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fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals
Published on: May 23, 2017
Spectral discontinuities and the vowel length effect
A J Lotto1, K R Kluender, K P Green
1University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. alotto@macc.wisc.edu
Perception & Psychophysics
|October 1, 1996
Summary
Vowel duration influences consonant voicing perception. However, this effect depends on specific fundamental frequency (f0) and formant values, not just continuity.
Area of Science:
- Psychoacoustics
- Speech Perception
- Auditory Neuroscience
Background:
- Vowel duration affects consonant voicing perception.
- Previous research suggested fundamental frequency (f0) continuity, not formant structure, drives this effect.
- The effective vowel length is crucial for perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of fundamental frequency (f0) and formant structure continuity in vowel length perception.
- To determine how specific f0 and formant values modulate the vowel length effect on consonant voicing.
- To extend previous findings on the acoustic cues influencing speech perception.
Main Methods:
- Conducting experiments on consonant-vowel syllables with manipulated vowel duration.
- Analyzing the impact of fundamental frequency (f0) discontinuities on the vowel length effect.
- Examining how spectral discontinuity, specifically formant shifts, influences the vowel length effect.
Main Results:
- The vowel length effect persists even with significant f0 changes (200 to 100 Hz) if partials remain continuous.
- Spectral discontinuity, particularly when formant shifts alter harmonic alignment, negates the vowel length effect.
- Both f0 and formant values critically influence the effectiveness of stimulus changes.
Conclusions:
- The vowel length effect is not solely dependent on f0 continuity but is modulated by specific acoustic properties.
- Spectral composition, including formant structure and its continuity, plays a critical role in speech perception.
- Understanding these acoustic dependencies is key to explaining variations in speech sound perception.
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