• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.77-87
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• 2019

The study aimed to develop Speech Range Profile (SRP) and to examine and validate its clinical application. Forty-five participants without voice disorders aged 18-29 years were compared using SRP and Voice Range Profile (VRP). The authors developed the "Fire!" paragraph as a SRP task compromising 14 sentences including all Korean spoken phonemes and sentence types. To compare SRP and VRP results, the participants read the paragraph (reading) and counted from 21 to 30 (counting) as a part of SRP tasks, and produced a vowel /a/ from low to high frequencies (gliding) and a shortened form of the VRP as a part of VRP tasks. $F0_{max}$, $F0_{min}$, $F0_{range}$, $I_{max}$, $I_{min}$, and $I_{range}$ for each task were measured and compared, showing that $F0_{max}$, $F0_{min}$, $F0_{range}$, $I_{max}$, and $I_{range}$ were not different between reading and gliding. $I_{min}$, had the lowest value in counting. It is concluded that the newly developed SRP task, reading the "Fire" paragraph, can yield a maximum phonation range similar to that found by VRP. Therefore, it is expected that voice evaluation can be effectively performed in a relatively short time by applying SRP with the "Fire" paragraph, a functional utterance task, in place of VRP, which may be difficult to measure long term or in cases of severe voice disorders.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.67-75
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• 2022

This study compared voice range profiles (VRPs) of modal and falsetto register in 53 dysphonic and 53 non-dysphonic adult women with gliding vowel /a/'. The results shows that maximum fundamental frequency (F0_MAX), maximum intensity (I_MAX), F0 range (F0_RANGE), and intensity range (I_RANGE) are lower in the dysphonic group than in the non-dysphonic group. F0_MAX and F0_RANGE are significantly higher in falsetto register than modal register in both groups. I_MAX and I_RANGE are significantly higher in falsetto register in the non-dysphonic group, but those are not different between two registers in the dysphonic group. There was no statistically significant difference in minimum F0 (F0_MIN) and minimum intensity (I_MIN) between the two groups. Modal-falsetto register transition occurred at 378.86 Hz (F4#) in the dysphonic group and 557.79 Hz (C5#) in the non-dysphonic group, which was significantly lower in the dysphonic group. It can be seen that both modal and falsetto registers in dysphonic adult women are reduced compared to non-dysphoinc adult women, indicating that the vocal folds of dysphonic adult women are not easy to vibrate in high pitches. The results of this study would be the basic data for understanding the acoustic features of voice disorders.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.15-22
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• 2016

This study aims to examine whether the fundamental frequency (F0) varies depending on languages or distinguishes between L1 (first language) and L2 (second language) speech and whether the type of materials which vary in control of consonant voicing affects the use of F0-especially, mean F0. For this purpose, we compared productions of two languages produced by Korean L2 learners of English to those of Korean-English bilingual speakers. Twelve Korean L2 speakers of English and twelve Korean-English bilingual speakers participated in this study. The subjects read aloud 22 declarative sentences-balanced and unbalanced-once in English and once in Korean. Mean F0 of Korean was higher than that of English for both speaker groups, and the difference in the value of mean F0 between the Korean and English sentences was different depending on the type of materials that the participants read. With regard to F0 range, the L2 speakers had a larger F0 range in English than in Korean; however, the effect of language on F0 range was not statistically significant for the bilingual speakers. These results indicate that language-specific properties may affect the use of F0, in particular, mean F0.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.43-47
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• 2003

This paper is phonetic study of $F_{0}$ range and boundary tone in Mandarin Chinese. The production data from 6 Chinese speakers show that there are declination, pitch resetting and tonal variation of boundary tone. In declarative sentence, $F_{0}$ declines gradually over the utterance but mid-sentence boundary prevents $F_{0}$ of following syllable from declining because of pitch resetting. $F_{0}$ range of syllable is expanded before the mid- and final sentence boundaries. In interrogative one, $F_{0}$ ascends gradually over the utterance and mid-sentence boundary makes $F_{0}$ of following syllable rise more. $F_{0}$ range of sentence final syllable is expanded and $F_{0}$ contour shows rising curve.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.31-37
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• 2021

The fundamental frequency, or f0, is an important acoustic measure in the prosody of human speech. The current study examined the f0 distribution of a corpus of spontaneous speech in order to provide normative data for Korean speakers. The corpus consists of 40 speakers talking freely about their daily activities and their personal views. Praat scripts were created to collect f0 values, and a majority of obvious errors were corrected manually by watching and listening to the f0 contour on a narrow-band spectrogram. Statistical analyses of the f0 distribution were conducted using R. The results showed that the f0 values of all the Korean speakers were right-skewed, with a pointy distribution. The speakers produced spontaneous speech within a frequency range of 274 Hz (from 65 Hz to 339 Hz), excluding statistical outliers. The mode of the total f0 data was 102 Hz. The female f0 range, with a bimodal distribution, appeared wider than that of the male group. Regression analyses based on age and f0 values yielded negligible R-squared values. As the mode of an individual speaker could be predicted from the median, either the median or mode could serve as a good reference for the individual f0 range. Finally, an analysis of the continuous f0 points of intonational phrases revealed that the initial and final segments of the phrases yielded several f0 measurement errors. From these results, we conclude that an examination of a spontaneous speech corpus can provide linguists with useful measures to generalize acoustic properties of f0 variability in a language by an individual or groups. Further studies would be desirable of the use of statistical measures to secure reliable f0 values of individual speakers.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2017

An increase in speech intelligibility has been found in Clear Speech compared to conversational speech. Clear Speech is defined by decreased articulation rates and increased frequency and length of pauses. The objective of the present study was to investigate improvement in immediate speech intelligibility in 10 patients with Parkinson's disease (age range: 46 to 75 years) using Clear Speech. This experiment has been performed using the Phonatory Aerodynamic System 6600 after the participants read the first sentence of a Sanchaek passage and the "List for Adults 1" in the Sentence Recognition Test (SRT) using casual speech and Clear Speech. Acoustic and aerodynamic parameters that affect speech intelligibility were measured, including mean F0, F0 range, intensity, speaking rate, mean airflow rate, and respiratory rate. In the Sanchaek passage, use of Clear Speech resulted in significant differences in mean F0, F0 range, speaking rate, and respiratory rate, compared with the use of casual speech. In the SRT list, significant differences were seen in mean F0, F0 range, and speaking rate. Based on these findings, it is claimed that speech intelligibility can be affected by adjusting breathing and tone in Clear Speech. Future studies should identify the benefits of Clear Speech through auditory-perceptual studies and evaluate programs that use Clear Speech to increase intelligibility.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.16-39
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• 1995

From July 8 to September 2 1994, asbestos exposure level among asbestos textile workers was surveyed. Six plants out of plants in Korea were selected for this study. In addition to the exposure level, the relationship between the level of exposure and some factors affecting exposure were studied. Also, using historical data of asbestos concentrations in asbestos textile plants plus current data, trend of asbestos exposure level could be introduced. Historical exposure level was estimated on the basis of these data. The main results of this study are follows. 1. Average concentration of all six plants surveyed was 1.54 f/cc, and range of those concentrations was 0.03 - 11.58 f/cc. The minimum average concentration was 0.32 f/cc and the maximum was 8.04 f/cc which is four times higher than the Korean standard. A wide difference of exposure level among the workers of different plants was observed. In three plants, the half of all the plants surveyed, their average concentrations exceeded the Korean standard, and those in all the plants exceeded the ACGIH TLV. 2. Among total 56 samples, 22 samples(39%) were in excess of the Korean standard, and 53 samples(95%) were above the ACGIH TLV. Among 32 personal samples, 15 samples(47%) exceeded the Korean standard, and 30 samples(94%) exceeded the ACGIH TLV. Among 24 area samples excluding a few samples collected in office area, seven samples exceeded the Korean standard, and 23 samples( 96%) exceeded the ACGIH TLV. 3. Distributions of concentrations were observed by processes. In weaving, the highest, average concentration was 4.29 f/cc, and range was 2.61 - 11.58 f/cc. In spinning, average concentration was 2.22 f/cc, and range was 0.41 - 8.93 f/cc. In carding, average concentration was 1.98 f/cc, and range was 0.23 - 10.93 f/cc, In twisting, average concentration was 1.65 f/cc, and range was 0.21 - 9.83 f/cc. In mixing, the lowest, average concentration was 0.48 f/cc, and range was 0.22 - 1.20 f/cc. 4. All the samples from basic processes of asbestos textile plants were above the ACGIH TLV. Nineteen samples(45%) out of all these 42 samples exceeded Korean standard. Fourteen samples(58%) of total 24 personal samples, and five samples(28%) of total 18 area samples exceeded the Korean standard. Considering processes, all the samples in weaving process exceeded the Korean standard and 50 did 54% of those in spinning, 40% in carding, and 27% in twisting. 5. Trend of decreasing asbestos concentrations in asbestos textile plants was observed by time. 6. Asbestos concentrations in asbestos textile plant in 1975 were estimated to be 11.0 - 92.4 f/cc.

• Communications of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.1187-1192
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• 1996

It is known that an unbiased estimator of f(p) for binomial B(n,p) exists if and only if f is a polynomial of degree at most n, in which case the unbiased estimator of a real-valued function $f(p), p = (p_0,p_1,\cdots,p_r)$ is unique. In general, this estimator has the serious fault of not being range preserving; that is, its value may fall outside the range of f(p). In this article, a condition on a real-valued function f is derived that is necessary for the unbiased estimator to be range preserving that this is sufficient when n is large enough.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.93-103
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• 2003

This study examines the high-low pitch range differences between Korean and native English speakers' utterances of 36 English sentences, and explores the role of the pitch fluctuation range in the pronunciation assessment. Findings are: i) Korean speakers implement half as much pitch fluctuation as the native speakers with the achievement rate of, on an average, 47%. Especially, pitch fluctuation range is below the average in the sentence types of exclamation, yes-no & wh-questions, ii) the reason why Korean speakers' pitch fluctuation range is only half the range of the native speakers is that Korean speakers do not raise the pitch at certain sentence positions so much as the native speakers, and iii) the range of pitch fluctuation plays an important role in distinguishing the utterances of the native speakers from those of Korean speakers, but does not in rating the English utterances among Korean speakers.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2024

The fundamental frequency (f0), representing an acoustic measure of vocal fold vibration, serves as an indicator of the speaker's emotional state and language-specific pattern in daily conversations. This study aimed to examine the f0 distribution in an English corpus of spontaneous speech, establishing normative data for American speakers. The corpus involved 40 participants engaging in free discussions on daily activities and personal viewpoints. Using Praat, f0 values were collected filtering outliers after removing nonspeech sounds and interviewer voices. Statistical analyses were performed with R. Results indicated a median f0 value of 145 Hz for all the speakers. The f0 values for all speakers exhibited a right-skewed, pointy distribution within a frequency range of 216 Hz from 75 Hz to 339 Hz. The female f0 range was wider than that of males, with a median of 113 Hz for males and 181 Hz for females. This spontaneous speech corpus provides valuable insights for linguists into f0 variation among individuals or groups in a language. Further research is encouraged to develop analytical and statistical measures for establishing reliable f0 standards for the general population.