When it comes to the human body, we spend a lot of time focusing on important bodily systems like the heart, liver, eyes, and ears. But very little thought is given to something we use every single day – our voices! As you can imagine, this is a very interesting and unique topic worth exploring in further detail.
There are plenty of mammals, birds, and even reptiles that can make noises with their mouths. There are moos, clucks, barks, chirps, hisses…etc. But humans are the only species capable of talking. (We’re disqualifying parrots, okay?)
This makes human speech an incredible phenomenon right off the bat. And the more you learn about it, the more intriguing it becomes. Here are some interesting facts…
Speech and Language Disorders are Common
If you’ve never had a speech or language disorder, you probably don’t realize how common they are.
Research shows that, by first grade, 5 percent of children have noticeable speech disorders. And of the 6.1 million children with disabilities receiving special education in public schools, more than 1.1 million were placed into the category of “speech or language impairment.”
Interestingly enough, these speech and language impairments seem to have strong genetic ties. Somewhere between 20 to 40 percent of children with family history of impairments have a related condition themselves (compared to just 4 percent of the general population).
Speech Language Pathologists are the Bomb!
If it weren’t for extremely skilled speech language pathologists, millions more adults would suffer from serious speech impairment issues.
Speech language pathologists use some pretty incredible technology to help people overcome issues like stuttering. Whether it’s video training sessions or oral motor therapy techniques, there’s a lot of cool stuff happening in this space.
Public Speaking is SCARY
Did you know that public speaking is ranked #5 on a list of things Americans fear the most? It comes in just behind walking alone at night, becoming a victim of identity theft, safety on the internet, and being the victim of a mass/random shooting. In other words, your fear of speaking in public is quite common.
Speaking Requires a Lot of Work
In order to produce a phrase, roughly 100 muscles in your neck, jaw, tongue, lips, and chest must collaborate together. And each one of these muscles is comprised of hundreds or thousands of individual fibers. (For perspective, many athletic maneuvers require far fewer muscles.)
Furthermore, each spoken word or phrase is accompanied by a unique pattern of muscular movements. Your brain actually remembers the pattern for common phrases, such as, “I love you” or “How are you doing?”
Left Brain, Right Brain
Researchers have discovered that speaking is predominantly a left-brain activity, whereas singing is a right-brain function. This explains why some victims of stroke can still sing (even when they can’t speak). It’s also a reasonable explanation for why some famous singers and musicians, including Carly Simon, can sing flawlessly, but sometimes experience stuttering in their conversation.
Vocal Cords? (More Like Folds)
While we call them vocal “cords,” it would be more accurate to call them vocal “folds.” That’s because the stretchy fibrous tissue inside of your larynx is actually a series of folds that vibrate as air is inhaled and exhaled over top of them.
Some Languages are More Complex
The English language might seem odd and complex to someone who is trying to learn it, but these challenges are purely grammatical. From a linguistic perspective, English is a very simple language. It only has roughly 40 unique sounds. Other languages have far more. !Xóõ, which is mainly spoken in Botswana, is the most complex language to voice. It has 112 distinct sounds.
Say What?
If you didn’t know before, now you do. Human speech is incredibly sophisticated and unique. And not only is it powerful from a biological perspective, but it also has tremendous influence in relationships (and society as a whole).
Your speech is influential (for better or worse). You can use words to edify, encourage, support, and love, or you can use them to tear people down. In times like these, it’s more important than ever to focus on building people up through our speech and our actions. Will you make this a priority in 2020 and beyond?