Modeling Sound Generation and Acoustic Characteristics of KoShik, a Talking Elephant

This thesis investigates how KoShik, otherwise known as the talking elephant, can have a human-like voice articulation. The mechanism of articulating a human sound by an elephant can be described as a unique excitation process in which the elephant first places its nose in its mouth, blows air into the mouth, produces the basic frequency by pressing the nose with its mouth and teeth, and then articulates the sounds through the narrow airway between the inner skin and soft palate of its mouth. This vocalization process is similar to that of its breeder with respect to the basic pitch and 1-2 formant frequency. The talking elephant KoShik is different from other so-called talking animals in its uniqueness of making a sound by utilizing the nose, more like playing a musical instrument than just mimicking human sounds, as well as of its activeness to talk.