Abstract
The aim of this study was to characterize the ultrasonographic pattern of tongue movement in 14 consonant phonemes of Brazilian Portuguese (BP), seeking to identify and describe ultrasonographic parameters that could grasp the difference of manner and place of articulation among these phonemes. We selected 20 individuals with typical speech production, aged between 20-30 years of both genders. The selected stimuli included the 14 lingual consonant BP phonemes in the intervocalic context of [a]. Data were collected and analyzed with the use of ultrasound, and the AAA (Articulate Assistant Advanced) and the Ultra-CATS (The Ultrasonographic Contour Analyzer for Tongue Surfaces) softwares. Three ultrasound parameters were used for data analysis: anteriority index (AI), global average of tongue height (GA) and relative anteriority index (RAI). Data were statistically analyzed. ANOVA showed a significant effect on the parameters and the RAI differentiated phonemes as the place (alveolar, pre-palatal, palatal and velar) and manner of articulation (fricative, nasal and occlusive); GA differentiate phonemes only as the place of articulation (alveolar, pre-palatal and velar). There was no single US parameter that could differentiate place and manner of articulation simultaneously. The clinical application for analysis of speech production disorders require the use of at least two ultrasound parameters: one to distinguish the place and another to distinguish the articulation manner.
Highlights
The production of speech sounds is a highly complex task that, to be aurally retrieved as typical, requires the interaction of different structures of the vocal tract in a coordinated, organized and planned way[1]. researchers, over the years, have already described in detail the process of production of speech sounds from the auditory analysis, technological advances have brought great benefits to these descriptions, as they enabled the incorporation of quantitative measures, and enabled the description of phonic facts imperceptible to the human ear[2].Among the technologies used nowadays, the acoustic analysis has occupied an important space in studies of speech production
This study aims to characterize the tongue movement in 14 consonant phonemes of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) through quantitative ultrasonographic parameters, seeking to identify and to describe which of these parameters could apprehend the difference of manner and place of articulation between lingual phonemes in typical speech production
As for the index of anteriority (IA), the ANOVA did not show any significant effect either to place of articulation (F(3.279)=0.22, p>0.88) or to manner of articulation (F(4.279)=0.54, p>0.70). This means that anteriority index (AI) was not sensitive to differentiate any place and manner of articulation
Summary
The production of speech sounds is a highly complex task that, to be aurally retrieved as typical, requires the interaction of different structures of the vocal tract in a coordinated, organized and planned way[1]. researchers, over the years, have already described in detail the process of production of speech sounds from the auditory analysis, technological advances have brought great benefits to these descriptions, as they enabled the incorporation of quantitative measures, and enabled the description of phonic facts imperceptible to the human ear[2].Among the technologies used nowadays, the acoustic analysis has occupied an important space in studies of speech production. The production of speech sounds is a highly complex task that, to be aurally retrieved as typical, requires the interaction of different structures of the vocal tract in a coordinated, organized and planned way[1]. Over the years, have already described in detail the process of production of speech sounds from the auditory analysis, technological advances have brought great benefits to these descriptions, as they enabled the incorporation of quantitative measures, and enabled the description of phonic facts imperceptible to the human ear[2]. Among the technologies used nowadays, the acoustic analysis has occupied an important space in studies of speech production. Despite the great contribution of acoustic analysis to the description of speech sounds, articulatory studies are required, as the former just infers the articulatory movement that it generated. Among the methodologies of analysis, the tongue ultrasonography stands out as an instrument of higher cost-benefit[6], considering equipment cost, portability, safety and visualized structures
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