Acoustic analysis of /l/ in glossectomees

Abstract

The production of /l/ is examined for pre- and post-operative patients who have undergone surgery in three distinct areas (anterior, posterior or lateral tongue) followed by radiotherapy and reconstruction. Results show F1 and F2 to be raised after surgery in all cases. Normalised measures of tongue height (F1-F0) and extension (F2-F1) revealed no significant change after surgery to the side of the tongue but in the other two categories, results indicated a change normally associated with both raising and fronting of the tongue. The paper compares these results with findings from other studies and considers possible mechanisms for the observed changes. 1. INTRODUCTION Previous work [1] by the authors has focused on the production of /s/ and /sh/ in pre- and postoperative glossectomee speech. Although, these phonemes can be objectively shown to be affected by surgery, change in dentition also plays a critical role and in a large number of cases speech therapy must wait until new dentu...