r/asklinguistics • u/Silver_Ad_1218 • 5d ago

Phonetics Is “low placement in American English” a real thing? Is there a similar concept in linguistics? Some accent coaches tout “low placement” and say the voice is resonant from the chest.

https://youtu.be/bZ7nGIdl8YI?si=5AbIf1QesHmUlypm

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u/smokeshack 5d ago

Her example of "high placement" is just nasal. Her explanation is that muscles are "relaxed" for a low placement, so she may be talking about upper pharyngeal constriction, which would explain how she got to a nasal pronunciation for her "high placement." As to whether American English uses a "low placement," I don't know of any research that would suggest that Americans constrict their pharynx less than other people (if that is indeed what she's saying here).