Activity 3.2 - Model of human speech production

• Understanding the model of the human speech production
• Understanding of physics concepts (sound spectrum resonance, formants)

• Text about model of human speech production is given in the worksheet
• Other internet resources concerning modelling human speech

In this activity students focus on a model of the human vocal system and physics concepts related to this model.

Hand out Worksheet: Model of human speech production and let students read the text. Then discuss with them the given bio-physics model and mechanism of speech production.

Show them the animation of vocal folds at:

http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/linguistics/faciliti/demos/vocalfolds/vocalfolds.htm

Show them X-ray sample movies of human speech:

http://psyc.queensu.ca/~munhallk/05_database.htm

Extend the discussion by asking the questions given below..

• Does temperature influence the pitch of your voice or the pitch of your musical instrument, respectively? In what way? Can you explain the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon?
• Donald Duck is known for his high-pitched speech. Breathing helium will give you temporarily a similar voice. Could you explain this? What property of the intermediating gas is responsible?
• What are the voice differences between man/female, loud/soft, sung/spoken?
• How could we recognize a vowel from its formants?