Public Speaking | Page 6

verify this by producing a note. Then place your finger upon your
Adam's apple. Produce a sound lower in pitch. Notice what your larynx
does. Sing a few notes down the scale or up to observe the same
principle of the change of pitch in the human voice.

Producing Vowels. If the mouth be kept wide open and no other organ
be allowed to modify or interrupt the sound a vowel is produced. In
speech every part of the head that can be used is brought into action to
modify these uninterrupted vibrations of vocal cords and air. The lips,
the cheeks, the teeth, the tongue, the hard palate, the soft palate, the
nasal cavity, all coöperate to make articulate speech.
As in its mechanism, so in the essence of its modifications, the human
voice is a marvel of simplicity. If the mouth be opened naturally and
the tongue and lips be kept as much out of the way as in ordinary
breathing, and then the vocal cords be made to vibrate, the resulting
sound will be the vowel a as in father. If now, starting from that same
position and with that same vowel sound, the tongue be gradually
raised the sound will be modified. Try it. The sound will pass through
other vowels. Near the middle position it will sound like a in _fate_;
and when the tongue gets quite close to the roof of the mouth without
touching it the vowel will be the e of feet. Others--such as the i of
_it_--can be distinguished clearly.
Starting again from that same open position and with that same vowel
sound, ah, if the tongue be allowed to lie flat, but the lips be gradually
closed and at the same time rounded, the sound will pass from ah to the
o of hope, then on to the oo of troop. The oa of broad and other vowels
can be distinguished at various positions.
By moving lips and tongue at the same time an almost infinite variety
of vowel sounds can be made.
Producing Consonants. In order to produce consonant sounds the other
parts of the speaking apparatus are brought into operation. Everyone of
them has some function in the formation of some consonant by
interrupting or checking the breath. A student, by observing or feeling
the motions of his mouth can easily instruct himself in the importance
of each part if he will carefully pronounce a few times all the various
consonant sounds of the language.
The lips produce the sounds of p, b, wh, and w. The lips and teeth
produce the sounds of f, v. The tongue and teeth together make the

sounds of th and dh. The tongue in conjunction with the forward
portion of the hard palate produces several sounds--t, d, s, z, r, and l.
The tongue operating against or near the rear of the hard palate
pronounces ch, j, sh, zh, and a different r. To make the consonant y the
tongue, the hard palate, and the soft palate operate. The tongue and soft
palate make k and g. A strong breathing makes the sound of h. By
including the nasal passages in conjunction with some of the other parts
here listed the so-called nasals, m, n, and ng, are made. According to
the organ involved our consonant sounds are conveniently grouped as
labials (lips), dentals (teeth), linguals (tongue), palatals (palate), and
nasals (nose).
The correct position and action of the vocal organs are of supreme
importance to all speakers. Many an inveterate stammerer, stutterer, or
repeater can be relieved, if not cured, of the embarrassing impediment
by attention to the position of his speech organs and by careful,
persistent practice in their manipulation. In fact every speaker must be
cognizant of the placement of these parts if he desires to have control
over his speech. Frequently it is such correct placement rather than loud
noise or force which carries expressions clearly to listeners.
While it is true that singing will strengthen the lungs and help in
control of breath, it is not always the fact--as might be expected--that
singing will develop the speaking voice. Not every person who can sing
has a pleasant or forceful voice in ordinary discourse. In singing, to
secure purity of musical tone, the vowels are likely to be
disproportionately dwelt upon. Thus we have the endless _la-la-la_ and
_ah-ah_ of so many vocal show-pieces. The same practice leads to the
repeated criticism that it makes no difference whether a song be in
English or a foreign language--the listeners understand just as much in
either case.
In speaking effectively the aim and method are the exact opposite.
When a man speaks he wants to be listened to for the meaning of what
he is uttering. There are so many words