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Related Experiment Videos

Tongue surface displacement during bilabial stops

M A Svirsky1, K N Stevens, M L Matthies

  • 1Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|July 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary

Tongue movement during speech differs between voiced and voiceless bilabial stops. Greater tongue displacement and compliance were observed during voiced /b/ sounds compared to voiceless /p/ sounds, suggesting active muscle control.

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Area of Science:

  • Speech Production
  • Articulatory Phonetics
  • Bioacoustics

Background:

  • Understanding vocal tract wall impedance is crucial for accurate speech production models.
  • Previous estimates of vocal tract wall impedance lack direct measurements of tongue displacement during closure.
  • The role of passive versus active vocal tract enlargement during voicing remains debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To measure tongue surface displacement during bilabial stop consonant production (/b/ and /p/).
  • To refine vocal tract wall impedance estimates using direct tongue displacement data.
  • To investigate active versus passive vocal tract enlargement during voicing.

Main Methods:

  • Measured tongue displacement in four subjects during the production of /aba/ and /apa/.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Estimated tongue compliance based on displacement and intraoral pressure waveforms.
  • Analyzed intraoral pressure and tongue displacement data to infer muscle activity.

    • Main Results:

    • Significantly greater tongue displacement occurred during voiced /aba/ compared to voiceless /apa/, despite lower peak intraoral pressure for /aba/.
    • Tongue compliance estimates were substantially higher for /aba/ (5.1–8.5 x 10^-5 cm³/dyn) than for /apa/ (0.8–2.3 x 10^-5 cm³/dyn).
    • Smaller tongue displacements for /p/ suggest potential active tongue stiffening or muscle relaxation during /b/.

    Conclusions:

    • Direct measurements of tongue displacement provide refined estimates of vocal tract wall impedance.
    • Differences in tongue displacement and compliance between voiced and voiceless stops indicate active articulatory adjustments.
    • Findings support the hypothesis of active tongue stiffening during voiceless stops or muscle relaxation during voiced stops.