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Full-Text Articles in Speech and Hearing Science

Phonemic Resetting Versus Postural Adjustments In The Speech Of Cochlear Implant Users: An Exploration Of Voice-Onset Time, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Melanie Matthies, Mario Svirsky, Joseph Perkell Feb 2011

Phonemic Resetting Versus Postural Adjustments In The Speech Of Cochlear Implant Users: An Exploration Of Voice-Onset Time, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Melanie Matthies, Mario Svirsky, Joseph Perkell

Harlan Lane

Voice-onset time (VOT) was measured in plosive-initial syllables uttered by five cochlear implant users prior to and repeatedly at intervals after activation of their speech processors. In "short-term" experiments, the elicitation set was read after the subject's processor had been off for 24 h, then turned on, then off again. Four out of five implant users increased voiceless and/or voiced VOTc (VOT corrected for changes in syllable duration) from preimplant baselines to final recordings made 1–3 years later. Measured acoustic correlates of speech "posture" (average SPL, F0, and low-frequency spectral slope) changed concurrently. Results in the short-term study were largely …


Changes In Sound Pressure And Fundamental Frequency Contours Following Changes In Hearing Status, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Melanie Matthies, Mario Svirsky, Joseph Perkell, Michael O'Connell, Joyce Manzella Feb 2011

Changes In Sound Pressure And Fundamental Frequency Contours Following Changes In Hearing Status, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Melanie Matthies, Mario Svirsky, Joseph Perkell, Michael O'Connell, Joyce Manzella

Harlan Lane

Sound-pressure level (SPL) and fundamental frequency (F0) contours were obtained from four postlingually deafened adults who received cochlear implants and from a subject with Neurofibromatosis-2 (NF2) who had her hearing severely reduced following surgery to remove an auditory-nerve tumor and to implant an auditory brainstem implant. SPL and F0 contours for each phrase in passages read before and after changes in hearing were averaged over repeated readings and then normalized with respect to the highest SPL or F0 value in the contour. The regularity of each average contour was measured by calculating differences between successive syllable means and averaging the …


Effects Of Bite Blocks And Hearing Status On Vowel Production, Harlan Lane, Margaret Denny, Frank Guenther, Melanie Matthies, Lucie Ménard, Joseph Perkell, Ellen Stockmann, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick, Majid Zandipour Feb 2011

Effects Of Bite Blocks And Hearing Status On Vowel Production, Harlan Lane, Margaret Denny, Frank Guenther, Melanie Matthies, Lucie Ménard, Joseph Perkell, Ellen Stockmann, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick, Majid Zandipour

Harlan Lane

This study explores the effects of hearing status and bite blocks on vowel production. Normal-hearing controls and postlingually deaf adults read elicitation lists of /hVd/ syllables with and without bite blocks and auditory feedback. Deaf participants' auditory feedback was provided by a cochlear prosthesis and interrupted by switching off their implant microphones. Recording sessions were held before prosthesis was provided and one month and one year after. Long-term absence of auditory feedback was associated with heightened dispersion of vowel tokens, which was inflated further by inserting bite blocks. The restoration of some hearing with prosthesis reduced dispersion. Deaf speakers' vowel …


An Investigation Of The Relation Between Sibilant Production And Somatosensory And Auditory Acuity, Satrajit Ghosh, Melanie Matthies, Edwin Maas, Mark Tiede, Lucie Ménard, Frank Guenther, Harlan Lane, Joseph Perkell Feb 2011

An Investigation Of The Relation Between Sibilant Production And Somatosensory And Auditory Acuity, Satrajit Ghosh, Melanie Matthies, Edwin Maas, Mark Tiede, Lucie Ménard, Frank Guenther, Harlan Lane, Joseph Perkell

Harlan Lane

The relation between auditory acuity, somatosensory acuity and the magnitude of produced sibilant contrast was investigated with data from 18 participants. To measure auditory acuity, stimuli from a synthetic sibilant continuum ([s]-[ʃ]) were used in a four-interval, two-alternative forced choice adaptive-staircase discrimination task. To measure somatosensory acuity, small plastic domes with grooves of different spacing were pressed against each participant's tongue tip and the participant was asked to identify one of four possible orientations of the grooves. Sibilant contrast magnitudes were estimated from productions of the words "said," "shed," "sid," and "shid." Multiple linear regression revealed a significant relation indicating …


Economy Of Effort In Different Speaking Conditions. I. A Preliminary Study Of Intersubject Differences And Modeling Issues, Joseph S. Perkell, Majid Zandipour, Melanie L. Matthies, Harlan Lane Feb 2011

Economy Of Effort In Different Speaking Conditions. I. A Preliminary Study Of Intersubject Differences And Modeling Issues, Joseph S. Perkell, Majid Zandipour, Melanie L. Matthies, Harlan Lane

Harlan Lane

This study explores the hypothesis that clear speech is produced with greater "articulatory effort" than normal speech. Kinematic and acoustic data were gathered from seven subjects as they pronounced multiple repetitions of utterances in different speaking conditions, including normal, fast, clear, and slow. Data were analyzed within a framework based on a dynamical model of single-axis frictionless movements, in which peak movement speed is used as a relative measure of articulatory effort (Nelson, 1983). There were differences in peak movement speed, distance and duration among the conditions and among the speakers. Three speakers produced the "clear" condition utterances with movements …


Effects Of Masking Noise On Vowel And Sibilant Contrasts In Normal-Hearing Speakers And Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Users, Joseph Perkell, Margaret Denny, Harlan Lane, Frank Guenther, Melanie Matthies, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick, Majid Zandipour, Ellen Burton Feb 2011

Effects Of Masking Noise On Vowel And Sibilant Contrasts In Normal-Hearing Speakers And Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Users, Joseph Perkell, Margaret Denny, Harlan Lane, Frank Guenther, Melanie Matthies, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick, Majid Zandipour, Ellen Burton

Harlan Lane

The role of auditory feedback in speech production was investigated by examining speakers' phonemic contrasts produced under increases in the noise to signal ratio (N/S). Seven cochlear implant users and seven normal-hearing controls pronounced utterances containing the vowels /i/, /u/, /ε/ and /æ/ and the sibilants /s/ and /ʃ/ while hearing their speech mixed with noise at seven equally spaced levels between their thresholds of detection and discomfort. Speakers' average vowel duration and SPL generally rose with increasing N/S. Average vowel contrast was initially flat or rising; at higher N/S levels, it fell. A contrast increase is interpreted as reflecting …


Note On The Variability Hypothesis In Category Scaling, B. Schneider, H. Lane Feb 2011

Note On The Variability Hypothesis In Category Scaling, B. Schneider, H. Lane

Harlan Lane

The "variability hypothesis" attributes the nonlinear relation between category and magnitude scales to the growth of variability along the psychological continuum. The findings of some earlier research seemed to contradict the hypothesis. Now, an alternative interpretation of these findings is presented.


Speech Of Cochlear Implant Patients: A Longitudinal Study Of Vowel Production, Joseph Perkell, Harlan Lane, Mario Svirsky, Jane Webster Feb 2011

Speech Of Cochlear Implant Patients: A Longitudinal Study Of Vowel Production, Joseph Perkell, Harlan Lane, Mario Svirsky, Jane Webster

Harlan Lane

Acoustic parameters were measured for vowels spoken in /hVd/ context by four postlingually deafened recipients of multichannel (Ineraid) cochlear implants. Three of the subjects became totally deaf in adulthood after varying periods of partial hearing loss; the fourth became totally deaf at age four. The subjects received different degrees of perceptual benefit from the prosthesis. Recordings were made before, and at intervals following speech processor activation. The measured parameters included F1, F2, F0, SPL, duration, and amplitude difference between the first two harmonic peaks in the log magnitude spectrum (H1–H2). Numerous changes in parameter values were observed from pre- to …


A Preliminary Study Of The Effects Of Cochlear Implants On The Production Of Sibilants, Melanie L. Matthies, Mario A. Svirsky, Harlan L. Lane, Joseph S. Perkell Feb 2011

A Preliminary Study Of The Effects Of Cochlear Implants On The Production Of Sibilants, Melanie L. Matthies, Mario A. Svirsky, Harlan L. Lane, Joseph S. Perkell

Harlan Lane

The potential influence of auditory information in the production of /s/ and /ʃ/ was explored for postlingually deafened adults with four-channel Ineraid cochlear implants. Analyses of the spectra of the sibilant sounds were compared for speech obtained prior to implant activation, after early implant use and after 6 months of use. In addition, the output of the Ineraid device (measured at each of the four electrodes) was analyzed with pre- and postactivation speech samples to explore whether the speech production changes were potentially audible to the cochlear-implant user. Results indicated that subjects who showed abnormally low or incorrect contrast between …


Speech Deterioration In Postlingually Deafened Adults, Harlan Lane, Jane Webster Feb 2011

Speech Deterioration In Postlingually Deafened Adults, Harlan Lane, Jane Webster

Harlan Lane

Postlingually deafened adults reading the Rainbow Passage differed from hearing-control subjects in producing greater pitch variability and mean pitch on stressed and unstressed vowels, greater fluctuations in pitch within sentences, less correlation of intrinsic pitch with vowel height and slower temporal parameters. When reading the Phonetic Inventory Sentences, they revealed less differentiation of place of articulation in fricative and plosive consonants. The present findings, taken together with those of longitudinal and implant studies, are applied to constraining models of the role of self hearing in the elaboration of speech.


Ratio Scales, Category Scales, And Variability In The Production Of Loudness And Softness, Bruce Schneider, Harlan Lane Feb 2011

Ratio Scales, Category Scales, And Variability In The Production Of Loudness And Softness, Bruce Schneider, Harlan Lane

Harlan Lane

Several studies have shown that category scales are nonlinearly related to ratio scales of subjective magnitude. A variability model has been proposed previously to account for this departure from linearity. This article examines the model in the light of the empirical relations that enter into it: the ratio scale of subjective magnitude, the corresponding category scale, and the variability of judgments in both physical and psychological units. These relations are determined, through repeated measurement with a single observer, for the psychological continuum, loudness, and its inverse, softness. The ratio scales are shown to be reciprocals, and the category scales complements. …


Changes In Voice-Onset Time In Speakers With Cochlear Implants, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Joseph Perkell Feb 2011

Changes In Voice-Onset Time In Speakers With Cochlear Implants, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Joseph Perkell

Harlan Lane

Voice-onset time (VOT) and syllable duration were measured for the English plosives in /Cɑd/ (C=consonant) context spoken by four postlingually deafened recipients of multichannel (Ineraid) cochlear implants. Recordings were made of their speech before, and at intervals following, activation of the speech processors of their implants. Three patients reduced mean syllable duration following activation. Using measures of VOT and syllable duration from speakers with normal hearing [Volaitis and Miller, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 723–735 (1992)] and from the subjects of this study, VOT is shown to vary approximately linearly with syllable duration over the ranges produced here. Therefore, the …


Foreign Accent And Speech Distortion, Harlan Lane Feb 2011

Foreign Accent And Speech Distortion, Harlan Lane

Harlan Lane

Speech distortion is defined broadly as any operation that evokes inappropriate behavior by a listener in response to speech. Two categories of distorting operations are distinguished: (1) response-independent, in which the transfer function applied to the original speech signal is not determined by the probable response of the listener (e.g., masking, filtering); and (2) response-dependent, in which the distorting operation is related to the probable response of the listener during undistorted transmission and therefore may be specified in linguistic terms (e.g., foreign accent). Two experiments examine the effects and interactions of these two types of distortion. Twenty-four Midwest Americans listened …


Effects Of Short-Term Auditory Deprivation On Speech Production In Adult Cochlear Implant Users, Mario A. Svirsky, Harlan Lane, Joseph S. Perkell, Jane Wozniak Feb 2011

Effects Of Short-Term Auditory Deprivation On Speech Production In Adult Cochlear Implant Users, Mario A. Svirsky, Harlan Lane, Joseph S. Perkell, Jane Wozniak

Harlan Lane

Speech production parameters of three postlingually deafened adults who use cochlear implants were measured: after 24 h of auditory deprivation (which was achieved by turning the subject's speech processor off); after turning the speech processor back on; and after turning the speech processor off again. The measured parameters included vowel acoustics [F1, F2, F0, sound-pressure level (SPL), duration and H1–H2, the amplitude difference between the first two spectral harmonics, a correlate of breathiness] while reading word lists, and average airflow during the reading of passages. Changes in speech processor state (on-to-off or vice versa) were accompanied by numerous changes in …


Perception And Production Of /R/ Allophones Improve With Hearing From A Cochlear Implant, Melanie L. Matthies, Frank H. Guenther, Margaret Denny, Joseph S. Perkell, Ellen Burton, Jennell Vick, Harlan Lane, Mark Tiede, Majid Zandipour Feb 2011

Perception And Production Of /R/ Allophones Improve With Hearing From A Cochlear Implant, Melanie L. Matthies, Frank H. Guenther, Margaret Denny, Joseph S. Perkell, Ellen Burton, Jennell Vick, Harlan Lane, Mark Tiede, Majid Zandipour

Harlan Lane

Tongue shape can vary greatly for allophones of /r/ produced in different phonetic contexts but the primary acoustic cue used by listeners, lowered F3, remains stable. For the current study, it was hypothesized that auditory feedback maintains the speech motor control mechanisms that are constraining acoustic variability of F3 in /r/; thus the listener's percept remains /r/ despite the range of articulatory configurations employed by the speaker. Given the potential importance of auditory feedback, postlingually deafened speakers should show larger acoustic variation in /r/ allophones than hearing controls, and auditory feedback from a cochlear implant could reduce that variation over …


Regulation Of Voice Communication By Sensory Dynamics, Harlan Lane, Bernard Tranel, Cyrus Sisson Feb 2011

Regulation Of Voice Communication By Sensory Dynamics, Harlan Lane, Bernard Tranel, Cyrus Sisson

Harlan Lane

People speak more loudly in a noisy room or when momentarily deafened and more softly in a quiet room or when sidetone is artificially increased. The effort to compensate for these changes in the signal-to-noise ratio, or to match directly changes in the intensity of a model, typically falls about halfway short (in decibel units). This is probably because a speaker considers that he has doubled his own vocal level in half as many decibels as it takes to double the loudness of the signal or the noise. More concisely, the Lombard-reflex, sidetone-penalty and cross-modality matching functions have exponents of …


Interactions Of Speaking Condition And Auditory Feedback On Vowel Production In Postlingually Deaf Adults With Cochlear Implants, Lucie Ménard, Marek Polak, Margaret Denny, Ellen Burton, Harlan Lane, Melanie Matthies, Nicole Marrone, Joseph Perkell, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick Feb 2011

Interactions Of Speaking Condition And Auditory Feedback On Vowel Production In Postlingually Deaf Adults With Cochlear Implants, Lucie Ménard, Marek Polak, Margaret Denny, Ellen Burton, Harlan Lane, Melanie Matthies, Nicole Marrone, Joseph Perkell, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick

Harlan Lane

This study investigates the effects of speaking condition and auditory feedback on vowel production by postlingually deafened adults. Thirteen cochlear implant users produced repetitions of nine American English vowels prior to implantation, and at one month and one year after implantation. There were three speaking conditions (clear, normal, and fast), and two feedback conditions after implantation (implant processor turned on and off). Ten normal-hearing controls were also recorded once. Vowel contrasts in the formant space (expressed in mels) were larger in the clear than in the fast condition, both for controls and for implant users at all three time samples. …