larynx (n.)

The part of the windpipe, or trachea, containing the VOCAL FOLDS. The larynx, or ‘voice box’, is a casing of muscle and cartilage, which at the front is most noticeable in the protruberance in the adult male neck known as the ‘Adam’s apple’. Its functions are both biological and LINGUISTIC. Under the former heading, the larynx acts as a valve to shut off the lungs, e.g. to aid the process of exertion. Under the latter heading, the larynx is involved in the production of several types of sound effect (e.g. VOICING, PITCH, whisper, GLOTTAL stop, glottalic sounds): these functions are described more fully under VOCAL FOLDS. Speech sounds made in the larynx are sometimes referred to as laryngeals, and this term has come to be used in some models of NON-LINEAR PHONOLOGY, where a laryngeal node may be represented within the FEATURE HIERARCHY, within which is grouped a series of laryngeal features representing various states of the vocal folds (e.g. spread v. constricted, voiced v. unvoiced, stiff v. slack). Laryngealization refers to variation in the mode of vibration of the vocal folds, over and above their normal vibratory mode in the production of voice, as in CREAKY voice. Laryngealized sounds are sometimes used CONTRASTIVELY with non-laryngealized sounds in LANGUAGE, e.g. in Hausa.

The traditional method of examining the inside of the larynx is by using the laryngoscope, a mirror placed at an angle inside the mouth: several high-speed films of vocal fold activity have been made using this technique. The fibre-optic laryngoscope allows a more direct and flexible inspection to be made: the fibres are inserted through the nose, and thus interfere less with normal speech. The (electro) laryngograph is a device for recording vocal-fold vibrations visually, using electrodes placed against the appropriate part of the neck.