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Formant compensation for auditory feedback with English vowels
Takashi Mitsuya1, Ewen N MacDonald2, Kevin G Munhall3
1School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, National Centre for Audiology, Western University, Elborn College, Room 1207, London, Ontario N6G 1H1, Canada.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|August 3, 2015
Summary
Speakers adjust speech based on auditory feedback. This study found that closed vowels, with stronger oral sensation, show less speech compensation than open vowels, demonstrating varied sensorimotor control.
Area of Science:
- Speech production and acoustics
- Auditory-somatosensory integration
- Sensorimotor control of speech
Background:
- Speakers adapt speech acoustics to real-time auditory feedback perturbations.
- Previous research primarily used the English vowel /ɛ/ to study compensatory production.
- The role of somatosensory feedback in vowel production control remains debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate compensatory speech production across six English monophthongs.
- To test if vowels with greater lingual sensation (closed vowels) exhibit reduced auditory-driven compensation.
- To determine if sensorimotor control of vowels varies based on their articulatory-perceptual properties.
Main Methods:
- Real-time auditory feedback perturbation of speech acoustics.
- Analysis of speaker compensatory responses to formant perturbation.
- Comparison of compensatory production across "closed" and "open" English vowels.
Main Results:
- Speakers demonstrated significantly less compensatory production for closed vowels compared to open vowels.
- The degree of lingual contact and jaw openness influenced compensatory behavior.
- Auditory feedback's impact on speech production is modulated by vowel-specific somatosensory information.
Conclusions:
- Vowel sensorimotor control is not uniform; it differs across vowels.
- Somatosensory feedback plays a crucial role in modulating auditory-driven speech adaptation.
- The findings highlight the complex interplay between auditory and somatosensory feedback in speech motor control.
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