Ratings of the prosodic features in speech are restricted to judgments of the speakers ability to blend sounds and words together, to stress syllables and words, and to modify pitch appropriately during oral reading. The slight modifications of pitch which occur over time during normal continuous speech is termed inflection.
| Rating | Comments | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Cannot evaluate. This sample demonstrates prosodic features which cannot be evaluated. Extreme tension in the laryngeal musculature is evident and associated with minimal airflow through the glottis during sound generation. It appears that sub-glottal air pressure is exceptionally high during sound generation with minimal glottal flow. When the folds relax there is a perceptible gush of exhalation followed by a gasp of inhalation. These features indicate that the speaker should be classified as one in air expenditure as well as one in prosodic features with severe tenseness or strain in voice quality. | (Male) |
| Level 2 | Severe problem. This sample demonstrates a severe problem in prosodic features. The speech pattern is not inflected. There is no terminal fade. Words and syllables all seem to be receiving equal stress. Syllables and words are not blended. The total monotony of the speech pattern may be partially accounted for by failure to vary pitch for inflection and by failure to vary stress. However the perception of monotony is accentuated by a non-varying rate of syllable articulation. | (Male) |
| Level 3 | Moderate problem. This sample demonstrates a moderate problem in prosodic features. The total speech pattern demonstrates a lack of inflection within sentence context and an almost equal stress pattern for each syllable. On some occasions a terminal fade at the end of a sentence occurs, but generally the inflection is very flat. An analysis of rate indicates the speaker is producing nearly eighty five words per minute or 1.4 words per second. For a normal hearing person this would be considered an abnormally slow rate. By NTID scales this rate would be classified three, indicating it is moderately below the optimum rate for efficient communication. | (Male) |
| Level 4 | Mild problem. Prosodic features in this sample are rated four. Although phrasing and syllable stress within words appear fairly adequate, the pitch pattern or inflection is flat with only slight terminal fade noted. A monotonous rate of syllable articulation and equal word stressing contribute to the perception of flatness. The voice also is described as slightly breathy with pitch register slightly above optimum. | (Female) |
| Level 5 | Normal. Although mispronunciations are evident in this passage, prosodic features are normal with complete intelligibility established. Rate is slightly above normal for this passage with good utilization of inflection, stress and phrasing. In summary, this sample demonstrates normal voice expressiveness. | (Male) |