Donald Duck talk
Encyclopedia
Donald Duck talk, officially called buccal speech, is an alaryngeal
form of vocalization
which uses the inner cheek to produce sound rather than the larynx
. The speech is most closely associated with the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck
who's voice was created and performed by voice actor Clarence Nash
, and by Tony Anselmo
after Nash's death in 1985.
Nash discovered buccal speech while trying to mimic his pet goat Mary. In his days before Disney, Nash performed in vaudeville
shows where he often spoke in his "nervous baby goat" voice. Later when he auditioned at Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney
interpreted Nash's voice as that of a duck, at which point the idea for Donald Duck came about. Buccal speech was also used by voice actor Red Coffee
for the duckling character Quacker in MGM cartoons.
The distinctive sound of buccal speech and the widespread familiarity of Donald Duck have led to unrelated, but similarly distorted forms of modified speech being described as "Donald Duck talk", such as inhaling helium
.
sides of the vocal tract
. Both the air chamber and the replacement glottis are formed between the cheek and upper jaw. Buccal speech is produced when a person creates an airbubble between the cheek
and the jaw on one side and then uses muscular action to drive the air through a small gap between or behind the teeth into the mouth. The sound so produced makes a high rough sound. This then is articulated to make speech. The speech sounds made in this way are difficult to hear and have a raised pitch. The technique can be also be used to sing
, and is usually acquired as a taught or self learnt skill and used for entertainment.
gas is often called Donald Duck talk. This gas mixture alters sound waves due to its low weight and density. This raises the resonating frequency of the vocal chords by an octave
shift up. Such speech is unintelligible largely due to the upward pitch shift in speech formant
s. Intelligibility is an important communication problem in deep sea diving
. The technological solution involves unscrambling by electronic transcoders.
Historical
Youtube has many examples of amateurs doing buccal speech:
Alaryngeal speech
Alaryngeal speech is speech made using sources other than the glottis in the larynx to create voice sound. There are three types: esophageal, buccal and pharyngeal speech. Each of these uses an alternative method of creating speech-like phonation to that normally provided by the vocal cords...
form of vocalization
Speech production
Speech production is the process by which spoken words are selected to be produced, have their phonetics formulated and then finally are articulated by the motor system in the vocal apparatus...
which uses the inner cheek to produce sound rather than the larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
. The speech is most closely associated with the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
who's voice was created and performed by voice actor Clarence Nash
Clarence Nash
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash was an American voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck for the Walt Disney Studios...
, and by Tony Anselmo
Tony Anselmo
Tony Anselmo is an Animator, cartoon voice actor and, since 1985, the voice of Donald Duck. Anselmo was trained by the original voice of Donald, Clarence Nash. Anselmo has also shared voice-over duties for Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie since 1999. He voiced the nephews on Mickey...
after Nash's death in 1985.
Nash discovered buccal speech while trying to mimic his pet goat Mary. In his days before Disney, Nash performed in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
shows where he often spoke in his "nervous baby goat" voice. Later when he auditioned at Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
interpreted Nash's voice as that of a duck, at which point the idea for Donald Duck came about. Buccal speech was also used by voice actor Red Coffee
Red Coffee
Red Coffey was a voice actor and comedian best known for playing Quacker in the Tom and Jerry cartoons at MGM from 1950 to 1957.Coffey's first role in animation appears to have been in Little Quacker , and he subsequently was hired to play the little duck in another seven cartoons...
for the duckling character Quacker in MGM cartoons.
The distinctive sound of buccal speech and the widespread familiarity of Donald Duck have led to unrelated, but similarly distorted forms of modified speech being described as "Donald Duck talk", such as inhaling helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
.
Production
Buccal speech is created with one of the buccal or cheekCheek
Cheeks constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. They may also be referred to as jowls. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve...
sides of the vocal tract
Vocal tract
The vocal tract is the cavity in human beings and in animals where sound that is produced at the sound source is filtered....
. Both the air chamber and the replacement glottis are formed between the cheek and upper jaw. Buccal speech is produced when a person creates an airbubble between the cheek
Cheek
Cheeks constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. They may also be referred to as jowls. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve...
and the jaw on one side and then uses muscular action to drive the air through a small gap between or behind the teeth into the mouth. The sound so produced makes a high rough sound. This then is articulated to make speech. The speech sounds made in this way are difficult to hear and have a raised pitch. The technique can be also be used to sing
Sing
Sing may refer to:* Singing, the act of producing musical sounds with the voice-Music:* SING! or Sing, annual student performance in New York City area high schoolsSongs:* "Sing" , a 1991 song from the album Leisure...
, and is usually acquired as a taught or self learnt skill and used for entertainment.
Hyperbaric speech
Speech made when breathing heliumHelium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
gas is often called Donald Duck talk. This gas mixture alters sound waves due to its low weight and density. This raises the resonating frequency of the vocal chords by an octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
shift up. Such speech is unintelligible largely due to the upward pitch shift in speech formant
Formant
Formants are defined by Gunnar Fant as 'the spectral peaks of the sound spectrum |P|' of the voice. In speech science and phonetics, formant is also used to mean an acoustic resonance of the human vocal tract...
s. Intelligibility is an important communication problem in deep sea diving
Deep diving
The meaning of the term deep diving is a form of technical diving. It is defined by the level of the diver's diver training, diving equipment, breathing gas, and surface support:...
. The technological solution involves unscrambling by electronic transcoders.
Other cases
- Donald Duck-like speech is described to occur after pseudobulbar dysarthriaPseudobulbar palsyPseudobulbar palsy results from an upper motor neuron lesion to the corticobulbar pathways in the pyramidal tract. Patients have difficulty chewing, swallowing and demonstrate slurred speech...
in which speech gains a high-pitched "strangulated" quality. - Donald Duck speech effect is described (usually as an undesired phenomena) in audio engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
when speech is time compressed, rate controlled, or accelerated. - A high pitched nasal voice resembling Donald Duck is sometimes noted in individuals with Prader-Willi syndromePrader-Willi syndromePrader–Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder in which seven genes on chromosome 15 are deleted or unexpressed on the paternal chromosome...
.
See also
- Esophageal speechEsophageal speechEsophageal speech, also known as esophageal voice, is a method of speech production that involves oscillation of the esophagus. This contrasts with traditional laryngeal speech which involves oscillation of the vocal folds. Instead, air is injected into the upper esophagus and then released in a...
- PhonationPhonationPhonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, phonation is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the definition used among those who study laryngeal anatomy and physiology...
- Vocal extended techniqueVocal extended techniqueVocalists are capable of producing a variety of extended technique sounds. These alternative singing techniques have been used extensively in the 20th century, especially in art song and opera...
- Overtone singingOvertone singingOvertone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing, is a type of singing in which the singer manipulates the resonances created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out the lips to produce a melody.The partials of a sound wave made by the human voice can be...
- VentriloquismVentriloquismVentriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...
- BeatboxingBeatboxingBeatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
- Circular breathingCircular breathingCircular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. This is accomplished by breathing in through the nose while simultaneously pushing air out through the mouth using air stored in the cheeks.It is used extensively in playing...
- WhistlingWhistlingHuman whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole...
External sources
Instructional- YouTube lesson by ollie8988
- YouTube lesson by daveyboyz
Historical
- Donald Duck--What's My Line Clarence C. Nash can be seen in this 12 December 1954 episode making his Donald Duck talk briefly at 7.01-03, 7.18, and 7.20
- (Part 1/2)(Part 2/2) Interview with Tony Anselmo
Youtube has many examples of amateurs doing buccal speech: