r e i s p e r f o r ~ e dby activating a l l sphincter
m u s c l e s a s d e s c r i b e d i n the previous section.
The d e g r e e to which these
g e s t u r e s a r e invoked in speech i s determined by the acoustic r e s u l t s
a i m e d a t , and they ncver r e a c h the breathing o r completely closed p o s i tion.
In voiced contcxt a m o r e e x t r e m e laryngeal c l o s u r e g e s t u r e r e s u l t s
in a voiceless interval, and i s generally r e f e r r e d to a s a glottal stop.
A s a l r e a d y pointed out, the vocal folds m a y vibrate even in a somewhat
open po sition if the a i r -velocity through the glottis i s sufficient.
Accord-
ingly, abduction g e s t u r e p e r f o r m e d to s u p p r e s s the voicing in voiced context m a y cause c x c c s s i v c l o s s of a i r .
The abduction g e s t u r e i s t h e r e f o r e
efiectivc a s a dcvoiccr only in combination with a n o r a l constriction while
%e glottal stop g e s t u r e can be u s e d a s a dcvoicer independent of other
a r t i c u l a t o r s (13)
.
Th- glottal abduction g e s t u r e and thc laryngeal c l o s u r e g e s t u r e can a l s o
be used to change the quality of the voice.
According to our hypothesis
t h e s e g e s t u r e s a r e independent a t a motor command level and different
combinations of t h e m m a y be u s e d a s phonatory types of laryngeal a r t i c u l a tions in different languages.
A s m a l l d e g r e c of glottal abduction tends to
d e c r e a s e the closcd phase of the vocal fold vibrations ( i n c r e a s e the open
quotient).
T h e acoustic consequence of t h i s i s a reduction of the amplitude
of the higher
character.
l a x voice
-
and that the voice obtains a m o r e o r l e s s noisy
In phonetic t e r m s t h i s type of voicing i s often r e f e r r e d to a s
o r breathy voice(i5).
A laryngcal c l o s u r e articulation h a s a
5.
STL-QPSR 2-3/1972
quite different effect on the quality of the voice.
The i n c r e a s e of the a c -
tivity in the ary-epiglottic s p h i n c t e r s r e s u l t s in a shortening and thickening
of the vocal folds and if the activity in the vocalis m u s c l e s was not inc r e a s e d , this would r e s u l t in a lowering of the pitch.
However, a s defined
e a r l i e r a laryngeal c l o s u r e g e s t u r e i s accompanied by a n i n c r e a s e d a c t i v i ty in the vocalis m u s c l e s .
T h i s activity counteracts the effect the s h o r t -
ening of the vocal folds h a s on the pitch.
The vocal folds a r e a l s o p r e s s e d
together which cause t h e m t o vibrate with a d e c r e a s e d open quotient.
A
m o r e e x t r e m e articulation r e s u l t s in i r r e g u l a r periodicity of the vibrations
o r in a complete suppression of the vibrations, depending of the p r e s s u r e
d r o p a c r o s s the glottis.
The consequence on the acoustic signal i s i n c r e a s e d intensity of the
higher h a r m o n i c s , s i m i l a r to the effect of a n i n c r e a s e in the subglottic
pressure.
This type of voice i s often r e f e r r e d to a s tense voice.
The a -
periodicity gives the voice a rough c h a r a c t c r and t h i s i s often called
c r e a k y voice o r c r e a k ( s e e Ladefoged, 1967, and Catford, 1964, ref. 15),
depending on the d e g r e e of aperiodicity.
The s a m e acoustic f e a t u r e s in combination with consonant articulation
a r e often d e s c r i b e d a s laryngealized sounds and s o m e t i m e s a l s o a s glottalized sounds.
We choose to u s e the t e r m laryngealization to define a
l a r y n g e a l articulation towards the laryngeal closure.
then an e x t r e m e c a s e of laryngealization( 16)
A glottal stop i s
.
The evolution of language and speech h a s made u s e of a n independent
pitch control m e c h a n i s m by a functional differentiation among the sphincter
m u s c l e s of the larynx.
F o r regulation of the pitch i t i s e s s e n t i a l to have
control of the activity of the vocalis m u s c l e s , independent on a m o t o r
command l e v e l , of abduction and laryngealization ge s t u r e s.
The hypot h e s i s h a s been put f o r w a r d that laryngealization in combination with low
vocalis activity i s u s e d a s a m e c h a n i s m for producing a low pitch voice
a s in the Swedish word a c c e n t ( s e e ref. 1).
with fibcroptics s e e m to verify t h i s
More r e c e n t d a t a collected
These data a l s o in-.
dicate that a laryngeal c l o s u r e can be p e r f o r m e d without the a s s i s t a n c e
of activity in the vocalis muscle.
IVe suggest that t h i s type of l a r y n g e a l
c l o s u r e , which i s s i m i l a r to laryngealization but with no activity in the
vocalis m u s c l e s , should be called laryngeal constriction.
According to
Fig. I-A-2.
Selected f r a m e s f r o m a fiberscope f i l m r e g i s t r a tion of connected s p e e c h , showing the l a r y n x f o r
low ( a ) a n d high ( c ) pitch. Glottal abduction a t
low (b) a n d high (d) pitch i s a l s o shown.
*
adduction
-*
Glottis
*t--
A l l language s
Indone s i a n
Voice
L a x voice
All languages
p Gujarnti
4
Korean
abduction
Breathy voice
3nvoiced
f
r : .
0
.A
Kumam
C,
fd
N
.PI
4
rd
Murmur
T e n s e voice
Q,
Whispering
bO
c
2-
Kumam
rd
14
C r e a k y voice
Creak
Hausa
Glottal s t o p
All languages (but not phonemic)
Ladefoged' s phonatory types in r e l a t i o n
to laryngealization and glottal abduction
adduction
+abduction
Glottis
4
-
J
L a x voice
Voice
N o r m a l glottal
B r e a t h y voice
Unvoiced
( B r e a t h y voice)
(voiceless)
?
(Voice)
T e n s e voice
Ligamental
Murmur
Arytenoidal ?
(Voiced c r e a k )
(Whispery voice)
Whispering
(Whisper?
C r e a k y voice
Creak
Ventricular
e-)
Whispery c r e a k
(Creak)
(Stop)
Glottal s t o p
Catford' s phonatory s t r i c t u r e - t y p e s in r e l a tion to laryngealization and glottal abduction.
Fig. I - A - 3 .
Tentative two-dimensional d e s c r i p t i o n s of l a r y n g e a l
;irticulation of phonatory t y p e s u s e d in different l a n guages. According t o m o r e r e c e n t f i n d i n g s t h e vocalis
activity may be i l l u s t r a t e d s e p a r a t e d f r o m l a r y n g e a l i zation in a t h i r d d i m e n s i o n (Lindqvist, 1969).
STL-QPSR 2-3/1972
4.
Theglottalstopgestureisinterprctedasagesture
towards the protective c l o s u r e and laryngealization
i s defined with r e f e r e n c e to this basic l a r y n g e a l
mechanism.
5.
A m e c h a n i s m f o r controlling low pitch and downward
pitch inflection i s d e s c r i b e d which m a k e s u s e of the
ary-epiglottic sphincters.
T h e r e a r e , of cour s c , some u n c e r t a i n t i e s r e g a r d i n g the validity of the
suggested model due to laclc of EMG-data.
This i s especially t r u e for the
ary-epiglottic s p h i n c t e r s which have not been d i s c u s s e d previously in connection with speech production.
Also the r o l e of the e x t r i n s i c laryngeal
m u s c l e s i s not considered in the p r e s e n t model ( l 9 ) ,
However, o u r model s e e m s to account for the m o s t e s s e n t i a l functions
of the larynx,
The d e s c r i b e d physiological and acoustical r e l a t i o n s be -
tween low tone, laryngealizatioli, and glottal stop m a y give a better under standing of d i a l e c t a l v a r i a t i o n s and h i s t o r i c a l change s in language s using
low tone.
One exam*
of such variation is the different r e a l i z a t i o n s of the
word intonation in Danish, f r o m low tone, e x t f c m e l y low tone to glottal
stop.
Another example i s the h i s t o r i c a l change that s e e m s to have taken
place in the Peking d i a l e c t of Chinese
.
In this c a s e a final laryngealized
s t o p consonant h a s developed into a glottal stop which in t u r n h s s developed
into a low falling tone,
Two e x a m p l e s of how this model can be used f o r linguistic p u r p o s e s a r e
shown in Fig. I-A-3.
T h i s figure shows tentative two-dimensional de s c r i p -
t i o n s of l a r y n g e a l articulation of phonatory t y p e s u s e d in different languages,
suggested by Ladcfoged and by Catford ( s e e r e f . 15).
u s e d a r e the glottal abduction and laryngcalization.
can be made with the vocalis activity in
3
The two dimensions
A better description
third dimension, although the
p r e s e n t simplified description s e e m s to capture the m o s t e s s e n t i a l linguistic facts.
References
( 1)
Lindqvist, J. : "Laryngeal m e c h a n i s m s in speech", STL-QPSR
2-3/1969, pp. 26-31.
(2)
Sawashima, M. and Hiro s e , H. : "New laryngoscopic technique by
43 (1968), pp. 168-169.
u s e of f i b e r o p t i c s f ' , J.Acoust. Soc.Am. -
(3)
I n t r i n s i c allophones o c c u r by definition due to coarticulation with the
context. An i n t e r e s t i n g question is i f language e v e r make u s e of cornpensatory articulation in specific context in o r d e r to maintain c e r t a i n
acoustic f e a t u r e s . J. Lindqvist, Intern r e p o r t 31. 1. 1969 (in Swedish).
It can, f o r instance, be shown that the interaction f r o m a r t i c u l a t o r y
8.
STL-QPSR 2-3/1972
cont. r e f . (3)
and pulmonary g e s t u r e s on the pitch in speech a r e not compensated for.
See Ohman, S. and Lindqvist, J. : ' ' P r o s o d i c pitch contours", Z. f.
Phonetik usw. 2 1, Heft 1/2 (1968), pp. 163-170.
(4)
Laryngeal f e a t u r e s a r c not d i s c u s s e d since in our opinion the a b s t r a c t i o n s made in feature s y s t e m s a r c not capable of giving a full
understanding of the speech proce s s c s . The t h e o r i e s of distinctive
f e a t u r e s have a l s o r e s u l t e d in a conc.cntration of too much effort on
the d e s c r i p t i v e needs of the linguist instead of on finding the l i m i t a tions and i n t r i n s i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s in the speech m e c h a n i s m s which
in it self m a y have explanatory powcr
Lindblom, B. : "Phonetics and the dc scription of language", to bc
publ. in the P r o c . of the VIIth International Congress of Phonetic
Science s , Montreal, by Mouton & Co. (forthcoming).
.
(5)
F o r a d i s c u s s i o n ; see pp. 98 -1 12 in Ncgus, V. E . : The Comparative
Anatomy and Physiology of the Larynx o on don 1949).
(6)
The epiglottis, which i s a rudiment, d o e s not function a s a lid to close
the l a r y n x a s s o m e t i m e s i s stated. Only the lower p a r t , the tubercle
of the epiglottis, t a k e s p a r t in the closure. However, the laryngeal
c l o s u r e ge s t u r c h a s a tendency to o b s c u r e the view of the l a r y n x by
a backward. t i l t of thc epiglottis.
(7)
F a a b o r g - A n d e r s e n , I<. : Electromyographic Investigation of Intrinsic
Laryngeal Muscles in Humans (Copenhagen 1957) p. 18.
(8)
The opinion that thc human l a r y n x i s a t h r e e -tied sphincter ( P r e s s m a n ,
1954) i s according to o u r observations wrong. The t h i r d level of l a r yngeal c l o s u r e should, according to that hypothesis, be a t the level
of the f a l s e vocal folds. The size of the f a l s e vocal folds v a r i c s bc tween different individuals and i t i s not unusual to find subjects that
can put t h e i r f a l s e vocal folds into contact and even phonate with them.
However, t h i s i s not v e r y common and cannot be r e g a r d e d a s a basic
l a r y n g e a l function. On the other hand, the f a l s e vocal folds nlay play
a secondary r o l e in the protective c l o s u r e and a c t a s a c u s h i m to
complete the c l o s u r e between the tubercle of the epiglottis and the
arytenoids. The f a l s e vocal folds contain only few m u s c l e f i b e r s
and the positioning of the sc folds i s d e t e r m i n e d by the surrounding
s t r u c t u r e s like the ary-epiglottic sphincters. (See P r e s s m a n , J . J. :
"Sphincters of the. larynx", A. M. A. Arch. of Otolaryngology 59 ( 1954),
pp. 22 1-236. )
(9)
H i r o s e , H. : "An electromyographic study of laryngeal adjustments
during specch articulation", Haskins L a b o r a t o r i e s SR-25/26 ( 197 I ) ,
pp. 107-116;
H i r o s e , H. and Gay, T. : "The activity of the i n t r i n s i c laryngeal
m u s c l e s in voicing control: An electromyographic study", Hrrskins
L a b o r a t o r i e s SR-28 (1971), pp. 115-142.
(10)
Unfortunately speech r e s e a r c h e r s have paid no attention to t h e s e
m u s c l e s and no EMG-data on t h e i r functions a r e available.
( 1I )
Sone sson, B. : "Die funktionelle Anatomie de s Cricoarytaneoidgelenke s t ' ,
Z . f. Anatornie und Entwicklungsgc schichtc 12 1 (1959), pp. 292 -303;
Kaplan, H. M. : Anatomy and Physiology of Speech (New York 1960), p. 154.
van Leden, H. and Moore, P. : "Tlle m e c h a n i s m of the crico-arytenoid
joint", Arch. Otolaryng. (Chic) 73(1961), pp. 541 -550.
STL-QPSR 2-3/1972
5.
N a s s e r Kotby, M. and Haugen, L. I<. : "The m e c h a n i s m of l a r y n g e a l
functionti, Acta Otolaryng. 70 (1970), pp. 203-211;
F a a b o r g - A n d e r s e n , K. and Sonninen, A. : "The function of the e x 51
t r i n s i c laryngeal m u s c l e s a t different pitcht', Acta Oto-Laryng. (1959), pp. 89-93;
Sonninen, A. : "The e x t e r n a l f r a m e function in the control of pitch
155
in the human voicei', Ann. of the New York Academy of Sciences (1968), pp. 68-90.
The hypothesis h a s been suggested that a stiffening of the vocal folds
in combination with glottal abduction i s u s e d a s a m e a n to stop vocal
fold vibrations f o r the production of v o i c e l e s s consonants (Halle and
Stevens, 197 1). Even if such a n articulation should give the expected
r e s u l t it i s not likely that it o c c u r s due to the functional organization
of the l a r y n g e a l m u s c l e s . F u r t h e r m o r e E M G - m e a s u r e m e n t s have
shown that the activity in thc vocalis m u s c l e s i s generally d c c r e a s e d
f o r consonant articulations ( H i r o s e , rcf. 9). Halle, M. and Stevens, K.N.:
"A note on laryngeal f e a t u r e s " , MIT, QPR No. 10 1 ( 197 i ) , pp. 198 -2 11.
Lindqvist, J. : "The voice s o u r c e studicd by m e a n s of i n v e r s e filtering",
STL-QPSR 1/1970, pp. 3-9.
Ladefoged, P. : "Linguistic phonetics1', Working P a p e r s in P h o n e t i c s
6 (UCLA), 1967, pp. 1-98;
Catford, J. C. : "Phonation types: Thc classification of some l a r y n g e a l
components of speech productionr', in In Honour of Daniel J o n e s
(London 1964)) pp. 26-37.
Both the glottal abduction g e s t u r e and the laryngealization g e s t u r e a r e
covered by the linguistic f e a t u r e "glottal s t r i c t u r e " (Ladefoged, P. :
"The h r e e glottal feature s t ' , Working P a p e r s in Phonetics 2 (UCLA),
1972, pp. 95-101). T h i s d e s c r i p t i o n of what i s going on m a y satisfy
some linguistic p u r p o s e s , but f o r a complete t h e o r y about speech and
language, a m o r e detailed description of the u s e of the l a r y n x i s needed.
In another f e a t u r e s y s t e m used by Halle and Stevens ( 1967, ref. 13)
the t e r m "constrictcd glottisf' i s u s c d to r e p r e s e n t a n adjustment which
' k a u s e s the vocal c o r d s to b e p r e s s e d together a n d t h e glottis to n a r r o w
o r to close". In o u r opinion the m e c h a n i s m behind t h i s type of a r t i c u l a tion i s laryngealization a s defined in t h i s paper. However, we p r e f e r
the t e r m laryngealization, because i t d o e s not emphasize what happens
with the glottis and the general u s e of the word s e e m s to be in a c c o r d ance with our definition.
Lindqvist, J. : !'Laryngeal articulation studicd on Swedish subjects",
t h i s i s s u e of the STL-QPSR.
A glottal stop g e s t u r e i s generally accompanied by a c r e a k y onset and
offset of voicing. Thus e x t r e m e lo\-/ pitch and glottal stop have both
a c o u s t i c a l and physiological s i m i l a r i t i e s , which m a y explain, f o r instance, the dialectal variation in thc r e a l i z a t i o n of the Danish "stbd".
Ohala, J. and H i r o s e , H. : "The function of the sternohyoid m u s c l e in
speech1', Ann. Bull. , R e s e a r c h Institute of Logopedic s and P h o n i a t r i c s
4 (1970), Univ. of Tokyo, pp. 41 -44.
I