Abstract

This study examined the effects of laryngeal activity on articulation by comparing the articulatory kinematics of the /i/ and /u/ vowels produced in different speaking conditions (loud, comfortable, soft and whisper). Participants included 10 males and 10 females with no history of communication disorders. The participants read six stimulus sentences in loud, comfortable, soft and whispered conditions. An electromagnetic articulograph was used to track the articulatory movements. The experimenters selected the sentence We do agree the loud noise is annoying from the other utterances and the words we do agree were segmented from the sentence. We do agree was chosen because of the tongue and lip movements associated with the retracted and rounded vowels. Results reveal the soft condition generally has smaller and slower articulatory movements than the comfortable condition, whereas the whispered condition shows an increase in size and the loud condition shows the greatest increase in both size and speed compared to the comfortable condition. The increase in the size of the movements in whispered speech may be due to unfamiliarity as well as a decrease in auditory feedback that requires the speaker to rely more on tactile feedback. These findings suggest that adjusting laryngeal activity by speaking more loudly or softly influences articulation; this may be useful in treating both voice and articulation impairments.

Degree

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Communication Disorders

Rights

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