OBJECTIVES This study evaluates the effect of a 2-hour reading task between 70 and 75 dB(A) in 16 normophonic and 16 dysphonic female teachers with vocal nodules. METHODS Objective measurements (acoustic analysis, voice range measurements, and aerodynamic measurements) and subjective self-ratings were collected before and every 30 minutes during the reading to determine the voice evolution in...

BACKGROUND Obese people have abnormal deposition of fat in the vocal tract that can interfere with the acoustic voice. Aim : To relate the fundamental frequency, the maximum phonation time and voice complaints from a group of morbidly obese women. METHODS Observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study that included 44 morbidly obese women, mean age of 42.45 (± 10.31) years old, observat...

How and why do vocal tract resonances and articulation change when shouting? Vocal tract resonances R1 and R2, Open quotient, Fundamental frequency, voice intensity, larynx height, lip aperture and spreading were simultaneously recorded for a female native speaker of French, on 7 French vowels and for 3 different conditions of increasing vocal effort: “normally” (S1), when keeping a pitch const...

This paper explores the estimation and mapping of probability models of formant parameter vectors for voice conversion. The formant parameter vectors consist of the frequency, bandwidth and intensity of resonance at formants. Formant parameters are derived from the coefficients of a linear prediction (LP) model of speech. The formant distributions are modelled with phonemedependent two-dimensio...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the impact on voice of 2 hours of continuous oral reading. METHODS Fifty normophonic women underwent two sessions of voice loading in which the required intensity level varied: 60-65 dB(A) for the first session, and 70-75 dB(A) for the second session. Ten expert judges evaluated the breathiness of one sentence recorded before and after each loading session. Pairs of sti...

BACKGROUND Reduced vocal intensity is a core impairment of hypokinetic dysarthria in Parkinson's disease (PD). Speech treatments have been developed to rehabilitate the vocal subsystems underlying this impairment. Intensive treatment programs requiring high-intensity voice and speech exercises with clinician-guided prompting and feedback have been established as effective for improving vocal fu...

This paper reports the results of a pilot study on how intonational variables interact to determine characteristics of the voice source in English. By systematic variation of melody and voice levels within a sentence "Go from large up largest", it was possible to collect data on high and low FO levels at 5 different voice intensity levels. Voice source parameters sampled from these conditions s...

This paper reports the results of a pilot study on how intonational variables interact to determine characteristics of the voice source in English. By systematic variation of melody and voice levels within a sentence "Go from large up largest", it was possible to collect data on high and low FO levels at 5 different voice intensity levels. Voice source parameters sampled from these conditions s...

Tracheo-oesophageal voice prostheses are currently widely used following total laryngectomy. Data on maximum phonation time and spectrum have been studied by various Authors and are well known. On the contrary, intensity and fundamental frequency control have received little attention. Intensity and fundamental frequency play an important role in the prosodic aspects of speech. Fundamental freq...

Conversation partners have a tendency to adapt their vocal intensity to each other and to other social and environmental factors. A socially adequate vocal intensity level by a speech synthesiser that goes beyond mere volume adjustment is highly desirable for a rewarding and successful human-machine or machine mediated human-human interaction. This paper examines the interaction of the Lombard ...