Sound produced by Humans

Sound produced by Humans

In human being, the sound is produced in the voice box, called the larynx, which is present in the throat. It is located at the upper end of the windpipe. The larynx has two ligaments called ‘vocal cords’, stretched across it. The vocal cords have a narrow slit through which air is blown in and out.

When a person speaks, the air from the lungs is pushed up through the trachea to the larynx. When this air passes through the slit, the vocal cords begin to vibrate and produce a sound. By varying the thickness of the vocal cords, the length of the air column in the slit can be changed. This produces sounds of different pitches. Males generally have thicker and longer vocal cords that produce a deeper, low pitch sound in comparison with females.