1- Department of Speech Therapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Science, Hamadan, Iran.
2- Department of Speech Therapy, Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Research Center, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
3- Department of Speech Therapy, Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, School of Rehabilitation, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
4- Craniofacial and Cleft Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, Iran.
Abstract: (1463 Views)
Objectives: This study conducts a comparative analysis of the temporal facets of velopharyngeal coarticulation in Persian-speaking adults, differentiating between subjects with and without cleft palate, across three distinct vowel contexts.
Methods: The study included 14 adults who had undergone cleft palate repair, with or without cleft lip and presented moderate to severe hypernasality. Another 14 adults without cleft palate were included in the study. The age range of participants was 18 to 50 years. By utilizing the Praat software, version 6.1.50, the study obtained data for the four temporal parameters by analyzing acoustic waveforms and spectrograms within three distinct vowel contexts. The analysis included the calculation of ratios of nasalization duration to neutralize the influence of speech rate variations between the cleft palate and control groups.
Results: The results revealed that adults with cleft palate exhibited significantly extended durations for the four temporal parameters compared to the control group (P<0.001).
Discussion: The findings underscore that adults with cleft palate demonstrate prolonged nasalization durations in their speech, signifying potential temporal disparities in velopharyngeal coarticulation. This divergence is most evident in the context of the /i/ vowel. The temporal aspects of nasalization, denoting the temporal dimensions of the acoustic impedance related to the oral and nasal cavities, can potentially impact the hypernasality perception in adults with cleft palate. This study proposed that an acoustic examination of speech’s temporal aspects can effectively quantify the degree of nasalization in cleft palate individuals and a control group. Furthermore, the results indicate that the development of motor speech control significantly contributes to the mechanisms underpinning anticipatory and carryover velopharyngeal coarticulation.
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● The Persian-speaking adults with cleft palate had significantly elevated durations of nasalization than adults without cleft palate.
● Temporal aspects of velopharyngeal coarticulation were delayed or exhibited deviations in adults with cleft palate.
● The development of motor speech control plays an important role in the mechanisms of anticipatory and carryover velopharyngeal coarticulation.
Plain Language Summary
Velopharyngeal insufficiency affects speech. When the duration of opening and closing of the velopharyngeal valve before and after a nasal consonant takes more time than usual, speech quality is perceived as hypernasal. Hypernasality is a prevalent nasality disorder among individuals with cleft palate. The findings of this investigation propose that adults with cleft palate in the Persian language may initiate velopharyngeal opening for nasal consonants earlier and conclude velopharyngeal closing for oral consonants after nasal consonants later than adults without cleft palate.
Article type:
Original Research Articles |
Subject:
Speech therapy Received: 2023/04/9 | Accepted: 2023/10/23 | Published: 2024/09/1