Nasalance and nasal area values: cross-racial study

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology
• Acoustic phonetics
• Racial variations in speech

Background:

• Nasometry is a common tool for assessing velopharyngeal function.
• Previous research has not extensively explored racial differences in nasometry and nasal airflow.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential racial differences in nasometry and nasal cross-sectional area among American English speakers.
• To compare nasalance scores and nasal airflow between African-American and white American adults.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 80 adult speakers (40 African-American, 40 white American) of the Mid-Atlantic dialect.
• Collected nasometry data using the Zoo Passage and specialized Nasal Sentences.
• Measured nasal cross-sectional area using the pressure-flow method.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in nasometry scores for the Zoo Passage between racial groups.
• Significantly higher nasalance scores for Nasal Sentences in white speakers compared to African-American speakers.
• No significant racial differences in nasal cross-sectional area; scores were weakly correlated with Nasal Sentences data.

Conclusions:

• Racial variations exist in nasometry, particularly with specific speech tasks.
• Nasal cross-sectional area does not appear to be a primary factor in observed racial differences in nasometry.
• Findings suggest potential underlying physiological or habitual differences influencing speech resonance.