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Objective: To assess the awareness about hearing loss and ear health among adults in Jordan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted where a questionnaire was filled from the month of November to the month of December of the year 2023, to assess the level of awareness about hearing loss and ear health. The participants included were Jordanian adults (age ≥ 18 years) residing in the North, Middle and South of Jordan. Results: Data from 333 participants (54.1% men) were analyzed. Participants between 18 and 28 years of age comprised 29.7% of the sample population. More than half of the participants (52.6%) held a university degree. Overall percentage of correct responses was 83%. Women, postgraduate degree holders, and participants diagnosed with hearing loss had an average of 11.96±1.47, 12.65±1.59 and 11.70±1.69 correct answers, respectively. The highest correct response received (97.6%) was for: hearing aids need to fit accurately to provide the maximum benefit. Furthermore, 97% of the sample correctly acknowledged that sudden hearing loss is an emergency and requires an immediate audiological assessment. The main misconception was that a deaf–mute cannot speak because of defects in the vocal tract, with only 39.3% of the sample providing a correct response. The other two misconceptions were: cotton buds are necessary for ear cleaning and are the safest means, and that ear drops are sufficient to treat earache, with 78.1% correct responses for each statement. Participants with higher level of education had higher odds of answering the questions correctly, with limited role observed for gender, prior diagnosis of hearing loss and a family history of hearing loss. Conclusions and relevance: Majority of the adults surveyed provided a correct answer to the hearing loss and ear health survey. While most of the sample population were aware that a sudden loss of hearing is considered an emergency, only one third knew that defects in vocal cords do not play a role in deafness/muteness. The study highlights the need of public education on causes of hearing loss and measures needed to prevent the onset of hearing loss, with emphasis on methods for caring of ear health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Traditionally, fundamental frequency increase has been viewed as largely associated with vocal fold length as a consequence of tilting the thyroid cartilage forward and downward, a so-called thyroid tilt, caused by cricothyroid muscle contraction. Recent pilot studies in singers suggest vocal fold elongation independent from fo as related to a pedagogical parameter called “phonatory density,” suggesting a further discrete mechanism of the thyroid cartilage tilt related to voice quality. This study endoscopically, EGG, acoustically, and auditory perceptually explores different vocal modes in relation to degree of phonatory density independent of changes in fo across loudness and voice quality conditions. Methods: Case-control with 20 professional singers performing sustained-vowel samples (C4 males, B4 females) for 8 different voice quality conditions with different degrees of auditory-perceptual “density” while undergoing endoscopic examination and concurrent EGG and acoustic measurement. Endoscopic vocal tract assessments were blindly rated according to a 33-item systematic assessment tool and a forced consensus paradigm. MANOVA, Spearman’s rho, and factor density were calculated at p ≤ 0.05. Auditory-perceptual assessments of 64 samples of the 8 voicing conditions were performed by 33 professional singing teachers. Fleiss’ kappa and percentage agreement were used to calculate assessor accuracy and inter-rater reliability. Results: Forward and downward thyroid tilt was related to the perceptual category of “reduced density (RD)” as the only statistically significant endoscopic assessment variable: “fuller density” conditions exhibited little to no forward visible articulation of the thyroid cartilage, whereas RD conditions exhibited visible to marked forward articulation of the thyroid cartilage across tested conditions suggesting vocal fold elongation for RD conditions while maintaining an unchanged fo with high ICC for the assessors (r = 0.70 and r = 0.94 for male/female datasets, respectively). Correlation analyses revealed negative correlations for SPL, shimmer, and CPP measures for RD conditions, while Qx did not vary with statistical significance. Panel assessors accurately assessed the 8 tested conditions with 87% accuracy and good inter-rater reliability agreement (k: 0.772, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Phonatory density, as an auditory-perceptual denotation of vocal weight, is controlled by the degree of thyroid cartilage tilt. The study documents systematic variations in vocal fold lengths across several conditions of loudness while fo is maintained. The findings suggest a further mechanism of the thyroid cartilage related to voice quality beyond the control of fo. Further studies are needed to document pitch production mechanisms compensating for the maintenance of fo given vocal fold elongation during RD conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consider the Sturm–Liouville equation −y′′+q(x)y=ρ2y$$ -{y}&amp;#x0005E;{\prime \prime }&amp;#x0002B;q(x)y&amp;#x0003D;{\rho}&amp;#x0005E;2y $$ with a real‐valued potential q∈L1(0,L),ρ∈ℂ,L>0$$ q\in {\mathcal{L}}_1\left(0,L\right),\rho \in \mathrm{\mathbb{C}},L&gt;0 $$. Let u(ρ,x)$$ u\left(\rho, x\right) $$ be its solution satisfying certain initial conditions u(ρk,0)=ak,u′(ρk,0)=bk$$ u\left({\rho}_k,0\right)&amp;#x0003D;{a}_k,{u}&amp;#x0005E;{\prime}\left({\rho}_k,0\right)&amp;#x0003D;{b}_k $$ for a number of ρk,k=1,2,...,K$$ {\rho}_k,k&amp;#x0003D;1,2,\dots, K $$, where ρk,ak$$ {\rho}_k,{a}_k $$, and bk$$ {b}_k $$ are some complex numbers. Denote ℓk=u′(ρk,L)+Hu(ρk,L)$$ {\ell}_k&amp;#x0003D;{u}&amp;#x0005E;{\prime}\left({\rho}_k,L\right)&amp;#x0002B; Hu\left({\rho}_k,L\right) $$, where H∈ℝ$$ H\in \mathrm{\mathbb{R}} $$. We propose a method for solving the inverse problem of the approximate recovery of the potential q(x)$$ q(x) $$ and number H$$ H $$ from the following data ρk,ak,bk,ℓkk=1K$$ {\left\{{\rho}_k,{a}_k,{b}_k,{\ell}_k\right\}}_{k&amp;#x0003D;1}&amp;#x0005E;K $$. In general, the problem is ill‐posed; however, it finds numerous practical applications. Such inverse problems as the recovery of the potential from a Weyl function or the inverse two‐spectra Sturm–Liouville problem are its special cases. Moreover, the inverse problem of determining the shape of a human vocal tract also reduces to the considered inverse problem. The proposed method is based on special Neumann series of Bessel functions representations for solutions of Sturm–Liouville equations. With their aid the problem is reduced to the classical inverse Sturm–Liouville problem of recovering q(x)$$ q(x) $$ from two spectra, which is solved again with the help of the same representations. The overall approach leads to an efficient numerical algorithm for solving the inverse problem. Its numerical efficiency is illustrated by several examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of over 1400 extant bat species produce high-frequency pulses with their larynx for echolocation. However, the debate about the evolutionary origin of laryngeal echolocation in bats remains unresolved. The morphology of the larynx is known to reflect vocal adaptation and thus can potentially help in resolving this controversy. However, the morphological variations of the larynx are poorly known in bats, and a complete anatomical study remains to be conducted. Here, we compare the 3D laryngeal morphology of 23 extant bat species of 11 different families reconstructed by using iodine contrast-enhanced X-ray microtomography techniques. We find that, contrary to previously thought, laryngeal muscle hypertrophy is not a characteristic of all bats and presents differential development. The larynges of Pteropodidae are morphologically similar to those of non-bat mammals. Two morphotypes are described among laryngeal echolocating bats, illustrating morphological differences between Rhinolophoidea and Yangochiroptera, with the main variations being the cricothyroid muscle volume and the shape of the cricoid and thyroid cartilages. For the first time we detail functional specialization for constant frequency echolocation among Rhinolophoidea. Lastly, the nasal-emitting taxa representing a polyphyletic group do not share the same laryngeal form, which raises questions about the potential modular nature of the bat larynx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although [h] is described as a glottal fricative, it has never been demonstrated whether [h] has its source exclusively at the glottis. In this study, sound source locations and their influence on sound amplitudes were investigated by conducting mechanical experiments and airflow simulations. Vocal tract data of [h] were obtained in three phonemic contexts from two native Japanese subjects using three-dimensional static magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Acrylic vocal tract replicas were constructed, and the sound was reproduced by supplying airflow to the vocal tracts with adducted or abducted vocal folds. The sound source locations were estimated by solving the Navier–Stokes equations. The results showed that the amplitudes of sounds produced by the vocal tracts with an open glottis were in a similar range (±3 dB) to those with a glottal gap of 3 mm in some contexts. The sound sources in these cases were observed in the pharyngeal cavity or near the soft palate. Similar degrees of oral constrictions were observed in the real-time MRI, indicating that the sound traditionally described as [h] is produced, at least in some contexts, with sound sources of turbulent flow generated by a supralaryngeal constriction of the following vowel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies indicate that people who stutter show greater variability in speech movements than people who do not stutter, even when the speech produced is perceptibly fluent. Speaking to the beat of a metronome reliably increases fluency in people who stutter, regardless of the severity of stuttering. Objectives: Here, we aimed to test whether metronome-timed speech reduces articulatory variability. Method: We analysed vocal tract MRI data from 24 people who stutter and 16 controls. Participants repeated sentences with and without a metronome. Midsagittal images of the vocal tract from lips to larynx were reconstructed at 33.3 frames per second. Any utterances containing dysfluencies or non-speech movements (e.g. swallowing) were excluded. For each participant, we measured the variability of movements (coefficient of variation) from the alveolar, palatal and velar regions of the vocal tract. Results: People who stutter had more variability than control speakers when speaking without a metronome, which was then reduced to the same level as controls when speaking with the metronome. The velar region contained more variability than the alveolar and palatal regions, which were similar. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that kinematic variability during perceptibly fluent speech is increased in people who stutter compared with controls when repeating naturalistic sentences without any alteration or disruption to the speech. This extends our previous findings of greater variability in the movements of people who stutter when producing perceptibly fluent nonwords compared with controls. These results also show, that in addition to increasing fluency in people who stutter, metronome-timed speech also reduces articulatory variability to the same level as that seen in control speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In adolescence, one's own voice changes significantly due to a surge of pubertal hormones, resulting in a distinctive voice signature. A person's unique voice signature signals one's own individuality and becomes increasingly relevant as social networks expand. While these puberty-related changes contribute to the development of a unique voice signature, they also initiate a sensitive period of voice monitoring. We propose that, together with hormonal changes, the protracted development of brain regions engaged in voice monitoring and a dynamically changing social environment might affect how the self-voice and others' voices are discriminated. A socioneuroendocrine framework is needed to comprehensively examine how we perceive and differentiate ourselves through our voice as well as how alterations in these capacities can lead to pathologies related to self–other distinction. The human voice is a potent social signal and a distinctive marker of individual identity. As individuals go through puberty, their voices undergo acoustic changes, setting them apart from others. In this article, we propose that hormonal fluctuations in conjunction with morphological vocal tract changes during puberty establish a sensitive developmental phase that affects the monitoring of the adolescent voice and, specifically, self–other distinction. Furthermore, the protracted maturation of brain regions responsible for voice processing, coupled with the dynamically evolving social environment of adolescents, likely disrupts a clear differentiation of the self-voice from others' voices. This socioneuroendocrine framework offers a holistic understanding of voice monitoring during adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Playing wind instruments is a strenuous task on the larynx, predisposing players to voice disorders. This study aims to evaluate potential vocal symptoms and vocal tract alterations in professional wind instrumentalists. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 26 male military subjects were interviewed, completed the voice handicap index (VHI) -10 questionnaire, and subjected to auditory-perceptual assessment, neck examination, rigid laryngostroboscopy and flexible nasofiberoscopy both before and during instrument playing. Results: All participants had vocal fatigue symptoms, around one-quarter complained of voice change, one-quarter complained of shortness of breath while or after performing, and one-third complained of neck symptoms. The average score of VHI-10 was 16.2 ± 6.5, and approximately three-quarters of participants scored above the cut-off point. There were no significant correlations between age, years of instrument playing, average hours of daily practice, and VHI-10. Participants with neck symptoms had significantly higher VHI-10 scores. Those (around one-fifth) with an external neck swelling during Valsalva maneuver had a significantly higher VHI-10 score. Dysphonia, mainly mild and of strained, leaky quality, was detected in almost one-third of participants. While the instrument was being played, the vocal folds were somewhat adducted, and the vocal tract became more compressed as the task became more demanding. The most frequent observations in the vocal tract examination were hyperemia of the vocal folds or all over the laryngeal and pharyngeal mucosa, excessive secretions over the vocal folds, signs of hyperadduction, arytenoid edema, and phonatory waste. Conclusion: Wind instrumentalists frequently experience voice disorders, which necessitate further care and investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formants (vocal tract resonances) are increasingly analyzed not only by phoneticians in speech but also by behavioral scientists studying diverse phenomena such as acoustic size exaggeration and articulatory abilities of non-human animals. This often involves estimating vocal tract length acoustically and producing scale-invariant representations of formant patterns. We present a theoretical framework and practical tools for carrying out this work, including open-source software solutions included in R packages soundgen and phonTools. Automatic formant measurement with linear predictive coding is error-prone, but formant_app provides an integrated environment for formant annotation and correction with visual and auditory feedback. Once measured, formants can be normalized using a single recording (intrinsic methods) or multiple recordings from the same individual (extrinsic methods). Intrinsic speaker normalization can be as simple as taking formant ratios and calculating the geometric mean as a measure of overall scale. The regression method implemented in the function estimateVTL calculates the apparent vocal tract length assuming a single-tube model, while its residuals provide a scale-invariant vowel space based on how far each formant deviates from equal spacing (the schwa function). Extrinsic speaker normalization provides more accurate estimates of speaker- and vowel-specific scale factors by pooling information across recordings with simple averaging or mixed models, which we illustrate with example datasets and R code. The take-home messages are to record several calls or vowels per individual, measure at least three or four formants, check formant measurements manually, treat uncertain values as missing, and use the statistical tools best suited to each modeling context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the framework of the traditional scope of investigations in the field of acoustic measurements, we consider an autoregressive model of the vocal tract, which is a key link in the speech apparatus of human beings. We mention the existence of an urgent problem of guaranteeing the stability of the autoregressive model in systems with adaptation of their parameters to the observed speech signals of short duration. To overcome this difficulty, we pose the problem of testing the stability of the autoregressive model and adjustment of its parameters according to the results of testing. The required investigations are based on the original authors' technique of the formant analysis of vowel sounds of speech via the synthesis of a recursive shaping filter in the mode of free oscillations. For the solution of the posed problem, we propose a procedure aimed at testing the stability of the autoregressive model of vocal tract and adjustment of its parameters. The method is based on a two-stage algorithm of transformation of the autoregressive model of vocal tract. In the first stage of transformation, the stability of the autoregressive model is checked according to the impulse response of the shaping filter. In the second stage, if the stability of the autoregressive model is violated, its impulse response is modified as a result of the element-by-element multiplication by a variable exponential quantity asymptotically convergent to zero. We develop a regular algorithm for recalculating a modified impulse response into the adjusted vector of autoregressive parameters in the second stage of transformation. According to the results of experimental verification of the proposed method, we make a conclusion that the guaranteed stability of the autoregressive model of the vocal tract is attained with minimal distortions in the frequency domain. The obtained results can be useful for the development and improvement of the systems of automatic speech recognition, digital speech communications, artificial intelligence, and other information systems based on the use of data compression and speech encoding according to the autoregressive model of the vocal tract in the course of automatic processing of speech signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some acoustic parameters of animal vocalisations have been shown to reliably indicate male quality and play a role in mate and rival assessment. Reindeer possess a peculiar vocal tract anatomy involving a laryngeal air sac which probably acts as an additional filter, making it a candidate species for novel investigations in the field of bioacoustics. We investigated whether some acoustic parameters of male rutting vocalisations were good indicators of age and body weight (used as an index for body size). We did this by performing acoustic analyses using recordings collected from a semi-domesticated reindeer population in northern Finland. We found the age of subadult males (aged 2.5–4.5 years) to be negatively correlated with formant F3 and formant spacing, suggesting that their vocalisations convey information on the caller's age. Individual formant frequencies were not affected by male body weight, but formant spacing was lower in heavier males. Despite the presence of the laryngeal air sac, formant spacing seems to be an acoustic parameter influencing mate and rival assessment in reindeer as it gives an honest indication of male body size. We discuss the importance of reliable acoustic cues to quality indices in sexual selection contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phonetic potential of nonhuman primate vocal tracts has been the subject of considerable contention in recent literature. Here, the work of Philip Lieberman (1934−2022) is considered at length, and two research papers—both purported challenges to Lieberman's theoretical work—and a review of Lieberman's scientific legacy are critically examined. I argue that various aspects of Lieberman's research have been consistently misinterpreted in the literature. A paper by Fitch et al. overestimates the would‐be "speech‐ready" capacities of a rhesus macaque, and the data presented nonetheless supports Lieberman's principal position—that nonhuman primates cannot articulate the full extent of human speech sounds. The suggestion that no vocal anatomical evolution was necessary for the evolution of human speech (as spoken by all normally developing humans) is not supported by phonetic or anatomical data. The second challenge, by Boë et al., attributes vowel‐like qualities of baboon calls to articulatory capacities based on audio data; I argue that such "protovocalic" properties likely result from disparate articulatory maneuvers compared to human speakers. A review of Lieberman's scientific legacy by Boë et al. ascribes a view of speech evolution (which the authors term "laryngeal descent theory") to Lieberman, which contradicts his writings. The present article documents a pattern of incorrect interpretations of Lieberman's theoretical work in recent literature. Finally, the apparent trend of vowel‐like formant dispersions in great ape vocalization literature is discussed with regard to Lieberman's theoretical work. The review concludes that the "Lieberman account" of primate vocal tract phonetic capacities remains supported by research: the ready articulation of fully human speech reflects species‐unique anatomy. Highlights: The work by phonetician and cognitive scientist Philip Lieberman on the phonetic capacities of nonhuman primates has been challenged in recent years.None of these challenges seriously dispute the core tenet of Lieberman's claims that nonhuman primates cannot articulate the full extent of human speech sounds, resulting from species' limitations on articulatory anatomy.Misunderstandings of Lieberman's work are seemingly widespread in the literature and point to a critical dearth of knowledge of human speech production and articulation in the fields of primatology and bioacoustics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For most of his illustrious career, Ken Stevens focused on examining and documenting the rich detail about vocal tract changes available to listeners underlying the acoustic signal of speech. Current approaches to speech inversion take advantage of this rich detail to recover information about articulatory movement. Our previous speech inversion work focused on movements of the tongue and lips, for which "ground truth" is readily available. In this study, we describe acquisition and validation of ground-truth articulatory data about velopharyngeal port constriction, using both the well-established measure of nasometry plus a novel technique—high-speed nasopharyngoscopy. Nasometry measures the acoustic output of the nasal and oral cavities to derive the measure nasalance. High-speed nasopharyngoscopy captures images of the nasopharyngeal region and can resolve velar motion during speech. By comparing simultaneously collected data from both acquisition modalities, we show that nasalance is a sufficiently sensitive measure to use as ground truth for our speech inversion system. Further, a speech inversion system trained on nasalance can recover known patterns of velopharyngeal port constriction shown by American English speakers. Our findings match well with Stevens' own studies of the acoustics of nasal consonants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formants, or resonance frequencies of the upper vocal tract, are an essential part of acoustic communication. Articulatory gestures—such as jaw, tongue, lip, and soft palate movements—shape formant structure in human vocalizations, but little is known about how nonhuman mammals use those gestures to modify formant frequencies. Here, we report a case study with an adult male harbor seal trained to produce an arbitrary vocalization composed of multiple repetitions of the sound wa. We analyzed jaw movements frame‐by‐frame and matched them to the tracked formant modulation in the corresponding vocalizations. We found that the jaw opening angle was strongly correlated with the first (F1) and, to a lesser degree, with the second formant (F2). F2 variation was better explained by the jaw angle opening when the seal was lying on his back rather than on the belly, which might derive from soft tissue displacement due to gravity. These results show that harbor seals share some common articulatory traits with humans, where the F1 depends more on the jaw position than F2. We propose further in vivo investigations of seals to further test the role of the tongue on formant modulation in mammalian sound production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human voice is an important signal that, if analyzed cautiously, will reveal various disorders and diseases of the human body. Vocal profiling is emerging as a new technique for assessment of voice disorders. This work has focused mainly on vocal tract acoustic measurements to detect voice disorders, especially dysphonia. Dysphonia is a communication disorder that, if not detected at an early stage, may lead to serious complications like laryngeal cancer thus affecting health and quality of life. The voice recordings of 52 subjects (26 dysphonic and 26 healthy) were taken from Saarbrucken Voice Database, 28 live samples (14 dysphonic and 14 healthy) were recorded using CSL 4500 tool and 169 subjects (111 dysphonic and 58 healthy) were taken from VOICED Database. These voice samples were used to extract five acoustic parameters: fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, pitch, and formants. The results obtained had an accuracy of around 85% which confirms the potentiality of these fundamental parameters in the successful detection of dysphonia as well as other voice disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The speech signal can be described by three key elements: the excitation signal, the impulse response of the vocal tract, and a system that represents the impact of speech production through human lips. The primary carrier of semantic content in speech is primarily influenced by the characteristics of the vocal tract. Nonetheless, when it comes to parameterization coefficients, the irregular periodicity of the glottal excitation is a significant factor that leads to notable variations in the values of the feature vectors, resulting in disruptions in the amplitude spectrum with the appearance of ripples. In this study, a method is suggested to mitigate this phenomenon. To achieve this goal, inverse filtering was used to estimate the excitation and transfer functions of the vocal tract. Subsequently, using the derived parameterisation coefficients, statistical models for individual Polish phonemes were established as mixtures of Gaussian distributions. The impact of these corrections on the classification accuracy of Polish vowels was then investigated. The proposed modification of the parameterisation method fulfils the expectations, the scatter of feature vector values was reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that the rhythms of speech are visible on the face, accurately mirroring changes in the vocal tract. These low‐frequency visual temporal movements are tightly correlated with speech output, and both visual speech (e.g., mouth motion) and the acoustic speech amplitude envelope entrain neural oscillations. Low‐frequency visual temporal information ('visual prosody') is known from behavioural studies to be perceived by infants, but oscillatory studies are currently lacking. Here we measure cortical tracking of low‐frequency visual temporal information by 5‐ and 8‐month‐old infants using a rhythmic speech paradigm (repetition of the syllable 'ta' at 2 Hz). Eye‐tracking data were collected simultaneously with EEG, enabling computation of cortical tracking and phase angle during visual‐only speech presentation. Significantly higher power at the stimulus frequency indicated that cortical tracking occurred across both ages. Further, individual differences in preferred phase to visual speech related to subsequent measures of language acquisition. The difference in phase between visual‐only speech and the same speech presented as auditory‐visual at 6‐ and 9‐months was also examined. These neural data suggest that individual differences in early language acquisition may be related to the phase of entrainment to visual rhythmic input in infancy. Research Highlights: Infant preferred phase to visual rhythmic speech predicts language outcomes.Significant cortical tracking of visual speech is present at 5 and 8 months.Phase angle to visual speech at 8 months predicted greater receptive and productive vocabulary at 24 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The growth and development of the epiglottis and preepiglottic space (PES) of the human larynx as it acquires the vocal tract were investigated. Methods: Three newborns, one infant, four children (2, 7, 8, and 12 years old), and two adult normal larynges were investigated and compared using the whole organ serial section technique. Results: The newborn PES occupied a small area just anterior to the epiglottis. It was composed of immature adipose tissue and areolar tissue. The epiglottis lay on a somewhat horizontal axis and is partially obscured behind the hyoid bone. The hyoid bone overlapped the thyroid cartilage, partially obscuring the superior thyroid notch. The newborn epiglottic cartilage was immature elastic cartilage, and the elastic fiber component was sparse. In the first 8 years of life, as the PES grew, the PES was located not only anterior to but also posterolateral and inferolateral to the epiglottic cartilage and thyroepiglottic ligament. Meanwhile, the epiglottic cartilage matured. Conclusions: In order to develop the vocal tract for speech production, it is reported that the human larynx descends as the child grows in the first 9 years of life. This study showed that the PES, occupying a small area just anterior to the epiglottis, grew and existed astride the epiglottis as the larynx descended and the vocal tract developed. Consequently, its distribution allows the epiglottis to more effectively play the role of retroflection during swallowing in order to prevent aspiration. The human speech faculty likely develops in conjunction with swallowing physiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speech is produced by a nonlinear, dynamical Vocal Tract (VT) system, and is transmitted through multiple (air, bone and skin conduction) modes, as captured by the air, bone and throat microphones respectively. Speaker specific characteristics that capture this nonlinearity are rarely used as stand-alone features for speaker modeling, and at best have been used in tandem with well known linear spectral features to produce tangible results. This paper proposes Recurrent Plot (RP) embeddings as stand-alone, non-linear speaker-discriminating features. Two datasets, the continuous multimodal TIMIT speech corpus and the consonant-vowel unimodal syllable dataset, are used in this study for conducting closed-set speaker identification experiments. Experiments with unimodal speaker recognition systems show that RP embeddings capture the nonlinear dynamics of the VT system which are unique to every speaker, in all the modes of speech. The Air (A), Bone (B) and Throat (T) microphone systems, trained purely on RP embeddings perform with an accuracy of 95.81%, 98.18% and 99.74%, respectively. Experiments using the joint feature space of combined RP embeddings for bimodal (A–T, A–B, B–T) and trimodal (A–B–T) systems show that the best trimodal system (99.84% accuracy) performs on par with trimodal systems using spectrogram (99.45%) and MFCC (99.98%). The 98.84% performance of the B–T bimodal system shows the efficacy of a speaker recognition system based entirely on alternate (bone and throat) speech, in the absence of the standard (air) speech. The results underscore the significance of the RP embedding, as a nonlinear feature representation of the dynamical VT system that can act independently for speaker recognition. It is envisaged that speech recognition too will benefit from this nonlinear feature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the problem of analysis of the voice source of speech within the range of short-term observations. The problem of insufficient speed of the available methods for the analysis of voice source is described, regardless of the method of data preparation: either synchronous with the main tone of speech sounds or asynchronous. We propose a method for the analysis of voice sources based on the two-level autoregressive model of the speech signal. We describe a software realization of the developed method based on the Berg-Levinson high-speed procedure of numerical calculations. It is shown that this procedure is characterized by a relatively low level of computation costs and its application does not require synchronization of the sequence of observations with the main tone of speech signal. With the help of software implementation of the proposed method, we designed and performed full-scale experiment aimed at analyzing the vowel sounds in the speech of a reference speaker. The results of this experiment confirmed the elevated speed of the proposed method and enabled us to formulate the requirements to the duration of speech signal for the real-time voice analysis. Thus, the optimal duration of the speech signal should vary within the range 32–128 msec. The obtained results can be used for the development and investigation of digital speech communication systems, systems of voice control, biometrics, biomedicine and other speech systems in which specific voice features of speaker's speech are of primary importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the production of dental and retroflex stops, fricatives, nasals, and laterals in the Dravidian language Kannada. This is done using articulatory contours extracted from an extensive midsagittal MRI corpus of two female Kannada speakers' static vocal tract postures intended to capture key aspects of phonemic articulations. Articulatory modelling was used to determine a set of components responsible for the implementation of place and manner contrasts (/t̪ s̪ n̪ l̪/ vs. /ʈ ʂ ɳ ɭ/). These components included both lingual and non-lingual articulatory parameters. Constriction location and length were also determined based on articulatory contours. The results showed that the two speakers produced non-fricative retroflexes with a retracted tongue tip making a constriction behind the alveolar ridge and a characteristic convex tongue shape, yet without a retraction of the posterior portion of the tongue. Apart from the lingual parameters, place differences were also manifested by the vertical position of the larynx (lower for retroflexes). The realisation of the place contrast in sibilant fricatives was different, as /ʂ/ appeared to be produced by both speakers with a laminal alveolopalatal constriction. Manner differences were captured by various non-lingual parameters, yet being also manifested in constriction locations (more anterior for stops). These findings are discussed in the context of previous descriptive and articulatory accounts of dental-retroflex contrasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apical vowels are widely observed across Chinese dialects, such as the rime of [sɹ̩55] 'think' in Mandarin Chinese, which is a syllabic approximant homorganic to its preceding sibilant. The apical vowels in Hefei Mandarin differ from those in Mandarin Chinese and most other languages in three aspects: (i) there are three phonetic apical vowels [ɹ̩], [ɹ̩ʷ], and [ɻ̩] while others usually have one or two, (ii) the alveolar apical [ɹ̩] appears after both homorganic and non-homorganic consonants, e.g. [sɹ̩] vs. [pɹ̩], and (iii) there is a phonological contrast between an unrounded apical [ɹ̩] and a rounded apical [ɹ̩ʷ], e.g. [sɹ̩] vs. [sɹ̩ʷ]. The articulatory properties of the three apical vowels were examined in this study using ultrasound techniques and the results revealed that: (i) the commonalities of tongue gestures for the apical vowels include a retracted tongue root, a lowered tongue dorsum or blade, or both, together with a coronal constriction implemented with the blade and/or the tip; (ii) lip gestures are involved in distinguishing the three apical segments; (iii) the three segments each have its distinct articulatory gestures within a speaker that cannot be simply attributed to the influence from their preceding consonants, with [ɹ̩] and [ɹ̩ʷ] involving a grooving in the front part of the tongue and [ɻ̩] involving a retraction of tongue body in the back region of the vocal tract; (iv) the articulatory gesture of [ɹ̩] after a homorganic consonant, e.g. in [sɹ̩], is similar to that after a non-homorganic consonant, e.g. in [pɹ̩], suggesting an independent articulatory target for this segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voicing: requires frequent starts and stops at various sound pressure levels (SPL) and frequencies. Prior investigations using rigid laryngoscopy with oral endoscopy have shown variations in the duration of the vibration delay between normal and abnormal subjects. However, these studies were not physiological because the larynx was viewed using rigid endoscopes. We adapted a method to perform to perform simultaneous high-speed naso-endoscopic video while simultaneously acquiring the sound pressure, fundamental frequency, airflow rate, and subglottic pressure. This study aimed to investigate voice onset patterns in normophonic males and females during the onset of variable SPL and correlate them with acoustic and aerodynamic data. Materials and Methods: Three healthy males and three healthy females were studied by simultaneous high-speed video laryngoscopy and recording with the production of the gesture [pa:pa:] at soft, medium, and loud voices. The fiber optic endoscope was threaded through a pneumotachograph mask for the simultaneous recording and analysis of acoustic and aerodynamic data. Results: The average increase in the sound pressure level (SPL) for the group was 15 dB, from 70 to 85 dB. The fundamental frequency increased by an average of 10 Hz. The flow was increased in two subjects, reduced in two subjects, and remained the same in two subjects as the SPL increased. There was a steady increase in the subglottic pressure from soft to loud phonation. Compared to soft to medium phonation, a significant increase in glottal resistance was observed with medium-to-loud phonation. Videokymogram analysis showed the onset of vibration for all voiced tokens without the need for full glottis closure. In loud phonation, there is a more rapid onset of a larger amplitude and prolonged closure of the glottal cycle; however, more cycles are required to achieve the intended SPL. There was a prolonged closed phase during loud phonation. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis of the kymography waveform signal showed a more significant second- and third-harmonic energy above the fundamental frequency with loud phonation. There was an increase in the adjustments in the pharynx with the base of the tongue tilting, shortening of the vocal folds, and pharyngeal constriction. Conclusion: Voice onset occurs in all modalities, without the need for full glottal closure. There was a more significant increase in glottal resistance with loud phonation than that with soft or middle phonation. Vibration analysis of the voice onset showed that more time was required during loud phonation before the oscillation stabilized to a steady state. With increasing SPL, there were significant variations in vocal tract adjustments. The most apparent change was the increase in tongue tension with posterior displacement of the epiglottis. There was an increase in pre-phonation time during loud phonation. Patterns of muscle tension dysphonia with laryngeal squeezing, shortening of the vocal folds, and epiglottis tilting with increasing loudness are features of loud phonation. These observations show that flexible high-speed video laryngoscopy can reveal observations that cannot be observed with rigid video laryngoscopy. An objective analysis of the digital kymography signal can be conducted in selected cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the realm of voice classification, singers could be sub-categorized by the weight of their repertoire, the so-called "singer's Fach." However, the opposite pole terms "lyric" and "dramatic" singing are not yet well defined by their acoustic and articulatory characteristics. Nine professional singers of different singers' Fach were asked to sing a diatonic scale on the vowel /a/, first in what the singers considered as lyric and second in what they considered as dramatic. Image recording was performed using real time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with 25 frames/s, and the audio signal was recorded via an optical microphone system. Analysis was performed with regard to sound pressure level (SPL), vibrato amplitude, and frequency and resonance frequencies as well as articulatory settings of the vocal tract. The analysis revealed three primary differences between dramatic and lyric singing: Dramatic singing was associated with greater SPL and greater vibrato amplitude and frequency as well as lower resonance frequencies. The higher SPL is an indication of voice source changes, and the lower resonance frequencies are probably caused by the lower larynx position. However, all these strategies showed a considerable individual variability. The singers' Fach might contribute to perceptual differences even for the same singer with regard to the respective repertoire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fronting of the vowels /u, ʊ, o/ is observed throughout most North American English varieties, but has been analyzed mainly in terms of acoustics rather than articulation. Because an increase in F2, the acoustic correlate of vowel fronting, can be the result of any gesture that shortens the front cavity of the vocal tract, acoustic data alone do not reveal the combination of tongue fronting and/or lip unrounding that speakers use to produce fronted vowels. It is furthermore unresolved to what extent the articulation of fronted back vowels varies according to consonantal context and how the tongue and lips contribute to the F2 trajectory throughout the vowel. This paper presents articulatory and acoustic data on fronted back vowels from two varieties of American English: coastal Southern California and South Carolina. Through analysis of dynamic acoustic, ultrasound, and lip video data, it is shown that speakers of both varieties produce fronted /u, ʊ, o/ with rounded lips, and that high F2 observed for these vowels is associated with a front-central tongue position rather than unrounded lips. Examination of time-varying formant trajectories and articulatory configurations shows that the degree of vowel-internal F2 change is predominantly determined by coarticulatory influence of the coda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a range of motor and non-motor symptoms. One of the notable non-motor symptoms of PD is the presence of vocal disorders, attributed to the underlying pathophysiological changes in the neural control of the laryngeal and vocal tract musculature. From this perspective, the integration of machine learning (ML) techniques in the analysis of speech signals has significantly contributed to the detection and diagnosis of PD. Particularly, MEL Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) and Gammatone Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (GTCCs) are both feature extraction techniques commonly used in the field of speech and audio signal processing that could exhibit great potential for vocal disorder identification. This study presents a novel approach to the early detection of PD through ML applied to speech analysis, leveraging both MFCCs and GTCCs. The recordings contained in the Mobile Device Voice Recordings at King's College London (MDVR-KCL) dataset were used. These recordings were collected from healthy individuals and PD patients while they read a passage and during a spontaneous conversation on the phone. Particularly, the speech data regarding the spontaneous dialogue task were processed through speaker diarization, a technique that partitions an audio stream into homogeneous segments according to speaker identity. The ML applied to MFCCS and GTCCs allowed us to classify PD patients with a test accuracy of 92.3%. This research further demonstrates the potential to employ mobile phones as a non-invasive, cost-effective tool for the early detection of PD, significantly improving patient prognosis and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human brain tracks available speech acoustics and extrapolates missing information such as the speaker's articulatory patterns. However, the extent to which articulatory reconstruction supports speech perception remains unclear. This study explores the relationship between articulatory reconstruction and task difficulty. Participants listened to sentences and performed a speech-rhyming task. Real kinematic data of the speaker's vocal tract were recorded via electromagnetic articulography (EMA) and aligned to corresponding acoustic outputs. We extracted articulatory synergies from the EMA data with principal component analysis (PCA) and employed partial information decomposition (PID) to separate the electroencephalographic (EEG) encoding of acoustic and articulatory features into unique, redundant, and synergistic atoms of information. We median-split sentences into easy (ES) and hard (HS) based on participants' performance and found that greater task difficulty involved greater encoding of unique articulatory information in the theta band. We conclude that fine-grained articulatory reconstruction plays a complementary role in the encoding of speech acoustics, lending further support to the claim that motor processes support speech perception. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Top-down processes originating from the motor system contribute to speech perception through the reconstruction of the speaker's articulatory movement. This study investigates the role of such articulatory simulation under variable task difficulty. We show that more challenging listening tasks lead to increased encoding of articulatory kinematics in the theta band and suggest that, in such situations, fine-grained articulatory reconstruction complements acoustic encoding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time magnetic resonance imaging (rtMRI) is a technique that provides high-contrast videographic data of human anatomy in motion. Applied to the vocal tract, it is a powerful method for capturing the dynamics of speech and other vocal behaviours by imaging structures internal to the mouth and throat. These images provide a means of studying the physiological basis for speech, singing, expressions of emotion, and swallowing that are otherwise not accessible for external observation. However, taking quantitative measurements from these images is notoriously difficult. We introduce a signal processing pipeline that produces outlines of the vocal tract from the lips to the larynx as a quantification of the dynamic morphology of the vocal tract. Our approach performs simple tissue classification, but constrained to a researcher-specified region of interest. This combination facilitates feature extraction while retaining the domain-specific expertise of a human analyst. We demonstrate that this pipeline generalises well across datasets covering behaviours such as speech, vocal size exaggeration, laughter, and whistling, as well as producing reliable outcomes across analysts, particularly among users with domain-specific expertise. With this article, we make this pipeline available for immediate use by the research community, and further suggest that it may contribute to the continued development of fully automated methods based on deep learning algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reassigned spectrogram (RS) has emerged as the most accurate way to infer vocal tract resonances from the acoustic signal [Shadle, Nam, and Whalen (2016). "Comparing measurement errors for formants in synthetic and natural vowels," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 139(2), 713–727]. To date, validating its accuracy has depended on formant synthesis for ground truth values of these resonances. Synthesis is easily controlled, but it has many intrinsic assumptions that do not necessarily accurately realize the acoustics in the way that physical resonances would. Here, we show that physical models of the vocal tract with derivable resonance values allow a separate approach to the ground truth, with a different range of limitations. Our three-dimensional printed vocal tract models were excited by white noise, allowing an accurate determination of the resonance frequencies. Then, sources with a range of fundamental frequencies were implemented, allowing a direct assessment of whether RS avoided the systematic bias towards the nearest strong harmonic to which other analysis techniques are prone. RS was indeed accurate at fundamental frequencies up to 300 Hz; above that, accuracy was somewhat reduced. Future directions include testing mechanical models with the dimensions of children's vocal tracts and making RS more broadly useful by automating the detection of resonances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a long-term research project aiming at generating a biomechanical model of a fossil human tongue from a carefully designed 3D Finite Element mesh of a living human tongue, we present a computer-based method that optimally registers 3D CT images of the head and neck of the living human into similar images of another primate. We quantitatively evaluate the method on a baboon. The method generates a geometric deformation field which is used to build up a 3D Finite Element mesh of the baboon tongue. In order to assess the method's ability to generate a realistic tongue from bony structure information alone, as would be the case for fossil humans, its performance is evaluated and compared under two conditions in which different anatomical information is available: (1) combined information from soft-tissue and bony structures; (2) information from bony structures alone. An Uncertainty Quantification method is used to evaluate the sensitivity of the transformation to two crucial parameters, namely the resolution of the transformation grid and the weight of a smoothness constraint applied to the transformation, and to determine the best possible meshes. In both conditions the baboon tongue morphology is realistically predicted, evidencing that bony structures alone provide enough relevant information to generate soft tissues. Author summary: The issue of the phylogenetic emergence of speech in humans is the focus of lively and strong debates. It questions both cognitive and physical capacities of fossil hominins to articulate speech. The ultimate goal of our research project "Origins of Speech" is the quantitative investigation of the physical aspects of the debate. We rely for that on the design biomechanical models of fossil hominins' vocal tracts and on the assessment of their capacity to articulate distinctive sounds as is required for the emergence of spoken language. Since fossil remains do not preserve soft tissue, the technical challenge is to be able to predict them, and in particular the tongue, from bony structures alone. In this paper we present our method to reach this goal, which uses medical images of the head and neck to register a reference biomechanical tongue model of a living human into a tongue model of any other primate. We evaluate it quantitatively on the prediction of a Baboon tongue, for whom we have accurate X-Ray scans of the skull and the vocal tract, by comparing the tongue model predicted from bony structures alone with the model predicted from bony and soft tissue structures and with the tongue segmented on the baboon X-Ray data. The evaluation includes a mathematical evaluation, based on uncertainty quantification methods of the sensitivity of the predictions to the variations of crucial parameters used in the optimal geometrical registration. The results are very encouraging for future application to fossil hominins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research relates to the field of speech technologies, where the key issue is the optimization of speech signal processing under conditions of a prior uncertainty of its fine structure. The problem of automatic (objective) analysis of the speaker's voice timbre using a speech signal of finite duration is considered. It is proposed to use a universal information-theoretic approach to solve it. Based on the Kullback-Leibler divergence, an expression was obtained to describe the asymptotically optimal decision statistic for differentiating speech signals by the voice timbre. The author highlights a serious obstacle during practical implementation of such statistics, namely: synchronization of the sequence of observations with the pitch of speech signals. To overcome the described obstacle, an objective measure of timbre-based differences in speech signals is proposed in terms of the acoustic theory of speech production and its "acoustic tube" type model of the speaker's vocal tract. The possibilities of practical implementation of a new measure based on an adaptive recursive filter are considered. A full-scale experiment was set up and carried out. The experimental results confirmed two main properties of the proposed measure: high sensitivity to differences in speech signals in terms of voice timbre and invariance with respect to the fundamental pitch frequency. The obtained results can be used when designing and studying digital speech processing systems tuned to the speaker's voice, for example, digital voice communication systems, biometric and biomedical systems, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/purpose: The paper explores the implementation of two-factor authentication (2FA) in computer systems, addressing the increasing need for enhanced security. It highlights the vulnerabilities of password-based authentication and emphasizes the advantages of 2FA in mitigating digital threats. The development of the VoiceAuth application, integrating 2FA through a combination of password and voice authentication, serves as a practical illustration. Methods: The research adopts a three-tier architecture for the VoiceAuth application, encompassing a database, server-side REST API, and clientside single-page application. Speaker verification is employed for voice authentication, analyzing elements like pitch, rhythm, and vocal tract shapes.The paper also discusses possibilities for future upgrades, suggesting enhancements such as real-time voice verification and additional 2FA methods. Results: The application's implementation involves a detailed breakdown of the REST API architecture, Single Page Applications (SPAs), and the Speaker Verification service. Conclusion: The research underscores the crucial role of two-factor authentication (2FA) in bolstering the security of computer systems. The VoiceAuth application serves as a practical demonstration, showcasing the successful integration of 2FA through a combination of password and voice authentication. The modular architecture of the application allows for potential upgrades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tasks in psychophysical tests can at times be repetitive and cause individuals to lose engagement during the test. To facilitate engagement, we propose the use of a humanoid NAO robot, named Sam, as an alternative interface for conducting psychophysical tests. Specifically, we aim to evaluate the performance of Sam as an auditory testing interface, given its potential limitations and technical differences, in comparison to the current laptop interface. We examine the results and durations of two voice perception tests, voice cue sensitivity and voice gender categorisation, obtained from both the conventionally used laptop interface and Sam. Both tests investigate the perception and use of two speaker-specific voice cues, fundamental frequency (F0) and vocal tract length (VTL), important for characterising voice gender. Responses are logged on the laptop using a connected mouse, and on Sam using the tactile sensors. Comparison of test results from both interfaces shows functional similarity between the interfaces and replicates findings from previous studies with similar tests. Comparison of test durations shows longer testing times with Sam, primarily due to longer processing times in comparison to the laptop, as well as other design limitations due to the implementation of the test on the robot. Despite the inherent constraints of the NAO robot, such as in sound quality, relatively long processing and testing times, and different methods of response logging, the NAO interface appears to facilitate collecting similar data to the current laptop interface, confirming its potential as an alternative psychophysical test interface for auditory perception tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound generation in human phonation and the underlying fluid–structure–acoustic interaction that describes the sound production mechanism are not fully understood. A previous experimental study, with a silicone made vocal fold model connected to a straight vocal tract pipe of fixed length, showed that vibroacoustic coupling can cause a deviation in the vocal fold vibration frequency. This occurred when the fundamental frequency of the vocal fold motion was close to the lowest acoustic resonance frequency of the pipe. What is not fully understood is how the vibroacoustic coupling is influenced by a varying vocal tract length. Presuming that this effect is a pure coupling of the acoustical effects, a numerical simulation model is established based on the computation of the mechanical-acoustic eigenvalue. With varying pipe lengths, the lowest acoustic resonance frequency was adjusted in the experiments and so in the simulation setup. In doing so, the evolution of the vocal folds' coupled eigenvalues and eigenmodes is investigated, which confirms the experimental findings. Finally, it was shown that for normal phonation conditions, the mechanical mode is the most efficient vibration pattern whenever the acoustic resonance of the pipe (lowest formant) is far away from the vocal folds' vibration frequency. Whenever the lowest formant is slightly lower than the mechanical vocal fold eigenfrequency, the coupled vocal fold motion pattern at the formant frequency dominates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the human phonation process, acoustic standing waves in the vocal tract can influence the fluid flow through the glottis as well as vocal fold oscillation. To investigate the amount of acoustic back-coupling, the supraglottal flow field has been recorded via high-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) in a synthetic larynx model for several configurations with different vocal tract lengths. Based on the obtained velocity fields, acoustic source terms were computed. Additionally, the sound radiation into the far field was recorded via microphone measurements and the vocal fold oscillation via high-speed camera recordings. The PIV measurements revealed that near a vocal tract resonance frequency fR, the vocal fold oscillation frequency fo (and therefore also the flow field's fundamental frequency) jumps onto fR. This is accompanied by a substantial relative increase in aeroacoustic sound generation efficiency. Furthermore, the measurements show that fo-fR-coupling increases vocal efficiency, signal-to-noise ratio, harmonics-to-noise ratio and cepstral peak prominence. At the same time, the glottal volume flow needed for stable vocal fold oscillation decreases strongly. All of this results in an improved voice quality and phonation efficiency so that a person phonating with fo-fR-coupling can phonate longer and with better voice quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the threshold of velopharyngeal (VP) coupling area at which listeners switch from identifying a consonant as a stop to a nasal in North American English was different for speech produced by a model based on an adult male, an adult female, and a 4-year-old child. V1CV2 stimuli were generated with a speech production model that encodes phonetic segments as relative acoustic targets imposed on an underlying vocal tract and laryngeal structure that can be scaled according to sex and age. Each V1CV2 was synthesized with a set of VP coupling functions whose maximum area ranged from 0 to 0.1 cm2. Results showed that scaling the vocal tract and vocal folds had essentially no effect on the VP coupling area at which listener identification shifted from stop to nasal. The range of coupling areas at which the crossover occurred was 0.037–0.049 cm2 for the male model, 0.040–0.055 cm2 for the female model, and 0.039–0.052 cm2 for the 4-year-old child model, and overall mean was 0.044 cm2. Calculations of band limited peak nasalance indicated that 85% peak nasalance during the consonant was well aligned with listener responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The messa di voce (MdV), which consists of a continuous crescendo and subsequent decrescendo on one pitch is one of the more difficult exercises of the technical repertoire of Western classical singing. With rising lung pressure, regulatory adjustments both on the level of the glottis and the vocal tract are required to keep the pitch stable. The dynamic changes of vocal tract dimensions with the bidirectional variation of sound pressure level (SPL) during MdV were analyzed by two-dimensional real-time magnetic resonance imaging (25 frames/s) and synchronous audio recordings in 12 professional singer subjects. Close associations in the respective articulatory kinetics were found between SPL and lip opening, jaw opening, pharynx width, uvula elevation, and vertical larynx position. However, changes in vocal tract dimensions during plateaus of SPL suggest that perceived loudness could have been varied beyond the dimension of SPL. Further multimodal investigation, including the analysis of sound spectra, is needed for a better understanding of the role of vocal tract resonances in the control of vocal loudness in human phonation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method for estimating formant frequency tracks of the vocal tract for arbitrary speech segments is proposed. The method uses the ratio of two Fourier transforms of a speech signal with special exponential-type windows depending on some parameter. This ratio is used for specific points in time and is considered as a function of frequency and parameter. By analyzing, for several parameter values, the distribution of minimum points (in terms of frequency) for the phase of this ratio and/or a similar distribution of extreme points for its amplitude, it is possible to estimate formant frequencies from the peaks of these distributions. A mathematical study is presented that substantiates this approach. A series of numerical experiments were carried out on the processing of synthetic and real speech signals, which confirmed the performance capabilities of the proposed formant evaluation method. In particular, in experiments with synthesized vowels, it was found that the error in estimating their resonance frequencies is small and stable with respect to additive noise up to a signal-to-noise ratio of 5 dB. For real speech, the method makes it possible to calculate the formant frequency tracks for both sounds with vocal excitation and for voiceless fricatives, aspirated plosives, and whispered speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Chimpanzees Have no Expanded Formant Space and No Correlated F1 and F2: A Comment on Grawunder et al. (2021)" critiques the formant data presented in a previous study by Grawunder et al. The authors argue that the formant data in the previous study contains substantial errors, which invalidate the main claims made in the paper. They explain that the expansion of formant space and the correlation between F1 and F2, as claimed by Grawunder et al., are not supported by previous research and are likely the result of misidentifying harmonics as formants. The authors suggest that these errors may have led to mistaken findings about chimpanzee vocalizations. [Extracted from the article]

The article provides corrections to a previous study on chimpanzee vocalizations. Topic discussed include The primary focus of the corrections is on refining formant measurements, normalizing formants across primates, and reiterating the conclusion that chimpanzees use an expanded formant space in their vocalizations compared to monkeys, with the addition that the capacity for the third extremity [i] used in human speech may be a derived capacity in the hominin lineage.

Background: Occupations that require heavy vocal use can place the person at risk of voice disorders (VDs). Heavy demands on the voice, especially for a long time or with loud back-ground noise, can lead to vocal abuse or misuse. The study aimed to measure the prevalence of perceived voice disorders among the teaching faculty at a female university, identify the risk fac-tors that affect their voice, and determine the effect of perceived voice disorders on their quality of life (QoL). Methods: The study sample consisted of female teaching faculty (N = 401). The ques-tionnaire included general sociodemographic data, general voice data, the vocal tract discomfort (VTD) scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment (WHOQOL)-BREF. Results: The results demonstrated that 44.1% of the participants had perceived voice disorders, and stress, reflux, and asthma had a significant relationship with self-perceived voice disorders. Furthermore, the data showed that self-perceived voice disorders negatively impacted the overall QoL of teaching faculty. Conclusions: Perceived voice disorders are affected by various factors, including health conditions, medications, and lifestyle choices. Although teaching characteristics and demo-graphic factors are believed to be the cause, in this study they did not significantly contribute to perceived voice disorders. Faculty members with perceived voice disorders have a poorer quality of life, highlighting the need for education on preventative vocal measures and awareness of voice care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to nonlinear source-filter theory, as the strength of the coupling between the source and filter increases, typically by a decrease in the vocal tract cross-sectional area, the resultant increase in the inertance of the vocal tract yields an increase in the interactions between acoustic pressures within the vocal tract and the changing glottal airflow and/or the vibratory pattern of the vocal folds as noted in Titze [(2008). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 123(4), 1902–1915]. The purpose of the current research was to examine the effects of parametric vocal tract constrictions mimicking epilaryngeal tube and lip narrowing on aerodynamic measures in a dynamic self-oscillating physical model of the vocal folds and vocal tract. Multilayered silicone vocal fold models were created based on Murray and Thomson [(2011). J. Visualized Exp. 58, e3498] and Murray and Thomson [(2012). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 132(5), 3428–3438] and mounted to a simple synthetic trachea and supraglottal vocal tract model. Four constriction cross-sectional areas were examined at two locations (i.e., at the epilarynx and lip regions). Phonation threshold pressure and flow were measured at phonation onset and offset using four M5-CONV vocal fold models. Results indicated that both constriction magnitude and location are relevant factors in determining glottal aerodynamics. In general, a narrow epilarynx tube or lip constriction resulted in the lowest onset pressures and airflows while the no vocal tract condition resulted in the highest onset pressures and airflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variation in formant frequencies has been shown to affect social interactions and sexual competition in a range of avian species. Yet, the anatomical bases of this variation are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the morphological correlates of formants production in the vocal apparatus of African penguins. We modelled the geometry of the supra-syringeal vocal tract of 20 specimens to generate a population of virtual vocal tracts with varying dimensions. We then estimated the acoustic response of these virtual vocal tracts and extracted the centre frequency of the first four predicted formants. We demonstrate that: (i) variation in length and cross-sectional area of vocal tracts strongly affects the formant pattern, (ii) the tracheal region determines most of this variation, and (iii) the skeletal size of penguins does not correlate with the trachea length and consequently has relatively little effect on formants. We conclude that in African penguins, while the variation in vocal tract geometry generates variation in resonant frequencies supporting the discrimination of conspecifics, such variation does not provide information on the emitter's body size. Overall, our findings advance our understanding of the role of formant frequencies in bird vocal communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Sensory deficits of the upper airways are common in people with Parkinson disease. Compounded by considerable deterioration of the swallowing function, these deficits may contribute to the elevated rates of morbidity and mortality among this population. Objective To examine the sensitivity of the vocal tracts of people with Parkinson disease using nasal videoendoscopy and to compare the results with paired controls. Methods The present was a prospective, observational, case-control study. Sensitivity assessments were conducted in a sample of 24 people divided into 2 groups: one group of 12 patients with Parkinson's disease, and a control group with 12 healthy subjects. The study group also underwent a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing and answered the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SQD) to detect dysphagia. Results There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the region of the arytenoid cartilages, showing that sensitivity was better preserved among the control group, and that sensitivity deficits were present in the study group. The qualitative results showed sensorial impairment in the study group than in the control group regarding the base of the tongue, the vestibular folds, and the vocal folds. The study group showed self-awareness regarding the deficits in the swallowing function, but there was no statistically significant association between swallowing function deficits and deterioration of sensorial function among them. Conclusions Sensorial deficits were present in the study group when compared to the healthy subjects, mainly in the qualitative evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The children below 6 years of age are called preliterate who use speech as one of their primary forms of communication. Fundamental frequency or pitch is a characteristic that is used to classify gender, but young children have reasonably similar pitch due to their immature vocal tract which varies from 215 to 390 Hz for both genders. Most studies for gender identification have utilized pitch and mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC), because of their ability to capture the efficacy of signals. However, the performance of pitch and MFCC on noisy speech signals are poor, and as a result, they fail to accurately detect gender characteristics. Considering this limitation, the proposed work investigates the novel fusion and ablation experimentation of mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) and gamma-tone frequency cepstral coefficients (GFCC). To enhance the accuracy of a robust text-independent children gender identification model, the cepstral features are combined with the tonal descriptors (pitch and harmonic ratio). The most contributing front-end features were selected by fusion and ablation analysis and distributed to a bagged tree classifier ensemble. To manage the memory requirements, redundant features are trimmed using principle component analysis (PCA). The hyper-parameter optimization is accomplished using the grid search technique to further increase frame-level accuracy. This study is likely to be a forerunner in the field of children's speech recognition, which has been revealed to be a reliable and accurate method of gender identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although voice therapy (VT) has been known effective in muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), it is not obviously clear which VT approach is more effective. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Vocal Facilitating Techniques (VFTs), Manual Circumlaryngeal Therapy (MCT), and combined VT in teachers with MTD. Methods: This study was a double-blind parallel randomized clinical trial. Thirty elementary female teachers with MTD were divided into three treatment groups including VFTs; MCT, and combined VT. In addition, vocal hygiene was presented to all groups. All participants received 10 individual 45-min sessions of VT twice a week. The effectiveness was assessed using Vocal Tract Discomfort (VTD) scale and Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) before and after treatment and improvement measurement was calculated. The participants and data analyzer were blinded to the type of VT. Results: All groups showed significantly better results on the subscales of VTD scale and DSI score after VT (p ≤ 0.001; η2 ≥ 0.90). There was a significant difference between the three groups on the results of VTD scale and DSI score (p ≤ 0.05). The improvement measurement on the VTD severity subscale and DSI score following the combined VT was the greatest compared with other groups (η2 = 0.99 and 0.98, respectively). The significant interactive effect of treatment and time was observed on the VTD severity subscale and DSI score (p < 0.05; η2 ≥ 0.56). Conclusions: This study showed that the VFTs, MCT, and combined VT were effective for MTD teachers, and the combined VT is the most effective one. It seems the combination of different approaches is recommended for the VT of MTD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender role attitudes refer to attitudes toward the appropriate roles, rights, and responsibilities of men and women in society. Evidence indicates that individuals with traditional gender role attitudes tend to prefer mates with sex-typical opposite-sex characteristics in heterosexual men and women. This study examined whether gender role attitudes were associated with vocal masculinity preference in gay men in China. Five hundred and sixty-seven participants aged between 16 and 49 years completed the vocal masculinity preference (voice pitch and vocal tract length; VTLs) and gender role attitudes scale. The results indicated that gay men generally preferred masculine voices (lower voice pitch and longer VTLs) and gender role attitudes were positively correlated with preferences for masculine cues in the voices of men. While individuals indicating an affinity with traditional gender roles exhibited stronger preferences for feminine voices, which were inconsistent with the present hypotheses. The results help us understand the role of traditional gender beliefs in the mate preferences of gay men in China. Furthermore, based on the results, understanding one's gender-role attitudes can help cultivate more diversified criteria for mate selection and facilitate gay men in better choosing suitable mates. Future longitudinal studies should examine the relationship between gender role attitudes and masculine preference changes over time. Whether this relationship differs in the different sexual roles of gay men should also be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Use of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations to measure the changes in upper airway geometry and aerodynamics during (a) an episode of Exercise‐Induced Laryngeal Obstruction (EILO) and (b) speech therapy exercises commonly employed for patients with EILO. Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging stills of the upper airway including the nasal and oral cavities from an adult female were used to re‐construct three‐dimensional geometries of the upper airway. The CFD simulations were used to compute the maximum volume flow rate (l/s), pressure (Pa), airflow velocity (m/s) and area of cross‐section opening in eight planes along the vocal tract, separately for inhalation and exhalation. Results: Numerical predictions from three‐dimensional geometrical modeling of the upper airway suggest that the technique of nose breathing for inhalation and pursed lip breathing for exhalation show most promising pressure conditions and cross‐sectional diameters for rescue breathing exercises. Also, if EILO is due to the constriction at the vocal fold level, then a quick sniff may also be a proper rescue inhalation exercise. EILO affects both the inspiratory and the expiratory phases of breathing. Conclusions: A prior knowledge of the supraglottal aerodynamics and the corresponding upper airway geometry from CFD analysis has the potential to assist the clinician in choosing the most effective rescue breathing technique for optimal functional outcome of speech therapy intervention in patients with EILO and in understanding the pathophysiology of EILO on a case‐by‐case basis with future studies. Level of Evidence: 4 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fricatives have noise sources that are filtered by the vocal tract and that typically possess energy over a much broader range of frequencies than observed for vowels and sonorant consonants. This paper introduces and refines fricative measurements that were designed to reflect underlying articulatory and aerodynamic conditions These show differences in the pattern of high-frequency energy for sibilants vs non-sibilants, voiced vs voiceless fricatives, and non-sibilants differing in place of articulation. The results confirm the utility of a spectral peak measure (FM) and low–mid frequency amplitude difference (AmpD) for sibilants. Using a higher-frequency range for defining FM for female voices for alveolars is justified; a still higher range was considered and rejected. High-frequency maximum amplitude (Fh) and amplitude difference between low- and higher-frequency regions (AmpRange) capture /f-θ/ differences in English and the dynamic amplitude range over the entire spectrum. For this dataset, with spectral information up to 15 kHz, a new measure, HighLevelD, was more effective than previously used LevelD and Slope in showing changes over time within the frication. Finally, isolated words and connected speech differ. This work contributes improved measures of fricative spectra and demonstrates the necessity of including high-frequency energy in those measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]