Lady Catherine Cantor-Cutiva1, Pasquale Bottalico2, Charles Nudelman2, Jossemia Webster2, Eric J Hunter3. 1. Department of Collective Health, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia; Program of Speech and Language Pathology, Universidad Manuela Beltrán, Bogotá, Colombia. Electronic address: cantorcu@msu.edu. 2. Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. 3. Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Abstract
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). Participants filled out a questionnaire and recorded one reading in English (second sentence of Rainbow passage "The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors") under a "virtual-simulated" acoustic condition of No Noise and Medium Reverberation Time (0.8 seconds). RESULT: Analysis by gender shows that monolingual speakers had higher fundamental frequency mode, and lower standard deviation of fundamental frequency compared to bilingual English-Spanish speakers. Bilingual male speakers had higher jitter and harmonics-to-noise ratio than monolingual speakers. On the contrary, female bilingual speakers had lower jitter and shimmer than monolingual speakers. CONCLUSIONS: Speaking a second language may influence voice acoustic parameters, and therefore, should be considered when comparing acoustic speech metrics.
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). Participants filled out a questionnaire and recorded one reading in English (second sentence of Rainbow passage "The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors") under a "virtual-simulated" acoustic condition of No Noise and Medium Reverberation Time (0.8 seconds). RESULT: Analysis by gender shows that monolingual speakers had higher fundamental frequency mode, and lower standard deviation of fundamental frequency compared to bilingual English-Spanish speakers. Bilingual male speakers had higher jitter and harmonics-to-noise ratio than monolingual speakers. On the contrary, female bilingual speakers had lower jitter and shimmer than monolingual speakers. CONCLUSIONS: Speaking a second language may influence voice acoustic parameters, and therefore, should be considered when comparing acoustic speech metrics.