Speech science

Speech science refers to the study of production, transmission and perception of speech. Speech science involves anatomy, in particular the anatomy of the oro-facial region and neuroanatomy, physiology, and acoustics.

The production of speech is a highly complex motor task that involves approximately 100 orofacial, laryngeal, pharyngeal, and respiratory muscles. Precise and expeditious timing of these muscles is essential for the production of temporally complex speech sounds, which are characterized by transitions as short as 10 ms between frequency bands and an average speaking rate of approximately 15 sounds per second. Speech production requires airflow from the lungs (respiration) to be phonated through the vocal folds of the larynx (phonation) and resonated in the vocal cavities shaped by the jaw, soft palate, lips, tongue and other articulators (articulation).

Respiration is the physical process of gas exchange between an organism and its environment involving four steps (ventilation, distribution, perfusion and diffusion) and two processes (inspiration and expiration). Respiration can be described as the mechanical process of air flowing into and out of the lungs on the principle of Boyle's law, stating that, as the volume of a container increases, the air pressure will decrease. This relatively negative pressure will cause air to enter the container until the pressure is equalized. During inspiration of air, the diaphragm contracts and the lungs expand drawn by pleurae through surface tension and negative pressure. When the lungs expand, air pressure becomes negative compared to atmospheric pressure and air will flow from the area of higher pressure to fill the lungs. Forced inspiration for speech uses accessory muscles to elevate the rib cage and enlarge the thoracic cavity in the vertical and lateral dimensions. During forced expiration for speech, muscles of the trunk and abdomen reduce the size of the thoracic cavity by compressing the abdomen or pulling the rib cage down forcing air out of the lungs.

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