Biomechanical, acoustical, anatomical, and physiological
principles underlying human communication and related vocal
tract behaviors in normal populations. Systems covered include
the articulatory subsystems of the tongue, jaw, orofacial
region, velopharynx, and pharynx. Topics related to speech
perception and models of speech production are incorporated
into the curriculum.
Athena Title
SPEECH SCIENCE
Prerequisite
Permission of Major
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Demonstrate the ability to comprehend, conceptualize, and integrate the basic underlying principles of anatomy and
physiology.
2. Appreciate the 3-D structure of the human vocal tract and how different areas of the system are related to one another
during normal speech and vocalization.
3. Be able to analyze and describe the selection, sequencing, and timing of articulatory systems to produce intelligible
speech.
4. Be able to describe the selection and sequencing of systems involved in non-speech behaviors such as chewing and facial
gestures.
5. Intuitively understand and synthesize together the mathematical and physical principles of vocalization with
knowledge of the structural components of the human vocal
tract.
6. Appreciate the comparative diversity of human vocal tract physiology as it pertains to vocalization in different age
group populations, across gender, and within select disordered
subject groups.
7. Be able to analyze and evaluate the importance and relation between muscular subsystems of the human vocal tract that work
to produce changes in vocal tract shape, sound pressure, and
airflow during speech.
8. Be able to describe and evaluate a constellation of tools and techniques that are used today to investigate normal and
disordered speech.
9. Be able to synthesize your knowledge of (1) normal anatomy and physiology of the human vocal tract and (2) your
understanding of quantitative analyses methods to appreciate
more fully the pathophysiology of speech and non-speech
disorders.
Topical Outline
1. Speech Aerodynamics
2. Review the anatomy of the skull, face, pharynx, and tongue
3. Review the Basic Physics of Waves, Acoustic signals and Resonance
4. Source-filter Theory of Vocalization
5. Acoustic Phonetics: Formants, Vowel and Consonant Features
6. Issues in Speech Perception
7. Survey of Speech Physiological Assessment Methods
