A SPECTROGRAPHIC STUDY OF FORMANT TRACKING,
Abstract
The Speech Microscope has been employed to analyze both original speech and the corresponding synthetic speech events for the initial stop consonants /b/ and /d/ in a variety of vowel settings. For the speaker selected, this analysis detected evidence of the existance of locii for the second formant transitions which are distinctly different for the two consonants. The cause of misinterpretation of the corresponding synthetic speech events produced by formant tracking system under test on the part of a group of listeners is traceable to distortion of the second formant transition. For example, a rather positive transformation in the perception of the consonant /d/ to /b/ for the vowel setting /i/ was traced to a lowering of the origin of the second formant transition for /d/ to the vicinity characteristic of that for /b/. The results are preliminary, the investigation involving only a single speaker. They are presented because they exhibit the method of analysis being employed, and indicate the significance of formant structure in speech perception and the importance of accurate preservation of this structure to the synthetic speech event. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0627316
Entities
People
- S. Joseph Campanella
Organizations
- Melpar