Humanitext Reader

Aristotle · History of Animals §4.9#1

Distinction of Voice, Sound, and Speech and Vocal Mechanisms

Passage 64 of 189 · Greek

Summary

Defines the differences between voice, sound, and speech, detailing the physical mechanisms of sound production—such as friction and internal air—in insects, fish, shellfish, dolphins, and oviparous quadrupeds.

§4.9#1Φωνὴ καὶ ψόφος ἕτερόν ἐστι, καὶ τρίτον τούτων διάλεκτος.
Voice and sound are different things, and a third thing besides these is speech.
Φωνεῖ μὲν οὖν οὐδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων μορίων οὐδὲν πλὴν τῷ φάρυγγι· διὸ ὅσα μὴ ἔχει πνεύμονα, οὐδὲ φθέγγεται·
Therefore, no animal utters any voice with any of its other parts except with the larynx; wherefore all those that do not have lungs do not make a sound.
διάλεκτος δ’ ἡ τῆς φωνῆς ἐστὶ τῇ γλώττῃ διάρθρωσις.
And speech is the articulation of voice by the tongue.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν φωνήεντα ἡ φωνὴ καὶ ὁ λάρυγξ ἀφίησιν, τὰ δ’ ἄφωνα ἡ γλῶττα καὶ τὰ χείλη· ἐξ ὧν ἡ διάλεκτός ἐστιν.
Therefore, the voice and the larynx emit the vowels, while the tongue and the lips emit the consonants; and of these speech consists.
Διὸ ὅσα γλῶτταν μὴ ἔχει ἢ μὴ ἀπολελυμένην, οὔτε φωνεῖ οὔτε διαλέγεται· ψοφεῖν δ’ ἔστι καὶ ἄλλοις μορίοις.
Wherefore all those that do not have a tongue, or do not have one that is free, can neither utter a voice nor speak; but it is possible to make a noise with other parts as well.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἔντομα οὔτε φωνεῖ οὔτε διαλέγεται, ψοφεῖ δὲ τῷ ἔσω πνεύματι, οὐ τῷ θύραζε· οὐθὲν γὰρ ἀναπνεῖ αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν βομβεῖ, οἷον μέλιττα καὶ τὰ πτηνὰ αὐτῶν, τὰ δ’ ᾄδειν λέγεται, οἷον οἱ τέττιγες.
Thus, insects neither utter a voice nor speak, but they make a noise with their internal air, not with external air; for none of them breathes, but some buzz, as the bee and those of them that are winged, while others are said to sing, as the cicadas.
Πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ψοφεῖ τῷ ὑμένι τῷ ὑπὸ τὸ ὑπόζωμα, ὅσων διῄρηται, οἷον τῶν τεττίγων τι γένος τῇ τρίψει τοῦ πνεύματος.
All of these make their noise by the membrane under the waist, in those where it is divided, as a certain class of cicadas does by the friction of the air.
Καὶ αἱ μυῖαι δὲ καὶ αἱ μέλιτται καὶ τἆλλα πάντα, τῇ πτήσει αἴροντα καὶ συστέλλοντα· ὁ γὰρ ψόφος τρίψις ἐστι τοῦ ἔσω πνεύματος.
Flies, bees, and all the rest also make a noise by raising and contracting their wings in flight; for the noise is a friction of the internal air.
Αἱ δ’ ἀκρίδες τοῖς πηδαλίοις τρίβουσαι ποιοῦσι τὸν ψόφον.
And grasshoppers produce their noise by rubbing with their jumping legs.
Οὐδὲ δὴ τῶν μαλακίων οὐδὲν οὔτε φθέγγεται οὔτε ψοφεῖ οὐδένα φυσικὸν ψόφον, οὐδὲ τῶν μαλακοστράκων.
Nor indeed do any of the molluscs either utter a voice or make any natural noise, nor do the malacostraca.
Οἱ δ’ ἰχθύες ἄφωνοι μέν εἰσιν (οὔτε γὰρ πνεύμονα οὔτε ἀρτηρίαν καὶ φάρυγγα ἔχουσι), ψόφους δέ τινας ἀφιᾶσι καὶ τριγμοὺς οὓς λέγουσι φωνεῖν, οἷον λύρα καὶ χρομίς (οὗτοι γὰρ ἀφιᾶσιν ὥσπερ γρυλισμόν) καὶ ὁ κάπρος ὁ ἐν τῷ Ἀχελῴῳ, ἔτι δὲ χαλκὶς καὶ κόκκυξ· ἡ μὲν γὰρ ψοφεῖ οἷον συριγμόν, ὁ δὲ παραπλήσιον τῷ κόκκυγι ψόφον, ὅθεν καὶ τοὔνομα ἔχει.
Fishes are voiceless (for they have neither lungs, nor trachea, nor larynx), but they emit certain noises and squeaks which people say are voices, as the lyra and the chromis (for these emit a sort of grunting), and the kapros in the Achelous, and furthermore the chalcis and the kokkyx; for the former makes a noise like a piping, and the latter a noise very like the cuckoo, whence also it gets its name.
Πάντα δὲ ταῦτα τὴν δοκοῦσαν φωνὴν ἀφιᾶσι τὰ μὲν τῇ τρίψει τῶν βραγχίων (ἀκανθώδεις γὰρ οἱ τόποι), τὰ δὲ τοῖς ἐντὸς τοῖς περὶ τὴν κοιλίαν· πνεῦμα γὰρ ἔχει τούτων ἕκαστον, ὃ προστρίβοντα καὶ κινοῦντα ποιεῖ τοὺς ψόφους.
And all of these emit what seems to be a voice, some by the friction of their gills (for these parts are thorny), and others by their internal organs about the belly; for each of these has air, by rubbing and moving which they produce the noises.
Καὶ τῶν σελαχῶν δ’ ἔνια δοκεῖ τρίζειν.
And some of the selachians also seem to squeak.
Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα φωνεῖν μὲν οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἔχει φάναι, ψοφεῖν δέ.
But it is not correct to say that these utter a voice, but rather that they make a noise.
Καὶ γὰρ οἱ κτένες ὅταν φέρωνται ἀπερειδόμενοι τῷ ὑγρῷ, ὃ καλοῦσι πέτεσθαι, ῥοιζοῦσι, καὶ αἱ χελιδόνες αἱ θαλάττιαι ὁμοίως· καὶ γὰρ αὗται πέτονται μετέωροι, οὐχ ἁπτόμεναι τῆς θαλάττης· τὰ γὰρ πτερύγια ἔχουσι πλατέα καὶ μακρά.
For scallops, when they are carried along by pressing against the liquid (which they call flying), make a whirring sound, and sea-swallows likewise; for these also fly aloft without touching the sea, since they have broad and long fins.
Ὥσπερ οὖν τῶν ὀρνίθων πετομένων ὁ γινόμενος ταῖς πτέρυξι ψόφος οὐ φωνή ἐστιν, οὕτως οὐδὲ τῶν τοιούτων οὐδενός.
Just as, then, the noise made by the wings of birds when flying is not a voice, so neither is it the case for any of these.
Ἀφίησι δὲ καὶ ὁ δελφὶς τριγμὸν καὶ μύζει, ὅταν ἐξέλθῃ, ἐν τῷ ἀέρι, οὐχ ὁμοίως δὲ τοῖς εἰρημένοις· ἔστι γὰρ τούτῳ φωνή· ἔχει γὰρ καὶ πλεύμονα καὶ ἀρτηρίαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν γλῶτταν οὐκ ἀπολελυμένην οὐδὲ χείλη ὥστε ἄρθρον τι τῆς φωνῆς ποιεῖν.
And the dolphin also emits a squeak and moans in the air when it comes out, but not in the same way as those mentioned; for this creature has a voice, since it has both lungs and trachea, but it does not have a free tongue nor lips, so as to produce any articulate speech.
Τῶν δ’ ἐχόντων γλῶτταν καὶ πλεύμονα ὅσα μὲν ᾠοτόκα ἐστὶ καὶ τετράποδα, ἀφίησι μὲν φωνήν, ἀσθενῆ μέντοι, καὶ τὰ μὲν συριγμόν, ὥσπερ οἱ ὄφεις, τὰ δὲ λεπτὴν καὶ ἀσθενῆ φωνήν, τὰ δὲ σιγμὸν μικρόν, ὥσπερ αἱ χελῶναι.
Of those that possess a tongue and lungs, those that are oviparous and quadrupeds emit a voice, albeit a weak one, and some emit a hiss, like snakes, others a thin and weak voice, and others a small hissing, like turtles.

Notes

  1. ¦p.124¦διάλεκτος δ’ ἡ τῆς φωνῆς ἐστὶ τῇ γλώττῃ διάρθρωσις — The definition 'speech (διάλεκτος) is the articulation (διάρθρωσις) of voice by the tongue.' Here, διάλεκτος does not mean 'dialect' in the modern sense, but rather articulated, meaningful speech as opposed to mere voice (φωνή) or sound (ψόφος).
  2. ¦p.124¦τῷ ἔσω πνεύματι, οὐ τῷ θύραζε — Reflects Aristotle's physiological model that insects do not breathe external air (ἀναπνοή) but produce sound by vibrating or rubbing the innate internal air (ἔμφυτον πνεῦμα) already present inside them.
  3. ¦p.124¦ὅσων διῄρηται — The relative pronoun ὅσων in the genitive functions in context as a genitive of relation, carrying a restrictive or partitive sense: 'in those of them whose [membrane] is divided (by the waist/diaphragm).'
  4. ¦p.124¦τῇ πτήσει αἴροντα καὶ συστέλλοντα — The participles αἴροντα and συστέλλοντα modify the subject (flies, bees, etc.). Although not explicitly expressed in the Greek text, their implicit grammatical object is 'wings (τὰ πτερά).'
  5. ¦p.124¦οὓς λέγουσι φωνεῖν — An accusative and infinitive construction where the relative pronoun οὓς refers back to ψόφους καὶ τριγμούς. It serves as the object of φωνεῖν, meaning 'noises and squeaks which people say [the fishes] utter (as voices).'
  6. ¦p.124¦ἡ μὲν γὰρ ψοφεῖ οἷον συριγμόν, ὁ δὲ παραπλήσιον τῷ κόκκυγι ψόφον — The correlation of demonstrative articles: the feminine ἡ μὲν refers to the feminine noun χαλκίς (a type of fish), whereas the masculine ὁ δὲ refers to the masculine noun κόκκυξ (another fish, the cuckoo-fish).

Cite this passage

Aristotle, History of Animals §4.9#1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg014.humanitext-grc1:4.9%231

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