Aeroacoustic mechanisms of voiced sound production

Abstract

The focus of this study is to quantify the order of magnitude of the direct effects of (1) vocal-fold wall motion and (2) glottal flow separation point movement on the production of voiced speech sounds. A solution for the sound-pressure field shows three source mechanisms: (1) a volume source due to unsteady glottal air flow; (2) a quadrupole source representing interaction of the glottal jet with the pharynx walls; and (3) an octupole due to direct sound radiation by the glottal jet itself. A relation is derived expressing glottal volume flow in terms of transglottal pressure difference, vocal-fold wall motion, and separation point motion. Using scaling analysis, the transglottal pressure difference is shown to be the dominant effect on glottal volume flow, while vocal-fold wall motion is shown to have a negligible effect. However, separation point motion is shown to have a measurable effect during the closure phase of the vibration cycle. Using these results, the acoustic effect of separation point motion is shown to be measurable, while the effect of vocal-fold wall vibration is shown to be negligible. Relative contributions of these effects across age, gender, and degree of glottal closure are discussed.