Fundamental frequency changes of Persian speakers across the life span.
This study was designed to investigate changes in fundamental frequency (F0) across the life span in Persian speakers. Four hundred children and adults were asked to produce a sustained phonation of vowel /a/ and their voice samples were studied in 10 age groups. F0 was analyzed using the software Praat (Version 5.1.17.). The results revealed that (1) the mean F0 in both sexes decreases from childhood to adulthood; (2) significant F0 differences between boys and girls begin at the age of 12 years; and (3) the range of F0 changes in the life span is greater in men (178.38 Hz) than in women (113.57 Hz). These findings provide new data for Persian-speaking children, women, and men and could be beneficial for Iranian speech and language pathologists.
Department of Speech Therapy, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Majid
M
Soltani
Department of Basic Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: ashayerih.neuroscientist.@yahoo.com.
Hasan
H
Ashayeri
Department of Linguistics, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran.
Yahya
Y
Modarresi
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mahyar
M
Salavati
Faculty of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin Branch, Qazvin, Iran.
Hamed
H
Ghomashchi
D000162:Acoustics; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010699:Phonation; D010700:Phonetics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012984:Software; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014833:Voice Quality; D055815:Young Adult
Acoustic analysis; Fundamental frequency; Persian