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Tone in Thai alaryngeal speech.
J Gandour1, B Weinberg, S H Petty
1Audiology and Speech Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
The Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders
|February 1, 1988
Summary
Alaryngeal speakers struggle with Thai tone perception and production. Acoustic analysis reveals differences in fundamental frequency (Fo) contours impacting intelligibility, crucial for assessing alaryngeal speech.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Acoustic Phonetics
Background:
- Thai is a tone language with five phonemic tones.
- Alaryngeal speech involves altered vocal production mechanisms.
- Understanding prosodic features in alaryngeal speech is critical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the perception and production of linguistic tone in Thai alaryngeal speakers.
- To compare tonal accuracy and confusion patterns between alaryngeal and normal Thai speakers.
- To identify acoustic correlates of impaired tone production in alaryngeal speech.
Main Methods:
- High-quality recordings of monosyllabic words from esophageal, electrolaryngeal, and normal Thai speakers.
- Perceptual analysis using phonemic identification tests.
- Acoustic analysis of fundamental frequency (Fo) contours.
Main Results:
- Alaryngeal speakers demonstrated significantly lower accuracy in tone perception and production compared to normal speakers.
- Tonal confusion patterns differed notably between alaryngeal and normal speakers.
- Specific characteristics of Fo contours in alaryngeal speech correlated with performance deficits.
Conclusions:
- Impaired Fo control significantly affects linguistic tone perception and production in Thai alaryngeal speakers.
- Factors such as language, prosody type, alaryngeal speech form, and Fo characteristics are vital for assessment.
- Further research is needed to optimize communication strategies for alaryngeal speakers in tone languages.