Vowel context and speaker interactions influencing glottal open quotient and formant frequency shifts in physical task stress

Author(s):  
Keith W. Godin ◽  
John H. L. Hansen
1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiko Higashikawa ◽  
Fred D. Minifie

The purpose of this investigation was to clarify acoustical-perceptual relationships in identification of "pitch" during whispered vowel production. The experimenters systematically varied selected acoustic features of synthetically generated "whispered" vowels to control which formant frequencies were shifted (F1, F2, or F1&F2), the direction of formant frequency shifts (up or down), and the magnitude of formant frequency shifts (20 Hz, 40 Hz, 60 Hz). Two sets of stimuli were produced to simulate the resonance characteristics of the vowel /a/: one set for male talkers and one for female talkers. Ninety-four pairs of synthesized vowel tokens were randomly presented to 17 listeners who judged if the "pitch" of the second member of the pair was the same, higher, or lower than the "pitch" of the first member. The results showed an inverse relationship between the magnitude of formant frequency changes presented to the judges and the number of perceptual mismatches in "whisper pitch." Also, fewer mismatches in the identification of whisper pitch occurred when both F1 and F2 were changed simultaneously than when either F1 or F2 was changed individually. No differences were found between the perceptual responses to "male" and "female" vowel simulations. The primary implication of this study is that whisper pitch is more influenced by simultaneous changes in F1 and F2 than by changes in only one of the formants.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith W. Godin ◽  
Taufiq Hasan ◽  
John H. L. Hansen

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunlei Zhang ◽  
Gang Liu ◽  
Chengzhu Yu ◽  
John H. L. Hansen

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-403
Author(s):  
Dania Rishiq ◽  
Ashley Harkrider ◽  
Cary Springer ◽  
Mark Hedrick

Purpose The main purpose of this study was to evaluate aging effects on the predominantly subcortical (brainstem) encoding of the second-formant frequency transition, an essential acoustic cue for perceiving place of articulation. Method Synthetic consonant–vowel syllables varying in second-formant onset frequency (i.e., /ba/, /da/, and /ga/ stimuli) were used to elicit speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses (speech-ABRs) in 16 young adults ( M age = 21 years) and 11 older adults ( M age = 59 years). Repeated-measures mixed-model analyses of variance were performed on the latencies and amplitudes of the speech-ABR peaks. Fixed factors were phoneme (repeated measures on three levels: /b/ vs. /d/ vs. /g/) and age (two levels: young vs. older). Results Speech-ABR differences were observed between the two groups (young vs. older adults). Specifically, older listeners showed generalized amplitude reductions for onset and major peaks. Significant Phoneme × Group interactions were not observed. Conclusions Results showed aging effects in speech-ABR amplitudes that may reflect diminished subcortical encoding of consonants in older listeners. These aging effects were not phoneme dependent as observed using the statistical methods of this study.


1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan E. Sussman

This investigation examined the response strategies and discrimination accuracy of adults and children aged 5–10 as the ratio of same to different trials was varied across three conditions of a “change/no-change” discrimination task. The conditions varied as follows: (a) a ratio of one-third same to two-thirds different trials (33% same), (b) an equal ratio of same to different trials (50% same), and (c) a ratio of two-thirds same to one-third different trials (67% same). Stimuli were synthetic consonant-vowel syllables that changed along a place of articulation dimension by formant frequency transition. Results showed that all subjects changed their response strategies depending on the ratio of same-to-different trials. The most lax response pattern was observed for the 50% same condition, and the most conservative pattern was observed for the 67% same condition. Adult response patterns were most conservative across condition. Differences in discrimination accuracy as measured by P(C) were found, with the largest difference in the 5- to 6-year-old group and the smallest change in the adult group. These findings suggest that children’s response strategies, like those of adults, can be manipulated by changing the ratio of same-to-different trials. Furthermore, interpretation of sensitivity measures must be referenced to task variables such as the ratio of same-to-different trials.


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