Abstract

The current study examined the effects of three speech conditions (voiced, whispered, mouthed) on articulatory kinematics at the sentence and word level. Participants included 20 adults (10 males, 10 females) with no history of speech, language, or hearing disorders. Participants read aloud six target utterances in the three different speaking conditions while articulatory kinematics were measured using the NDI Wave electromagnetic articulograph. The following articulators were examined: mid tongue, front of tongue, jaw, lower lip, and upper lip. One of the target utterances was chosen for analysis (It's time to shop for two new suits) at the sentence level and then further segmented for more detailed analysis of the word time. Results revealed a number of significant changes between the voiced and mouthed conditions for all articulators at the sentence level. Significant increases in sentence duration, articulatory stroke count, and stroke duration as well as significant decreases in peak stroke speed, stroke distance, and hull volume were found in the mouthed condition at the sentence level when compared to the voiced condition. Peak velocity significantly decreased in the mouthed condition at the word level, but overall the sentence level measures were more sensitive to change. These findings suggest that both laryngeal activation and auditory feedback may be necessary in the production of normally articulate speech, and that the absence of these may account for the significant changes between the voiced and mouthed conditions.

Degree

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Communication Disorders

Rights

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