【英语时差8,16】笑声里隐藏的声学

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3 There's a lot more to laughter than you might imagine, as Don and Yael discuss in this Moment of Science.   D: Let me hear you laugh, Yael.

Y: Ho, ho, ho.

D: That's not a real laugh. Researchers have found that in laughter we don't make articulated vowel-like sounds such as ho-ho and ha-ha and tee-hee. Laughter is  mostly composed of more neutral sounds, something along the lines of huh-huh.

Y: Well what did you expect? You didn't give me anything to laugh about.

D: Fine. What's black and white and read all over?

Y: Ooh, let me see. A newspaper? You can't make me laugh with tired riddles¹, Don.

D: Forget it then. Let me just tell you what else I know about laughter. In men and  women both, laughter reaches surprisingly high frequencies. Frequency is measured   by the rate at which the vocal² cords vibrate. We hear frequency as pitch. The  laughter in some men can be as high as a soprano's high C, and in women, laughter  can reach the pitch of an octave higher than that.

Y: That is pretty impressive. One might think we would shatter glass when we laughed,   like opera singers do in cartoons.

D: What's more is not all laughter is voiced like this--meaning not all laughter involves   the vocal cords. Of those who do voice their laughter, a majority of them are  women. The resulting sounds are often song-like. Some people, however, make  grunting and snorting noises in their laughter.

Y: Let me guess. Mostly men grunt³ and snort.

D: Well, that's true, but so what? We can't help it.

Y: You snort so much you're embarrassed about it? Now that might make me laugh. Let's hear you laugh, Don.

D: No. Leave me alone.  

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