Bernard Harmegnies

Time- and spectrum-related variabilities in stressed speech under laboratory and real conditions

Stress induced by various types of situation leads to vocal signal modifications. Previous studies have indicated that stressed speech is associated with a higher fundamental frequency and noticeable changes in vowel spectrum. This paper presents pitch- and spectral-based analyses of stressed speech corpora drawn from both artificial and real situations. The laboratory corpus is obtained by means of the Stroop test, the real-case corpus is extracted from the Cockpit Voice Recording of a crashed aeroplane. Analyses relative to pitch are presented and an index of microprosodic variation, CL, is introduced. Spectrum-related indicators of stress are issued from a cumulative histogram of sound level and from statistical analyses of formant frequencies. Distances to the F l-F2-F3 centre are also investigated. All these variations, throughout the two different situations, show the direct link between some new vocal parameters and stress appearances. The results confirm the validity of laboratory experiments on stress, but emphazise quantitative as well as qualitative differences between the situations and the speakers involved.

A study of style-induced vowel variability: laboratory versus spontaneous speech in Spanish

Abstract The paper is focussed on the vocalic differences between spontaneous and laboratory speech in Spanish. The first and second formants of 954 vowel utterances (477 in laboratory and 477 in spontaneous speech) have been measured. They constitute clusters in the F1/F2 space. The paper describes inter- and intra-cluster variabilities caused by communication situations changes. In spontaneous speech, the formants values show (1) a marked schwa-tendency; (2) increasing intra-cluster variability. Both phenomena result in lowered differenciation of the sounds in spontaneous speech.

The aerodynamics of nasalization in French

Abstract Nasalization in French involves a complex interplay between several phonetic and phonological factors that have been, for the most part, investigated separately over the last 40 years. The present study provides a detailed account of the aerodynamics of French nasalization from eight Belgian French speakers reading word lists. Patterns of tautosyllabic nasal coarticulation are investigated in CV˜, NV˜, CV˜C, CV˜.CV, CV, NV, (C)VN, and NVN items, comparing different vowel and consonant types. Dependent variables involve temporal measures of both the extent of nasalization and its starting point relative to the oral–nasal boundary, and average flow rates across the acoustically defined segments. Results confirm previous findings that carryover nasalization is more extensive than anticipatory nasalization in French for both vowels and consonants. We further show that the temporal extent of intra-syllabic nasal coarticulatory airflow varies across vowel height and consonant manner of articulation and voicing. Various factors are considered in accounting for this variation.

Implantation of Esterified Hyaluronic Acid in Microdissected Reinke's Space After Vocal Fold Microsurgery: Short- and Long-Term Results

In this study are reported the laryngeal and vocal results obtained after a microflap excision of benign vocal fold (VF) lesions and immediate implantation of esterified hyaluronic acid (EHA) in the surgical wound. In a previous pilot study on 11 cases, we have shown an excellent tolerance of this bioimplant. The objectives are to confirm the innocuity of the technique, to demonstrate the laryngeal and vocal evolution at short and long term, and to evaluate the eventual positive impact of EHA implantation on the pliability of the superficial layer of the lamina propria (SLLP) and on voice. This is a prospective and comparative study on 83 patients suffering from various benign VF lesions. Thirty-three patients were implanted with EHA, whereas 50 patients did not undergo implantation at the end of the microsurgical procedure. All patients undergo rigid laryngoscopy and microflap excision procedure under general anesthesia. After freeing up of the Reinkes space and creation of a mucosal microflap, a few fibers of EHA are inserted in the surgical wound, before closure of the incision with fibrin glue. Serial laryngeal and vocal assessments are performed in all patients using videostroboscopy (Wolff and Xion), perceptual and objective voice evaluation (MDVP software, Kay Elemetrics), and phonatory function measurements (Aerophone II). Pre- and early postoperative means are compared by analysis of variance. Delayed and long-term evolution of laryngeal and vocal data are compared by means of nonparametric statistical methods. The longest follow-up in the implanted group is 4 years. Early postoperative results are similar in both groups: a significant improvement of a majority of laryngeal and vocal data is observed after microsurgery. In the long term, the two groups exhibit a different behavior: further improvement of voice, as an ongoing process, is only observed in the EHA implanted group, together with improvement of some videostroboscopic characteristics. The nonimplanted group remains stable, with no further improvement of the voice quality obtained after microsurgery. Excellent short- and long-term tolerance of EHA implantation is confirmed by this larger series. The use of EHA implant in microdissected SLLP is safe and leads to good laryngeal and vocal outcomes in the treated patients. More interestingly, treated cases exhibit a continuous improvement over a long period of time.

Voice outcomes of laryngopharyngeal reflux treatment: a systematic review of 1483 patients

The aim of this study is to explore voice quality modifications in laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) disease and to understand better the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of communicative disability. Biological Abstracts, BioMed Central, Cochrane database, PubMed and Scopus were assessed for subject headings using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) recommendations. Relevant studies published between January 1990 and December 2015 describing the evaluation of voice quality in LPR disease were retrieved. Issues of clinical relevance, such as LPR diagnosis method, treatment efficacy and outcomes, were evaluated for each study. We determined the grade of recommendation for each publication according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine evidence levels. The search identified 145 publications, of which 25 studies met the inclusion criteria for a total of 1483 LPR patients. Data were extracted by 2 independent physicians who identified 16 trials with a IIb evidence level, 7 trials with a IIa evidence level and 2 RCTs with a Ib evidence level where 4 patient-based instruments and 5 clinician-based instruments were used. The main voice assessment outcomes reported were hoarseness assessments by physicians or patients, followed by acoustic parameters; 15 and 14 articles, respectively, demonstrated significant improvements in subjective and objective voice assessments after treatment. The methodology used to measure acoustic parameters (i.e. sustained vowel duration, the sample portion choice for measurement, etc.) varied from one study to another. The majority of studies indicated that voice quality assessments (especially acoustic parameters) remain an interesting outcome to measure the effectiveness of treatment, but further studies using standardised and transparent methodology to measure acoustic parameters are necessary to confirm the place of each tool in the LPR disease evaluation.

Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Voice Disorders: A Multifactorial Model of Etiology and Pathophysiology

OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to shed light on the pathogenesis and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of hoarseness related to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD). MATERIAL AND METHODS PubMed, Embase, and The Cochrane Library were searched for the terms reflux, laryngopharyngeal, laryngitis, voice, and hoarseness. Experimental and clinical studies providing substantial information about the occurrence of voice disorders, laryngeal histologic changes, or any pathophysiological processes related to LPRD were included by two independent investigators. RESULTS Of the 104 studies reviewed, 47 studies that met our inclusion criteria were analyzed. LPRD leads to significant macroscopic and microscopic histopathologic changes in the mucosa of the vibratory margin of the vocal folds. More and more studies suspect that epithelial cell dehiscence, microtraumas, inflammatory infiltrates, Reinke space dryness, mucosal drying, and epithelial thickening are probably responsible for the hoarseness related to reflux and the impairment of the subjective and objective voice quality evaluations. CONCLUSION Future clinical studies examining the pathophysiology of hoarseness related to LPRD should take into consideration all potential mechanisms involved in the development of hoarseness.

Intra-speaker variability of the long term speech spectrum

Abstract 400-channels constant bandwidth (12.5 Hz) Long Term Spectra (LTS) delivered by a BK 2033 analyser have been drawn from French utterances. The cross-correlation coefficient was used to investigate LTS residual intra-speaker variability both in inter- and intra-text conditions. Significant subject-dependent differences habe been revealed in both conditions. They indicate voice coherence variability in the speakers. Correlations lowering in inter-text condition moreover reveals the content-dependent nature of LTS. The need for basic LTS research prior to further application is therefore emphasized.

SDDD: a new dissimilarity index for the comparison of speech spectra

Abstract SDDD, an index for the comparison of speech spectra, is introduced in this paper. Its discriminatory ability is established by comparing SDDD with the best classical index on the basis of a speaker-recognition experiment using Long Term Average Spectra.

Change of signs, symptoms and voice quality evaluations throughout a 3- to 6-month empirical treatment for laryngopharyngeal reflux disease

To assess the usefulness of voice quality measurements as a treatment outcome in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR)‐related symptoms.

Phonetic compliance: a proof-of-concept study

In this paper, we introduce the concept of “phonetic compliance,” which is defined as the intrinsic individual ability to produce speech sounds that are unusual in the native language, and constitutes a part of the ability to acquire L2 phonetics and phonology. We argue that phonetic compliance represents a systematic source of variance that needs to be accounted for if one wants to improve the control over the independent variables manipulated in SLA experimental studies. We then present the results of a two-fold proof-of-concept study aimed at testing the feasibility of assessing phonetic compliance in terms of gradient. In study 1, a pilot data collection paradigm is implemented on an occasional sample of 10 native French speakers engaged in two reproduction tasks involving respectively vowels and aspirated stops, and data are analyzed using descriptive statistics. In study 2, complementary data including L1-typical realizations are collected, resulting in the development of a first set of indicators that may be useful to appropriately assess, and further refine the concept of, phonetic compliance. Based on a critical analysis of the contributions and limitations of the proof-of-concept study, general discussion formulates the guidelines for the following stages of development of a reliable and valid test of phonetic compliance.