Vowel formant frequencies produced with and without auditory feedback

Abstract

Several authors have hypothesized that auditory feedback is used to refine articulatory gestures in children developing speech. In order to examine the role of auditory feedback in children, vowel production was examined in 12 children ranging in age from 3–13 years who received a multichannel cochlear implant. Data were collected 1 year after using the implant. Speech samples consisted of ten repetitions of the word, “head,” spoken under four conditions: implant on, immediately after the implant was turned off, 20 min after nonuse, and immediately after the implant was turned on. Formant frequencies, fundamental frequencies, and duration were measured. Significant shifts in vowel formant frequencies were found when the implant was turned off (p < 0.0001) and returned to more nearly normal values when the implant was turned on. Two of the youngest subjects were unable to produce stimuli after 20 min of nonuse with the implant. Data support the hypothesis that auditory feedback may assist in refining the articulatory gestures of some speech sounds.