voiceless sounds not so loud as otherwise; or try to combine some melody with the extended pronunciation of some sound; if the sound is voiced, you can 'sing a tune' during its pronunciation, while the pitch of a voiceless sound remains practically stationary.

(3) The adjusting cartilages separate slightly, so that their inner sides and the vocal chords form an isosceles triangle with a vertex angle of about fifteen degrees. The breath passes comparatively freely, but with some slight friction. This is the position in which voiceless (unvoiced) sounds are pronounced.

(4) The triangle between the vocal chords and the cartilages is wider, having a vertex angle of about twentyfive degrees. This is the position in normal breathing.

(5) The adjusting cartilages move apart as far as possible and rotate in an outward direction, so that the glottis becomes almond-shaped. The greatest possible amount of air can then pass thru the larynx; this is the position, therefore, in violent breathing (after running, etc.), or in energetic blowing.

The student should familiarize himself by frequent practise with these positions of the vocal chords, passing from the glottal stop to the widest opening, and vice versa. He will soon acquire a very definite feeling for each step. This is absolutely necessary in the study of phonetics. — Klinghardt's Artikulations- und Hörübungen is a book highly to be recommended for this practise.

NOTE. A sixth position, which usually occurs in whispering, is of less importance. The vocal chords are closed, but the adjusting cartilages, having rotated inwardly around their axes, form a small triangle, the so-called cartilage glottis. If this cartilage glottis is very narrow, we get the sound of groaning.

The terms chest-voice and head-voice are misnomers. There is no kind of voice that is formed anywhere else but in the larynx. The so-called head-voice is merely

voice with an unnaturally high pitch, due to the fact that the front one-third or front one-half of the vocal chords is closed, and only the back part vibrates. The voice of ventriloquists, also, is produced in the larynx, generally being 'head-voice,' at least to an extent.

B. The Velum

5. The Velum. From the larynx the breath passes thru a hollow space called the pharynx, and then either thru the oral cavity or thru the nasal cavity, or thru both, according to the position of the soft palate or velum. This is the back part (one third or more) of the roof of the mouth. The dividing line between the 'soft' and the 'hard' palate can easily be felt with the forefinger or the inverted tip of the tongue. The soft palate passes over into the Uvula (diminutive of Lat. uva, 'grape'), which is not unlike a drop of some thick liquid or an icicle in formation. It can be seen distinctly by means of a mirror: Stand with your back against a window and hold the mirror at such an angle that it reflects the light into the mouth.

"It is surprising how few people have ever looked well into their mouths. The student of phonetics should always have a handglass by his side, and should use it constantly until he is quite familiar with the appearance of the 'oral' organs of speech. He will very soon find out the best angle at which to hold the mirror so that it will at once reflect light into the mouth and enable him to watch it." (Rippmann-Viëtor, Elements of Phonetics, 11.)

6. Positions of the Velum. The velum, with the uvula, acts like a trap-door, either closing or opening the passage from the pharynx into the nasal cavity. In position I (Plate I), it closes the nasal passage, its end being pressed against a projecting part of the back wall of the

pharynx; the breath must pass thru the mouth. In position II, the natural position for breathing, the passage is open, and the breath passes thru the nose, or, if the mouth is open, thru mouth and nose. Speech sounds formed with the velum in position I are called oral; those formed with position II are nasal, if the breath passes thru the nose only; they are nasalized if it passes thru the mouth and nose. Thus, the common vowels and sounds like p, b, s, z, l are oral; m, n, ng are nasal; the French so-called 'nasal vowels' an, on, in, un are nasalized.

NOTE 1. Hold a narrow ruler with one edge against the upper lip, and with the other edge against a cold window-pane; pronounce [a]: the breath moistens the glass below the ruler; pronounce [m], and it will appear above the ruler; with the French ‘nasal' (nasalized) vowels, it will show both below and above the ruler. Or, you may place a cold polisht knife against the upper lip, and the breath will dim either its upper or its lower side, or both sides, according to the sound pronounced. Observe, by means of a mirror, the action of the velum in the pronunciation of oral and nasal vowels, and in quiet breathing.

NOTE 2. Of persons suffering from a 'cold in the head' we are apt to say that their voice sounds 'nasal.' This is true to an extent only. The nasal passage usually being not entirely free, nasal sounds like [m] or [n] cannot be pronounced clearly; they sound like [b] and [d] (for instance, Ebba instead of Emma, Hedde instead of Henne). On the other hand, the edges of the velum and the uvula are usually more or less inflamed in such cases, and are unable to close the nasal cavity effectively; therefore, oral sounds, especially oral vowels, appear to have a more or less distinct nasal tinge.

C. The Mouth

7. The Roof of the Mouth consists of the soft palate or velum (5, 6), the hard palate, the upper gums or alveoles, and the upper teeth.

The hard palate is supported by the palate bone which is attacht to the upper jaw. It is, in general, concave in shape, but with very many people its middle third is slightly convex. It passes over into the alveoles without any definite line of demarcation; these consist in a more or less convex ridge above the upper teeth. In anatomy, the term 'alveoli' does not denote the gums, as in phonetics, but (more properly, since Lat. alveoli means 'little hollows') the cavities in the upper jaw in which the teeth are fastened. The upper teeth usually project somewhat over the lower teeth.

8. The Lips are capable of assuming various shapes. They may be protruded (as in the pronunciation of [u]), or withdrawn (as with [i]); they may be nearly parallel, as in the case of [i, el, or rounded, forming more or less of an ellipsis, e.g., with English [w], or with [u, o].

9. The Tongue when at rest has a rather spherical shape, somewhat resembling a clincht fist, the joint of the middle finger representing the tip of the tongue. It consists of a complicated set of very elastic muscles which enable it to change its shape even more than the lips. In the pronunciation of [u] it is withdrawn, in the pronunciation of [i] rather pusht forward. Its tip is inverted toward the hard palate with American r, vibrates with German r, and forms a distinct rill or groove in the pronunciation of s. (In accurate phonetic terminology, the term 'tip' or 'point' refers only to the front rim of the tongue; the elastic muscular part immediately behind it-1 cm. or less-is the blade. The surface behind the blade is called the back of the tongue or dorsum.)

NOTE. The outline of the palate and alveoli as well as the shape of the teeth, lips and tongue differ very considerably with different people. A dentist can easily make a plaster cast of the roof of your

mouth, such as is used in shaping an artificial palate, but you can get a sufficiently accurate sectional outline in this way: Fold a piece of heavy tin-foil several times so as to make a pliable, but firm, strip about a quarter of an inch in width and two inches in length. Bend one end of the strip over the edge of the upper teeth and press the strip firmly against alveoli and palate (up to the end of the hard palate); then transfer this outline on paper, carefully tracing the outline of the heavy tin-foil with a pencil. With the help of a long toothpick you can determine with fair accuracy the points of articulation, i.e., the points where the tongue comes into contact with the roof of the mouth. These points should be marked on your outline for every consonant studied.

D. Articulation

10. Place of Articulation. In the oral cavity, i.e., in the

space extending from the uvula to the lips, the speech sounds are modified by the various positions of lips, tongue, etc. This adjustment is called articulation. According to the place where the adjustment is made, we distinguish: Labials, or sounds formed thru the action of the lips, e.g., [b, m, w]; Dentals, which are articulated by the tongue touching the upper teeth, e.g., [t, n, s] in Romance languages; Alveolars, formed at the alveoli, e.g., [t, n, s] in European English; Palatals, formed at the front palate, like sh; Velars, formed at the velum, e.g., [k, g]; Uvulars, formed by means of the uvula; lastly, glottal sounds, which are not modified in the mouth at all, but formed in the glottis exclusively, e.g., the glottal stop (4, 1).

11. Kinds of Articulation. Thru the adjustment of the tongue and the lips, the breath is either checked in the mouth, or it is allowed to pass freely. If it passes freely, without any obstacle in the mouth, we speak of Vowels: [a-i-u], etc. Otherwise, we have Consonants.