Nasalance scores for vowels, number series and sentences produced by Chilean Spanish-speaking adults

Objective: The present study aimed to establish and compare nasalance scores in Spanish-speaking adults of both genders from Chile during the production of sustained vowels, an automatic speech sample and the reading of sentences. Methods: 46 adults participated, 25 women and 21 men, aged between 18 and 29 years. All without a history of speech therapy, neurological pathologies, intellectual deficit, hearing loss, syndromes or other pathologies that affect speech production. Adequate velopharyngeal function was determined in vivo through a perceptual evaluation of resonance. Nasalance was determined with the Nasometer, model 6450, during the sustained production of the vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/, an automatic repetition of the number series 1-10 and the reading of six sentences, five with consonants high pressure orals and one with nasal consonants. The comparison between both genders was made with the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The sentence with nasal sounds («Mi mamá me mima») presented the highest percentage of nasalance with 66.36%, followed by the numerical series with 24.61% and the vowel /i/ with 23.57%. Meanwhile, sentences with oral sounds and sustained vowels /a/ and /u/ presented an average nasalance that fluctuated between 10.5% (vowel /u/) and 16.52% (sentence: «Fifi fue feliz»). Finally, a significantly higher average was observed in women for three oral sentences: «Pipo patea la pelota» (P = .044), «Tito tapa tarros» (P = .041), and «Fifi fue feliz» (P = .027). Conclusion: The nasalance values obtained in Chilean adults showed variations according to the speech stimulus and the gender of the speakers.