Acoustic features of speech of typically developing children aged 5–16 years

Abstract

The study is aimed at investigating the formation of acoustic features of speech in typically developing (TD) Russian-speaking children. The purpose of the study is to describe the dynamics of the temporal and spectral characteristics of the words of 5–16 years old children depending on their gender and age. The decrease of stressed and unstressed vowels duration from child’s words to the age of 13 years is revealed. Pitch values of vowels from words significantly decrease to the age of 14 years in girls and to the age of 16 years in boys. Pitch values of vowels from girls’ words are higher vs. corresponding features from boys’ words. Differences in the pitch values and vowel articulation index in boys and girls in different ages are shown. The obtained data on the acoustic features of the speech of TD children can be used as a normative basis in artificial intelligence systems for teaching children, for creating alternative communication systems for children with atypical development, for automatic recognition of child speech.