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Acoustic Properties of the Voice Source and the Vocal Tract: Are They Perceptually Independent?
1Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville, Tennessee..
Objective/Hypothesis:
This study sought to determine whether the properties of the voice source and vocal tract are perceptually independent.
Study Design:
Within-subjects design.
Methods:
This study employed a paired-comparison paradigm where listeners heard synthetic voices and rated them as same or different using a visual analog scale. Stimuli were synthesized using three different source slopes and two different formant patterns (mezzo-soprano and soprano) on the vowel /a/ at four pitches: A3, C4, B4, and F5.
Results:
Whereas formant pattern was the strongest effect, difference in source slope also affected perceived quality difference. Source slope and formant pattern were not independently perceived.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that when judging laryngeal adduction using perceptual information, judgments may not be accurate when the stimuli are of differing formant patterns.
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