Spectral analysis of word-initial alveolar and velar plosives produced by Iranian children with cleft lip and palate

Abstract

Spectral moment analysis (SMA) was used to describe voiceless alveolar and velar stop-plosive production in Persian-speaking children with repaired cleft lip and palate (CLP). Participants included 11 children with bilateral CLP who were undergoing maxillary expansion and 20 children without any type of orofacial clefts. Four of the children with CLP also exhibited backed (palatal) placement for alveolar stops. All children produced consonant-vowel-consonant nonsense words that targeted the plosives /t/ and /k/. SMA revealed that children with CLP had significantly reduced first spectral moment of /t/ and /t/-/k/ difference. Children with CLP who produced palatal stops for alveolar targets also had lower but non-significant first spectral moments for /t/ as compared with children with CLP who did not produce palatal stops. The results are consistent with previously reported findings for English-speaking children with repaired CLP and further suggest that maxillary arch constriction may be a contributing factor for (a) reduced spectral distinction of alveolar targets and/or (b) palatal substitutions for alveolar targets.

Orthognathic speech pathology: impacts of Class III malocclusion on speech

“…Patients were directed to read a series of 60 phrases comprising the 20 English words and nested within a carrier phrase (‘say ____ again’) to help simulate spontaneous speech. Data were collected in a sound-attenuated booth (Eckoustic Noise Control Products; Eckel Industries of Canada Limited, Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada) using a head-mounted microphone, with recordings collected on a Kay Pentax Computerized Speech Laboratory (CSL Model 4500; Pentax Medical, New Jersey, USA) ( 30 , 31 , 34 ). CSL software was configured to record at a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz with a low-pass filter at 80 per cent of the Nyquist frequency (~18 kHz).…”

“…This tool relies on statistical descriptors to define characteristics of a sound wave, including the mean or centroid tendency of energy distribution (M1) and the spectral spread of sound energies (M2, Figure 2A ) ( 28 , 29 ). This is a validated method of assessment used in children with cleft lip and palate to understand how palatal morphology impacts speech ( 30 , 31 ).…”