Episode 71: Various vocal fold vibes

Partway down your throat are two flaps of muscle. When you breathe  normally, you pull the flaps away to the sides, and air comes out  silently. But if you stretch the flaps across the opening of your throat  while pushing air up through, you can make them vibrate in the breeze  and produce all sorts of sounds -- sort of like the mucousy reed of a  giant meat clarinet. (You’re welcome.)

In this episode, your  hosts Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch get enthusiastic about the  vocal folds! They’re often called vocal cords, but as they’re attached  along the long side rather than just the two ends like a guitar string,  we’re using the more precise “folds” (just be thankful they’re not  called “vocal flaps”!) We talk about the many cool types of vibrations  you can make with your vocal folds: pushing out an extra puff of air  (aspiration), turning off your vocal folds while still talking  (whisper), making them high and tight (falsetto), low and airy (breathy  voice), and low and crackly (creaky voice, aka vocal fry). We also talk  about the ways that various languages draw on different configurations  of these vibrations to distinguish between words (such as “sip” and  “zip”; Thai, Tai, and Dai; and more) or for stylistic effect (such as  newscaster voice).

Read the transcript here.

Announcement:

We’ve  teamed up with linguist/artist Lucy Maddox to create a fun, minimalist  version of the classic International Phonetic Alphabet chart, which you  can see here (plus more info about how we put together the design).  It looks really cool, and it’s also a practical reference tool that you  can carry around with you in a convenient multi-purpose format: lens  cloths!

We're going to place ONE (1) massive order for aesthetic IPA chart lens cloths on October 6, 2022. If you want one, be a patron at the Lingthusiast tier or higher on October 5th, 2022,  timezone: anywhere in the world. If you’re already a patron at that  tier, then you’re set! (That's the tier where you also get bonus episodes and the Discord access, we've never run a special offer at this tier before but we think this time it'll be worth it!).

Click here for the full show notes, which includes links to things mentioned in this episod