Vocal fold kinematics and relative fundamental frequency as a function of obstruent type and speaker age

The acoustic measure, relative fundamental frequency (RFF), has been proposed as an objective metric for assessing vocal hyperfunction; however, its underlying physiological mechanisms have not yet been fully characterized. This study aimed to characterize the relationship between RFF and vocal fold kinematics. Simultaneous acoustic and high-speed videoendoscopic (HSV) recordings were collected as younger and older speakers repeated the utterances /ifi/ and /iti/. RFF values at voicing offsets and onsets surrounding the obstruents were estimated from acoustic recordings, whereas glottal angles, durations of voicing offset and onset, and a kinematic estimate of laryngeal stiffness (KS) were obtained from HSV images. No differences were found between younger and older speakers for any measure. RFF did not differ between the two obstruents at voicing offset; however, fricatives necessitated larger glottal angles and longer durations to devoice. RFF values were lower and glottal angles were greater for stops relative to fricatives at voicing onset. KS values were greater in stops relative to fricatives. The less adducted vocal folds with greater KS and lower RFF at voicing onset for stops relative to fricatives in this study were in accordance with prior speculations that decreased vocal fold contact area and increased laryngeal stiffness may decrease RFF.