Abstract

Voice-onset time (VOT) was measured in plosive-initial syllables uttered by five cochlear implant users prior to and repeatedly at intervals after activation of their speech processors. In "short-term" experiments, the elicitation set was read after the subject's processor had been off for 24 h, then turned on, then off again. Four out of five implant users increased voiceless and/or voiced VOTc (VOT corrected for changes in syllable duration) from preimplant baselines to final recordings made 1–3 years later. Measured acoustic correlates of speech "posture" (average SPL, F0, and low-frequency spectral slope) changed concurrently. Results in the short-term study were largely consistent with the long term. Significant multiple regressions relating changes in VOTc to accompanying changes in postural correlates were found in both studies. This outcome is consistent with hypotheses that predict changes in both VOTc and in postural correlates with the restoration of some hearing and that allow for linkages between the two. Some of the reliable VOTc increases obtained over the long term that were not correlated with postural changes may have been caused directly by auditory validation of articulatory/acoustic relations that underlie synergisms for phoneme production.

Notes

The following article appeared in J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 98, Issue 6, pp. 3096-3106 (December 1995) and may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.413798

Keywords

auditory organs, feedback, tongue, hearing impairment, speech production, regression analysis, vocal tract, vowels

Subject Categories

Speech, Hearing, Voice, Cochlear implants

Disciplines

Psychology | Speech and Hearing Science

Publisher

Acoustical Society of America

Publication Date

12-1-1995

Rights Information

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the Acoustical Society of America.

Rights Holder

©1995 Acoustical Society of America


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