Learning transfer from singing to speech: Insights from vowel analyses in aging amateur singers and non-singers

Purpose Task-independent (e.g., Ballard et al., 2003) and task-dependent models (e.g., Ziegler, 2003) differ in their predictions regarding the learning transfer from non-speech activities to speech. We argue that singing is a musical and essentially oral motor activity that differs from speech on several fundamental aspects. Building upon existing evidence on the benefits of vocal training on speech, this study aimed to examine whether amateur singing practice had a protective effect on vowel acoustic identity (speech) in aging speakers. Method 75 healthy non-singers (mean age 55.52 ± 20.32; 20–98 years, 39 females) and 71 healthy singers (mean age 55.34 ± 19.34; 21–87 years, 44 females), all native Quebec French speakers, were recruited. Participants were asked to read aloud a standardized passage (“La bise et le soleil”). Vowel duration as well as the F1 and F2 values for the oral vowels /a, i, e, ɛ, o, ɔ, u, y, œ / were extracted from the recordings. A multiparametric assessment of spectral and temporal vowel features was carried out. Results The results revealed that spectral characteristics of vowels—such as the size of vowel space and vowel distinctiveness—were overall well preserved across the lifespan, while temporal characteristics—such as speech rate—declined. Singing practice was associated with the size of vowel space in female speakers but not with vowel clarity in either female or male speakers . Conclusions Contrary to our hypotheses, amateur singing had little effect on vowel articulation in read speech, likely because vowel quality was not substantially altered by the aging process in this context. Overall, our findings provide support to the task-dependent account of nonspeech-to-speech learning transfer and suggest that complementary analyses of articulatory and linguistic aspects of vowel characteristics may provide relevant insights on potential targets of change.