In my story, my character has her vocal cords surgically removed so that she can not speak. What kind of noises can she make though (like groaning, grunting, or laughing)? Thank you guys for the help!
Someone else actually cut them so that she couldn't tell anyone they experimented on her and her friend.
Can we suppose she can still write? I had a brief scene where an MC meets a mute cyborg, that acts out what she wants to say.
She would still be able to whisper, because that does not require the movement of vocal chords. Try making different noises with your fingers on your throat (right where your 'adams apple' is). If you feel a vibration- no matter how small- then you are using your vocal chords. Otherwise, your character will be able to make that noise.
I supposed that's true. They're afraid to go to any authorities because, while it would take care of the people who experimented on them, they're not totally sure what would happen to them, like if they'd end up at another zoo or worse. You guys have been very helpful with your suggestions, though!
My vocal cords are paralysed, so maybe I can offer some insight. First, I'm 51 years old. My cords were paralysed about 4 years ago, so I'm still a newbie to the world of mute and sign language. Whispering is not possible, at least not for me, and I'm not aware of anyone that can (I've never checked it out, though). At any rate, any noises I make are 'gutteral' in nature; they come from the diaphragm and have to be forced out with expiration and sound like a grunt - it's not a nice sound for people to hear, nor is there any way to change the octave to give it any meaning. Hence, it don't ever do it. It's a lot easier and expressive to just use hand/body/facial signs to communicate. I can't laugh. I express laughing all the time but no 'ha ha ha' is ever heard, of course. That's because it would sound the same as the gutteral sound and people would not 'hear that as laughing', just a grunt. It actually takes practice to not laugh that way because it's only natural that laughing comes from the 'gut' - but it's appreciated by those around me. I think if your character's vocal cords were 'cut or removed' (not sure if that's even possible, lol), the pain alone would stop her from even trying to speak initially and she would automatically try to communicate using her hands and facial expressions to get something to write on, then communicate via writing until she was able to make some initial hand signs (and for people to understand those signs). I like the premise that 'to keep someone silent, you cut their vocal cords'. Very intriguing and imaginative!!! Cheers, Jeff
Have you written about it, Jeff? It was touching to hear, must be difficult for you, atb. ...my most successful writes have been about terrible, true life situations. Humour/fiction tends to be more niche. more difficult to translate, nrr, mmm.
@matwoolf ...... it comes up in my writing but I've never written about it 'per se' as it's still new to me as I/we continue to learn. I was an amateur writer before it happened (and still am), so writing is just a continuation of my writing hobby. No story, really.
You'll have to double-check with a medical professional, but... If her vocal chords were removed completely, she wouldn't be able to swallow anything properly, no water, no food, nothing. The vocal chords block the glottis (entrance to the esophagus) so food and water don't go into the lungs by mistake. So, she'd die as her lungs filled with saliva.
Thank you very much! This was the type of thing I was looking for. Thank you for including personal details too. I hope you have a nice day/night!
Personally, I don't think the premise is sound, because the person could still communicate. But you see it in stories all the time, the silent person who was made mute by some evil person. If you want to use this plot device, just go for it and don't worry that communication is still possible via other means. Readers are very forgiving.
On this topic, is there anyway a person can have their throat cut and survive but end up losing their voice?
I did a bit of googling and found that she would be able whisper, sigh, and wheeze. To check if some noises require vocal cords put your hand on your throat and test the sound. If you feel vibrations that is your vocal cords working
I need help kinda in the same way, I'm writing a murder mystery and the victim got impaled in the vocal cords, can he still scream loud enough for someone to hear?
The most famous, at least to me was an old episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour or Alfred Hitchcock Presents where a loud mouth guy at an exclusive men's club accepted a large wager that he wouldn't say a word for a whole year (they even had him confined to a certain room with witnesses, etc.). At the end, the other guy welshed on the bet and the loud mouth was visibly upset and wrote on paper that he had his vocal chords cut to win the bet. Which sounds like cheating, but I don't think the rules actually said he couldn't do it. Edit: Turns out it was an episode of Twilight Zone, one of the few with no Sci-Fi or supernatural elements.
