Voice quality and speech intelligibility among deaf children.

Abstract

Measures of the voice quality and speech intelligibility of deaf children are compared and related to articulatory and acoustic variables. It is shown that voice quality and speech intelligibility are closely related and that abnormalities of both phonation and articulation have a mutual negative effect on intelligibility and voice quality. A primary source of what is heard as the "deaf voice" may be inadequate vowel articulation, caused in part by insufficient tongue movements and by excess tension when speaking, which tends to constrict the pharynx and thereby further reduce the movements in frequency of the vowel resonances.