A Longitudinal Study of Speech Acoustics in Older French Females: Analysis of the Filler Particle euh across Utterance Positions

Aging in speech production is a multidimensional process. Biological, cognitive, social, and communicative factors can change over time, stay relatively stable, or may even compensate for each other. In this longitudinal work, we focus on stability and change at the laryngeal and supralaryngeal levels in the discourse particle euh produced by 10 older French-speaking females at two times, 10 years apart. Recognizing the multiple discourse roles of euh, we divided out occurrences according to utterance position. We quantified the frequency of euh, and evaluated acoustic changes in formants, fundamental frequency, and voice quality across time and utterance position. Results showed that euh frequency was stable with age. The only acoustic measure that revealed an age effect was harmonics-to-noise ratio, showing less noise at older ages. Other measures mostly varied with utterance position, sometimes in interaction with age. Some voice quality changes could reflect laryngeal adjustments that provide for airflow conservation utterance-finally. The data suggest that aging effects may be evident in some prosodic positions (e.g., utterance-final position), but not others (utterance-initial position). Thus, it is essential to consider the interactions among these factors in future work and not assume that vocal aging is evident throughout the signal.

A Curated Cacophony: Implementing an Intangible

<p>This research investigates a progression away from acoustics formed by spaces and towards spaces that are driven by target acoustics. Despite architecture and acoustics’ shared consideration of form, materiality and inhabitation, too often acoustics is neglected from design and so is treated remedially, nullifying creativity. A case study project was undertaken to investigate the opportunities and limitations of two parametric tools, Galapagos (a generative solver) and Pachyderm (an acoustic simulation tool), to develop acoustic qualities in early architectural design. Yet, what are these acoustic qualities and how could they be measured? Testing of cafes in the Wellington CBD was undertaken to investigate these questions. Six cafes were acoustically tested and five patrons from each of these completed a subjective survey. The café testing suggested that Reverberation Time (RT) could be an effective acoustic measure to direct architectural design. The café with the lowest patron enjoyment rating also recorded the longest RT and highest Sound Pressure Level (SPL), reinforcing the relationship between these three elements. Through these findings, patron enjoyment was concluded to be dependent on SPL and SPL was concluded to be dependent on RT (Whitlock and Dodd, 424). In order to increase patron enjoyment, Galapagos was utilised to explore possible forms that met a target design RT of 0.7 seconds. An RT of 0.7 seconds was chosen as it was shorter than the AS/NZS 2107 (2000) maximum and was comparable to the cafés with the two highest subjective enjoyment ratings. Through a parametric and analogue design methodology, Galapagos and Pachyderm were used to investigate how acoustic goals could shape a café design. The case study project produced a design that not only meets this acoustic criterion but harnesses form to sculpt sound. Instead of applying absorption to flat surfaces, the convex curves on the north and east facades disperse sound, producing both a diffuse environment and an engaging architectural element. This integrated investigation demonstrated that a parametric and analogue design process can be implemented to create a acoustically and architecturally effective design.</p>

A Curated Cacophony: Implementing an Intangible

<p>This research investigates a progression away from acoustics formed by spaces and towards spaces that are driven by target acoustics. Despite architecture and acoustics’ shared consideration of form, materiality and inhabitation, too often acoustics is neglected from design and so is treated remedially, nullifying creativity. A case study project was undertaken to investigate the opportunities and limitations of two parametric tools, Galapagos (a generative solver) and Pachyderm (an acoustic simulation tool), to develop acoustic qualities in early architectural design. Yet, what are these acoustic qualities and how could they be measured? Testing of cafes in the Wellington CBD was undertaken to investigate these questions. Six cafes were acoustically tested and five patrons from each of these completed a subjective survey. The café testing suggested that Reverberation Time (RT) could be an effective acoustic measure to direct architectural design. The café with the lowest patron enjoyment rating also recorded the longest RT and highest Sound Pressure Level (SPL), reinforcing the relationship between these three elements. Through these findings, patron enjoyment was concluded to be dependent on SPL and SPL was concluded to be dependent on RT (Whitlock and Dodd, 424). In order to increase patron enjoyment, Galapagos was utilised to explore possible forms that met a target design RT of 0.7 seconds. An RT of 0.7 seconds was chosen as it was shorter than the AS/NZS 2107 (2000) maximum and was comparable to the cafés with the two highest subjective enjoyment ratings. Through a parametric and analogue design methodology, Galapagos and Pachyderm were used to investigate how acoustic goals could shape a café design. The case study project produced a design that not only meets this acoustic criterion but harnesses form to sculpt sound. Instead of applying absorption to flat surfaces, the convex curves on the north and east facades disperse sound, producing both a diffuse environment and an engaging architectural element. This integrated investigation demonstrated that a parametric and analogue design process can be implemented to create a acoustically and architecturally effective design.</p>

Accuracy of Acoustic Measures of Voice via Telepractice Videoconferencing Platforms

Purpose Telepractice improves patient access to clinical care for voice disorders. Acoustic assessment has the potential to provide critical, objective information during telepractice, yet its validity via telepractice is currently unknown. The current study investigated the accuracy of acoustic measures of voice in a variety of telepractice platforms. Method Twenty-nine voice samples from individuals with dysphonia were transmitted over six video conferencing platforms (Zoom with and without enhancements, Cisco WebEx, Microsoft Teams, Doxy.me, and VSee Messenger). Standard time-, spectral-, and cepstral-based acoustic measures were calculated. The effect of transmission condition on each acoustic measure was assessed using repeated-measures analyses of variance. For those acoustic measures for which transmission condition was a significant factor, linear regression analysis was performed on the difference between the original recording and each telepractice platform, with the overall severity of dysphonia, Internet speed, and ambient noise from the transmitter as predictors. Results Transmission condition was a statistically significant factor for all acoustic measures except for mean fundamental frequency ( f o ). Ambient noise from the transmitter was a significant predictor of differences between platforms and the original recordings for all acoustic measures except f o measures. All telepractice platforms affected acoustic measures in a statistically significantly manner, although the effects of platforms varied by measure. Conclusions Overall, measures of f o were the least impacted by telepractice transmission. Microsoft Teams had the least and Zoom (with enhancements) had the most pronounced effects on acoustic measures. These results provide valuable insight into the relative validity of acoustic measures of voice when collected via telepractice. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14794812

The Need for Composite Models of Music Perception

In the article “Consonance preferences within an unconventional tuning system,” Friedman and colleagues (2021) examine consonance ratings of a large range of dyads and triads from the Bohlen-Pierce chromatic just (BPCJ) scale. The study is designed as a replication of a recent paper by Bowling, Purves, and Gill (2018), which proposes that perception of consonance in dyads, triads, and tetrads can be predicted by their harmonic similarity to human vocalisations.In this commentary, we would like to correct some interpretations regarding Friedman et al.’s (2021) discussion of our paper (Smit, Milne, Dean, & Weidemann, 2019), as well as express some concerns regarding the statistical methods used. We also propose a stronger emphasis on the use of, as named by Friedman et al., composite models as a range of recent evidence strongly suggests that no single acoustic measure can fully predict the complex experience of consonance.

The Effect on Room Acoustical Parameters Using a Combination of Absorbers and Diffusers—An Experimental Study in a Classroom

Several room acoustic parameters have to be considered in ordinary public rooms, such as offices and classrooms, in order to present the actual conditions, thus increasing demands on the acoustic treatment. The most common acoustical treatment in ordinary rooms is a suspended absorbent ceiling. Due to the non-uniform distribution of the absorbent material, the classical diffuse field assumption is not fulfilled in such cases. Further, the sound scattering effect of non-absorbing objects such as furniture are considerable in these types of rooms. Even the directional characteristic of the sound scattering objects are of importance. The sound decay curve in rooms with absorbent ceilings often demonstrate a double slope. Thus, it is not possible to use reverberation time as room parameter as a representative standalone acoustic measure. An evaluation that captures the true room acoustical conditions therefore needs supplementary parameters. The aim of this experimental study is to show how various acoustical treatments affect reverberation time T20, speech clarity C50 and sound strength G. The experiment was performed in a mock-up of a classroom. The results demonstrated how absorbers, diffusers and scattering objects influence room acoustical parameters. It is shown that to some extent the parameters can be adjusted individually by using different treatments or combination of treatments. This allows for the fine-tuning of the acoustical conditions, in order to fulfill the requirements for achieving a high-quality sound environment.

Relative Fundamental Frequency in Children With and Without Vocal Fold Nodules

Purpose Relative fundamental frequency (RFF) is an acoustic measure that is sensitive to functional voice differences in adults. The aim of the current study was to evaluate RFF in children, as there are known structural and functional differences between the pediatric and adult vocal mechanisms. Method RFF was analyzed in 28 children with vocal fold nodules (CwVN, M = 9.0 years) and 28 children with typical voices (CwTV, M = 8.9 years). RFF is the instantaneous fundamental frequency ( f 0 ) of the 10 vocalic cycles during devoicing (vocal offset) and 10 vocalic cycles during the revoicing (vocal onset) of the vowels that surround a voiceless consonant. Each cycle's f 0 was normalized to a steady-state portion of the vowel. RFF values for the cycles closest to the voiceless consonant, that is, Offset Cycle 10 and Onset Cycle 1, were examined. Results Average RFF values for Offset Cycle 10 and Onset Cycle 1 did not differ between CwVN and CwTV; however, within-subject variability of Offset Cycle 10 was decreased in CwVN. Across both groups, male children had lower Offset Cycle 10 RFF values as compared to female children. Additionally, Onset Cycle 1 values were decreased in younger children as compared to those of older children. Conclusions Unlike previous work with adults, CwVN did not have significantly different RFF values than CwTV. Younger children had lower RFF values for Onset Cycle 1 than older children, suggesting that vocal onset f 0 may provide information on the maturity of the laryngeal motor system.

The phonation types in Fuzhou Chinese

This pilot study provides an acoustic description of the phonation types in Fuzhou Chinese. Speech samples from 5 native speakers show that tones [21 242 24] are breathy, while [44 32 4] are mainly modal and [51] is modal-breathy. Acoustic measure HNR35 can distinguish these phonation types, while H1*-A1* can only differentiate [24] and the end of [51] from other tones.

Diagnostic accuracy of the Smoothed Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPPS) in the detection of dysphonia in the Spanish language

The smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS) is an acoustic measure that can be calculated in both sustained vowels and continuous speech. The goal of this work is to find out the diagnostic accuracy of CPPS in the detection of dysphonia in Spanish. In this study 136 subjects with dysphonia and 47 healthy subjects participated. For each subject a sustained vowel and the reading of three phonetically balanced sentences were recorded. The CPPS was calculated with Praat using its default configuration (configuration 1), and also with the one used in the calculation of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (configuration 2). Five experts perceptively assessed the voice of the subjects in the sample by means of the GRABS scale. The CPPS has a great power of discrimination between the normal and the pathological voice, whether it is calculated from the sustained vowel /a/ (AROC[config. 1] = 0.863 and AROC[config. 2] = 0.841) or whether it is calculated from the sentences (AROC[config. 1] = 0.884 and AROC[config. 2] = 0.866). The results confirm that CPPS is a valid acoustic measurement to detect dysphonia in the Spanish language.