Fundamental frequency during phonetically governed devoicing in normal young and aged speakers

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Gerontology
• Speech Science

Background:

• Age-related laryngeal changes can affect vocal pitch and variability.
• Previous studies on aging effects on fundamental frequency (F0) in connected speech show inconsistent findings.
• Short-term F0 analysis may offer more precise insights into laryngeal function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test if aged speakers exhibit a reduced F0 increase during the devoicing gesture compared to young speakers.
• To investigate age-related differences in laryngeal adjustments for voiceless obstruent production.
• To explore the role of vocal fold stiffness and abduction in age-related speech changes.

Main Methods:

• Comparing F0 measures in young and aged normal speakers.
• Analyzing F0 during the production of an intervocalic voiceless obstruent.
• Obtaining F0 data for ten cycles before voice offset and ten cycles after voice onset.

Main Results:

• Young speakers demonstrated a slight increase in F0 during the devoicing gesture.
• Aged speakers exhibited a decrease in F0 during the devoicing gesture.
• Aged speakers appear to utilize greater vocal fold abduction for devoicing, potentially with less tensing.

Conclusions:

• Aged speakers show distinct laryngeal control differences compared to young speakers during speech.
• The age-related decrease in F0 during devoicing suggests altered vocal fold dynamics.
• Laryngeal aging impacts the mechanisms used for producing voiceless sounds.