Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Human Beatboxing »

Abstract Speech is among the most complex motoric tasks humans ever perform. Songbirds match this achievement during song production through the precise and simultaneous motor control of two sound sources in the syrinx. Integrated and intricate motor control has made songbirds comparative models par excellence for the evolution of speech, however, phylogenetic distance with humans prevents an improved understanding of the precursors that, within the human lineage, drove the emergence of advanced vocal motor control and speech. Here, we report two types of biphonic call combination in wild orangutans that articulatorily resemble human beatboxing and that result from the simultaneous exercise of two vocal sound sources: one unvoiced source achieved through articulatory maneuvering of the lips, tongue, and jaw as typically used for consonant-like call production, plus one voiced source achieved through laryngeal action and voice activation as typically used for vowel-like call production. Orangutan biphonic call combinations showcase unappreciated levels of, and distinct neuromotor channels for, vocal motor control in a wild great ape, providing a direct vocal motor analogy with birdsong based on the precise and simultaneous co-control of two sound sources. Findings suggest that speech and human vocal fluency likely built upon complex call combination, coordination and coarticulation capacities that involved vowel-like and consonant-like calls in an ancestral hominid.

Avant d’être un objet d’étude scientifique, le Human Beatbox (HBB) est avant tout une pratique musicale. Les beatboxeurs et les beatboxeuses utilisent leur conduit vocal pour produire des sons musicaux : sons de batterie, instruments à vent ou à corde, musique électronique ... Comment est produit le Human Beatbox ? Quelles sont les capacités du conduit vocal humain ? Existe-t-il un lien entre la production du Beatbox et de la parole ? Cette thèse tente d’apporter des éléments de discussion sur ces questions. À partir de données articulatoires, aérodynamiques et acoustiques, nous proposons une analyse de la production du Human Beatbox à différentes vitesses (90, 120, 150 battements par minute). Nos résultats montrent que les sujets utilisent des mécanismes de production similaires aux locuteurs des langues. Toutefois, ils combinent un plus grand nombre de mécanismes différents. Le Human Beatbox possède les propriétés d’un système combinatoire discret (Proctor et al., 2013). Les résultats sur les effets du tempo suggèrent que les stratégies individuelles de réorganisation temporelle des gestes sont similaires aux stratégies proposées par Byrd et Tan (1996). En effet, les sujets manipulent la durée des gestes et/ou des intervalles séparant les gestes. On a observé chez 2 sujets, des contraintes de coordination entre les gestes d’initiation et d’articulation. Le Human Beatbox jette un regard différent sur la phonétique en permettant d’actualiser son cadre théorique et de passer d’une approche purement linguistique à une approche anthropophonique (Catford, 1977; Lindblom, 1990) des phénomènes phonétiques
Before being a subject of scientific study, Human Beatboxing (HBB) is above all a musical practice. Beatboxers use their vocal tract to produce musical sounds : drum sounds, wind or string instruments, electronic music, and more. How is beatboxing produced ? What are the capacities of the human vocal tract ? Is there a connection between beatboxing and speech production ? This thesis attempts to provide elements for discussion on these questions. Based on articulatory, aerodynamic, and acoustic data, we present an analysis of beatboxing production at different tempo (90, 120, 150 beats per minute). Our results show that subjects use similar production mechanisms to those found in linguistic systems. However, they combine a greater number of different mechanisms. Beatboxing possesses the properties of a discrete combinatorial system (Proctor et al., 2013). The results on tempo effects suggest that individual strategies for temporal reorganization of gestures are similar to the strategies proposed by Byrd et Tan (1996). Indeed, subjects modified the duration of gestures and the intervals between gestures. Coordination constraints between initiation and articulation gestures were observed for two subjects. Beatboxing offers a different perspective on phonetics, allowing for the update of its theoretical framework and a shift from a purely linguistic approach to an anthropophonic approach (Catford, 1977 ; Lindblom, 1990) of phonetic phenomena