Clarity of Speech

- - - (Powell 106-11)

Consonants are formed by blocking and releasing air movement, and using either your voice or just air movement to make a sound. Very slight differences in the shape of your mouth or the amount air flows can affect the entire sound that is being made. Learning how to control the energy in your tongue, lips, and soft palate can help improve the clarity of your speech.

My book explains that some consonants are formed by blocking air movement and suddenly releasing it. To observe this, say "tah." While saying "tah," you can notice how all air and sound is momentarily blocked until you release into the "ah" vowel. Other letters that do this are P (say "puh") and D (say "dah").

While doing this, I noticed that all consonants either have a sudden air release or let the air flow through the sound. Letters that are released suddenly are those that are like my previous examples of T, P, or D, while letters where the air flows can be held for as long as you want, like M or S. I also noticed that all consonants either use your voice to create sound, or are just made through air movement. For example, the only difference between "buh" and "puh" is that you use your voice for B and not for P. The same rule applies for D and T, G and K, V and F, and Z and S. These two realizations inspired me to draw a chart of consonants, mapping how the sound is created for each one:

While creating this chart and adding consonants to it, I realized there are three categories consonants can fit in when it comes to the speed air is released at. While B and K block air and then suddenly release it, and M and S the air moves right through, letters such as J and W release air suddenly and can't be held, and yet they don't block air movement before hand. For letters like this, I created a third row.

Try saying the letters in each of the six categories to figure out what the difference between categories is for yourself! Doing this will be the best way to truly figure out what makes each sound unique.

My book suggests exercises in order to improve the strength and flexibility of the muscles in your mouth. It suggests starting by saying syllables such as "lah," "tah," "dah," and "nah." As you say them, notice how your mouth and tongue moves. For "tah" and "dah," if you don't feel the momentary air blockage, it means your tongue tip needs to be strengthened. After doing this a few times, speed up and increase the number of syllables so that you're saying "lahlahlahlaaaah," "tahtahtahtaaaah," "dahdahdahdaaaah," or "nahnahnahnaaaah." While doing this make sure to keep the jaw free and tongue relaxed, because tightening either of these affects articulation and vocal resonance. If your jaw feels tight, massaging the jawline and the ears helps loosen it.

If you want to become an actor, or just want to speak clearly, these exercises will help you achieve it. According to Cicely Berry, the voice director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, "The voice will never be as good in exercise as it will be when you done the exercises, forgotten them, and are using the voice imaginatively."

I'm curious, do you ever just investigate and play around with random sounds, like I did while writing this post (and honestly, I've done before too)? Do you find these facts about the sounds we make on a daily basis interesting? Do you think it's fun to say the nonsense words in the speech exercises above, like "nahnahnahnaaaah"? Let me know!

Thank you for reading my last post :)