Phonation offset in tracheoesophageal speech

Area of Science:

• Speech production and acoustics
• Laryngology and voice disorders
• Phonetics and speech perception

Background:

• Tracheoesophageal (TE) speech presents challenges in producing voiced-voiceless distinctions.
• Phonation offset (POff) during the transition from vowel to stop consonant may be altered in TE speakers.
• Altered POff could contribute to listener misperceptions of TE speech.

Purpose of the Study:

• Compare POff duration in TE versus laryngeal speakers.
• Compare POff in accurately perceived versus inaccurately perceived TE speech.
• Determine the perceptual saliency of POff for the voicing distinction in TE speech.

Main Methods:

• Acoustic analysis of phonation offset (POff) and offset duration as a proportion of the stop gap (%POff).
• Comparison of POff and %POff between TE and laryngeal speech samples.
• Analysis of POff and %POff in TE samples categorized by listener perception accuracy.

Main Results:

• Phonation offset (POff) and %POff were greater in TE speakers compared to laryngeal speakers.
• No significant difference in POff or %POff was found between accurately and inaccurately perceived TE speech samples.
• TE speakers may have reduced ability to halt neoglottal vibration compared to laryngeal speakers.

Conclusions:

• TE speakers exhibit longer phonation offsets than laryngeal speakers, indicating potential differences in controlling glottal vibration.
• The duration of phonation offset does not appear to be a critical factor for listeners accurately distinguishing voiced from voiceless consonants in TE speech.
• Phonation offset may not be a highly salient acoustic cue for the voicing distinction in stop consonants for TE speakers.