Acoustic and perceptual parameters of voice quality relating to sagittal postural alignment: A study of the preliminary results of normal and dysphonic Portuguese speakers

The characterization of a speaker's vocal quality can permit the identification of his particular phonetic settings and the use of his anatomic mechanism. I discovered by examining a corpus of European Portuguese that production and perception is significantly influenced by spine posture: fundamental frequency for all evaluated vocal behaviors, formants, roughness and grade of vocal alteration for vowels, and asthenia parameter for sequential speech, especially in the normal speakers group. The patterns of sagittal posture of the spine represent extra-linguistic characteristics that can supply essential information to characterize the individuality of vocal quality. They are essential in the study of dysphonia.