Alaryngeal speech is

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are th ...

using an

airstream mechanism In phonetics, the airstream mechanism is the method by which airflow is created in the vocal tract. Along with phonation and articulation, it is one of three main components of speech production. The airstream mechanism is mandatory for sound ...

that uses features other than the

glottis The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds (the rima glottidis). The glottis is crucial in producing vowels and voiced consonants. Etymology From Ancient Greek ''γλωττίς'' (glōttís), derived from ''γλῶττα'' (glôtta), ...

to create voicing. There are three types: esophageal, buccal, and pharyngeal speech. Each of these uses an alternative method of creating phonation to substitute for the vocal cords in the larynx. These forms of alaryngeal speech are also called "pseudo-voices".Khaila H, House J, Cavalli L, Nash E. (2007)
A phonetic and phonological study of so-called ‘buccal’ speech produced by two long-term tracheostomised children
Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences.

Esophageal speech

Esophageal speech uses air supply to create phonation from the

esophagus The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...

and pharyngo-esophageal segment to act as a replacement for the

. It is usually acquired following

speech therapy Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are th ...

after

laryngectomy Laryngectomy is the removal of the larynx and separation of the airway from the mouth, nose and esophagus. In a total laryngectomy, the entire larynx is removed (including the vocal folds, hyoid bone, epiglottis, thyroid and cricoid cartilage and ...

as a replacement for laryngeal speech.

Buccal speech

This is created by producing an air bubble between the left (or right) upper jaw and the

cheek The cheeks ( la, buccae) constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve. The area between the insi ...

that can act as an alternative " lung". The person then uses muscular action to drive the air through a small gap between or behind the teeth into the mouth. The sound so produced makes a high rough sound. This then is articulated to make speech.Weinberg B, Westerhouse J. (1971). A study of buccal speech. J Speech Hear Res. 14(3):652-8. It is usually acquired as a taught or self-learnt skill for entertainment. It can be used as a method of singing. It is also known as Donald Duck talkBleile KM. (2003). Manual of articulation and phonological disorders: infancy through adulthood. Cengage Learning page 67 due to its use by Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash for the voice of the Disney

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American Pekin, white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shi ...

character. * sung buccal voice can have a range of three octaves (69 Hz to 571 Hz) * maximum duration of phonation for a series of sustained vowels is 2 seconds. * from most intelligible to least: glides,

fricative A fricative is a consonant manner of articulation, produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two Place of articulation, articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the ba ...

s, plosives, affricates, and

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery ** ...

s. * on rhyme-test 76% of buccal spoken words were intelligible. * buccal speech is more than two octaves above that of esophageal speakers (this gives it a raised pitch compared to normal speech). The VoQS indication for buccal speech is . For example, a buccal

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

(interdental trill) can be written .

Pharyngeal speech

This is created by producing the air supply needed for phonation in the

pharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its ...

and creating a replacement for the glottis using the

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste bu ...

and the upper alveolus, the

palate The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly s ...

, or the pharyngeal wall.Weinberg B, Westerhouse J. (1973). A study of pharyngeal speech. J Speech Hear Disord. 38(1):111-8. In one case, pharyngeal speech was studied in a 12-year-old girl that used it as her exclusive form of speech following

tracheotomy Tracheotomy (, ), or tracheostomy, is a surgical airway management procedure which consists of making an incision (cut) on the anterior aspect (front) of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the Vertebrate trachea, trache ...

at 2 years of age. Such speech was impaired in spite of ten years of her exclusive use of it for communication. Fifty percent of her time while speaking was silence. Of the other fifty percent, half was spent creating “quasiperiodic” speech-like sound and the other half spent creating noise. This produced an “unpleasant, markedly hoarse voice quality which was consistently evident in her pharyngeal speech". This contrasts with skilled esophageal speakers that spend less than 20% of their time producing noise. Such speech has limited success in making some

place of articulation In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation (also point of articulation) of a consonant is a location along the vocal tract where its production occurs. It is a point where a constriction is made between an active and a passive articul ...

and especially

manner of articulation In articulatory phonetics, the manner of articulation is the configuration and interaction of the articulators ( speech organs such as the tongue, lips, and palate) when making a speech sound. One parameter of manner is ''stricture,'' that is, ...

and voicing phonetic distinctions. There are also difficulties in creating consonant clusters and polysyllabic words. Such speech was "generally well understood by immediate family members" but "reported to be largely unintelligible to outsiders".

Importance

Pharyngeal speech can be produced in the early stages of learning esophageal speech. However both buccal and pharyngeal speech are less clear than trained esophageal speech and "should not be regarded as a desirable or practical primary method of alaryngeal speech". A further importance is to theories of the evolution of human speech since alaryngeal speech shows that speech is not dependent entirely upon evolved anatomy as it can be created using vocal tract anatomy in an adaptive manner.

Notes

{{reflist, 2 Larynx disorders Human voice Phonation Vocal skills

Esophageal speech

Buccal speech

Pharyngeal speech

Importance

See also

Notes