Nasometry
Encyclopedia
Nasometry refers to measurement of the modulation of the area of the velopharyngeal opening, using movements of the velum
and pharyngeal
walls, in speech and singing. The velopharyngeal opening connects the oral air passageway with the nasal air passageway. The size of this velopharyngeal opening generally controls the nasality
of the resulting speech or singing.
The term nasometry is generally used to refer to non-invasive techniques for measuring the size of the opening, as opposed to endoscopic
or other visual methods. During vowel
sounds, nasometry usually refers to the use of a system for measuring nasalance. During consonants, Nasometry usually refers to the measurement of air escaping past the velum and escaping through the nose. This escaping air is referred to as nasal emission
.
Thus, a complete system for nasometry consists of a combined nasalance measurement system and nasal emission measurement system. However, when one or another of these variables is not important, the term nasometry can be used to refer to either measurement of nasalance or nasal emission.
Soft palate
The soft palate is the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is distinguished from the hard palate at the front of the mouth in that it does not contain bone....
and pharyngeal
Pharynx
The human pharynx is the part of the throat situated immediately posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity, and anterior to the esophagus and larynx. The human pharynx is conventionally divided into three sections: the nasopharynx , the oropharynx , and the laryngopharynx...
walls, in speech and singing. The velopharyngeal opening connects the oral air passageway with the nasal air passageway. The size of this velopharyngeal opening generally controls the nasality
Nasality
In normal speech, nasality is referred to as nasalization and is a linguistic category that can apply to vowels or consonants in a specific language. The primary underlying physical variable determining the degree of nasality in normal speech is the opening and closing of a velopharyngeal...
of the resulting speech or singing.
The term nasometry is generally used to refer to non-invasive techniques for measuring the size of the opening, as opposed to endoscopic
Endoscopy
Endoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an endoscope , an instrument used to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike most other medical imaging devices, endoscopes are inserted directly into the organ...
or other visual methods. During vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
sounds, nasometry usually refers to the use of a system for measuring nasalance. During consonants, Nasometry usually refers to the measurement of air escaping past the velum and escaping through the nose. This escaping air is referred to as nasal emission
Nasal Emission
Nasal emission is the abnormal passing of oral air through a palatal cleft, or from some other type of velopharyngeal inadequacy , during the production of a consonant that requires a buildup of oral air pressure for proper pronunciation, such as /p/ or /s/. The escaping air tends to reduce the...
.
Thus, a complete system for nasometry consists of a combined nasalance measurement system and nasal emission measurement system. However, when one or another of these variables is not important, the term nasometry can be used to refer to either measurement of nasalance or nasal emission.
See also
- NasalizationNasalizationIn phonetics, nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth...
- Nasalance
- Glottal Enterprises NVS System
- Kay-Pentax Nasometer II