Phonetics and Speech Sciences (말소리와 음성과학)

Korean Society of Speech Sciences (한국음성학회)
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Acoustic characteristics of speech-language pathologists related to their subjective vocal fatigue

언어재활사의 주관적 음성피로도와 관련된 음향적 특성

  • Jeon, Hyewon (Department of Speech-Language Pathology, Chungnam National University) ;
  • Kim, Jiyoun (Department of Speech-Language Therapy & Aural Rehabilitation, Woosong University) ;
  • Seong, Cheoljae (Department of Linguistics, Chungnam National University)
  • 전혜원 (충남대학교 언어병리학과) ;
  • 김지연 (우송대학교 언어치료.청각재활학과) ;
  • 성철재 (충남대학교 언어학과)
  • Received : 2022.08.09
  • Accepted : 2022.08.30
  • Published : 2022.09.30
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Abstract

In addition to administering a questionnaire (J-survey), which questions individuals on subjective vocal fatigue, voice samples were collected before and after speech-language pathology sessions from 50 female speech-language pathologists in their 20s and 30s in the Daejeon and Chungnam areas. We identified significant differences in Korean Vocal Fatigue Index scores between the fatigue and non-fatigue groups, with the most prominent differences in sections one and two. Regarding acoustic phonetic characteristics, both groups showed a pattern in which low-frequency band energy was relatively low, and high-frequency band energy was increased after the treatment sessions. This trend was well reflected in the low-to-high ratio of vowels, slope LTAS, energy in the third formant, and energy in the 4,000-8,000 Hz range. A difference between the groups was observed only in the vowel energy of the low-frequency band (0-4,000 Hz) before treatment, with the non-fatigue group having a higher value than the fatigue group. This characteristic could be interpreted as a result of voice abuse and higher muscle tonus caused by long-term voice work. The perturbation parameter and shimmer local was lowered in the non-fatigue group after treatment, and the noise-to-harmonics ratio (NHR) was lowered in both groups following treatment. The decrease in NHR and the fall of shimmer local could be attributed to vocal cord hypertension, but it could be concluded that the effective voice use of speech-language pathologists also contributed to this effect, especially in the non-fatigue group. In the case of the non-fatigue group, the rhamonics-to-noise ratio increased significantly after treatment, indicating that the harmonic structure was more stable after treatment.

대전·충남지역 20-30대 여성 언어재활사 50명을 대상으로 주관적 음성 피로도 설문과 더불어 하루 4회기를 기준으로 언어치료 전/후 음성 샘플 수집을 하였다. 연구 결과, Korean Vocal Fatigue Index의 음성 피로로 인한 음성 사용회피 항목과 음성 사용으로 인한 신체 피로 항목에서 피로 집단과 피로 없는 집단 간 유의한 차이가 있었다. 두 집단의 음향음성학적 특성과 관련하여, 두 집단 모두 치료 후 저주파 대역 에너지가 상대적으로 낮아지고 고주파 대역 에너지가 상승하는 패턴을 보였다. 이러한 특징이 분산분석 결과, 주 효과로 나타난 low to high-ratio[t1(time.1)>t2(time.2)], slope_ltas(t2>t1), 3rd formant's energy(t1>t2), high energy(t2>t1) 등에 잘 반영되어 있다. 집단 간 차이는 음향변수들 중 치료 전 모음 연장발성 스펙트럼 저주파 대역의 에너지인 low energy에서만 관찰되었고 피로 없는 집단의 값이 더 컸다(no.fatigue>fatigue in t1). 음향변수에서의 이러한 특징과 더불어 치료 세션 후 피로 없는 집단의 연결발화에서의 왜도 증가는 장시간의 목소리 노동으로 인한 성대 과긴장(higher muscle tonus)과 목소리 남용 때문으로 해석할 수 있다. 섭동변수 shimmer_local은 피로 없는 집단이 언어치료 후 낮아졌고(t1>t2), 켑스트럼 변수인 RNR(rhamonics to noise ratio)은 언어치료 후 값이 높아졌다(t2>t1). NHR(noise to harmonic ratio)은 두 집단 모두 치료 후 낮아졌다. NHR의 감소와 shimmer_local의 하강은 치료 세션을 진행하면서 발성 과정이 안정화되었거나 혹은 전문 지식이 있는 언어재활사(특히 피로 없는 집단)들의 효율적 목소리 사용이 기여했다고 결론지을 수 있다. 피로 없는 집단의 경우는 치료 후에 RNR값이 유의하게 커졌으므로 치료 후 오히려 조화음(harmonic) 구조가 더 안정되었다고도 말할 수 있을 것이다.

Keywords

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