Showing papers on "Voice published in 1969"

Vocal‐Tract Characteristics of the Stop Cognates

Abstract: Cinefluorographic films and throat microphone recordings were obtained from three male speakers for 18 pairs of utterances in which one member of a pair differed from the other only in a stop cognate, i.e., /p, t, k/:/b, d, g/. The data reveal that, although stop cognates are similar in the characteristics of the constrictory articulation, the voiced stop is produced with a larger supraglottal volume than its voiceless cognate. The volume differences are caused by a lengthening and expansion of the oropharynx during voiced stops. These processes, which probably satisfy the aerodynamic requirements of voicing, are interpreted to be the results of muscular action rather than passive responses of the vocal tract. Further observations concern the articulatory dynamics of consonant production and may be relevant to the description of neuromotor commands in speech production.

The phonological status of the Russian ‘labial fricatives’

Abstract: It is generally accepted that Contemporary Standard Russian (CSR) has four labiodental fricatives, f, f', v and v ' Most descriptions of Russian phonetics note that two of these, the voiced v and v ' differ from all other Russian obstruents in one important respect While as a general rule obstruent sequences are either voiced throughout or voiceless throughout depending on the voiced or voiceless character of the last member of the sequence, v and v ' do not effect assimilative voicing in a preceding obstruent; cf otboj [-db-], otdat ' [-dd-], otgon [-dg-], otzýv [-dz-], otžit ' [-dž-], but otval [-tv-]

Mohawk Vowel Doubling

Abstract: 1 Mohawk is one of the five Northern Iroquoian languages. The present description is of the Montreal or Caughnawaga dialect. Little published work on this language is available. For some comments on its phonology c.f. P. M. Postal, Aspects of Phonological Theory, Harper and Row, New York (1968), and references therein. 2 All rules and environments in this paper are given in schematic form. In particular, although absolutely necessary in serious phonological description, no attempt is made here to state the rules in terms of feature notation. For the necessity of this c.f., for example, N. Chomsky and M. Halle, The Sound Pattern of English, Harper and Row, New York (1968). 8 I use a colon to indicate length, the accent to indicate stress, a circumflex over a vowel to indicate falling tone, and dots under voiced consonant symbols to indicate half voicing and tenseness. Voicing, tenseness, and aspiration (unmarked in our representations) are fully predictable. which contain short stressed vowels before a single consonant. (4)b provides an almost minimal contrast for length with the second person pronominal form:

Respiratory Volumes in Normal Speech: A Possible Reason for Intraoral Pressure Differences among Voiced and Voiceless Consonants

Abstract: Respiratory volumes during phonation of a series of voiced and voiceless fricatives and plosives placed within a carrier phrase were measured in 20 normal adult subjects The purpose was to (1) determine whether consonant type influences respiratory volume and (2) determine whether intraoral pressure differences among voiced‐voiceless consonants could be a reflection of volume differences during speech The results indicate that voiceless consonants utilize substantially larger volumes of air than their voiced cognates The data also suggest that consonant intraoral pressures may be influenced more by intraoral respiratory volumes than by energy losses caused by glottal resistance during voicing

Voicing detection and pitch extraction system

Abstract: Voicing detection and pitch extraction from speech sounds are achieved by means of an embodiment including a plurality of bandpass filters each having sufficient passing bandwidth to pass at least two harmonics of the fundamental voice frequency, whereby each provides a signal for all voiced sounds in the form of modulated waves, the envelopes of which having a periodicity equal to the voice fundamental. This periodicity is further enhanced by means of a hard limiter. A frequency discriminator whose input is provided by the band-pass filtered output of the limiter provides a voltage waveform whose special energy distribution is utilized for discrimination between voiced and unvoiced sounds.

Certain Aspects of the Development of Speech Production and Perception in Children

Abstract: This paper reviews the results of several research projects that have examined the developing capabilities in children for producing and perceiving speech sounds. Most of this work has been carried out with children between the ages of 1 and 5. Particular attention has been directed toward the development of stop consonants as they occur in syllable initial position. Such sounds occur early in the vocalization of infants and are characterized by easily identifiable acoustic features critical for differentiating stops along the dimensions of voicing (voice‐onset time). The projects to be reported in detail include a longitudinal study of productive capabilities in normal and hearing‐impaired children, and a cross‐language study (English and Arabic) of perceptual capabilities in normal‐hearing children. [Research supported in part by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.]

Contrastive Analysis of the Monosyllable Structure of American English and Mandarin Chinese.

Abstract: The basic structure of any language is the individual syllable, that is, the concatenation of syllabic phonemes and nonsyllabic phonemes within minimal sequences of speech. The structure of monosyllables in the two languages can be described by the following formulas (N = nonsyllabic phoneme, S = syllabic phoneme); In English there are nineteen different permissible patterns in monosyllabic structures with many variations of nonsyllabic clusters in both initial and final position; the maximum number of nonsyllabics in these clusters is three in initial position, four in final. Mandarin, on the other hand, has only nine permissible combinations, with no consonant clusters. There are fourteen syllabic phonemes (11 simple vowels; 3 diphthongs) and twenty four nonsyllabics in English, whereas there are twenty syllabics (6 simple vowels, 9 diphthongs, and 5 triphthongs) and twenty two nonsyllabics in Mandarin. Each system has its significant features. The most important features to be considered in teaching either of the two languages are the contrasts between the tense-lax contrast in English syllabics, noncontrast in Mandarin syllabics, voicing and aspiration in nonsyllabics, clustering in English nonsyllabics, allophones of English nonsyllabics, and allophones of Mandarin syllabics.

Vocal‐Tract Characteristics of Voiced and Voiceless Stop Consonants

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate supraglottal differences between voiced and voiceless stop consonants. Cinefluorographic films and throat‐microphone recordings were obtained from three speakers for 18 pairs of utterances in which one member differed from the other only in a stop cognate; i.e., /p,t,k/:/b,d,g/. The utterances were of the forms VCV, VCNV, and VNCV, where V is the vowel /i/ or /ɑ/, C, the stop, and N, the nasal consonant that is nonhomorganic with the stop. Analysis of the data revealed that the stop cognates are similar in the gesture of the primary articulator but dissimilar in respect to supraglottal volume and velopharyngeal coarticulation. The results suggest that two components of volume increase may sustain transglottal flow, hence voicing, during a stop. The effects of the two vowel contexts on certain consonant characteristics, such as rate of articulator movement, also are described. [This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness.]

Pitch is Voicing; Manner is Place

Abstract: In intervocalic voiced stop consonants, pitch decreases then increases; in voiceless stops it decreases, skips up during silence, then falls back again. Here pitch depends upon glottal pressure drop, hence upon supraglottal constriction, glottal opening, and intervening cavity volume. An experiment is reported showing that these pitch contours can cue the voicing distinction in stops. Down‐up‐down contours can occur with voiced fricatives; as supraglottal pressure mounts (i) closure formants fade, (ii) voice‐modulated friction onsets, and (iii) pure friction takes over. Oscillograph experiments show that occurence of down‐up‐down contours depends upon whether Phase (iii) is reached. This varies with place of articulation, and freely. Thus, pitch changes could not rival closure formants before or during friction as chief voicing cue in fricatives. As friction amplitude varies directly, and pitch and voice amplitude vary inversely, with supraglottal pressure, all segmental excitation data can be derived fro...

Perception of language. part i.

Abstract: : Contents: Current approaches to syntax recognition; What grammar is in the brain; Speech and body motion synchrony of the speaker-hearer; The importance of temporal factors in behavior; An analysis of laterality effects in speech perception; Some psychological aspects of the perception of speech-like data; Children's language development and articulatory breakdown; Perception of phonetic segments--evidence from phonology, acoustics and psychoacoustics; Some comments on the developmental aspects of voicing in stop consonants; and General discussion.

A method for analyzing phonemic errors in underwater speech intelligibility testing.

Abstract: : A method for analyzing listeners' phonemic confusions of monosyllabic words was developed in order to determine the type as well as the number of consonant errors made in divers speech. This method, which deals exclusively with consonants, allows for the listeners' responses to be written in phonetics or traditional orthography. Therefore, it can be used with experienced or naive listeners which, in large scale intelligibility testing, is desired or necessary. From the listeners' responses, the errors are grouped into simple consonant-for-consonant substitutions, substitutions involving consonant clusters, and omissions, and additions. The results of the analyses are presented in terms of the percent correct for each phoneme relative to the total possible number of correct phonemes at a certain condition. In this way, the relative intelligibility of each phoneme may be obtained and compared with other phonemes in the same test or with the same phoneme in various testing situations. Preliminary data indicate that the reliability of transforming the orthographic responses to phonemes ranges from 86.7 to 93 percent. Some results of the initial application of this procedure to the phonemic confusions of divers' speech in Helium-oxygen environments indicate that majority of confusion occurs among sounds produced with the same voicing component within the same manner and place of articulation categories. With regard to the errors of place of articulation, the confusions were approximately random. (Author)