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Updated: Mar 8, 2026

Author Spotlight: Advancements in the Fabrication of Synthetic Vocal Fold Models for Phonetic and Robotic Applications
Published on: January 5, 2024
An acoustically-driven vocal tract model for stop consonant production
1Speech Acoustics Laboratory, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210071, Tucson, AZ 85721.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to further develop a multi-tier model of the vocal tract area function in which the modulations of shape to produce speech are generated by the product of a vowel substrate and a consonant superposition function. The new approach consists of specifying input parameters for a target consonant as a set of directional changes in the resonance frequencies of the vowel substrate. Using calculations of acoustic sensitivity functions, these "resonance deflection patterns" are transformed into time-varying deformations of the vocal tract shape without any direct specification of location or extent of the consonant constriction along the vocal tract. The configuration of the constrictions and expansions that are generated by this process were shown to be physiologically-realistic and produce speech sounds that are easily identifiable as the target consonants. This model is a useful enhancement for area function-based synthesis and can serve as a tool for understanding how the vocal tract is shaped by a talker during speech production.
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