Communication: Oral Language is a Bag of Air (How the Environment is responsible for Speech and Oral Language.)
Oral language is like air is a concept that has been used in linguistics to express the importance of environment in shaping the development of language in society. Man has for instance made inroads to other planets other than the earth. However, under these circumstances man has depended on sign language to communicate because the condition in space do not allow for the creation of sound waves. This is contrary to how the situation is here on earth. The environment of earth allows for the travelling of sound. The thought patterns of human being and the communication process is shaped by the composition of sound. Therefore, the concept that oral language is like air is well founded because it is through the presence of air that oral language becomes a possibility (Hulit & Howard, 1997, p.47). Considering that air is the element that makes oral language to be a possibility in the universe, then it is important to look at how this process works and how this phenomenon affects both the speech and language that is communicated by individuals. In specific, it is important to look at three key components that are essential in the dissemination of sound waves in the atmosphere. These three concepts include intensity of air, frequency, and the phases of sound transmission.
First of all it is important to look at air and the frequency of sound transmission. It is important to first describe the term frequency in order to enhance clarity on this subject matter. Frequency of air and sound transformation refers to the number of times which is measured each second per cycle that an air molecule makes a forward and backward oscillation. This means that there are different frequencies and rates of sound travel in different air conditions. In the light of this, it is important to look at what happens when one begins to communicate using sound as the form of communication. Many are of the view that the sound bits from our vocal cords collide with air molecules to and fro before it is transmitted to other person. However, this is not the case. The process that is involved is that molecules in the air are packed in definite shapes that allow energy to be transmitted from one air molecule to the next. Therefore frequency would be measured in terms of the cycles of energy transmission from the vocal folds to the air molecules. One of the things that are important to understand is that it is not one molecule that is involved in the transmission of sound from one molecule to the next. Instead, a layer of molecules that are bonded together interact with the sound bits from the vocal folds. Despite the fact that there is transfer of energy from one air molecule to the next, it is important to note that the sound bands and the oscillation of air molecules expand in all directions. Therefore, the oscillation cycles of the air molecules would be comparable to the functionality of a balloon that works in all directions. In this case, each expansion of the balloon would be treated as a full oscillation cycle of the air molecules. With the increasing technology and evolution of the physical sciences, the oscillations can now be measured in using units of mensuration referred to as Hertz (Hz). Moving away from the process of the interaction between air molecules and sound bands from the vocal bands it is important to look at the process involved in the transfer of sound to the ears of the recipient of the sound waves. The process of perception of sound from the air through our ears is referred to as pitch. The ear can be able to detect different ranges of pitches. There are both low and high pitches based on the frequency of the oscillation of air molecules. As human beings and other animals, which have the ability to perceive sound within our immediate environment, do not have the ability to perceive all the sounds equally. Sounds that are transmitted at higher or lower frequencies need to be louder for them to be easily perceived by the ear. Human beings for example are able to effectively perceive sounds that are presented within a frequency of 400Hz to 5000Hz. Based on the density of air, most of the sounds in our environment are transmitted at this range of frequency. Conditions would be different if sound was transmitted at a higher or lower frequency than the above mentioned range. People would be forced to speak more loudly for them to be heard by their counterparts. Despite the fact that sound is transmitted in a given range of frequency, it is important to understand that the process of releasing sounds from our vocal bands is different. To better understand this concept, it is important to note that there are different ranges of speech sounds. For example, in the English language there are both vowels and consonants that form an integral part of speech sounds. Vowels are pronounced using lower frequency sound frequency. The approximate sound frequency of vowels is above 1000 Hertz. On the other hand, consonants entail that use of a higher sound frequency. The frequency that is used in the pronunciation of consonants is a little below 1000 Hertz. It is worthwhile to note that vowels are fewer in the English language compared to consonants. This means that consonants are important in the construction of words that require the amalgamation of both vowels and consonants to create the intelligibility of oral language (Lindau, 1976, p.547).
The high frequency that is used in the pronunciation of consonants is important in making speech understandable. Different people have a different frequency in the pronunciation of consonants with leads to the different accents around the world with regards to the English language. The various hearing deformities that different children are born with are often not purely deafness as some people might argue. Some babies might have sensory disorders that might affect their perception of higher frequency pitches that are associated with consonants. This is the reason why some deaf people might respond to low frequency sounds but find it difficult to create speeches because they are not able to perceive high frequency consonants in the air and their immediate environment (Swoboda et al., 1976, p.459).
Another important concept that is worthwhile to understand in terms of how sound transmission through air effects communication is the idea of tone. There are different types of tones that are associated with oral language. The first type of tone is a pure tone. As the name suggests pure tone refers to the idea that the oscillation of molecules is smooth such that there is regular flow of the transfer of energy from one molecule to the next. This means that a pure tone has a definite movement which in most cases would be in a straight line. In communication a pure tone is also known as a sine wave. This is because a pure ton is based on a regular frequency that involves a single sound strand of energy transmission that moves in a straight line. Therefore it is plausible to argue that that a pure tone is the smallest sound band that can be perceived by the ear. In the light of this, there are other types of sounds bands other than tone. The other type of sound band is referred to as noise (Blevins & Garrett, 1998, p.541). One might have the notion that that noise is generated by the fact that the energy transmission from one molecule to the next is not definite. However, this is not necessary the case. The fact of the matter is that the difference between tone and noise goes back to the idea of the differences between the frequencies of consonants and vowels. As mentioned early consonant require higher frequency while vowels are associated with lower frequencies. Vowels in most cases are formed and created from the larynx. This means that there is a definite pattern from the larynx that aids in the generation of vowel sound pronunciations. Due to the fact that the larynx is used in the generation of vowels, most of the vowels tend to have simple patterns of pronunciations thereby making most of the vowels to be pure tones. Consonants on the other hand are associated with noises. This is because the pronunciation of consonants requires the individual to constrict the amount of air that is going to the larynx. This means that that the pronunciation of consonants is not definite and simple because there is an alteration of the air flow. Therefore, the oscillation cycles that are involved in the creation of these consonant sounds are not regular because they entail irregular intervals and levels of sound intensity. This means that the pronunciation of consonants creates a scenario whereby the energy that is produced by the larynx is much higher compared with if the larynx is allowed to have a free flow of air. Despite the increase in the level of energy that is produced by the larynx, the fact remains that the frequency within the air across the air molecules to the eardrum remains the same. However, due to the higher energy that exerted on the larynx, the range between the oscillation cycles of sounds is much higher. Therefore, the air molecules and sound bands that hit the ear drum have a higher intensity and are therefore perceived by the eardrum as being a louder sound compared to the pronunciation of vowels.
Therefore, the phrase that oral language is a bag of air is well founded because air molecules play a key role in enhancing communication via oral language. It is through the transmission of energy through the air molecules that the ear drum is able to perceive sounds at different intensity and frequencies. It is also clear from this research that vowels have lower frequencies while consonants are pronunciation at higher frequencies.
- The database that I used was JSTOR
- The key search words that I used in this research was oral language, vowels, consonants, frequencies
- The articles that I used were mostly secondary sources because they reported on the findings of other authors and scholars.
References
Blevins, J., & Garrett, A. (1998). The Origins of Consonant-Vowel Metathesis.Language, 74(3), 508-556. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from the JSTOR database. www.jstor.org/stable/417792
Hulit, L. M., & Howard, M. R. (1997). Born to talk: an introduction to speech and language development (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Lindau, M. (1976). Vowel Features. Linguistic Society of America, 54(3), 541-563. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from the JSTOR database. www.jstor.org/stable/412786
Swoboda, P. J., Morse, P. A., & Leavitt, L. A. (1976). Continuous Vowel Discrimination In Normal And At Risk Infants. Child Development, 47(2), 459. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from www.jstor.org/stable/1128802
