Effects of Long-Term Tracheostomy on Spectral Characteristics of Vowel Production

1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1057-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Saletsky Kamen ◽  
Ben C. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Spectral Parameters ◽  
Oral Motor ◽  
Vowel Space

This study investigated the effects of long-term tracheostomy on the development of speech. Eight children who underwent tracheotomy during the prelingual period were compared to matched controls on selected spectral parameters of the speech acoustic signal and standard measures of oral-motor, phonologic, and articulatory proficiency. Analysis of formant frequency values revealed significant between-group differences. Children with histories of long-term tracheostomy showed reduced acoustic vowel space, as defined by group formant frequency values. This suggests that these children were limited in their ability to produce extreme vocal tract configurations for vowels /a,i,u/ postdecannulation. Oral motor patterns were less mature, and sound substitutions were not only more variable for this group, but also reflected a persistent overlay of maladaptive compensations developed during cannulation.

scholarly journals An Acoustic Study of Vowels Produced by Alaryngeal Speakers in Taiwan

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Shiou Liao
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Euclidean Distance ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Study ◽  
Artificial Larynx ◽  
Resonance Frequencies ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Southern Min

PurposeThis study investigated the acoustic properties of 6 Taiwan Southern Min vowels produced by 10 laryngeal speakers (LA), 10 speakers with a pneumatic artificial larynx (PA), and 8 esophageal speakers (ES).MethodEach of the 6 monophthongs of Taiwan Southern Min (/i, e, a, ɔ, u, ə/) was represented by a Taiwan Southern Min character and appeared randomly on a list 3 times (6 Taiwan Southern Min characters × 3 repetitions = 18 tokens). Each Taiwan Southern Min character in this study has the same syllable structure, /V/, and all were read with tone 1 (high and level). Acoustic measurements of the 1st formant, 2nd formant, and 3rd formant were taken for each vowel. Then, vowel space areas (VSAs) enclosed by /i, a, u/ were calculated for each group of speakers. The Euclidean distance between vowels in the pairs /i, a/, /i, u/, and /a, u/ was also calculated and compared across the groups.ResultsPA and ES have higher 1st or 2nd formant values than LA for each vowel. The distance is significantly shorter between vowels in the corner vowel pairs /i, a/ and /i, u/. PA and ES have a significantly smaller VSA compared with LA.ConclusionsIn accordance with previous studies, alaryngeal speakers have higher formant frequency values than LA because they have a shortened vocal tract as a result of their total laryngectomy. Furthermore, the resonance frequencies are inversely related to the length of the vocal tract (on the basis of the assumption of the source filter theory). PA and ES have a smaller VSA and shorter distances between corner vowels compared with LA, which may be related to speech intelligibility. This hypothesis needs further support from future study.

Exploration of Metrics for Quantifying Formant Space: Implications for Clinical Assessment of Parkinson Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 402-410
Author(s):  
Jason A. Whitfield
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Clinical Assessment ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Hypokinetic Dysarthria ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Potential Factor

Purpose Speakers with Parkinson disease (PD) often exhibit hypokinetic dysarthria, which affects speech articulation. Vowel space metrics based on formant frequencies have been used to examine vowel articulation in speakers with PD. Although data from a number of studies suggest that speakers with PD exhibit smaller acoustic vowel space areas than control speakers, a handful of studies did not observe differences in vowel space area between speakers with and without PD. One potential factor explaining the inconsistent performance of traditional vowel space metrics is that these point-based metrics undersample the formant space to adequately capture between-groups and within-group differences in articulation. This article discusses recent advances in vowel space assessment that augment traditional vowel space metrics by examining the distribution of the entire formant frequency trace. Conclusion A general approach to obtaining these metrics is discussed along with clinical implications for vowel space assessment in speakers with PD.

A Note on Vowel Centralization in Stuttering and Nonstuttering Individuals

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1042-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Blomgren ◽  
Michael Robb ◽  
Yang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Treated Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Frequency Spacing ◽  
Analysis Scheme ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
And Control

Inferences were made regarding vocal tract vowel space during fluently produced utterances through examination of the first two formant frequencies. Fifteen adult males served as subjects, representing separate groups of untreated and treated individuals who stutter and nonstuttering controls. The steady-state portion of formant one (F1) and formant two (F2) was examined in the production of various CVC tokens containing the vowels /i/, /u/, and /α/. Vocal tract vowel space was estimated three ways. The first analysis scheme involved measurement of formant frequency spacing. The second measure involved calculating the area of the vowel space triangle. The third measure was based on calculating the average Euclidean distance from each subject's midpoint "centroid" vocal tract position to the corresponding /i/, /u/, and /α/ points on the vowel triangle. The formant frequency spacing measures proved to be most revealing of group differences, with the untreated stutterers showing significantly greater vowel centralization than the treated group and control group. Discussion focuses on the vocal tract articulation characterizing fluent speech productions and possible treatment implications for persons who stutter.

Formant Frequency Fluctuation as an Index of Motor Steadiness in the Vocal Tract

1983 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce R. Gerratt
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Involuntary Movement ◽  
Predictive Coding ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Acoustic Method ◽  
Frequency Fluctuation ◽  
Linear Predictive Coding ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Second Formant

Involuntary movement of the articulatory structures can interfere with the accurate placement of the articulators during consonant production and may also result in distortion of vowel quality. An acoustic method was used to assess motor steadiness in the vocal tract musculature superior to the glottis during vowel production by five subjects with abnormal involuntary orofacial movements associated with tardive dyskinesia and 10 normal subjects. A linear predictive coding technique of spectral analysis yielded formant frequencies from the sustained productions of//. Based on the premise that changes in vocal tract configuration can be measured as changes in formant frequency, the sequential segment-to-segment fluctuations of the second formant frequency of these vowel samples were computed and used as an index of motor steadiness. Results showed that formant frequency fluctuation measures for four of the five tardive dyskinetic patients were substantially larger than those of the normal subjects, indicating a reduction of motor steadiness in these four subjects. Factors influencing the validity of this procedure and implications for its use are discussed.

Interspeaker Variability in Hard Palate Morphology and Vowel Production

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1924-1933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Lammert ◽  
Michael Proctor ◽  
Shrikanth Narayanan
Keyword(s):  
Hard Palate ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
American English ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Acoustical Properties ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Acoustic Impact

Purpose Differences in vocal tract morphology have the potential to explain interspeaker variability in speech production. The potential acoustic impact of hard palate shape was examined in simulation, in addition to the interplay among morphology, articulation, and acoustics in real vowel production data. Method High-front vowel production from 5 speakers of American English was examined using midsagittal real-time magnetic resonance imaging data with synchronized audio. Relationships among hard palate morphology, tongue shaping, and formant frequencies were analyzed. Simulations were performed to determine the acoustical properties of vocal tracts whose area functions are altered according to prominent hard palate variations. Results Simulations revealed that altering the height and position of the palatal dome alters formant frequencies. Examinations of real speech data showed that palatal morphology is not significantly correlated with any formant frequency but is correlated with major aspects of lingual articulation. Conclusion Certain differences in hard palate morphology can substantially affect vowel acoustics, but those effects are not noticeable in real speech. Speakers adapt their lingual articulation to accommodate palate shape differences with the potential to substantially affect formant frequencies, while ignoring palate shape differences with relatively little acoustic impact, lending support for acoustic goals of vowel production.

scholarly journals Effect of Age, Gender and Vowel Type on Vowel Space Area in Sinhala Speakers

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V Narasimhan ◽  
W.G.S.S Karunarathne
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Short Vowels ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Group 3 ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Male Subjects ◽  
Effect Of Age

This study was conducted to document the effect of age, gender and vowel type on vowel space area in Sinhala language. Three groups of participants were employed. Group 1 included 20 children, Group 2 included 20 adults and Group 3 consisted of 20 elderly subjects. All the subjects spoke the dialect of central province of Sri Lanka. Words consisting of three Sinhala short vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/ in were recorded. Formant frequencies of vowels were extracted and vowel space area was constructed. The results showed that the formant frequencies were significantly higher for children compared with those of adults. Female subjects had significantly higher formant frequency values than male subjects. Effect of vowel types were also significant on the formant frequencies and vowel space area. Sinhala also follows universal criteria of resonance characteristics and vocal tract constriction. Keywords: vowel space area, formant frequencies, Sinhala, vowel articulation

Estimation of vocal tract steadiness in speakers of Mandarin-accented English

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Gender Dimorphism ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Probable Outcome ◽  
Accented English ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Brain Reorganization

Vocal tract steadiness reflected by measurement of fluctuation of the second formant frequency is reported for vowel production of Mandarin-accented English (MAE). Fluctuations of the second formant frequency for the 11 English vowels (/i ɪ e ɛ æ ʌ u ʊ o ɔ ɑ/) were examined in the syllable-level productions of 40 Mandarin speakers compared to 40 American English (AE) speakers. Results of the comparative analysis indicate that the pattern of vocal tract steadiness of MAE speakers is generally different in comparison to AE speakers. The discrepancy of vocal tract steadiness between MAE and AE speakers are interpreted as the probable outcome of brain reorganization in adult L2 learning. In addition, discussions of likely gender dimorphism in brain reorganization in L2 learning are provided in view of the opposite patterns of vocal tract steadiness demonstrated by MAE females and males, in comparison to their AE counterparts.

scholarly journals A Longitudinal Study of Very Young Children's Vowel Production

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca W. McGowan ◽  
Richard S. McGowan ◽  
Margaret Denny ◽  
Susan Nittrouer
Keyword(s):  
American English ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Speech Data ◽  
Regional Dialect ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
English Dialect ◽  
Existing Data

Purpose Ecologically realistic, spontaneous, adult-directed, longitudinal speech data of young children were described by acoustic analyses. Method The first 2 formant frequencies of vowels produced by 6 children from different American English dialect regions were analyzed from ages 18 to 48 months. The vowels were from largely conversational contexts and were classified according to dictionary pronunciation. Results Within-subject formant frequency variability remained relatively constant for the span of ages studied. It was often difficult to detect overall decreases in the first 2 formant frequencies between ages 30 and 48 months. A study of the movement of the corner vowels with respect to the vowel centroid showed that the shape of the vowel space remained qualitatively constant from 30 through 48 months. Conclusions The shape of the vowel space is established early in life. Some aspects of regional dialect were observed in some of the subjects at 42 months of age. The present study adds to the existing data on the development of vowel spaces by describing ecologically realistic speech.

Comparison of Auditory, Language, Memory, and Attention Abilities in Children With and Without Listening Difficulties

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-727
Author(s):  
Beula M. Magimairaj ◽  
Naveen K. Nagaraj ◽  
Alexander V. Sergeev ◽  
Natalie J. Benafield
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Memory And Attention ◽  
Speed And Accuracy

Objectives School-age children with and without parent-reported listening difficulties (LiD) were compared on auditory processing, language, memory, and attention abilities. The objective was to extend what is known so far in the literature about children with LiD by using multiple measures and selective novel measures across the above areas. Design Twenty-six children who were reported by their parents as having LiD and 26 age-matched typically developing children completed clinical tests of auditory processing and multiple measures of language, attention, and memory. All children had normal-range pure-tone hearing thresholds bilaterally. Group differences were examined. Results In addition to significantly poorer speech-perception-in-noise scores, children with LiD had reduced speed and accuracy of word retrieval from long-term memory, poorer short-term memory, sentence recall, and inferencing ability. Statistically significant group differences were of moderate effect size; however, standard test scores of children with LiD were not clinically poor. No statistically significant group differences were observed in attention, working memory capacity, vocabulary, and nonverbal IQ. Conclusions Mild signal-to-noise ratio loss, as reflected by the group mean of children with LiD, supported the children's functional listening problems. In addition, children's relative weakness in select areas of language performance, short-term memory, and long-term memory lexical retrieval speed and accuracy added to previous research on evidence-based areas that need to be evaluated in children with LiD who almost always have heterogenous profiles. Importantly, the functional difficulties faced by children with LiD in relation to their test results indicated, to some extent, that commonly used assessments may not be adequately capturing the children's listening challenges. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12808607

Anthropologic Relationships among Prehistoric Northeastern Amerindians

1980 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-159
Author(s):  
Edward F. Harris ◽  
Nicholas F. Bellantoni
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
New England ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Phenetic Analysis ◽  
Trade Relationships ◽  
Good Agreement

Archaeologically defined inter-group differences in the Northeast subarea ate assessed with a phenetic analysis of published craniometric information. Spatial distinctions in the material culture are in good agreement with those defined by the cranial metrics. The fundamental dichotomy, between the Ontario Iroquois and the eastern grouping of New York and New England, suggests a long-term dissociation between these two groups relative to their ecologic adaptations, trade relationships, trait-list associations, and natural and cultural barriers to gene flow.

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