Study of mechanical models of the human vocal tract having nasal cavity

Technical Report of IEICE Japan, Vol. SP2003-55, pp. 1-5, 2003 (in Japanese)

Study of mechanical models of the human vocal tract having nasal cavity

E. Maeda, T. Arai and N. Saika

Abstract: Formerly, we proposed several mechanical models of the human vocal tract for education in Acoustics. The characteristics of the models were examined, and their outputs were analyzed and compared with acoustic theory. We used the models during lectures and confirmed their effectiveness for education in Acoustics. Subsequently, we formed a new model for nasalized vowels by attaching a side branch to the oral cavity of one of the former models. In this study, we introduce and examine the characteristics of a new set of models with a nasal cavity (and sinuses) and a large velopharyngeal opening simulating the cleft palate.

Keywords: vocal tract, mechanical model, nasal cavity, nasalized vowel, cleft palate

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