Speech patterns of children and adults elicited via a picture-naming task: An acoustic study

Abstract

This brief study presents some acoustic phonetic characteristics that reflect both the voice characteristics and motor speech behaviour of 20 pre-adolescent (6-, 8- and 10-year olds) boys and girls, and 9 adults in speech data that were elicited via a picture-naming task. The acoustic phonetic characteristics that were investigated included formant frequency values, coarticulation (or gestural overlap) and temporal patterns. Both voice characteristics and motor speech behaviour presented evidence of age and sex differences, and age by sex interactions. In addition there were significant correlations between formant frequencies and their associated formant frequency changes (or excursions). There was also evidence of individual differences in the patterns of maturation, which did not conform to chronological age. These data are presented and discussed with reference to the sexual dimorphism of the vocal apparatus, the development of vocal characteristics, and motor speech development and behaviour.