In the louder sounds uttered by the chimpanzee these ventricles greatly distend. This intensifies the voice or increases its volume. It is partly due to these little sacs that the ape is able to make such a loud and piercing scream. But the pitch and volume of his voice cannot be alone due to this cause, for the gorilla (in which these ventricles are much smaller) can make a vastly louder sound. We may be mistaken, however, about the sound commonly ascribed to him.
Although the sounds made by the chimpanzee can be imitated by the human voice, they cannot be expressed or represented by any system of phonetic symbols in use among men. Alphabets have been deduced from pictographs, and the conventional symbol that is used to represent a given sound has no reference to the organs of speech that produced it. The few rigid lines that have survived and that now form the alphabets are within themselves meaningless, but they have been so long used to represent the elementary sounds of speech that it would be difficult to supplant them with others.
As no literal formula can be made to represent the phonetic elements of the speech of chimpanzees, I have taken a new step in the art of writing. I suggest a system of symbols which is rational in method and simple in device.
The organs of speech always act in harmony. A certain movement of the lips is always attended by a certain movement of the internal organs of speech. This is true of the ape as well as of man. In order to utter the same sounds, each would employ the same organs and use them in the same manner.
By this means deaf-mutes are able to distinguish the sounds of speech and to reproduce them, although they do not hear them. By close study and long practice they learn to distinguish the most delicate shades of sound.
In this plain fact lies the clue to the method I offer for consideration. As yet it is only in the infant stage, but it is possible to be made, with a very few symbols, to represent the whole range of vocal sounds made by man or other animals.
The chief symbols I employ are the parentheses used in common print. The two curved lines placed with the convex sides opposite, thus, (), represent the open glottis, in which position the voice utters the broad sound of “A,” as in “father.” The glottis about half closed utters the sound of “O.” To represent this sound a period is inserted between the two curved lines, thus, (.). When the aperture is still more contracted it produces the sound of “U,” like “[=oo]” in “woo.” To represent this sound a colon is placed between the lines, thus, (:). When the aperture is restricted to a still smaller compass the sound of “U” short is uttered, as in “but.” To represent this sound an apostrophe is placed between the lines, thus, (.). When the vocal cords are brought to a greater tension, and the aperture is almost closed, it utters the short sound of “E,” as in “met.” To represent this sound a hyphen is inserted between the lines, thus, (-). These are the main vowel sounds of all animals, although in man they are sometimes modified, and to them is added the sound of “E” long, while in the ape the long sounds of “O” and “E” are rarely heard.
From this vowel basis all other sounds may be developed, and by the use of diacritics to indicate the movements of the organs of speech the consonant elements are indicated.
A single parenthesis, with the concave side to the left, will represent the initial sound of “W,” which sometimes occurs in the sounds of animals. When used, it is placed on the left side of the leading symbol, thus,)(), and this symbol, as it stands, is pronounced nearly like “O-A,” the “O” being suppressed until almost inaudible. Turning the concave side to the right, and placing it on the right side of the symbol, thus, ()(, it represents the vanishing sound of “W.” This symbol reads “A-O,” with the latter vocal suppressed into the terminal sound of “O.” The apostrophe placed before or after the symbol will represent “F” or “V.” The grave accent, thus, è, represents the breathing sound of “H,” whether placed before or after the symbol, and the acute accent, thus, é, represents the aspirate sound of that letter.
When the symbol is written with a numeral exponent, it indicates the degree of pitch. If there is no figure, the sound is such as would be made by the human voice in ordinary speech. The letter “X” indicates a repetition of the sound, and the numeral placed after it will show the number of times repeated, instead of the pitch. For example, we will write the sound (.), which is equivalent to long “O,” made in a normal tone; the same symbol written thus (.)2 indicates that the sound is made with greater energy, and about five semitones higher. To write it thus, (.)2X, indicates that the sound is five semitones above the normal pitch of the human voice and is once repeated.