|WikiProject Linguistics / Phonetics|
The value of 17.5 cm. given here does not come with a citation. I imagine it is based on the assumption that a uniform tube with one closed end, with formant values of 500, 1500, and 2500 Hz. (for F1, F2, and F3), will have a length of 17.5 cm. This directly follows from the formula for determining resonance values for such a tube (Fn = c(2n-1)/4L). These formant values are nicely rounded for the purposes of explaining the concept of resonance, but may not reflect the most typical values for adult males.
Stevens (1999) cites work by U. G. Goldstein (1980), who, in his dissertation, claims that a male vocal tract will have a length of 16.9 cm. and a female a length of 14.1 cm. I haven't read this original source, but Stevens' work is the standard for any work on acoustic phonetics. Should the value of 17.5 cm. be changed?Lingboy (talk) 14:02, 9 August 2009 (UTC)