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Speech production

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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 …


The Distinctness Of Speakers' Productions Of Vowel Contrasts Is Related To Their Discrimination Of The Contrasts, Joseph Perkell, Frank Guenther, Harlan Lane, Melanie Matthies, Ellen Stockmann, Mark Tiede, Majid Zandipour Feb 2011

The Distinctness Of Speakers' Productions Of Vowel Contrasts Is Related To Their Discrimination Of The Contrasts, Joseph Perkell, Frank Guenther, Harlan Lane, Melanie Matthies, Ellen Stockmann, Mark Tiede, Majid Zandipour

Harlan Lane

This study addresses the hypothesis that the more accurately a speaker discriminates a vowel contrast, the more distinctly the speaker produces that contrast. Measures of speech production and perception were collected from 19 young adult speakers of American English. In the production experiment, speakers repeated the words cod, cud, who'd, and hood in a carrier phrase at normal, clear, and fast rates. Articulatory movements and the associated acoustic signal were recorded, yielding measures of contrast distance between /ɑ/ and /ʌ/ and between /u/ and /ʊ/. In the discrimination experiment, sets of seven natural-sounding stimuli ranging from cod to cud and …


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 …


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.


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 …


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 …