Underwater vocalization

[idats]

Hi! I am figuring out an register of my ŋ spoken underwater and i don't want to deviate too much from human anatomy.
Constraints are already not using too much air (nonpulmonic sounds getting the spotlight) and letting water in the mouth and nose, basically all the vocalization coming from throat alone with help of water spreading the sound.
Way whales communiate is through whistles and clicks and i could borrow that, however i can't figure out how a human could realize clicks like a whale or even more phonemes underwater and naming of such articulations.
Of course speech underwater won't be same as speech on land, what other ways, constraints or better ways to speak while submerged? What is more important that i don't know of?

[lurker]

Hi!

I'm the resident xenolang-obsessed weirdo. First, I'd like to know what the speakers of this language look like. You mention that you don't want to deviate too much from human anatomy, but you also mention whales. Are these speakers merfolk? Something else?

One approach would be to consider how the language sounds to the listener rather than how it's produced by the speaker. In stead of worrying about what articulators are needed to produce a particular sound, just imagine how the language sounds, and come up with interesting phonetic features. Perhaps the language is strongly dependent on pitch and volume, with clicks and infrasonic rumbles rounding things out. If this language's speakers dwell in the deep ocean, perhaps the language is communicated through the gestures of bio-luminescent tentacles, with brightness or strobe frequency being phonemic as well.

Of course, if your area of interest is specifically articulatory phonetics, and you really do want to figure out how underwater speech would be produced, that's cool, too. The best thing to do there would be to look into how aquatic animals produce sound, or otherwise communicate, which I'm guessing you're already doing.

If you'll forgive me shilling my own thread, I posted this thread on the Teach and Share subforum detailing the process I used to come up with the phonology of my own language. (Incidentally, it is also articulated almost exclusively in the throat.)

[idats]

Hi! Recently got up from my slumber with cleared off mind after writing this thread and going to sleep.

First, I'd like to know what the speakers of this language look like. You mention that you don't want to deviate too much from human anatomy, but you also mention whales. Are these speakers merfolk? Something else?

Oh they are just humans who will go underwater to forage and return to land for other activities, though the water could be used for much more purposes than a place to find food. Basically like Sama-Bajau people, but on colder and deeper waters, though we could modify their anatomy further to cater to seaborne lifestyle as they have practiced this for much much longer time.
I have mentioned whales because i have better understanding of their organs used to vocalize and at that time I thought i could use their anatomy and their ways of vocalizing as a reference.

One approach would be to consider how the language sounds to the listener rather than how it's produced by the speaker. In stead of worrying about what articulators are needed to produce a particular sound, just imagine how the language sounds, and come up with interesting phonetic features.

I remember reading about someone on conlangs reddit who submerged its head underwater and pronounced phonemes just like out of water. As the head submerger spoke, many phonemes have merged in many ways. My thought of method (mouth fully shut and rumble, murmur, hum, etc.) may even merge more phonemes, though i have not tested it. (This is the problem that i originally wanted to write here)

Perhaps the language is strongly dependent on pitch and volume, with clicks and infrasonic rumbles rounding things out. If this language's speakers dwell in the deep ocean, perhaps the language is communicated through the gestures of bio-luminescent tentacles, with brightness or strobe frequency being phonemic as well.

They won't dive too deep, even if new tribe, subspecies or even species, if long enough time, emerged from the speakers who will live out more of their lives underwater.
I could see our speakers rumble, murmur, click or anything in mouth exclusively without expelling a lot of air (more focus on non-pulmonic consonants) and maybe allow nasal sounds too, though speakers could see bubbles out of nose, being air when nasalization happens, and i think that would be eye catching.

Of course, if your area of interest is specifically articulatory phonetics, and you really do want to figure out how underwater speech would be produced, that's cool, too. The best thing to do there would be to look into how aquatic animals produce sound, or otherwise communicate, which I'm guessing you're already doing.

That was my aim for this post, but without mentioning on how such sounds would be heard. I will definetly delve deeper on that.

If you'll forgive me shilling my own thread, I posted this thread on the Teach and Share subforum detailing the process I used to come up with the phonology of my own language. (Incidentally, it is also articulated almost exclusively in the throat.)

I'll check that out.

But remember, we're talking about the register of the language, like what el silbo gomero is to spanish

[HolyHandGrenade!]

I honestly think it would be much easier and more efficient (especially when taking limited air into account) to use a sign language.

[idats]

I have again reviewed articles to understand whale vocalization mechanics to be sure and turns out that much more modification is needed on the inside for our speakers. Whales do use air to echolocate, but tiny amount of it and recycle the air that was used to echolocate. I'll write up more on that later.

[WeepingElf]

There is this awesome underwater music. Apparently, it is possible to sing underwater without blowing bubbles! This technique, whichever way it works, could perhaps be used to talk underwater as well.