Event
M.S. Thesis Defense: Emma Griffith
Friday, April 25, 2025
10:00 a.m.
AVW2168
Maria Hoo
301 405 3681
mch@umd.edu
ANNOUNCEMENT: M.S. Thesis Defense
Name: Emma Griffith
Committee:
Professor Carol Espy-Wilson, Advisor/Chair
Professor Shihab Shamma
Professor Jonathan Simon
Date/Time: Friday, April 25, 2025 at 10:00am
Location: AVW2168
Title: A Spectral Analysis of Speech Pre- and Post Glossectomy
Abstract: This study aims to use spectral analysis to explain the changes in
speech caused by a glossectomy. A single patient is observed using
video recordings across 30 years at four stages: before tongue cancer,
after a partial glossectomy with a radial forearm free flap, after
additional surgeries including removal of the flap, and without the
flap in the cold, a known area of speech difficulty for the patient.
Formant frequencies and consonant spectra were analyzed to quantify
the changes in speech production. Results show the greatest changes in
formants occur with front vowels, indicating difficulty making a
constriction with the tongue tip; however, overall change in vowel
formants is still minimal. Significant spectral differences were
observed in the production of the sibilant fricatives /s/ and /ʃ/,
with lower spectral peaks and reduced spectral distinctiveness between
the sibilant fricatives across all post-glossectomy stages, but most
prominently in the cold. Other consonants are less affected,
indicating the disproportionate impact a glossectomy has on speech
that requires finer control of the tongue-tip. These results
underscore the value of surgical techniques that preserve tongue tip
mobility where possible and have further implications in
post-glossectomy targeted speech therapy.
video recordings across 30 years at four stages: before tongue cancer,
after a partial glossectomy with a radial forearm free flap, after
additional surgeries including removal of the flap, and without the
flap in the cold, a known area of speech difficulty for the patient.
Formant frequencies and consonant spectra were analyzed to quantify
the changes in speech production. Results show the greatest changes in
formants occur with front vowels, indicating difficulty making a
constriction with the tongue tip; however, overall change in vowel
formants is still minimal. Significant spectral differences were
observed in the production of the sibilant fricatives /s/ and /ʃ/,
with lower spectral peaks and reduced spectral distinctiveness between
the sibilant fricatives across all post-glossectomy stages, but most
prominently in the cold. Other consonants are less affected,
indicating the disproportionate impact a glossectomy has on speech
that requires finer control of the tongue-tip. These results
underscore the value of surgical techniques that preserve tongue tip
mobility where possible and have further implications in
post-glossectomy targeted speech therapy.
