Fricative Spectra in Normal and Hearing Impaired Children with Cochlear Implant

Coimbra, Jesus and Couto (2011)

International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 75(S1), 33

Aim: Speech production in 25 dissyllabic words was analysed. Parameters previously developed as a potential tool for the classification of fricatives produced in natural speech were used to compare speech production mechanisms in four deaf children with cochlear implant and four normal listeners (age and gender matched). Material and Methods: Acoustic and EGG signals were recorded simultaneously for the fricatives /f, s, S, v, z, Z/. The fricative spectral slope was investigated by fitting the spectra with two linear regression lines. Results: Spectral slope parameters behaved similarly for both groups regarding changes in place and sibilance. However, voicing predictions (unvoiced fricatives possess a more intense sound source and therefore have higher spectral slope values) were only present in normal hearing children. Conclusions: Results showed the individual capabilities of deaf children with cochlear implant to correctly produce place and sibilance, and deviant (regarding voicing mechanisms) voiced fricative production.

CoimbraJesusCouto2011a_ppt.pdf - Oral presentation (PDFCreator 1.2.1 (Ghostscript 9.02) file)


Last updated 27/4/2012
lmtj@ua.pt
Luís Miguel Teixeira de Jesus

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