AJSLP Papers in Press
Published online December 23, 2008
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 2008; doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2008/08-0025)

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 2009;18:162.

This Article
Right arrow Full Text ([PDF])
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow My Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Watson, P. J.
Right arrow Articles by Schlauch, R. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Watson, P. J.
Right arrow Articles by Schlauch, R. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Delicious   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Article

Fundamental frequency variation with an electrolarynx improves speech understanding: A case study

Peter J. Watson
Robert S. Schlauch
Peter J. Watson, Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, 164 Pillsbury Drive, Shevlin 115, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, pjwatson{at}umn.edu

Purpose: This study examined the effect of fundamental frequency (F0) variation on the intelligibility of speech in an alaryngeal talker who used an electrolarynx (EL).

Method: One experienced alaryngeal talker produced variable F0 and a constant F0 with his EL as he read sentences aloud. As a control, a group of sentences with variable F0 was flattened at a constant F0. Twenty listeners heard these sentences in background noise and wrote down what they heard.

Results: Speech understanding was on average 14% better with variable F0 controlled by the talker than the sentences produced with a constant F0, and the control sentences resynthesized with flattened F0.

Conclusions: Variable F0 contributes to speech understanding in noise. Because speech produced by an EL is considered to have poorer intelligibility in relation to other alaryngeal methods, training alaryngeal talkers to use variable F0 may prove to be of significant benefit for communication for those who use electrolarynges.

Key Words: intelligibility, electrolarynx, F0 variability


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Delicious Delicious   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 AJSLPHome page
K. F. Nagle, T. L. Eadie, D. R. Wright, and Y. A. Sumida
Effect of Fundamental Frequency on Judgments of Electrolaryngeal Speech
Am J Speech Lang Pathol, May 1, 2012; 21(2): 154 - 166.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]