The “Kempelen” speaking machine

Kempelen's "Chess Turk" was an apparatus that pretended to play chess. It consisted of a puppet and a box in which an elaborate mechanism was concealed with which the pieces were moved. Of course, the box contained a human being who was cleverly concealed. Many people worked on solving the mystery, but it took a long time until it was revealed.

Kempelen was intent on demonstrating the seriousness of his speaking machine and responded with his book “Mechanismus der menschlichen Sprache” (Mechanism of Human Speech and Language). On more than 450 pages, he examined the origin of speech, its sounds and the human speech organs. At the centre is the chapter dealing with the “Speaking Machine,” in which he describes his research and various devices. Finally, he offers a detailed description of his latest attempt, including numerous scale drawings. This was meant to facilitate replication and further development of the machine.

The term “windchest” is derived from pipe organ construction. Various mechanisms were operated with levers to produce consonants.

In the speaking machine, the air is not distributed to pipes but to the various devices for sound production that are found on and in the windchest.

The windchest contains a reed made of a thin strip of ivory just 0.4 mm thick, to which a strip of leather is glued. When air streams into the windchest, the reed (comparable to the reed of a clarinet) begins to vibrate, thus producing a sound.

The computer tomography formed the basis for understanding the machine and for creating a replica. Transect images represent each level in a distortion-free manner, which can be used to obtain the measurements necessary for building the replica. The images were particularly helpful to gain insights about the inaccessible parts in the speaking machine’s interior.

Various scientists and workshops at the museum as well as external experts collaborated in the construction of the replica. In this, traditional craftsmanship techniques were used as well as modern manufacturing methods. In order to allow a view into the exciting interior, the replica, in deviation from the original, is built with transparent walls.

A highlight of the research process was the systematic experimenting with the replica. This provided answers to questions that had been a mystery to science until then: What is the effect of various techniques, e.g., when using the bellows? As with a musical instrument, playing the device involves a learning process – without a teacher. It became apparent that the speaking machine’s functional range is smaller than originally thought. It can say “mama”, “papa”, “oma” and similar basic words (see audio recording).

The comparison of the speaking machine with the description given by Kempelen in his book of 1791 was largely consistent.

All deviations represent improvements compared to the described device; in part, they even realise suggestions formulated by Kempelen himself.

The note was attached to the device at a later time – presumably, it only became necessary once a direct link to Kempelen no longer existed. To determine when the note was attached, the paper, the ink and the writing need to be examined and historical photographs and potential comparison material must be researched.

The more than 100,000 objects in the collections of the Deutsches Museum include a wide variety of different items such a scientific instruments, all kinds of machines, vehicles, airplanes, musical instruments and household gadgets. Highlights include the first gasoline-powered car by Carl Benz, the Magdeburg hemispheres, the motorised aircraft by the Wright brothers, the U-boat U 1 and the first computers. Even today, adding to the collections forms one of the museum’s core tasks, and the collections continue to grow.

The research in the Deutsches Museum is based on specimens in the collection, such as the speaking machine, or is dedicated to preservation-related issues – e.g., how can objects made of plastic be preserved? Other projects go beyond the collections and examine scientific computing in Germany from 1871 to 1960 or environmental history. The latter led to the first exhibition on the Anthropocene.