| Background: Developmental data on disordered voice has generally been limited to Caucasian children. One cannot assume that data from other racial groups would be directly comparable, leaving a lack of appropriate data for determining the services needed for these populations.The purpose of this study was to examine the voice of 104 Hispanic/Latino English Language Learners, kindergarten through 3rd grade, in transitional bilingual classes. It was hypothesized that evolving bilingual children would exhibit differences in voice related to age, gender, and language spoken.Methods: Recorded narrative samples in English and Spanish were used to assess acoustic and perceptual voice quality. Numerical values were obtained for ten acoustic characteristics perceptual analysis consisted of ratings from five judges who were asked to identify the presence or absence of deviations in the participants' vocal quality.Results: 1) The Fundamental Frequency (F0) declined in both genders as age increased with the decrease most prominent in Spanish. 2) 3) The F0 was highest in girls. 3) Frequency characteristics were more restricted in Spanish. 4) Pitch Period Perturbation Quotient (PPQ), Relative Average Perturbation (RAP), and Coefficient of Fundamental Frequency (vF0) were substantially elevated compared to literature reports. 5) Dysphonia occurred more frequently in the non-dominant language (English), in boys and in younger children. 6) F0, Mean Fundamental Frequency (MF0), and Lowest Fundamental Frequency (Flo) showed a positive relationship with perceptual ratings the higher the frequency scores, the more likely the chance that the voice would be rated as normal. By contrast, To, RAP, PPQ showed the opposite relationship. PFR and vF0 showed the same inverse relationship only for Spanish.Conclusions: These data suggests that if vocal characteristics differ between two languages, they are small, thus separate data bases may not be needed. Documenting differences related to age and gender, rather than language differences may provide better insights on developmental vocal characteristics. |
