Accent and Intonation of Speech in Adolescents with Severe and Profound Hearing Impairments

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the characteristics of the speech of adolescents with severe and profound hearing impairments. This formed part of a broad study on accent and intonation in adolescents with severe and profound hearing impairments. The test words consisted of two-mora words in which the first or second mora is high-pitched. Parameters of acoustic analysis were fundamental frequency and intensity. Samples were recorded and analyzed by Phono-Laryngograph (RION SH-01) in experiment 1 and Digital Sona-Graph (KAY7800) in experiment 2. From the results of this study the following findings were observed.The hearing impaired speakers realized accent in the following ways : (1) increase in intensity in the first mora of the test word, (2) increase in pitch in the second mora of the test word. The movements of pitch contour in normal hearing speakers were dynamic. In adolescents with severe and profound hearing impairments, dynamics were lower than in the normal speakers. For intonations, pitch movements at the end of utterances were examined. Word-final pitch rise occurred in normal speakers, but did not occur in adolescents with severe and profound hearing impairments.