PURPOSE: acoustically analyze the duration of voiced and voiceless fricatives produced by children with and without otitis media (OM) history. METHODS: 12 children (three having the phonological process of devoicing fricatives with OM, three having devoicing without OM, three without devoicing with OM and three without devoicing and without OM). Children were enrolled in a speech program at the Laboratory of Speech and Language Investigation in Phonology of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. They were asked to say the name of the pictures representing the words ['fila]x['vila], ['cinco]x['zinco], ['xis]x['giz]. Data were collected and stored in the Computerized Speech Laboratory (4300B). RESULTS: the duration of voiceless fricatives was longer than the voiced fricatives for the two groups without devoicing, but there was statistical significance only for the group without OM. The two groups presenting devoicing, with and without OM, did not show difference in the duration of the studied sounds. CONCLUSION: media otitis may not be the only acoustical feature that affects sound contrast, but it affects the perception of the differences in duration between the voiced and voiceless fricative sounds.
Language Development Disorders; Otitis Media; Child Development; Speech Acoustics
