The Vocal Folds and Phonation

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Communication is a part of our everyday lifestyle, and more often than not, little thought goes into all of the amazing structures that work together to create something so complicated. While communication may inherently be defined as more than just the process of speech, looking into the mere mechanism that gives us the ability to use speech is an eye-opening experience. Minuscule processes are at work within the larynx to create what we know as phonation—that is “the product of vibrating [the] vocal folds”—which is one of the stepping-stones toward forming speech and communication as we know it. (Seikel, King, & Drumright, 2010, p. 165).

Looking at the larynx, one would see a structure made up of cartilage and muscles that sits at the top end of the trachea. As a part of this structure, there are six cartilages and one bone, all working together to help protect the airway as well as to facilitate the production of sound, which travels to be formed by the articulators which creates what we know as speech. As well, a variety of effects is created within the vocal folds merely by changing the tension, length, and mass (Seikel et al., 2010, p. 247).

One of the most important cartilages for speech within the larynx is the arytenoid cartilage. The arytenoids are one of three sets of paired cartilages within the larynx, and the vocal and muscular processes of the arytenoids are where the vocal folds attach (Seikel et al., 2010, p. 181-183). Through a series of many different muscles and synovial joints—that is, the most mobile type of joints (Seikel et al., 2010, p. 18)—the vocal folds can be stretched and modified in order to change pitch, adduct, and abduct. The specific joints that do this are the cricothyroid joint—connecting the...

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...s. Without a knowledge of the anatomy of the vocal folds and lack of understanding of the workings of phonation, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to adequately treat certain disorders.

Works Cited

Paradoxical Vocal Fold Movement (PVFM). (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2013, from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/PVFM.htm
Reeve, M. (2005). The Structure of the Vocal Folds. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from http://www.voicesource.co.uk/article/152
Seikel, J. A., King, D. W., & Drumright, D. G. (2010). Anatomy & physiology for speech, language, and hearing (4th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
Small, L. H. (2012). Fundamentals of phonetics: A practical guide for students (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Vocal Cord Paralysis (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2013, from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/vfparalysis/

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