The Larynx and How We Produce Our Voice

In short: The larynx sits where the throat meets the windpipe and has two jobs: it protects the airways when we swallow, and it produces the voice with the vocal folds.

In more detail: When we speak, air from the lungs flows through the narrowed vocal folds and sets them vibrating. The basic tone this creates is amplified in the throat, mouth and nose and shaped into speech sounds by the tongue, lips and palate.

In detail

• Structure: The larynx consists of several cartilages joined by ligaments and muscles; the largest is the thyroid cartilage, whose projection can be felt as the Adam’s apple.
• Epiglottis: When we swallow, the epiglottis folds over the entrance to the larynx so that food and drink go into the oesophagus and not into the windpipe (verdauungssystem-vom-mund-bis-zum-darm).
• Coughing as protection: If something does get into the larynx, it triggers a forceful cough reflex that is meant to expel the foreign body (verschlucken-und-heimlich-griff).
• Vocal folds: The two vocal folds are wide open when we breathe; when we speak they are brought together and set into rapid vibration by the airflow.
• Pitch: The tighter and thinner the vocal folds are stretched, the faster they vibrate and the higher the tone sounds.
• Volume: A stronger flow of air from the lungs makes the voice louder, which is why speaking and breathing are closely linked (atmung-und-lunge).
• Sound and speech: The throat, mouth and nasal cavities act as resonating spaces and give every voice its own sound, while the tongue, lips and teeth form the individual speech sounds.
• Voice breaking: During puberty the larynx grows, usually much more in boys; the vocal folds become longer and the voice gets deeper.
• Whispering and hoarseness: When we whisper, the vocal folds do not vibrate and sounds are created only by the noise of the air; hoarseness that lasts longer than a few weeks should be examined by a doctor.