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THE ARTICTJLATORY APPARATUS. |
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In voice the pharynx is capable of considerable expansion and contraction, and is freely movable; it can be narrowed or widened, shortened or elongated by the raising or depressing of the larynx.
The pharynx is firmly connected to the fascia over the spine and cannot be moved forwards, so that when the constrictors contract they move the front wall backwards, except at the top where they are attached to immovable parts,—there the sides are flattened. They pull the larynx back and up, and assist the soft palate in shutting off the mouth or the nose according to circumstances.
To acquire proficiency in articulation it is necessary to exercise those muscles upon whose action the correct position for enunciation depends, and upon whose movement the pure sounds result. This includes exercises for the muscles which move the lips, the tongue, the soft palate, and the teeth (i.e. the lower jaw).
44. Exercises for the Lips.
1. The muscle to be especially developed is the muscle that sends fibres in a circular direction right round the mouth, and is named accordingly the orbicular muscle of the lips (orbicularis palpebrarum). This can be done easily by spreading the mouth sideways, as in a smile, and then quickly moving the lips to a rounded shape, as for the oo-sounds.
2. Other muscles also are brought into play which raise and lower the upper lips, and these can be exercised by a movement of the upper lip upwards and downwards, simulating the movement of a rabbit's mouth.
3. The movement of the lips in the pronunciation of each of the vowel sounds should be daily practised in front of a mirror. |
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