• Proceedings of the KSLP Conference
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• 2017.04a
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• pp.89-89
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• 2017

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.59-67
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• 2023

This study aimed to propose an appropriate evaluation method for the perceived level of speech disfluency based on sound prolongation (i.e., increased duration of segments). To this end, 34 Korean-speaking adults (9 males, 25 females, average age: 32.9 yrs.) participated as raters in this study. The participants listened to sentences containing a total of 25 stimuli with the Korean voiceless fricative /s/ extended by 80-ms increments up to 2,000 ms (i.e., 285 ms, 365 ms., ..., 2,125 ms, 2,205 ms), and evaluated them using an equal-appearing interval scale (EAI, 1-7 points, where 1 represents "normal" and 7 represents "severe"). Subsequently, based on the interval-scale results, the sentence stimuli with the prolonged voiceless fricative corresponding to the mild-to-moderate level (rated as 4 points) were selected as the reference modulus for direct magnitude estimation (DME). After scatter plots were created for the two evaluation results, the relationship between the two measured mean values was analyzed using a curve estimation method for the observed data with the highest R²-value to determine whether a linear or curvilinear approximation fit the data better. A curvilinear relationship between the two evaluation results was indicated, suggesting that DME is a more appropriate evaluation method than the EAI scale for assessing the perceived level of disfluency based on sound prolongation.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.51-61
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to compare voice characteristics and voice-related quality of life (K-VRQOL) of the elderly female choir members using perceptual-auditory voice quality evaluation (GRBAS) and K-VRQOL scales. The participants were 77 women over 60 years old who were actively engaged in the choir in either Seoul or Busan. There are two kinds of choirs that indicate different engagement levels: regular choir and church choir. The perceptual-auditory vocal quality evaluation was listened to by / a / vowels and were graded by experts using the GRBAS scale. As a result, when comparing the differences between groups, the elderly female participants of the regular choir showed higher satisfaction in speech using the subjective speech recognition level than the elderly female members who performed in the church choir. In addition, the analysis showed that the satisfaction level was high in the physical function area of the K-VRQOL scale. This study confirmed that choral activities could yield positive results not only in terms of improving voice function in old age, but also to improve the subjective perception level of voice use, thus suggesting the necessity of systematic music programs to improve voices that are aging.