Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026
11:15
fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals
Published on: May 23, 2017
7.6K
Acoustic changes in consonant production with a face maska).
Feiyun Jiang1,2, Yang Chen1, Manwa L Ng1,3
1Duquesne-China Health Institute, John G. Rangos, Sr. School of Health Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15282, USA.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|January 28, 2026
Summary
Wearing face masks significantly alters consonant production, affecting plosives and fricatives acoustically. This research highlights potential audibility issues and the need for communication strategies in masked environments.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Acoustics
- Speech Science
Background:
- Face masks are common for personal protection post-Covid.
- The acoustic effects of face masks on consonant production are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To acoustically examine how face masks affect consonant production.
- Investigate changes in temporal and spectral parameters of speech sounds.
Main Methods:
- Recorded Mandarin speech (plosives and fricatives) under masked and unmasked conditions.
- Analyzed acoustic features including duration, spectral peaks, center of gravity, variance, skewness, and kurtosis.
- Compared measurements between masked and unmasked speech.
Main Results:
- Significant alterations in acoustic measures for both plosives and fricatives were observed when wearing masks.
- Reduced closure durations for plosives and reduced durations/spectral peak locations for fricatives were noted.
- Changes in spectral moments (center of gravity, variance, skewness, kurtosis) were found, but voice onset time for plosives remained stable.
Conclusions:
- Face mask usage substantially impacts consonant acoustics, potentially reducing sound audibility.
- Findings suggest a need for compensatory communication strategies in environments where masks are worn.
Related Concept Videos
01:11Scalar Product (Dot Product)
27.3K
The scalar multiplication of two vectors is known as the scalar or dot product. As the name indicates, the scalar product of two vectors results in a number, that is, a scalar quantity. Scalar products are used to define work and energy relations. For example, the work that a force (a vector) performs on an object while causing its displacement (a vector) is defined as a scalar product of the force vector with the displacement vector.
The scalar product of two vectors is obtained by multiplying...
The scalar product of two vectors is obtained by multiplying...
27.3K
01:17Vector Product (Cross Product)
27.8K
Vector multiplication of two vectors yields a vector product, with the magnitude equal to the product of the individual vectors multiplied by the sine of the angle between both the vectors and the direction perpendicular to both the individual vectors. As there are always two directions perpendicular to a given plane, one on each side, the direction of the vector product is governed by the right-hand thumb rule.
Consider the cross product of two vectors. Imagine rotating the first vector about...
Consider the cross product of two vectors. Imagine rotating the first vector about...
27.8K
01:06Primary Production
25.2K
The total amount of energy acquired by primary producers in an ecosystem is called gross primary production (GPP). However, of this energy, producers use some for metabolic processes, and some is lost as heat, decreasing the amount of energy available to the next trophic level. The remaining usable amount of energy is called the net primary productivity (NPP). In terrestrial ecosystems, NPP is driven by climate, while light penetration and nutrient availability drive NPP in aquatic ecosystems.
25.2K
01:01Production Efficiency
18.3K
Net production efficiency (NPE) is the efficiency at which organisms assimilate energy into biomass for the next trophic level. Due to low metabolic rates and less energy spent on thermoregulatory processes, the NPE of ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) is 10 times higher than endotherms (warm-blooded animals).
18.3K
01:26The Dot Product
262
Measuring how one directional quantity affects another along a specific path involves comparing their orientation and strength. When two such quantities are represented using direction and amount, a numerical result is computed to show how much one acts along the path of the other. This result comes from a rule combining both inputs' horizontal and vertical parts and adding the results.This calculation gives a single value that grows larger when both inputs point in similar directions and...
262
01:29Dot Product
947
The dot product is an essential concept in mathematics and physics.
In engineering, the dot product of any two vectors is the product of the magnitudes of the vectors and the cosine of the angle between them. It is denoted by a dot symbol between the two vectors.
Consider a vehicle pulling an object along the ground using a rope. If the rope makes an angle with the horizontal axis, the work done can be calculated using the dot product of the force applied and the object's displacement.
The dot...
In engineering, the dot product of any two vectors is the product of the magnitudes of the vectors and the cosine of the angle between them. It is denoted by a dot symbol between the two vectors.
Consider a vehicle pulling an object along the ground using a rope. If the rope makes an angle with the horizontal axis, the work done can be calculated using the dot product of the force applied and the object's displacement.
The dot...
947