Tienkamp Thomas B, Rebernik Teja, Halpern Bence M, van Son Rob J J H, Wieling Martijn, Witjes Max J H, de Visscher Sebastiaan A H J, Abur Defne
Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2025 Jul 8;68(7):3069-3089. doi: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-24-00464. Epub 2025 Jun 26.
The purpose of this study was to assess differences between individuals treated for oral squamous cell carcinoma (ITOC) and control speakers on acoustic, kinematic, and perceptual measures of speech. Furthermore, this study aimed to assess the interrelatedness of these speech domains alongside self-reported speech outcomes in order to inform clinically relevant measures of speech in ITOC.
Simultaneous acoustic and kinematic data (via electromagnetic articulography sensors on the tongue) were collected from nine ITOC, who received surgical treatment for a tumor located on either the tongue or jaw and eight age- and sex-matched control speakers. All participants were native speakers of Dutch and read the North Wind and the Sun Passage. We calculated the articulatory-acoustic vowel space (AAVS) from the acoustic data and the articulatory-kinematic vowel space (AKVS) from the tongue tip and tongue back sensor data. Inexperienced listeners ( = 35) provided intelligibility and listening effort ratings using a visual analogue scale rating procedure. Self-reported speech problems were assessed using the Speech Handicap Index.
Compared to an age- and sex-matched control group, ITOC demonstrated a significantly smaller AAVS and AKVS of the tongue tip and back, as well as lower intelligibility ratings. A correlation analysis of all speech outcome measures within the ITOC group showed that group-wise, the acoustic, perceptual, and self-reported measures were most strongly associated with each other. While acoustic and kinematic measures were not strongly associated with each other on the group level, within-speaker correlations showed stronger acoustic-kinematic associations.
This study demonstrates that acoustic, perceptual, and self-reported measures are related and quantify speech problem severity between ITOC, while kinematic measures showed no between-speaker relationships in a systematic way. Acoustic and kinematic measures showed greater within-speaker than between-speaker associations, reflecting speaker-specific compensatory behaviors. Our results underscore the importance of assessing the speech outcomes of ITOC across the acoustic, kinematic, perceptual, and self-reported domains to inform rehabilitation strategies.
本研究旨在评估接受口腔鳞状细胞癌治疗的个体（ITOC）与对照说话者在语音的声学、运动学和感知测量方面的差异。此外，本研究旨在评估这些语音领域之间的相互关联性以及自我报告的语音结果，以便为ITOC中与临床相关的语音测量提供信息。
从9名ITOC（他们因位于舌头或下颌的肿瘤接受了手术治疗）以及8名年龄和性别匹配的对照说话者那里收集了同步的声学和运动学数据（通过舌头上的电磁关节造影传感器）。所有参与者均为荷兰语母语者，并朗读了《北风和太阳》段落。我们从声学数据中计算出发音 - 声学元音空间（AAVS），并从舌尖和舌背传感器数据中计算出发音 - 运动学元音空间（AKVS）。没有经验的听众（n = 35）使用视觉模拟量表评分程序提供可懂度和听觉努力评分。使用语音障碍指数评估自我报告的语音问题。
与年龄和性别匹配的对照组相比，ITOC表现出舌尖和舌背的AAVS和AKVS明显更小，以及可懂度评分更低。对ITOC组内所有语音结果测量的相关性分析表明，从组的角度来看，声学、感知和自我报告的测量彼此之间关联最为紧密。虽然声学和运动学测量在组水平上彼此之间没有很强的关联，但说话者内部的相关性显示出更强的声学 - 运动学关联。
本研究表明，声学、感知和自我报告的测量是相关的，并量化了ITOC之间的语音问题严重程度，而运动学测量在说话者之间没有以系统的方式显示出关系。声学和运动学测量在说话者内部比在说话者之间显示出更强的关联，反映了说话者特定的补偿行为。我们的结果强调了在声学、运动学、感知和自我报告领域评估ITOC语音结果以指导康复策略的重要性。
