Compensation in time and space: Prominence marking in aging and disease

Résumé En

This study aims to explore the effects of healthy aging and Parkinson’s disease on speechmotor performance. One area of speech production which requires fine speech motor control isprominence marking. Therefore, strategies of prominence marking of three speaker groups with fourspeakers each were investigated: younger speakers, older speakers, and speakers with Parkinson’sdisease (PD). Acoustic and articulatory data were collected. Speech data were analyzed focusing onprominence-related adjustments of vowel production and tongue body movements in the temporaland spatial domain. Longer durations, varying initiation of the tongue movements and smaller vowelsizes in older speakers and in speakers with PD were found compared to younger speakers. The dataindicate further that all speaker groups mark prominence by changing relevant parameters in thevowel articulation; however, strategies seem to differ between the groups: (i) in the temporal domain,articulatory movement durations increase with age and are further prolonged in speakers with PD;(ii) in the spatial domain, the articulation space is resized by the older speakers in a non-symmetricalway, while no systematic vocalic modulations were found for speakers with PD. To conclude, thespeech system seems to be affected by age and disease, but speakers develop compensatory strategiesto counteract influences in the spatial domain.