Acoustic changes in consonant production with a face maska)

Face masks are widely employed for personal protection in the post-Covid era. However, their impact on consonant production remains unclear. As a part of a series of investigations into the effects of wearing face masks, the present study aims to acoustically examine the effects of face masks on consonant production. Speech signals, including six plosives (/p, pʰ, t, tʰ, k, kʰ/) and three fricatives (/f, s, ɕ/) in Mandarin under masked and unmasked conditions, were segmented from continuous speech and measured. Acoustic measurements, including temporal and spectral parameters, were employed. Significant alterations were observed in the acoustic measures associated with the masked condition compared to the unmasked condition, encompassing reduced closure durations for plosives, and reduced durations and spectral peak locations for fricatives. In addition, changes were observed in the center of gravity, variance, skewness, and kurtosis for both plosives and fricatives. However, the voice onset time for plosives did not exhibit a statistically significant change. Similar patterns with varying degrees of change were observed between men and women. Wearing a face mask substantially influences consonant production, potentially diminishing the audibility of these sounds and highlighting the necessity for compensatory strategies in contexts requiring clear oral communication.