Текст № 10. We can define three parts of the vocal apparatus: the nasal cavity, the oral cavity, and the larynx (with the glottis between the two vocal cords)

We can define three parts of the vocal apparatus: the nasal cavity, the oral cavity, and the larynx (with the glottis between the two vocal cords).

In the mouth, the parts of the vocal apparatus that should be singled out are these: the lips; the tongue; the upper teeth; the palate, made up of the bony hard palate in the front and the movable membrane or soft palate in the back; and, finally, the uvula.

Some organs are active during articulation and some parts are passive.

The glottis, made up of two parallel muscles or vocal cords, opens when the cords are drawn apart and closes when they come together.

The nasal cavity is a completely immobile organ; the stream of air can be stopped only by raising the uvula.

The oral cavity offers a wide range of possibilities; the lips can be used to increase the length of the channel, the jaws can be puffed out or drawn in, and a great variety of movements of the lips and tongue can be used to contract or even to close the cavity.

The nasal channel serves as nothing more than a resonator for the vocal vibrations that pass through it. It does not function as a producer of sound.

The oral cavity, on the contrary, functions both as a producer of sound and as a resonator. When the glottis is wide-open, there is no laryngeal vibration; the sound that is heard originates in the oral cavity. But when tightening of the vocal cords causes the glottis to vibrate, the mouth serves mainly to modify the laryngeal sound.