Systematic Review of Literature on Speech Intelligibility and Classroom Acoustics in Elementary Schools.

Purpose: Good verbal signals and low background noise are key factors for all children to maximize understanding of what is being taught. Classroom shape, surroundings, and even furnishings change how the environment "sounds" and how speech is "heard" in the classroom. Classroom acoustics is perhaps one of the most important, but often least considered, factors when designing a classroom.

The Effect of Bilingualism on Production and Perception of Vocal Fry.

Aims: (1) Determine the difference in vocal fry phonation in English and Spanish productions among bilingual young adults, (2) Characterize the effect of spoken language and native language on vocal fry production among English-Spanish bilingual speakers, (3) Identify the effect of first and second language knowledge of the listener in the voice perceptual assessment, and (4) Define the effect of the environment of the assessment (in situ vs. online), in the voice perceptual assessment.

Method: Exploratory cross-sectional study of 34 bilingual (Spanish-English) speakers and six inexperienced listeners.

The Effects of Reading Speed on Acoustic Voice Parameters and Self-reported Vocal Fatigue in Students.

Introduction: Vocal loading tasks (VLTs) help researchers gather acoustic measurements and understand how a healthy speaker adjusts their voice in response to challenges. There is a dearth of evidence measuring the impact of speaking rate in VLTs on acoustic voice parameters and vocal fatigue.

Objectives: In the present study, the relationships between acoustic voice parameters and self-reported vocal fatigue were examined through an experimental VLT.

Agreement between Transcription- and Rating-Based Intelligibility Measurements for Evaluation of Dysphonic Speech in Noise.

Dysphonia negatively affects a speaker's intelligibility, especially in noisy environments. Previously, our study showed this effect of dysphonia with the transcription-based intelligibility measurement. While this finding indicates the importance of intelligibility assessment for this population, implementing the transcription-based measurement may be difficult in clinical settings due to its resource-demanding nature.

The Formant Bandwidth as a Measure of Vowel Intelligibility in Dysphonic Speech.

Objective: The current paper examined the impact of dysphonia on the bandwidth of the first two formants of vowels, and the relationship between the formant bandwidth and vowel intelligibility.

Methods: Speaker participants of the study were 10 adult females with healthy voice and 10 adult females with dysphonic voice. Eleven vowels in American English were recorded in /h/-vowel-/d/ format.

Singing Voice Quality: The Effects of Maxillary Dental Arch and Singing Style.

Introduction: In classical singing techniques, it is common to manipulate the vocal tract to channel airflow to increase voice quality and volume. Technique varies according to the style of the music, the voice type, and range of a given singer. Although these practices are intentional, fixed physiological aspects of a singer's vocal instrument also play an extremely impactful role in determining voice quality.

Do Voice Acoustic Parameters Differ Between Bilingual English-Spanish Speakers and Monolingual English Speakers During English Productions?

Background: In addition to language differences in fundamental frequency between bilinguals and monolinguals, studies have also included other acoustic parameters to analyze differences in voice production associated with the language spoken.

Aim: To identify differences in voice acoustic parameters during English productions between monolingual and bilingual English speakers.

Method: Exploratory cross-sectional study with two groups of subjects: monolingual English speakers (n = 40), and bilingual English-Spanish speakers (n = 13).