Approaches to Voice Quality

Abstract

Voice quality is a thriving topic. Recently, it has been extensively tackled due to its social, pathological, and forensic importance as well as due to the advances in technical tools that are utilized to investigate the human vocal apparatus. This is not to say that it is a new topic in the linguistic field. It has its roots that extend to the previous centuries. However, it is exposed explicitly as a theory by John Laver (1980). Laver proposed a systematic analysis of voice quality. He stated several features or setting that modulate the voice in a specific manner starting with features in the larynx passing through the pharynx and the tongue ending up to the lips, clarifying the influence of each organ on the modulation of voice.  The present paper intends to reveal some of the most essential approaches of how to investigate Voice Quality, specifically the social variations. There are three main approaches; Auditory or perceptual, articulatory and the acoustic approaches. The importance of this paper lies in the fact that it represents a point of departure for researchers and those who are interested in voice quality to reveal new secrets of the human voice seeking a systematic modulation of human voice as a whole