Breathy Voice Research Articles

Impressions of Personality from Intentional Voice Quality in Arabic-Speaking and Native Finnish-Speaking Listeners

The present study aimed to investigate whether there are differences between Arabic-speaking and Finnish-speaking listeners in the impressions of a speaker's personality as evoked by various intentional voice qualities. This is an experimental study. Samples (N = 55) were gathered from native Finnish-speaking males (N = 4) and females (N = 5), who read a text passage of 43 words using eight different voice qualities: (1) habitual speaking voice, speaking with (2) a forward or (3) backward placement of the tongue, or a (4) breathy, (5) tense, (6) creaky, (7) nasalized, or (8) denasalized voice. Native Arabic-speaking participants (34 males, 12 females; N = 46) were asked to evaluate the speech samples on a seven-point polarized scale by choosing 1-5 from a total of 18 contrasting pairs of personality traits. The listening tests were presented via Windows Media Player and a Genelec Biamp loudspeaker. Traits that had evaluations of 30% or more were selected for the final analysis. The results were compared to the results of native Finnish-speaking listeners (12 males, 38 females; N = 50). Statistical analyses were carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. On the whole, both listener groups perceived the speakers' voice qualities similarly, although the Finnish-speaking listeners linked many voice qualities, especially nasal and denasal voices, with unpleasant and other negative personality traits. Moreover, somewhat opposing evaluations were given by the two language groups for voices with forward and backward placements of the tongue, and breathy and tense voices. In many cases, the evaluations by the Arabic-speaking listeners were more scattered. The speakers' sex also seemed to affect perceptions of personality. There seem to be similar stereotypical tendencies to relate certain voice qualities with certain personality traits, which is explainable by how the voice types are produced and used to express emotions. Some opposing trends found between the two language groups may be related to language and cultural differences. A further study with larger listener groups and including also samples from Arabic language speakers is needed to confirm the results of the present study.

Degree of vocal fold adduction affects listener perception of simulated laryngeal vocal tremor

Laryngeal vocal tremor (VT) is a neurogenic voice disorder characterized by modulation of the fundamental frequency (fo) and intensity. The primary medical treatment for VT is laryngeal botulinum toxin injections, which result in temporarily reduced speaker- and listener-perceived VT severity. These injections also cause temporary breathiness, which is conventionally considered an adverse effect of the treatment. However, previous studies using a computational model of VT revealed that listeners perceived modulated voices as less “shaky” when the vocal quality was breathy, even when the extent of fo modulation was the same. The purpose of the current study is to assess the effect of breathiness on listener perception of VT across a range of modulation extents. A kinematic model of the vocal folds and wave-reflection model of the vocal tract were used to simulate VT with degrees of vocal fold adduction representing a spectrum of normal to breathy voice and with fo modulation extents ranging from 0%–10%. Normal hearing listeners will be presented with pairs of stimuli differing by degree of vocal fold adduction and will be asked to identify which vowel is “shakier.” The findings of this study could inform selection of treatment targets and candidates for behavioral therapy for VT.

Categorization in the Perception of Breathy Voice Quality and Its Relation to Voice Production in Healthy Speakers.

Purpose Previous studies of speech articulation have shown that individuals who can perceive smaller differences between similar-sounding phonemes showed larger contrasts in their productions of those phonemes. Here, a similar relationship was examined between the perception and production of breathy voice quality. Method Twenty females with healthy voices were recruited to participate in both a voice production and a perception experiment. Each participant produced repetitions of a sustained vowel, and acoustic correlates of breathiness were calculated. Identification and discrimination tasks were performed with a series of synthetic stimuli along a breathiness continuum. Categorical boundary location and boundary width were obtained from the identification task as a measurement of perception of breathiness. Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to estimate associations between values of boundary location and width and the acoustic correlates of breathiness from the participants' voices. Results Significant correlations between boundary width (r = -.53 to -.6) and some acoustic correlates were found, but no significant relationships were observed between boundary location and the acoustic correlates. Conclusions Speakers with small boundary widths, which suggest higher perceptual precision in differentiating breathiness, had typical voices that were less breathy, as estimated with acoustic measures, compared to speakers with large boundary widths. Our findings may support a link between perception and production of breathy voice quality. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9808478.

Breathy voice and low-register: A case of trading relation in Shanghai Chinese tone perception?

In Shanghai Chinese as well as many other Wu dialects, breathy voice is a well-documented accompaniment of the low-register tone syllables with obstruent as well as sonorant onsets. But Shanghai Chinese is rapidly changing and the breathy voice associated with low-register tones tends to disappear in young speakers' productions. In this study, we asked whether breathy voice is nevertheless still perceived and whether it pushes tone identification toward low-register tones. We conducted forced-choice tone identification tests on young native listeners of Shanghai Chinese, using low-high register tone continua-from tone T3 (23) to tone T2 (34)-imposed on base syllables with either modal or breathy voice quality, and beginning with various onset consonants. We used continua constructed from either naturally produced or synthesized syllables. Our results show that breathy voice does bias tone identification responses toward the low-register tone T3. This result held for both synthesized and natural stimuli, except for the /m/-onset stimuli derived from naturally produced syllables. We propose that the phonetic change at issue-loss of breathiness in production-is not due to misperception but reflects the ever-stronger influence of Standard Mandarin Chinese. In other words, this particular case of sound change seems to be led by production rather than perception. It remains an open question whether this kind of sound change is only determined by sociolinguistic factors (here, the dominance of Mandarin Chinese) or is independently motivated by phonetic and/or phonological factors.

The phonetic properties of the non-modal phonation in Shanghainese

This study investigates the acoustic and articulatory properties of phonation contrast in Shanghainese, the most thoroughly studied Chinese Wu dialect. Although previous studies generally suggest that the non-modal phonation associated with the lower register in Shanghainese is relatively breathier, it is unclear whether it is ‘breathy voice’, ‘slack voice’ or ‘whispery voice’. This study aims to provide a better understanding of the phonetic realization of the non-modal phonation in Shanghainese. Simultaneous audio and electroglottographic recordings were made from 52 speakers born before 1980. Both acoustic and articulatory data confirmed that the non-modal phonation in Shanghainese is produced with relatively less glottal constriction and more aperiodic noise than the modal phonation. The novel finding of this study is that aperiodic noise plays a much more important role than spectral measures (i.e. indicators of glottal constriction) in the phonetic realization of the non-modal phonation. This property is distinct from the breathier voices in Gujarati, White Hmong and Southern Yi. These results suggest that the non-modal phonation in Shanghainese should be characterized as ‘whispery voice’, which is phonetically distinct from both ‘breathy voice’ and ‘slack voice’.

On the relevance of voice quality in contact varieties

AbstractThis paper focuses on the role of voice quality variation in the system of a contact language, Afro-Yungueño Spanish, a restructured variety of Spanish spoken in the Bolivian Yungas valleys. Based on case studies of naturally occurring conversation between multiple speakers, we show that certain non-modal phonation types, in this case falsetto and breathy voice, are used to index expressiveness, intensification, or emphasis. We argue that these practices have discursive meaning that could otherwise also be encoded by means of grammatical and lexical resources, and that they are an integral part of the linguistic system of this variety. We claim that these practices may have resulted from the specific socio-historical context in which this variety evolved. This suggests that voice quality and ecological factors should not be underestimated in order to reach a more complete picture of how meaning is conveyed in apparently simplified contact languages.

Discrimination between Modal, Breathy and Pressed Voice for Single Vowels Using Neck-Surface Vibration Signals.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using neck-surface acceleration signals to discriminate between modal, breathy and pressed voice. Voice data for five English single vowels were collected from 31 female native Canadian English speakers using a portable Neck Surface Accelerometer (NSA) and a condenser microphone. Firstly, auditory-perceptual ratings were conducted by five clinically-certificated Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) to categorize voice type using the audio recordings. Intra- and inter-rater analyses were used to determine the SLPs’ reliability for the perceptual categorization task. Mixed-type samples were screened out, and congruent samples were kept for the subsequent classification task. Secondly, features such as spectral harmonics, jitter, shimmer and spectral entropy were extracted from the NSA data. Supervised learning algorithms were used to map feature vectors to voice type categories. A feature wrapper strategy was used to evaluate the contribution of each feature or feature combinations to the classification between different voice types. The results showed that the highest classification accuracy on a full set was 82.5%. The breathy voice classification accuracy was notably greater (approximately 12%) than those of the other two voice types. Shimmer and spectral entropy were the best correlated metrics for the classification accuracy.

Arytenoid vertical height discrepancy in predicting outcomes after unilateral vocal cord medialization.

Unilateral vocal fold paralysis is a structural abnormality that often occurs secondary to dysfunction of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and typically presents as a breathy voice. Medialization laryngoplasty is a constellation of procedures that improves apposition of the vocal cords. Many patients, however, fail to experience sufficient improvement in vocal quality postoperatively despite apparent glottic closure on stroboscopy. This suggests that asymmetry in other cord characteristics may also have acoustic consequences. Our hypothesis is that arytenoid height symmetry may play a significant role in vocal quality. To our knowledge there are no human observational studies examining this topic. We therefore aimed to correlate asymmetry in arytenoid height and patient-reported satisfaction in voice quality after thyroplasty. Retrospective cohort analysis. A retrospective review of prospectively collected data on consecutive patients who underwent medialization thyroplasty at a tertiary Sydney, Australia hospital was performed. Data collected included age, sex, onset of symptoms, as well as well as preoperative and 3-month postoperative maximum phonation time and Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Preoperative computed tomography scans were assessed for discrepancy of arytenoid vertical height discrepancy. Twenty-three patients (56.5% female) with mean age of 52.4 ± 14.9 years were included. Most patients underwent injection thyroplasty (78.3%, n = 5), whereas the remaining underwent an open approach. A statistically significant inverse correlation was found between increasing height discrepancy and VHI improvement (r = -0.6, P = .003.) Revision surgery was associated with increased height discrepancy. Findings of this study may affect future recommendations to address height discrepancy in surgery to treat unilateral vocal cord paralysis. 3 Laryngoscope, 130:418-422, 2020.

Implant location in type 1 thyroplasty for unilateral vocal fold paralysis: Measurements from excised canine larynges

Patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) complain of a soft breathy voice that is hard to understand. Thyroplasty Type 1 (TT1), the most common surgical intervention for UVFP, uses an implant to push over the membranous fold. There remains controversy regarding TT1 procedures. Questions include the optimal shape and size for the implant, where to place the implant and whether an arytenoid adduction should be added. Despite several studies, no optimal technique has been found, and the revision rate has reported to be as high as 12%–25%. This study aims to understand the impact of implant location on vocal fold vibration. TT1 procedures were performed on excised canine larynges using silastica implants placed either at the glottis or just below the glottis to medialize the folds. Larynges were then made to phonate at various subglottal pressures (Psg), and measurements were taken of the acoustics, supplied flow rate, and Psg. From these measurements, the glottal efficiency was calculated, and the acoustic signal was analyzed to determine the quality of the sound source. On average, larnges medialized in the subglottis had higher glottal efficiency and cepstral peak prominence than those medialized at the glottis, indicating that lower implant location is preferable.Patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) complain of a soft breathy voice that is hard to understand. Thyroplasty Type 1 (TT1), the most common surgical intervention for UVFP, uses an implant to push over the membranous fold. There remains controversy regarding TT1 procedures. Questions include the optimal shape and size for the implant, where to place the implant and whether an arytenoid adduction should be added. Despite several studies, no optimal technique has been found, and the revision rate has reported to be as high as 12%–25%. This study aims to understand the impact of implant location on vocal fold vibration. TT1 procedures were performed on excised canine larynges using silastica implants placed either at the glottis or just below the glottis to medialize the folds. Larynges were then made to phonate at various subglottal pressures (Psg), and measurements were taken of the acoustics, supplied flow rate, and Psg. From these measurements, the glottal efficiency was calculated, and th...

Acoustic correlates of breathy sonorants in Marathi

Breathy voiced sonorant consonants are typologically rare, more so than other non-modal sonorants (e.g. voiceless sonorants, which are widely attested in language families like Tibeto-Burman and Otomanguean). Similarly, they are more vulnerable to diachronic loss than voiceless sonorants (e.g. in Tibeto-Burman). The acoustic correlates of breathiness in sonorants have not been thoroughly investigated, and a question arises as to whether there is a tie between their acoustics and their typology: does the acoustic encoding of breathiness in sonorants contribute to their typological scarcity? The current study probes this question via instrumental acoustic analysis of breathy and modal obstruents and sonorants in Marathi, an Indic language. Measures standardly used to assess voice quality (F0, H1*-H2*, H1*-A1*, H1*-A2*, H1*-A3*, and Cepstral Peak Prominence) are reported. As expected, breathy voiced obstruents are associated with increased values in the H1-based measures and decreased values in Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPP), a measure which reflects the presence of noise in the signal. Sonorants show the same general trend, with higher H1-based measures and lower CPP associated with breathy than with plain sonorants, but the differences between plain and breathy consonants is greater in obstruents than in sonorants. Specifically, the acoustic correlates of breathy voice are diminished in post-sonorant contexts. It is proposed that phonemic breathy voice is not acoustically encoded as robustly in sonorant consonants as in obstruents, and that this helps explain the typology.

Multi-disciplinary clinical protocol for the diagnosis of bulbar amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Introduction and objectivesThe objective of this study was to examine the role of different specialists in the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), to understand changes in verbal expression and phonation, respiratory dynamics and swallowing that occurred rapidly over a short period of time. Materials and methods22 patients with bulbar ALS were submitted for voice assessment, ENT evaluation, Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP), spectrogram, electroglottography, fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing. ResultsIn the early stage of the disease, the oral tract and velopharyngeal port were involved. Three months after the initial symptoms, most of the patients presented hoarseness, breathy voice, dysarthria, pitch modulation problems and difficulties in pronunciation of explosive, velar and lingual consonants. Values of MDVP were altered. Spectrogram showed an additional formant, due to nasal resonance. Electroglottography showed periodic oscillation of the vocal folds only during short vocal cycle. Swallowing was characterized by weakness and incoordination of oro-pharyngeal muscles with penetration or aspiration. ConclusionsA specific multidisciplinary clinical protocol was designed to report vocal parameters and swallowing disorders that changed more quickly in bulbar ALS patients. Furthermore, the patients were stratified according to involvement of pharyngeal structures, and severity index.

The Prosody of Rhetorical and Information-Seeking Questions in German.

This paper reports on the prosody of rhetorical questions (RQs) and information-seeking questions (ISQs) in German for two question types-polar questions and constituent questions (henceforth "wh-questions"). The results are as follows: Phonologically, polar RQs were mainly realized with H-% (high plateau), while polar ISQs mostly ended in H-^H% (high-rise). Wh-RQs almost exclusively terminated in a low edge tone, whereas wh-ISQs allowed for more tonal variation (L-%, L-H%, H-^H%). Irrespective of question type, RQs were mainly produced with L*+H accents. Phonetically, RQs were more often realized with breathy voice quality than ISQs, in particular in the beginning of the interrogative. Furthermore, they were produced with longer constituent durations than ISQs, in particular at the end of the interrogative. While the difference between RQs and ISQs is reflected in the intonational terminus of the utterance, this does not happen in the way suggested in the semantic literature, and in addition, accent type and phonetic parameters also play a role. Crucially, a simple distinction between rising and falling intonation is insufficient to capture the realization of the different illocution types (RQs, ISQs), against frequent claims in the semantic and pragmatic literature. We suggest alternative ways to interpret the findings.

Comparison of Maximum Oxygen Uptake and Rating Perceived Exertion in Woman's Kabaddi Athletes (Without Breathy Voice to Severe Breathy Voice)

There is limited research on voice problems of athletes, especially Kabaddi athletes who use their voice during Kabaddi exercises and may damage their vocal folds and impair their voice quality. The present study aimed to compare maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) and rating perceived exertion (RPE) in Woman's Kabaddi athletes without breathy voice (BV) to severe BV. Seventy woman's Kabaddi athletes (mean age of 20.5 ± 2.7 years, height of 163 ± 3.6 cm, weight of 61.4 ± 5.4 kg) at the club and national team level (without BV to severe BV) were compared in this study. Data were collected by imaging the larynx by a stroboscopic device (there is gap and asymmetry between vocal folds, presence of mass on vocal folds, muscle tension dysphonia, hoarseness, and harshness), evaluating the voice parameters by Vocal Assessment software (mean F0 (Hz), F0SD (Hz), jitter (%), shimmer (%), Normal Noise Energy (NNE) (dB)), and calculating VO2max by Bruce treadmill test. RPE was calculated by a 15-point (6-20) Borg test. The results showed that 39 (55.17%) subjects had moderate and high BV symptoms and 31 (44.28%) had no symptoms of BV and low BV. The mean fundamental frequency in the group with moderate and severe BV was equal to 2.59 Hz opposite the mean fundamental frequency in the group without BV and low BV was equal to 0.65 Hz, and in contrast, the jitter (0.47%) opposite (0.19%) and the shimmer was equal to (6.64%) opposite (0.67%) and the NNE was equal to (-3.08 dB) In front of (-11.95 dB). There was no significant difference between VO2max in two groups of Woman's Kabaddi athletes as well as RPE in two groups of Woman's Kabaddi athletes at significant level of P ≤ 0.05. Severe BV is affected by voice abuse. Voice abuse during Kabaddi is negatively affecting the quality of voice. After Kabaddi sport, athletes are complained from obstruction, hoarseness, and harshness due to disturbances in vocal folds and throat dryness. According to the data obtained from this study, abuse has a negative effect on vocal folds, which is followed by BV in various degrees in Kabaddi athletes.

Tonal development and voice quality in the stops of Seoul Korean

Korean stops are currently undergoing a tonogenetic sound change, as found in the Seoul dialect in which a merged VOT of aspirated and lax stops induces F0 to be the primary cue for distinguishing the two stops and the lax stops have lower F0 than the aspirated stops. In tonal languages, low tone is produced with a breathy voice. This study investigated whether there are changes in voice quality with respect to the tonogenetic sound change of Korean stops. Two age groups speaking the Seoul dialect participated in this study: five females and six males born in the 1940s and 1950s and nine females and eight males born in the 1980s and 1990s. This study replicated previous findings of VOT and F0 and further examined H1-H2, H1-A1, and H1-A2 to see how they correlate with the sound change. In the older and younger generations, H1-H2, H1-A1, and H1-A2 were significantly lower after the tense stops than after the aspirated and lax stops, but they were not significantly different after the aspirated and lax stops. However, the younger females exhibited some different results for H1-H2 and H1-A2 than the older generation. In the younger females, the H1-H2 mean was higher after the aspirated stops than it was after the lax stops at the vowel onset, and the H1-H2 difference increased at the vowel midpoint. Although there was an inter-speaker variation in the results of H1-H2 and H1-A1, analyses of individual speakers showed that the H1-H2 and H1-A1 were higher after the lax stops than after the aspirated stops in the younger female speakers. These results indicate that lax stops tend to be breathier than aspirated stops in the younger female speakers. They also indicate that changes in voice quality are on Korean stops with tonal sound change, but are still developing.

Tonal development and voice quality in the stops of Seoul Korean

Korean stops are currently undergoing a tonogenetic sound change, as found in the Seoul dialect in which a merged VOT of aspirated and lax stops induces F0 to be the primary cue for distinguishing the two stops and the lax stops have lower F0 than the aspirated stops. In tonal languages, low tone is produced with a breathy voice. This study investigated whether there are changes in voice quality with respect to the tonogenetic sound change of Korean stops. Two age groups speaking the Seoul dialect participated in this study: five females and six males born in the 1940s and 1950s and nine females and eight males born in the 1980s and 1990s. This study replicated previous findings of VOT and F0 and further examined H1-H2, H1-A1, and H1-A2 to see how they correlate with the sound change. In the older and younger generations, H1-H2, H1-A1, and H1-A2 were significantly lower after the tense stops than after the aspirated and lax stops, but they were not significantly different after the aspirated and lax stops. However, the younger females exhibited some different results for H1-H2 and H1-A2 than the older generation. In the younger females, the H1-H2 mean was higher after the aspirated stops than it was after the lax stops at the vowel onset, and the H1-H2 difference increased at the vowel midpoint. Although there was an inter-speaker variation in the results of H1-H2 and H1-A1, analyses of individual speakers showed that the H1-H2 and H1-A1 were higher after the lax stops than after the aspirated stops in the younger female speakers. These results indicate that lax stops tend to be breathier than aspirated stops in the younger female speakers. They also indicate that changes in voice quality are on Korean stops with tonal sound change, but are still developing.

Classifying females\u2019 stressed and neutral voices using acoustic\u2013phonetic analysis of vowels: an exploratory investigation with emergency calls

In the present exploratory study, we investigated acoustic–phonetic measures of spoken vowels for detection of female speech under conditions of stress. Eight authentic recorded calls to emergency services received from eight Finnish adult female speakers were chosen for the analysis. Based on the purpose of the call, the recordings were divided into two groups: the stressed group and the neutral group. We chose f0, H1–H2 and centre of gravity as acoustic–phonetic predictors for our final classification models; In previous studies, high f0 has been associated with a stressed voice, but H1–H2 and centre of gravity have not previously been related to speech under stress. On the other hand, H1–H2 has been used to detect non-modal voice qualities, such as a creaky or breathy voice, and similar voice qualities have been observed in stressed speech. Furthermore, indications exist that in speech under stress, acoustic energy is concentrated in higher frequencies, which consequently increases the centre of gravity. We tested stress detection accuracy with three statistical classifiers: LDA, logistic regression and decision tree. Our results indicated that all the models performed better when they were trained using only the vowel /i/ rather than training them with all Finnish vowels. The use of our best performing model, a logistic regression model based on /i/, yielded 88% correct classification, whereas a logistic regression model trained with all vowels achieved an accuracy of only 81%. We conclude that the results indicate a good stress classification accuracy, although further research with more extensive data is required.

A Two-Stage Cepstral Analysis Procedure for the Classification of Rough Voices

The objective of this study was to investigate the ability of a two-stage method of cepstral peak identification to effectively discriminate rough vs breathy vs typical voice in sustained vowel productions. It was hypothesized that a dual-stage search for cepstral peak prominences (CPP's) above and below specified quefrency/F0 cutoffs would result in a CPP difference that would be characteristic of the rough, diplophonic voice type. Central one-second portions of sustained vowel /a/ productions were obtained from 90 subjects (rough, breathy, and normophonic voices). All voice samples were analyzed using a a two-stage cepstral analysis process in which a CPPHigh-Low difference value was obtained by identifying cepstral peaks above and below a lower limit for expected F0 (150Hz for females and 90Hz for males), called CPPHigh and CPPLow respectively. The CPPHigh-Low difference value was observed to be a highly significant predictor, with negative values for this parameter characteristic of a dominant subharmonic in the voice signal and the perception of diplophonic, rough voice. Correct classification of rough vs nonrough voice samples was 82.2% (sensitivity 0.80 and specificity 0.833). In the consideration of three group classification (breathy vs. normophonic vs. rough), models incorporating two predictors (the CPP obtained from a single search through a 60 to 300Hz frequency range (CPPDefault) and the CPPHigh-Low difference value) correctly classified 78.88% of the voice samples. Rough, diplophonic voices were consistently observed to have a subharmonic peak that was greater in amplitude than the cepstral peak obtained within the region of the expected F0, resulting in a negative value for the CPPHigh-Low difference. The two-stage cepstral analysis process described herein is visually intuitive from the graphical display of a cepstrum and is a simple extended calculation derived from cepstral analysis procedures that have been recommended as essential in the acoustic description of vocal quality.

Surgical Treatment Modalities for Iatrogenic Anterior Glottic Stenosis.

The aim of this study was to describe common iatrogenic causes of anterior glottic stenosis and to investigate the surgical treatment outcomes of 3 different techniques aimed at repairing stenoses and preventing web reformation. Clinical information regarding patient demographics, presentation, etiology, treatment, and follow-up outcomes was obtained retrospectively through a review of patients' records between April 2010 and April 2017. Voice quality was evaluated using grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain scale and Voice Handicap Index scores. Objective acoustic parameters were collected using the Kay Elemetrics Multi-Speech program. Twenty patients were included in the study. Causes of glottic web formation included chemoradiation therapy and previous laryngeal surgery for polyps or malignant tumors at the anterior commissure. Web lysis with a CO2 laser, intralaryngeal suturing, and keel placement were used in surgical treatment. Satisfactory results were achieved in 19 patients, and 1 recurrence was observed. Grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain scale and Voice Handicap Index scores and objective voice variables for patients with Cohen type I or II webs improved significantly after the surgery. Treatment modalities for anterior glottic stenosis should be carefully chosen according to the etiology of the web, as well as the length and depth of the glottis involved.

Vocal changes across disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of muscle strength and function. The speech systems (respiratory, phonatory, velopharyngeal, and articulatory) are frequently affected, causing speech and swallowing impairments. Changes to voice production are often reported. These changes include altered fundamental frequency, phonatory instability, and the development of breathy or harsh voice quality (see Green et al., 2013 for review). While acoustic studies of speakers with ALS have demonstrated voice dysfunction, the findings have been variable in the type and direction of change across individual speakers. The current investigation seeks to further explicate vocal dysfunction and change in ALS by exploring promising acoustic phonatory measures across disease progression. Participants with and without ALS were audiorecorded at multiple time points while producing sustained vowels and connected speech. Acoustic analyses include traditional phonatory measures extracted from vowel prolongations (fundamental frequency, jitter, and shimmer) and newer measures of phonation across connected speech (e.g., cepstral peak prominence). Voice metrics are compared between speaker groups and across time points. It is anticipated that the findings will support the development of valid and reliable measures to mark disease onset and progression, thereby facilitating intervention and mitigating the devastating impact of ALS.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of muscle strength and function. The speech systems (respiratory, phonatory, velopharyngeal, and articulatory) are frequently affected, causing speech and swallowing impairments. Changes to voice production are often reported. These changes include altered fundamental frequency, phonatory instability, and the development of breathy or harsh voice quality (see Green et al., 2013 for review). While acoustic studies of speakers with ALS have demonstrated voice dysfunction, the findings have been variable in the type and direction of change across individual speakers. The current investigation seeks to further explicate vocal dysfunction and change in ALS by exploring promising acoustic phonatory measures across disease progression. Participants with and without ALS were audiorecorded at multiple time points while producing sustained vowels and connected speech. Acoustic analyses include traditional phonatory measures ext...

Adult imitating child speech: A case study using 3D ultrasound

Voice actors are interesting for linguistic study because of their unique abilities to manipulate their vocal tract and convey different social identities. This is essentially a field of professional folk linguistics where professionals manipulate their vocal tracts to convey socially indexed, linguistic features. This study uses Ultrasound paired with acoustic analyses to address what one amateur voice actor does while imitating a child voice. Previous studies have looked at anatomical and acoustic variations defining different character types such as laryngeal setting (Teshigawara, 2003; Teshigawara & Murano, 2004) and breathy voice in Anime (Starr, 2015). This study addresses specific tongue morphology resulting from an adult imitating a child’s voice and serves as a pilot for future study of professional actors. The participant is one adult, amateur actor who produced CV syllables at different places of articulation with different vowel qualities. Notable manipulations are hyoid bone raising, gesture fronting, and tongue “troughing” where the sides of the tongue are used to narrow the oral cavity. The actor constricts the filter in multiple ways to shrink the usable space in the oral cavity and imitate the acoustic signal from a child’s vocal tract. This presentation explores the anatomical manipulations the actor utilizes.