PHYSICAL ADAPTATION

SOURCE
  Instead of looking at human speech sounds we
should look at the physical features humans
possess especially those which are different from
other living things.

 The change between human and other primates

BASIC IDEAS could be observed when we found out the fossils
of a Neanderthal and of a Gorilla 35,000 years
ago.
 These distinctions suggest that the Neanderthals
possessed such physical features which could be
able to produce some consonants like sounds.
 On the other hand primates streamlined versions
of features were not appropriate to produce such
sounds.
QUALITIES OF HUMAN TEETH,
LIPS, MOUTH, LARYNX AND
PHARYNX
  Upright
 Non-slanting unlike the
apes
HUMAN TEETH  Roughly even in height
as compare to apes
 Useful for producing
sound like /f/ or /v/
 These are also not good
for ripping and tearing
but rather better for
chewing and grinding.
  Human lips have
 Intricate muscle
interlacing i.e they
HUMAN LIPS move in many
directions and quote
easily
 They are very flexible
 Sound like p,b,m,are
produced due to these
qualities
  Human mouth is
HUMAN MOUTH small as compared to
other primates
 Canclose and open
rapidly
  Human tongue is
also small as
compare to other
primates
HUMAN TONGUE
 It is more muscular
which helps to adapt
different shapes and
produce different
types of sounds
  Unlike other animals we can close off airway
through nose to create more pressure in mouth
which helps us in producing many sounds
require pressure.
HUMAN AIR  The overall small differences and more flexible
PASSAGE muscles give human beings a perfect shape to
produce a unique speech which other creatures
are unable to produce.
  Larynx is also called the ‘voice box’, of human
HUMAN LARYNX beings. It has vocal cords or vocal folds
 It differs in position from animals like monkeys
and gorillas
 Our head directly move above the spinal
column which helps it to move in different
positions freely.
 This upright posture drop larynx to a lower
positions where in the animals its positions are
above.
  The area inside the throat above the
larynx is called the pharynx.
 Human oral cavity is longer as
compare to other primates due to
their upright posture
 Due to lower status of larynx, we
HUMAN PHARYNX cannot speak and eat at the same
time but other primates can do.
 Other primates do not have fear of
stucking food in their throat while
speaking.
 However, the longer cavity makes us
able to produce a large range of
sounds with quite clarity.