An acoustic analysis of excellent female esophageal, tracheoesophageal, and laryngeal speakers.

Acoustic data for female esophageal speakers is sparse, particularly with regard to characteristics of female tracheoesophageal speakers. This study quantified and compared six acoustic characteristics of excellent female tracheoesophageal (TE), standard esophageal (SE), and laryngeal (LA) speakers. Results indicated there were no significant differences between TE and SE speakers with regard to mean F0 of sustained /a/, mean F0 (reading), signal-to-noise ratio, total duration of passage read, number of pauses, or syllables per minute. Significant differences were found between LA speakers and both alaryngeal groups for all variables, with the exception of mean F0 (reading).