Interactions of speaking condition and auditory feedback on vowel production in postlingually deaf adults with cochlear implants.
This study investigates the effects of speaking condition and auditory feedback on vowel production by postlingually deafened adults. Thirteen cochlear implant users produced repetitions of nine American English vowels prior to implantation, and at one month and one year after implantation. There were three speaking conditions (clear, normal, and fast), and two feedback conditions after implantation (implant processor turned on and off). Ten normal-hearing controls were also recorded once. Vowel contrasts in the formant space (expressed in mels) were larger in the clear than in the fast condition, both for controls and for implant users at all three time samples. Implant users also produced differences in duration between clear and fast conditions that were in the range of those obtained from the controls. In agreement with prior work, the implant users had contrast values lower than did the controls. The implant users' contrasts were larger with hearing on than off and improved from one month to one year postimplant. Because the controls and implant users responded similarly to a change in speaking condition, it is inferred that auditory feedback, although demonstrably important for maintaining normative values of vowel contrasts, is not needed to maintain the distinctiveness of those contrasts in different speaking conditions.
Ménard
Lucie
L
Département de Linguistique, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal (Québec), H3C 3P8 Canada. menard@speech.mit.edu
Polak
Marek
M
Denny
Margaret
M
Burton
Ellen
E
Lane
Harlan
H
Matthies
Melanie L
ML
Marrone
Nicole
N
Perkell
Joseph S
JS
Tiede
Mark
M
Vick
Jennell
J
D000328:Adult; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005246:Feedback; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008954:Models, Biological; D012016:Reference Values; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*