“How do we produce speech?”
Producing speech is a complex process that involves the coordination of several different systems in the body, including the respiratory system, the larynx (voice box), the vocal cords, and the vocal tract.
We use our vocal cords, which are two small bands of muscle located in the larynx, to produce sounds. To produce sound, we exhale air from the lungs and through the trachea (windpipe). The air then passes through the larynx, where it vibrates the vocal cords. The vibrations of the vocal cords produce sound waves that are modulated by the shape of the vocal tract, which includes the mouth, tongue, and lips.
As we speak, we use our muscles to control the tension and position of the vocal cords, as well as the shape of the vocal tract, which allows us to produce a wide range of sounds. The specific sounds we produce depend on the position and movement of our vocal cords and vocal tract, as well as the muscles of the face, lips, and tongue.
Learn more about this with our series “Evolution of Language”
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Antonella Sorace
More than half the world speaks two or more languages fluently. And yet being bilingual is a label often reserved for native speakers who learn multiple languages as children. Can you both 'be' and 'become' bilingual?
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What makes human speech miraculous is the fact that no other creature in history that we know of has evolved the skill. The origin of language is evolution’s greatest mystery, but how did language begin?
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Dr Diane Nelson
It's thought there are more than 7,000 languages spoken across the world. Although this number seems vast, every month one of the world's languages disappears forever. How and why so many languages are dying?
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