Association Between Bilingualism, Vocal Effort, and Background Noise With Voice Fundamental Frequency and LTAS Among Spanish-English Bilingual Teachers.
Lady Catherine Cantor-Cutiva, Carlos Calvache Mora, María Paula Rincón-Pinilla and 1 others
PMID 37798218WHAT IT FOUND
Spanish-English teachers produced a higher pitch when reading in their native Spanish than in English.
However, model analysis showed pitch increased when reading in English. Background noise also raised pitch. These acoustic shifts were linked to perceived effort. The study involved only eight teachers.
Key findings
01Median fundamental frequency was significantly higher in Spanish than in English, both with and without background noise.
02Generalized Linear Model analysis showed fundamental frequency increased during reading in English and with background noise, but slightly decreased with higher reported vocal effort.
03Long-term spectrum average analysis showed significant differences in alpha and MidHigh ratios between languages and noise conditions, but no association for L1L0 ratio.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Very small sample size (n=8) limits generalizability and statistical power. Convenience sampling during COVID-19 quarantines may introduce bias. Bilingual proficiency was self-reported rather than objectively measured. Text content differences between Spanish and English passages may have influenced vocal effort and acoustic parameters. Time of day for recordings was not controlled, potentially affecting voice quality. The study design is cross-sectional and correlational, so it cannot determine causality or long-term voice health outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no known conflicts of interest and no significant financial support for this work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that bilingual teachers are at higher risk for voice disorders based on this study. The findings are from only eight participants and describe immediate acoustic changes during reading tasks, not long-term vocal health or disorder prevalence. The conflicting results between median comparisons and model analysis also require careful interpretation.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →