Notation of Spoken Movement

(Theory)

NOTATION OF SPOKEN MOVEMENT

V. Pros and Cons of Notation Systems

Human speech begins in the lungs where a river of air is generated. When the vocal chords are pulled together in voicing, a complex wave or current is generated in the river. The shape of the mouth and the movements of the articulators filter the current. The filtering process is speech.

Speech sounds can be described by the movements of articulation. The point where the articulators move closest together becomes the primary filter or shaper of the speech sound. The notational system used here divides the mouth into regions and numbers them from 0 through 9. [See Notation Profile]

When the lips are closest, a "0" is used (as in the "w" of "we"). Behind the teeth, the point of articulation is determined by where the tongue is highest. For the vowel sound in "we", the front of the tongue is highest in the 1 region. For the vowel sound of "law", the tongue is lowered so that the highest point is in the back and bottom of the mouth, in the 9 region.

Consonants are made by restricting the air flow more than it is restricted for vowels. Behind the teeth, all consonants are made in the highest regions: 1, 4, and 7. Stops are indicated by a slash slanting from upper right to lower left. Nasals, variations on stops., are indicated by a variation on the slash of the stop. Fricatives are indicated by a squiggly line going from upper left to lower right. Combining the numerals with these and other diacritical marks for vowels and consonants allows the user to describe literally thousands of sounds.

In this system, the numeral (or absence of one) indicates where the primary articulation takes place. The diacritical marks added to the numerals indicate what to do in each region. Each symbol is a set of directions, a set of movements. Such a system allows the user to describe the movements of things with the movements of speech.

Voicing is a vibration created at the vocal cords. Put your fingers on your throat and say the word "he." The "h" sound is unvoiced, and the "e" sound is voiced. In this notational system, voicing is indicated by adding shading or coloring to the symbol. Different colors can be used in a score to distinguish the different speakers. The presence or absence of color indicates if the sound is voiced or not. The different colors indicate who is speaking.