Categorization of Vocal Fry in Running Speech: Katherine Proctor, Voice Foundation Symposium 2020
Channel: Kate Proctor
Date: 2020-05-05

Katherine Proctor, B.S. (in progress), Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bowling Green State University, OH

Ronald C. Scherer, Ph.D., Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health and Human Services, Bowling Green State University, OH

Brittany Perrine, Ph.D., Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Robbins College of Health and Human Services, Baylor University, Waco, TX

Kiersten McCormick, B.S. (in progress), Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bowling Green State University, OH

Abstract: 
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine and categorize patterns of vocal fry in running speech. Since no other research studies have attempted to fully categorize vocal fry before, and due to the universality of the phenomenon of vocal fry, and the potential psychosocial and voice disorder consequences that come with using it, this topic is of great significance. 

Methods: For this study, voice samples were read into Praat and analyzed, and minor differences in the physiologies that produce different “types” of fry were examined. 

Results: Temporal categories of vocal fry we discovered were as follows: “onset,” “earlier,” “later,” and “final,” depending on if the fry occurs at the onset of the syllable, earlier in the syllable, later in the syllable, or at the final part (end) of the syllable. 

We also explored different physiological categories of the fry, including “single pulses,” “double pulses,” and “multiple pulses,” which refer to the number of glottal pulses within the fry production. Other physiological categories explored through this study include period doubling fry, as well as delay fry and inaudible fry, which have not been described in previous literature.  

As for frequency of occurrence of these categories, fry in the onset of the syllable and early in the syllable tended to be the most common. Single pulse fry was the most frequent physiological pattern exhibited by the speakers in the study. 

Conclusion: Vocal fry is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon. The results of this study suggest that there are definitively types of vocal fry that also need to be differentiated physiologically.