In Chapter 5 we discussed the sound spectrograph in detail because it was for many years the primary instrument for speech analysis. Its limitations must be understood to see how theories for speech perception changed as computer-implemented analysis became possible. Our “knowledge” of the world ultimately depends on the quality of the data available, as do the theories that we formulate to interpret these data. Techniques like high-speed cinematography, radiographs (X-rays), cineradiographs, and electromyography have made new forms of data available which speech scientists and phoneticians have used to synthesize and test new theories. We will focus on these new techniques and data in this chapter as they bear on the anatomy and physiology of speech production. However, we also have to keep in touch with classical data and theories. The anatomical basis of speech production, for example, has been studied in much detail (Negus, 1949; Zemlin, 1968), and much of our understanding still rests on the classical techniques of anatomical observation and inference.

We will develop the systems approach that we introduced in Chapter 2. The subglottal, laryngeal, and supralaryngeal components of the vocal tract obviously must be treated as a complete system, but different experimental techniques are appropriate for the measurement of relevant physiological data on these components, and different physiological principles are necessary to understand how these systems function. The anatomical charts that we will present will bear a number of terms that identify various morphological features.