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KMID : 1036820190240030827
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Communication Sciences & Disorders
2019 Volume.24 No. 3 p.827 ~ p.835
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Acoustic Characteristics of Recorded-Voice Depending on Gender in the External Ear Canal
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Kang Hui-Ra
Heo Seung-Deok
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Abstract
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Objectives: The acoustic feature of vowels become different when they pass through the vocal tract, and also differ depending on gender differences such as anatomical structures and vocalization habits. Sound is perceived by the hearing organs through the outer ears, and the characteristics of sound also become different by passing the outer ears, which act as resonators, just as the vocal tracts do. Thus, this study aims to analyze the formant frequency of the /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/ recorded in the external auditory canal (EAC) and to investigate gender differences.
Methods: Ten female (mean age, 23±3.77 years) and 8 male (mean age, 25±3.68 years) participated as speakers, and 1 male participated as a listener. Two condenser microphones connected with a probe tube were used for sound recording. Male and female voices were recorded, which were fixed probe tube at upper pinna and in the EAC. After determining the F1, F2, F3, and F4, formant frequencies were analyzed through descriptive statistics. Gender differences between upper pinna and EAC were examined and analyzed using an independent sample t-test.
Results: In terms of gender differences in the upper pinna, female voices in F1, F2, F3, and F4 (p=.000) of /a/, F1 (p=.000), F3 (p= .016), and F4 (p=.000) of /i/, F1 (p=.000) of /u/, F1 (p=.000), F3 (p=.000), and F4 (p=.000) of /e/, and F1 (p=.015), F4 (p=.000) of /o/ were significantly higher than male voices. However, F2 (p=.013) of /u/, F2 (p=.000) and F3 (p=.000) of /o/ were significantly lower. On the other hand, in the EAC, F1, F2, F3, and F4 (p=.000) of /a/, F1 (p=.005), F2 (p=.041), F3 (p= .023), and F4 (p=.000) of /i/, F2, F3, and F4 (p=.000) of /e/ were significantly higher for female participants.
Conclusion: With respect to the gender difference of voice in the upper pinna, the female vowel space was observed to be spacious on the whole, affected by the F1 and F2, F3 and F4 of rounded and unrounded vowel. In case of the voice in the ear canal, the difference between low and high vowels and the difference between F1 and F2 of the front and the back vowels of the female participants became larger. F3 was higher in rounded and unrounded vowels of female participants. F4 was higher in low, high, front and the back vowels of female participants. In the ear canal, the vowel space of both genders showed conspicuous differences, and notably the vowel space of F3 and F4 was observed independently without any overlapping.
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KEYWORD
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Pinna, External auditory canal, Formant frequency, Gender effect, Voice analysis
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