A perceptual study of the voicing feature of stop consonants after type II and III laser cordectomies

This article deals with the intelligibility of stop consonants in onset position (initial and intervocalic) as pronounced by 10 French speakers treated by a type II or III cordectomy. These surgeries cause a less efficient glottal closure and a vibratory asymmetry. The voicing contrast in consonants may be altered. The patients' vocal samples were made up of non-words of the CVCVCVC type, where C = /p, t, k, b, d, g/ and V = /a, i, u/(n = 360), and were given to 22 French listeners for evaluation. Two identification tests were created and the listeners were asked to choose the consonants they thought they recognized (n = 7920). The results were presented in the form of a confusion matrix highlighting possible confusions of voicing and/or places of articulation. We showed high identification rates of consonants, which revealed an intact voicing contrast in this dysphonic population.