Entangled Speech: Speaking through oral microbes

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Linguistics
• Science and Technology Studies

Background:

• The relationship between humans and their resident microbes is complex and bidirectional.
• Human-centered language often overlooks the agency of non-human entities like microbes.
• Existing research has not fully explored the role of oral microbes in shaping vocalizations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the entanglement between human language and oral microbes.
• To re-evaluate the concept of the human subject in relation to microbial agency.
• To explore how microbes co-author human voicescapes through phonemic interactions.

Main Methods:

• A performance-based research methodology involving researchers, research objects, and investigative methods.
• Utilizing material apparatuses to enhance and visualize non/human reactions during speech.
• Applying principles of diffraction to analyze the entangled intra-actions between phonemes and microbial ecology.

Main Results:

• Oral microbes dynamically alter their ecology in response to specific phonemes.
• Microbes act as co-agents in speech production, influencing voicescapes and disembodying the voice from a solely human-centric subject.
• The study demonstrates the inseparability of voice and microbes, challenging their conceptual separation through technical apparatuses.

Conclusions:

• Microbial entangled speech is a crucial, overlooked connecting layer between the human body and its inhabitants.
• Language should be understood as a co-authored phenomenon involving both human and microbial agents.
• The concept of 'mattering' is explored through the material-discursive agency of microbes in speech.