One of the most important means of communication for humans is speech. This is only possible through phonation. Accordingly, the latter is understood as that articulation of man that forms sounds and words to express themselves. Man uses his hands, his face, his posture or his mouth for communication. For the coordination of the nevertheless rather complex interaction of the sound formation he needs several years.
What is phonation?
One of the most important means of communication for humans is speech. This is only possible through phonation. Necessary for sound formation is primarily breathing, since the breath necessary for speech is transported through the lungs. Sound formation occurs mainly during exhalation, although not all sounds that are produced in this way actually serve the purpose of spoken language. In addition, the teeth, the palate, the lips and the tongue. The sound formation is gradually learned and then stabilizes in a learned movement pattern, which in turn adapts to the musculature. If this is impaired by various conditions, the sound formation can become deformed and cause articulation disorders, resulting in, for example, lisping, hissing or whistling. In order to bind sounds, humans use the speech apparatus together with their speech tools. These can be divided into three categories. On the one hand, he needs the organs of the speech apparatus, which are located below the larynx and are responsible for ventilation, the larynx and vocal cords, which form the sound-producing part, and finally the organs that are located above the larynx. The necessary airflow for sound production is provided by the diaphragm, lungs, trachea and respiratory muscles. This is carried on through the pharyngeal, oral and nasal cavities and directed by the movement of the tongue, which modifies and forms the individual sounds. Coordinated movements of the speech tools ensure that sounds and words are formed. To do this, three processes start in the body: A phonation current is initiated from the lungs, the vocal folds are overcome and the speech tools are finally brought into the correct and necessary position. The phonation current, in turn, is the expansion of the lungs through the chest muscles, diaphragm and ribs, creating an airflow that results in negative or positive pressure. It is only in the larynx that a decision is made as to whether or not a sound is made.
Function and task
Sound formation begins in the child around the end of the first year of life. The first basic experiences are gained, and the child develops an understanding that audible sound productions can refer to its own sounds. The sound is used to designate objects or to call the desired person. The reference to something, the first sound is usually a short A or “Da”. Soon the child will increase the range of experience and with it the ability to combine sounds and transform them to the desired object. This is where the learning of the actual language begins, even if many letters are initially still missing from the phonetic formation in the child’s babbling. Gradually, this can then be trained and improved. The study of phonation is an important part of science. The study of sounds is called phonetics and is the scientific investigation of the human sound-forming potential, independent of language and the aspect of sound substance. Sounds are studied as acoustic-physiological events. The study of phonemes is called phonology. This scientific study deals with the linguistic use of sounds, including in what way the phonemes are used in different languages, because different languages sometimes use completely different sounds. Thus it often happens that the learning of a new language causes difficulties also because the unknown sounds can be formed only with great difficulty at first. In order to be able to teach the formation of sounds, basic knowledge of articulatory phonetics is necessary. A teacher can make certain sounds more audible or transparent. Both the mode of articulation, e.g. the formation of vowels or consonants, and the place of articulation play a role. The latter includes, for example, the lower and upper lip, the palate, the incisors or the tip of the tongue.Speech occurs as a continuous sequence of individual sounds that influence each other in articulation movements.
Diseases and complaints
Problems with individual phonation are articulation disorders that deviate from the standard of pronunciation. They are referred to in medicine as dyslalia. Under these conditions, the individual is unable to form certain sounds or deforms them, resulting in a lisp. These difficulties often arise in childhood. The causes are varied, can be congenital malformations of the tongue, palate, lips or jaw. It can also be hearing disorders, which prevent the perception of one’s own pronunciation. In most cases, however, there is no organic cause for the defective sound formation, but the articulation disorder is based on bad habits, wrong speech models or sounds and sound sequences that are pronounced incorrectly out of habit. In many cases, it is only a lack of practice that causes the failure of sound and speech formation. Such difficulties can be recognized at an early stage, diagnosed by a pediatrician or speech therapist and remedied in time. As soon as phonation is more impaired in humans, more serious speech disorders (dysarthria) occur, which can have various causes. The term includes disorders in speech as well as in breathing, articulation and vocalization, while the brain power to form sentences need not be impaired. In most cases, such problems arise after a stroke, a cerebral hemorrhage, or in diseases such as Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis. If phonation is no longer possible at all, the term anarthria is used.
