The intelligibility of tracheoesophageal speech, with an emphasis on the voiced-voiceless distinction

Total laryngectomy has far-reaching effects on vocal tract anatomy and physiology. The preferred method for restoring postlaryngectomy oral communication is prosthetic tracheoesophageal (TE) speech, which like laryngeal speech is pulmonary driven. TE speech quality is better than esophageal or electrolarynx speech quality, but still very deviant from laryngeal speech. For a better understanding of neoglottis physiology and for improving rehabilitation results, study of TE speech intelligibility remains important. Methods used were perceptual evaluation, acoustic analyses, and digital high-speed imaging. First results show large variations between speakers and especially difficulty in producing voiced-voiceless distinction. This paper discusses first results of our experiment.