Video narration
How does a breath become your voice? Think of the lip buzz in a raspberry: moving air and soft tissue make a sound. It's only a comparison; lips and vocal folds work differently. When you speak, air from your lungs passes through your throat. The vocal folds aren't strings waiting to be plucked. Air sets them vibrating. That vibration makes a buzz, but not yet the voice you recognize. The sound travels through your throat and mouth, where the changing shape alters it. The folds provide the starting sound; your tongue and lips help turn it into words. You can feel your mouth shift as you say different vowels. Each mouth shape gives the buzz a different sound. So how does breath become voice? Your lungs send air through the vocal folds, and your throat and mouth shape the resulting buzz into your voice.