These exercises will allow you to evaluate the vocal qualities and resonance of the speaker. There are both subjective and objective values to consider when determining what is normal or deviant in vocal quality. The physical structure, culture, and projections of emotion, attitude and mood can all subtly and overtly change the vocal quality.
As the client says the paragraph, keep track of the nasal emissions—the computer does not score these productions. Enter the number of nasal emissions for consonants and nasalized vowels that precede a nasal consonant in the boxes on the sidebar. The results page will give a percentage of scored productions for the nasal emission on the consonants and on the vowels that precede a nasal consonant. There should be nearly 100% nasalization for m, n, ng, i.e. “Nasal on Consonants” and there should be less than 10% nasality on the vowels preceding m, n, ng, unless there is a regional dialect that includes more. Hypernasality suggests velopharyngeal insufficiency and Hyponasality suggests an obstruction of the nasopharynx. A referral to an ENT is indicated for both issues.
The following is our count of consonants and vowels for each passage based on their pronunciation in Standard American English—they may vary in regional dialects. You may change the counts for each paragraph on the sidebar.
The Muffin Man—Vowels
V(4) Oh, do you know the muffin man,
V(6) The muffin man, the muffin man,
V(4) Oh, do you know the muffin man,
V(2) Who lives on Drury Lane?
V(4) Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
V(6) The muffin man, the muffin man.
V(4) Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
V(2) Who lives on Drury Lane!
The Muffin Man—Consonants
C(5) Oh, do you know the muffin man,
C(8) The muffin man, the muffin man,
C(5) Oh, do you know the muffin man,
C(2) Who lives on Drury Lane!
C(5) Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
C(8) The muffin man, the muffin man.
C(5) Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
C(2) Who lives on Drury Lane!
Ten Little Monkeys—Vowels
V(5) Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed
V(3) One fell off and bumped his head.
V(2) Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
V(5) "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"
Ten Little Monkeys—Consonants
C(6) Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed
C(3) One fell off and bumped his head.
C(3) Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
C(7) "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"
Matilda Jane Meets The New Neighbor—Vowels
V(6) Once upon a time there was a nice mutt named Matilda Jane.
V(7) She lived on Monkey Song Lane in Montana.
V(7) She spent most of her mornings running, jumping,
V(7) and merry making on Monkey Song Lane.
V(5) Never had a nice mutt had a nicer time being a mutt.
V(8) One morning a moving van neared Monkey Song Lane.
V(9) Many, many noises were emanating from the moving van,
V(4) nasty sounds, made by one angry mutt.
V(5) Matilda Jane, being interested, navigated behind the van
V(4) as it moved down Monkey Song Lane.
V(5) When the moving van stopped, Matilda Jane made her
V(6) way to the front of the van, following the angry, nasty sounds.
V(4) She saw a monstrous Mastiff, growling and drooling
V(3) from the front of the van.
V(3) Matilda Jane smiled. “I’m Matilda Jane.
V(7) Maybe you might like to come running and jumping and merry
V(5) making with me on Monkey Song Lane” she said.
V(5) “Never!” muttered the Mastiff “I don’t want a mutt around me!”
V(5) So while the Mastiff sat making angry noises and being mad,
V(10) Matilda Jane was singing and dancing down Monkey Song Lane
V(6) and never had a nice mutt had a nicer time being a mutt.
Matilda Jane Meets The New Neighbor—Consonants
C(9) Once upon a time there was a nice mutt named Matilda Jane.
C(8) She lived on Monkey Song Lane in Montana.
C(9) She spent most of her mornings running, jumping,
C(9) and merry making on Monkey Song Lane.
C(7) Never had a nice mutt had a nicer time being a mutt.
C(12) One morning a moving van neared Monkey Song Lane.
C(11) Many, many noises were emanating from the moving van,
C(6) nasty sounds, made by one angry mutt.
C(7) Matilda Jane, being interested, navigated behind the van
C(6) as it moved down Monkey Song Lane.
C(7) When the moving van stopped, Matilda Jane made her
C(6) way to the front of the van, following the angry, nasty sounds.
C(5) She saw a monstrous Mastiff, growling and drooling
C(3) from the front of the van.
C(6) Matilda Jane smiled. "I'm Matilda Jane.
C(9) Maybe you might like to come running and jumping and merry
C(8) making with me on Monkey Song Lane" she said.
C(8) “Never!” muttered the Mastiff “I don’t want a mutt around me!”
C(7) So while the Mastiff sat making angry noises and being mad,
C(12) Matilda Jane was singing and dancing down Monkey Song Lane
C(8) and never had a nice mutt had a nicer time being a mutt.
Kalamazoo—Vowels
V(4) An old man from Kalamazoo
V(3) Once dreamed he was eating his shoe,
V(0) He awoke late that night
V(1) In a terrible fright.
V(3) Now instead of one tongue, he has two.
Kalamazoo—Consonants
C(5) An old man from Kalamazoo
C(3) Once dreamed he was eating his shoe,
C(1) He awoke late that night
C(1) In a terrible fright.
C(4) Now instead of one tongue, he has two.
Quotes—Vowels
V(2) I never did a day’s work in my life.
V(1) It was all fun.
V(2) Thomas Edison
V(4) Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes
V(2) list of the richest people in America.
V(1) If I’m not there, I go to work.
V(1) Robert Orben
V(3) Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to
V(6) ‘jump at the sun’. We might not land on the sun,
V(1) but at least we would get off the ground.
V(2) Zora Neale Hurston
Quotes—Consonants
C(3) I never did a day’s work in my life.
C(1) It was all fun.
C(2) Thomas Edison
C(3) Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes
C(2) list of the richest people in America.
C(2) If I’m not there, I go to work.
C(1) Robert Orben
C(4) Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to
C(7) ‘jump at the sun’. We might not land on the sun,
C(1) but at least we would get off the ground.
C(2) Zora Neale Hurston
Definitions—Vowels
V(0) Rattlesnake: A tattle tail
V(2) Caterpillar: An upholstered worm
V(1) Zebra: A horse behind bars
V(2) Big Ben: The tock of the town
V(2) Acrobats: People who turn a flop into a success
V(2) Harpist: A plucky musician
V(2) Organic Farm: Tilling it like it is
V(1) Astronaut: A whirled-traveler
V(2) Fishing Enthusiast: A finatic
V(5) Long distance runner: A landscape panter
V(2) Astronomy: A science over your head
Definitions—Consonants
C(1) Rattlesnake: A tattle tail
C(2) Caterpillar: An upholstered worm
C(1) Zebra: A horse behind bars
C(2) Big Ben: The tock of the town
C(2) Acrobats: People who turn a flop into a success
C(2) Harpist: A plucky musician
C(2) Organic Farm: Tilling it like it is
C(1) Astronaut: A whirled-traveler
C(2) Fishing Enthusiast: A finatic
C(5) Long distance runner: A landscape panter
C(3) Astronomy: A science over your head
If automatic saving is not enabled, the speech sample can be saved by clicking on the Save Recording... button. All of the samples for this exercise are saved in the same folder and given a name that starts with the word, followed by the date, and time. You can play the sample by clicking on the Load Recording... button and selecting it from the list.
Click Next when you are ready to continue.