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Hypernasal Speech Is Perceived As More Monotonous Than Typical Speech, Monique Tardif, Larissa Cristina Berti, Viviane Cristina De Castro Marino, Jennifer Pardo, Tim Bressmann

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background/Purpose: Anecdotal clinical reports have stated that hypernasal speech sounds monotonous. However, the relationship between the perception of intonation (i.e., the fundamental frequency variation across an utterance) and hypernasality (excessive nasal resonance during the production of non-nasal sounds) has not been investigated in research. We hypothesized that auditory-perceptual ratings of intonation would be significantly lower for more hypernasal stimuli. Methods: One male and one female voice actor simulated 3 levels of intonation (monotone, normal, and exaggerated) at 4 different levels of hypernasality (normal, mild, moderate, and severe). Thirty participants listened to the simulations and rated the intonation on a visual …