Relationships Between Formant Frequencies of Sustained Vowels and Tongue Contours Measured by Ultrasonography

Abstract

Ultrasonographic measurements of tongue contour correlated well to the formant frequencies. The results stressed the importance of tongue shaping in articulation. Although more studies are necessary in clinical implications, disorders associated with abnormal tongue shaping may be the target applications in the future.

Acurácia das medidas acústicas tradicionais e formânticas na avaliação da qualidade vocal

“…However, this measure did not produce values in either of the two groups that were below the 0.5% cut-off point considered for the presence of deviation in this parameter. In turn, in the comparative analysis, it could be inferred that patients with mild to moderate voice deviation had more silent airflow between the vocal folds than those with NVQV (5,11) .…”

“…Jitter evaluates perturbations in the frequency of the neighboring vibration cycles (11,18) and is the measure most correlated with GG (17) and sensitive to the presence of voice deviations. This explains its increase in individuals with moderate voice deviations in this study.…”

“…Adjustments in the positioning of the articulators and in the volume of the resonance cavities determine the values of formants (6)(7)(8)11) . Thus, an increase in the first formant (F1), for example, is related to a downward jaw adjustment, anterior lowering of the tongue and pharyngeal narrowing.…”

“…An anterior adjustment of the tongue which is then lowered generates an increase in the second formant (F2). The formation of a smaller cavity immediately behind the incisors can raise the value of the third formant (F3) (6)(7)(8)10,11) .…”

“…Thus, these adjustments may be related to the development or maintenance of, or may cooccur with, voice disorders (11,13) . Such adjustments are not necessarily evaluated by traditional acoustic measures, as they focus on the glottal source (16) .…”