Has the Prevalence of Creaky Voice Increased Among Finnish University Students From the 1990′S to the 2010′S?

Abstract

Everyday observations indicate that creaky voice has become common in Finland in recent years. Previous studies suggest that this trend is also occurring in other countries. This cross-sectional study investigates the use of creaky voice among Finnish university students from the 1990 0 s to the 2010 0 s. Material was obtained from a sound archive. It consisted of 200 samples from normophonic speakers (95 males, 105 females; mean age 23.7 years, SD 3.3 years, range 19−35 years). Normophonia was checked by two speech therapists in a preliminary perceptual analysis. Thereafter, two voice specialists rated the amount of creak and strain. A scale of 0−4 was used (0 = none, 4 = a lot). The inter-and intrarater reliability for the listening evaluations were satisfactory (for creaky phonation, rho = 0.611, P < 0.001 for interrater reliability and rho = 0.540, P < 0.001 for intrarater reliability; for strain, rho = 0.463, P < 0.001 and rho = 0.697, P < 0.001 for inter-and intrarater reliability, respectively). These results revealed a significant increase in the amount of perceived creak in females (from 1.04, SD 0.69 to 1.55, SD 1.06; P < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). In males, no significant change was found. However, the frequency of creaky voice use increased in both genders. No male speakers from the 1990 0 s were rated as using "a lot" of creaky voice, but 2.3% of male speakers from the 2010 0 s received this rating. Male speakers who were rated "quite a lot" increased from 5.9% in the 1990 0 s to 18.1% in the 2010 0 s. Female speakers rated "a lot" increased from 0% to 6%, and female speakers rated "quite a lot" increased from 7% to 25.8% over the studied time periods. Creaky phonation and strain correlated slightly in males (rho = 0.24, P < 0.05) and moderately in females (rho = 0.55, P < 0.001). Age did not correlate with the amount of creaky phonation (rho = 0.005, P > 0.10 for males, rho = -0.011, P > 0.10 for females). It can be concluded that the prevalence of creaky voice has increased among young Finnish speakers, particularly females.

Talking Like a Teacher—A Study of Pre-Service Teachers’ Voice and Speech Characteristics in Learning and Teaching Situations

“…However, a large amount of vocal fry was detected in the recordings. It has been found that vocal fry has increased, especially among Finnish women [52]. Vocal fry and other non-modal voice qualities have been found to have an effect on learning outcomes, as it requires more cognitive capacity from the listener than listening to modal voice quality.…”

Vocal Fry: Anzeichen einer Stimmstörung oder ganz normal?

“…Stimmgesunde erzeugen Vocal Fry, indem sie die wenig gespannt, verkürzt, dick und stark adduziert wirkenden Stimmlippen mit einem niedrigen subglottischen Anblasedruck in Schwingung versetzen. Die Stimmlippenschwingung ist hierbei verhältnismässig langsam und unregelmäßig, bei kleiner Schwingungsamplitude und verlängerter Schließphase 1 2 . Häufig sind die Taschenfalten sichtbar medialisiert.…”

“…B. Mandarin, betont werden. Somit kann Vocal Fry bei Stimmgesunden kurze oder lange sprachliche Abschnitte umfassen 2 3 . In Tonbeispielen 2 und 3 ist jeweils eine erwachsene Frau hörbar, bei der Vocal Fry je nach Sprache unterschiedlich stark auftritt ( Audio 2 , Audio 3 ).…”

“…Mehrere Einzelstudien deuten darauf hin, dass sich Vocal Fry als Sprechstil vermehrt verbreitet hat 2 , mit einer geschätzten Prävalenz von bis zu 81 % im Amerikanischen Englisch 4 . Ein systematischer Review konnte dies jedoch nicht bestätigen, auch blieb unklar ob Frauen oder Männer vermehrt Vocal Fry aufweisen 4 .…”

A Randomized Controlled Trial With Female Teachers: Are there Differences Between and Within the Outcomes in Voice Therapy Groups With and Without Carryover Strategies?

“…62,63 On the other hand, an increase in f 0 after teachers' vocally loading working days has been reported. 44,64,65 It should also be noted that prevalence of creaky voice use (resulting in low f 0 ) has increased in young Finnish university students from the 1990's to the 2010's, particularly in females, 66 and has been reported to be up to 54% in some female teachers' speech. 44 However, in the present study we wanted to rule out creaky voice by setting the lower limit of fundamental frequency at 130 Hz in acoustic analysis.…”