Acoustic‐phonetic features for the automatic recognition of stop consonants

1998 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 2777-2778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Abdelatty Ali ◽  
Jan Van der Spiegel ◽  
Paul Mueller
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Vlahou ◽  
Kanako Ueno ◽  
Barbara G. Shinn-Cunningham ◽  
Norbert Kopčo

AbstractPurposeWe examined how consonant perception is affected by a preceding speech carrier simulated in the same or a different room, for a broad range of consonants. Carrier room, carrier length, and carrier length/target room uncertainty were manipulated. A phonetic feature analysis tested which phonetic categories are most influenced by the acoustic context of the carrier.MethodTwo experiments were performed, each with 9 participants. Targets consisted of vowel-consonant (VC) syllables presented in one of 2 strongly reverberant rooms, preceded by a VC carrier presented either in the same room, a different reverberant room, or an anechoic room. In Experiment 1 the carrier length and the target room randomly varied from trial to trial while in Experiment 2 they were fixed within blocks of trials.ResultsCompared to the no-carrier condition, a consistent carrier provided only a small advantage for consonant perception, whereas inconsistent carriers disrupted performance significantly. For a different-room carrier, carrier length had an effect; performance dropped significantly in the 2-VC compared to the 4-VC carrier length. The only effect of carrier uncertainty was an overall drop in performance. Phonetic analysis showed that an inconsistent carrier significantly degraded identification of the manner of articulation, especially for stop consonants, and, in one of the rooms, also of voicing.ConclusionsCalibration of consonant perception to strong reverberation is exhibited through disruptions in perception when the room is switched. The strength of calibration varies across different consonants and phonetic features, as well as across rooms and durations of exposure to a given room.


Author(s):  
Eleni Vlahou ◽  
Kanako Ueno ◽  
Barbara G. Shinn-Cunningham ◽  
Norbert Kopčo

Purpose We examined how consonant perception is affected by a preceding speech carrier simulated in the same or a different room, for different classes of consonants. Carrier room, carrier length, and carrier length/target room uncertainty were manipulated. A phonetic feature analysis tested which phonetic categories are influenced by the manipulations in the acoustic context of the carrier. Method Two experiments were performed, each with nine participants. Targets consisted of 10 or 16 vowel–consonant (VC) syllables presented in one of two strongly reverberant rooms, preceded by a multiple-VC carrier presented in either the same room, a different reverberant room, or an anechoic room. In Experiment 1, the carrier length and the target room randomly varied from trial to trial, whereas in Experiment 2, they were fixed within a block of trials. Results Overall, a consistent carrier provided an advantage for consonant perception compared to inconsistent carriers, whether in anechoic or differently reverberant rooms. Phonetic analysis showed that carrier inconsistency significantly degraded identification of the manner of articulation, especially for stop consonants and, in one of the rooms, also of voicing. Carrier length and carrier/target uncertainty did not affect adaptation to reverberation for individual phonetic features. The detrimental effects of anechoic and different reverberant carriers on target perception were similar. Conclusions The strength of calibration varies across different phonetic features, as well as across rooms with different levels of reverberation. Even though place of articulation is the feature that is affected by reverberation the most, it is the manner of articulation and, partially, voicing for which room adaptation is observed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 4001-4014
Author(s):  
Melanie Weirich ◽  
Adrian Simpson

Purpose The study sets out to investigate inter- and intraspeaker variation in German infant-directed speech (IDS) and considers the potential impact that the factors gender, parental involvement, and speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech) may have. In addition, we analyze data from 3 time points prior to and after the birth of the child to examine potential changes in the features of IDS and, particularly also, of adult-directed speech (ADS). Here, the gender identity of a speaker is considered as an additional factor. Method IDS and ADS data from 34 participants (15 mothers, 19 fathers) is gathered by means of a reading and a picture description task. For IDS, 2 recordings were made when the baby was approximately 6 and 9 months old, respectively. For ADS, an additional recording was made before the baby was born. Phonetic analyses comprise mean fundamental frequency (f0), variation in f0, the 1st 2 formants measured in /i: ɛ a u:/, and the vowel space size. Moreover, social and behavioral data were gathered regarding parental involvement and gender identity. Results German IDS is characterized by an increase in mean f0, a larger variation in f0, vowel- and formant-specific differences, and a larger acoustic vowel space. No effect of gender or parental involvement was found. Also, the phonetic features of IDS were found in both spontaneous and read speech. Regarding ADS, changes in vowel space size in some of the fathers and in mean f0 in mothers were found. Conclusion Phonetic features of German IDS are robust with respect to the factors gender, parental involvement, speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech), and time. Some phonetic features of ADS changed within the child's first year depending on gender and parental involvement/gender identity. Thus, further research on IDS needs to address also potential changes in ADS.


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