Human vocality: Monody, magic, and mind

This dissertation centers on the sensory-affectivity of material voice. A strong body of evidence in seemingly unrelated fields of neuroscience research, literature, linguistics, and voice training, shows that material (physical) voice production and apprehension enable internal and inter-relational sense contact not fully achievable by other means. This sensory-affect inherence is shown to be instrumental in the human mind's cognitive evolution. The assumtion that verbal communication is sign (segno, significance, signifiance) alone has defaulted out necessary sensory-affect that written word can only attempt to describe.;Monody is a sung form, proven to be affectively charged, in which melody is formed from natural inflections of speech. A history of voice affectivity is traced in literature and music using monody as a vehicle, and purported affectivity of voice in magic is examined. Polyvagal Theory, which shows that material voice brings us into our own sensory-affective presence, is looked at in terms of "self," language, history, performance, and education. The findings in this study indicate reconsidering an overly narrow view of the purpose of language, and urge research into classroom uses of material voice in regard to reading comprehension and participation skills.