ISCA Archive ICSLP 1992
ISCA Archive ICSLP 1992

Characteristics of nasalance in canadian speakers of English and French

H. A. Leeper, A. P. Rochet, I. R. A. MacKay

This investigation was designed to evaluate, instrumentally (Nasometer), the relative amount of oral and nasal acoustic energy (in percent nasalance) displayed in the speech of 1751 Canadian speakers of English and French from several regions of the country. Results of the investigation indicate that there were significant differences among the data for two of the three passages assessed in English and French, indicating different levels of nasalance could be expected in production by normal speakers of various ages. In addition, there were differences in nasalance values for regions of the country and ages of the participants. For several of the passages, there were gender differences with female speakers demonstrating slightly greater nasalance values for certain age groups, languages, and regions of the country. These normative nasalance data in both languages are discussed in terms of the different nature of nasal phonemes (consonants and vowels) in the two languages, the articulatory component of each language, and the characteristics of the Nasometer itself.