• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.67-76
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• 2021

Nanta means "tapping" using percussion instruments such as drums, which is the rhythm of Samulnori, a tradtional Korean music. Nanta speech rhythm intervention program was developed and applied for the children with limited speech sound production and investigated its effect. Nanta program provided audible stimulation, various sound loudness and beats, and rhythms. Nanta program consists of three stages : Respiration, phonation and articulation with the rhythm. Six children with language development delay participated in this study. Children were encouraged to explore sounds and beats and freely express sounds and beats. Along with the rhythm, children also were encouraged to produce speech sounds by increasing the length of syllables in mimetic and imitating words. A total of 15 sessions were conducted twice a week for 40 minutes per session. For exploring the effectiveness, raw scores from preschool receptive-expressive scales (PRES) and receptive-expressive vocabulary test (REVT) were obtained and compared before and after therapy. The results demonstrated that significantly improved receptive (p=.027) and expressive language scores (p=.024) in PRES and receptive (p=.028) and expressive (p=.028) vocabulary scores following intervention using Wilcoxon signed-rank test.These findings suggest that the nanta rhythm program can be useful for improving language development and vocabulary in children with limited speech sound production.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.61-69
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• 2023

Sulcus vocalis is characterized by incomplete closure of the vocal folds, with a high mean airflow rate (MFR) as a distinctive feature. The MFR is measured using two aerodynamic analysis methods [the maximum sustained phonation protocol (MXPH) and voicing efficiency protocol (VOEF)] of the phonatory aerodynamic system (PAS), and the results may vary depending on the method. This study compared the differences in MFR before and after treatment (microsurgery and voice therapy) according to the MXPH and VOEF of the PAS in 30 patients with sulcus vocalis. Additionally, we examined whether there were differences in the subjective voice evaluation (voice handicap index, VHI), perceptual voice evaluation (GRBS), and fundamental frequency (F0) before and after treatment. The results showed significant differences between the two methods, both before and after treatment, in patients with sulcus vocalis. However, there were no significant differences by methods in the changes before and after treatment. The VHI and GRBS scores significantly decreased after treatment; however, F0 showed no significant differences before and after treatment. This study indicates that when evaluating MFR changes in patients with sulcus vocalis, it is acceptable to use either aerodynamic analysis (MXPH or VOEF).

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.45-51
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• 2023

Voice issues such as voice weakness that arise with age can have social and emotional impacts, potentially leading to feelings of isolation and depression. This study aimed to investigate the changes in acoustic characteristics resulting from aging, focusing on voice quality and spoken fluency. To this end, tasks involving sustained vowel phonation and paragraph reading were recorded for 20 elderly and 20 young participants. Voice-quality-related variables, including F0, jitter, shimmer, and Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPP) values, were analyzed along with speech-fluency-related variables, such as average syllable duration (ASD), articulation rate (AR), and speech rate (SR). The results showed that in voice quality-related measurements, F0 was higher for the elderly and voice quality was diminished, as indicated by increased jitter, shimmer, and lower CPP levels. Speech fluency analysis also demonstrated that the elderly spoke more slowly, as indicated by all ASD, AR, and SR measurements. Correlation analysis between voice quality and speech fluency showed a significant relationship between shimmer and CPP values and between ASD and SR values. This suggests that changes in spoken fluency can be identified early by measuring the variations in voice quality. This study further highlights the reciprocal relationship between voice quality and spoken fluency, emphasizing that deterioration in one can affect the other.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.122-128
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• 2007

This study aims to analyze the voices of the patients with voice disorders including vocal fold paralysis, vocal fold cyst and vocal nodule/polyp in the aspect of acoustic phonetics. This study intends to collect subsidiary acoustic data in order to make a speech treatment and an standardization of vocal disorders. Subjects and Methods: The subjects of this study were 64 adult patients who underwent indirect laryngoscopy and laryngostroboscopy, and were diagnosed as vocal fold paralysis, vocal fold cyst or vocal nodule/polyp. Experimental group consisted of 20 patients who were diagnosed as vocal fold paralysis, 21 patients who were diagnosed as vocal fold cyst and had the average age of 42.0 $({\pm}10.03)$ ; and 23 patients who were diagnosed as vocal nodule/polyp and had the average age of 40.9 $({\pm}13.75)$. For the methodology of this study, the patients listed above were asked to sit in a comfortable position at intervals of 10cm apart from the patient's mouth and a microphone, and subsequently to phonate a vowel sound /e/ for the maximum phonation time with natural tone and vocal volume then the sound was directly inputted on a computer. During recording, sampling rate was set to 44,100Hz and the 1-second area corresponding to stable zone except the first and the last stage of waveform of the vowel sound /e/ vocalized by the individual patients was analyzed. Results: First, there was no statistically significant difference in jitter and shimmer between vocal fold paralysis and vocal fold cyst, while there was highly statistically significant difference in them between vocal fold paralysis and vocal nodule/polyp. Second, looking into the mean values obtained from NNE, HNR and SNR results associated with noise ratio, the disease showing the most abnormal characteristics was vocal fold paralysis, followed by cyst and nodule/polyp in order. For NNE, there was statistically significant difference between vocal nodule/polyp, and cyst or paralysis. In other words, it was found that the NNE of vocal nodule/polyp was weaker than that of cyst or paralysis. Similarly, HNR and SNR also showed the same characteristics; there was statistically significant difference between vocal fold paralysis and vocal fold cyst or nodule/polyp, and HNR and SNR values of vocal fold paralysis were lower than those of vocal fold cyst or nodule/polyp. Conclusion: For vocal fold paralysis, the abnormal values of acoustic parameters associated with frequency, amplitude and noise ratio were statistically significantly higher than those of vocal fold cyst and nodule/polyp. This finding suggests that the voices of the patients with vocal fold paralysis are the most severely injured due to less stability of vocal fold movement, asymmetry and incomplete glottic closure. In addition, there was no statistically significant difference in the acoustic parameters of tremor among vocal fold paralysis, vocal fold cyst and vocal nodule/polyp. Further studies need to ascertain reasonable acoustic parameters with various vocal disorders as well as to clarify the correlation between acoustics-based objective tools and subjective evaluations.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.69-76
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• 2019

This study aimed to investigate the effects of vocal aerobic treatment (VAT) on the improvement of voice in patients with voice disorders. Twenty patients (13 males, 7 females) were diagnosed with voice disorders on the basis of videostroboscopy and voice evaluations. Acoustic evaluation was performed with the Multidimensional voice program (MDVP) and Voice Range Profile (VRP) of Computerized Speech Lab (CSL), and aerodynamic evaluation with PAS (Phonatory Aerodynamic System). The changes in F0, Jitter, Shimmer, and NHR before and after treatment were measured by MDVP. F0 range and Energy range were measured with VRP before and after treatment, and the changes in Expiratory Volume (FVC), Phonation Time (PHOT), Mean Expiratory Airflow (MEAF), Mean Peak Air Pressure (MPAP), and Aerodynamic Efficiency (AEFF) with PAS. Videostroboscopy was performed to evaluate the regularity, symmetry, mucosal wave, and amplitude changes of both vocal cords before and after treatment. Voice therapy was performed once a week for each patient using the VAT program in a holistic voice therapy approach. The average number of treatments per patient was 6.5. In the MDVP, Jitter, Shimmer, and NHR showed statistically significant decreases (p < .001, p < .01, p < .05). VRP results showed that Hz and semitones in the frequency range improved significantly after treatment (p < .01, p < .05), as did PAS, FVC, and PHOT (p < .01, p < .001). The results for videostroboscopy, functional voice disorder, laryngopharyngeal reflux, and benign vocal fold lesions were normal. Thus, the VAT program was found to be effective in improving the acoustic and aerodynamic aspects of the voice of patients with voice disorders. In future studies, the effect of VAT on the same group of voice disorders should be studied. It is also necessary to investigate subjective voice improvement and objective voice improvement. Furthermore, it is necessary to examine the effects of VAT in professional voice users.