Linville S E, Rens J
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-1881, USA.
J Voice. 2001 Sep;15(3):323-30. doi: 10.1016/S0892-1997(01)00034-0.
This study is the first to use long-term average spectra (LTAS) to investigate resonance characteristics of dynamic speech in young adulthood and old age. A total of 80 speakers participated, divided equally by age group and gender. All elderly speakers were healthy, active members of the community. Measurement of the first three spectral peaks in LTAS from the first paragraph of the Rainbow Passage revealed significant lowering of peak 1 from young adulthood to old age in both men and women. Peaks 2 and 3 also lowered significantly across the adult lifespan in women and showed a tendency to lower in men. These acoustic findings are consistent with anatomic data suggesting that aging results in lengthening of the supraglottic vocal tract. Findings that women demonstrate more substantial lowering of spectral peaks with aging than men suggest that women may undergo more pronounced age-related lengthening of the supraglottic vocal tract. Alternatively, it is possible that elderly men systematically alter tongue position during vowel articulation while elderly women are less inclined to do so. Taken in conjunction with previous research, these findings suggest a "mixed model" of vocal tract resonance changes with aging in which an interaction exists between gender, the resonance effects of laryngeal lowering, and vowel articulatory patterns.
本研究首次使用长期平均谱（LTAS）来探究青年期和老年期动态语音的共振特征。共有80名参与者，按年龄组和性别平均分配。所有老年参与者均为社区中健康、活跃的成员。对《彩虹篇章》第一段的LTAS中前三个谱峰的测量显示，男性和女性从青年期到老年期，第一谱峰均显著降低。女性在整个成年期内，第二和第三谱峰也显著降低，男性则有降低趋势。这些声学研究结果与解剖学数据一致，表明衰老会导致声门上声道延长。女性比男性在衰老过程中谱峰降低更显著的结果表明，女性可能经历了更明显的与年龄相关的声门上声道延长。或者，也有可能老年男性在元音发音时会系统性地改变舌位，而老年女性则不太倾向于这样做。结合先前的研究，这些结果表明了一种声道共振随衰老变化的“混合模型”，其中性别、喉部下降的共振效应和元音发音模式之间存在相互作用。
