Voice scientists and clinicians have sought obtaining two types of information through acoustic analysis of voice signals. First, this could reveal information regarding the underlying physiological events that result in that voice. Second, acoustic analysis may predict how that voice may be perceived. Unfortunately, acoustic measures have not achieved either of these goals satisfactorily. Acoustics measures have proven inconsistent predictors of voice percept and there is insufficient evidence regarding their physiological validity. This workshop will discuss the underlying reasons for these difficulties and highlight current research being conducted in two laboratories.
The Voice and Speech Lab at the University of South Carolina developed tools for high-speed videoendoscopy with improved temporal and spatial resolution relating physiologic to acoustic measures. Preliminary findings show that: (1) prevalence of jitter relates mainly to glottal width irregularities rather than, as commonly thought, glottal period irregularities, (2) acoustic perturbation models should account for phase distortions, not only frequency and amplitude modulations.
The Voice Acoustics and Perception Laboratory at the University of Florida develops acoustic measures of voice perception. The relationship between the acoustic signal and its percept is addressed through an auditory processing model, which is validated against perceptual data obtained using methods based on psychophysical theories. Findings show that: (1) listeners are capable of judging voice quality at the ratio level of measurement, (2) breathiness appears related to the masked loudness of the harmonic components, and (3) roughness appears to be related to the low frequency modulations in amplitude and fundamental frequency in the vowel.
*Department of Communication Science and Disorders
Universityof Florida
Dauer Hall, Room 48 GainesvilleFL 32611, USA
Tel: (352) 392-2113 (ext. 230) Fax: (352) 392-6170
rahul@csd.ufl.edu
**Communication Sciences and Disorders
Universityof South Carolina
1621 Greene Street, 6th floor
Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Tel: (803) 777-2245 Fax: (803) 777-3081
ddeliyski@sc.edu