Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa,
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Folia Phoniatr Logop. 2024;76(2):164-171. doi: 10.1159/000533398. Epub 2023 Aug 14.
Bilinguals constitute a significant portion of speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) caseloads. Insight into the cross-linguistic effect on voice is needed to guide SLPs to make linguistically appropriate observations when working with heterogenous populations.
Nineteen female English-Northern Sotho bilinguals performed three speech tasks (reading, picture description, and monologue) in each language. Acoustic analysis of mean fundamental frequency (f0), intensity, and articulation rate was conducted with Praat. A panel of blinded listeners reached consensus after independently reviewing the recordings during perceptual analysis of voice quality, resonance, and glottal attack.
The following statistically significant differences were found across and within the languages: The mean f0 was 204.61 Hz in the Northern Sotho picture description yet 196.50 Hz in the English picture description. The mean intensity of reading in Northern Sotho was 66.38 dB whereas the mean intensity of reading in English was 65.09 dB. Articulation rate was 3.78 syllables/s in English passage reading and 3.41 syllables/s in Northern Sotho passage reading. Within English, passage reading elicited a significantly quicker articulation rate than the picture description (3.34 syllables/s) and monologue (3.46 syllables/s). Within Northern Sotho, mean f0 was 203.83 Hz in passage reading yet 191.11 Hz in the monologue. Perceptual voice quality, glottal attack, and resonance were comparable across languages.
Relationships between languages spoken, task performance, and vocal characteristics were observed in English-Northern Sotho bilingual females. SLPs must consider the interaction of language, task performance, and vocal characteristics when working with bilingual clients.
双语者在言语语言病理学家（SLP）的患者群体中占很大比例。为了指导 SLP 在为不同语言群体工作时进行语言上适当的观察，需要深入了解语言之间对声音的影响。
19 名讲英语-北索托语的女性双语者在每种语言中完成了三项言语任务（朗读、图片描述和独白）。使用 Praat 对平均基频（f0）、强度和发音率进行声学分析。在语音质量、共鸣和声门冲击的感知分析中，一组经过盲审的听众在独立审查录音后达成共识。
在语言之间和语言内部发现了以下具有统计学意义的差异：北索托语图片描述的平均 f0 为 204.61Hz，而英语图片描述的平均 f0 为 196.50Hz。北索托语朗读的平均强度为 66.38dB，而英语朗读的平均强度为 65.09dB。朗读的发音速度为英语短文 3.78 个音节/s，北索托语短文 3.41 个音节/s。在英语中，短文朗读的发音速度明显快于图片描述（3.34 个音节/s）和独白（3.46 个音节/s）。在北索托语中，短文阅读的平均 f0 为 203.83Hz，而独白的平均 f0 为 191.11Hz。两种语言的语音质量、声门冲击和共鸣感知相当。
在讲英语-北索托语的女性双语者中观察到了语言使用、任务表现和嗓音特征之间的关系。SLP 在为双语客户提供服务时，必须考虑语言、任务表现和嗓音特征之间的相互作用。
