Vowel Duration and Voice Onset Time for Stressed and Nonstressed Syllables in Stutterers under Delayed Auditory Feedback Condition

Voice onset time (VOT) and vowel duration characteristics of speakers following the Singer-Blom technique of tracheoesophageal puncture (1980) were compared to those of traditional esophageal and laryngeal speakers. Fifteen subjects in each of the three speaker groups produced the words /pik/, /kup/, and /kup/ in a carrier phrase while audio recordings were obtained. Broadband spectrograms were made of the consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) utterances and vowel duration and VOT were measured. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures revealed that the tracheoesophageal speakers produced significantly shorter VOTs and longer vowel durations than the laryngeal speakers. However, the longer vowel durations for the traeheoesophageal speakers were not completely accounted for by the shorter VOTs found for that group. Spectrographic examination suggests that delayed voice offset time for the tracheoesophageal speakers also contributes to their longer vowel durations. Overall findings indicate that the physical characteristics and motor control properties of the neoglottis, even when driven by pulmonary air as in tracheoesophageal speakers, exert a major influence on alaryngeal voice production.

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Comparative Acoustic Analyses of L2 English: The Search for Systematic Variation

Phonetica ◽

10.1159/000508387 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 77 (6) ◽

pp. 441-479

Author(s):

Rebecca Laturnus

Keyword(s):

Voice Onset Time ◽

Nonnative Speakers ◽

Onset Time ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

English Speakers ◽

Vowel Duration ◽

Language Background ◽

Accented Speech ◽

Foreign Accents ◽

Acoustic Analyses

Background/Aims: Previous research has shown that exposure to multiple foreign accents facilitates adaptation to an untrained novel accent. One explanation is that L2 speech varies systematically such that there are commonalities in the productions of nonnative speakers, regardless of their language background. Methods: A systematic acoustic comparison was conducted between 3 native English speakers and 6 nonnative accents. Voice onset time, unstressed vowel duration, and formant values of stressed and unstressed vowels were analyzed, comparing each nonnative accent to the native English talkers. A subsequent perception experiment tests what effect training on regionally accented voices has on the participant’s comprehension of nonnative accented speech to investigate the importance of within-speaker variation on attunement and generalization. Results: Data for each measure show substantial variability across speakers, reflecting phonetic transfer from individual L1s, as well as substantial inconsistency and variability in pronunciation, rather than commonalities in their productions. Training on native English varieties did not improve participants’ accuracy in understanding nonnative speech. Conclusion: These findings are more consistent with a hypothesis of accent attunement wherein listeners track general patterns of nonnative speech rather than relying on overlapping acoustic signals between speakers.

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Speech Monitoring and Verbal Learning

Journal of Speech and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.0603.249 ◽

1963 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 249-254

Author(s):

George R. Davis ◽

Joseph G. Sheehan

Keyword(s):

Auditory Feedback ◽

Direct Relationship ◽

Paired Associate ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Feedback Condition ◽

Delayed Auditory Feedback ◽

Learning Tasks ◽

Verbal Tasks ◽

Speech Monitoring ◽

Auditory Monitoring

The effects of interference with auditory feedback on two verbal learning tasks were studied. Twenty-seven adults without speech or hearing handicaps practiced two verbal tasks (reading comprehension and paired associate) under three auditory monitoring conditions. A synchronous auditory feedback condition provided amplified but almost simultaneous auditory feedback. To provide an irrelevant feedback condition, S’s heard their own previously recorded voices reading other material. Delayed auditory feedback provided a second experimental condition. Results confirmed that delayed auditory feedback interfered significantly with efficient verbal learning. A clear and direct relationship between the amount and relevance of verbal feedback and the efficiency of speech-based learning was demonstrated.

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What Makes Spanish-Accented English Sound Spanish-Accented? Acoustic Measures and Listener Cues

International Journal of Linguistics ◽

10.5296/ijl.v11i6.15815 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 187

Author(s):

Amee P. Shah

Keyword(s):

Voice Onset Time ◽

Rank Order ◽

Onset Time ◽

Vowel Duration ◽

Theoretical Understanding ◽

Temporal Differences ◽

Acoustic Measures ◽

Closure Duration ◽

Accented English ◽

Temporal Measures

This study aimed to understand which acoustic parameters of Spanish-accented English are correlated with listeners’ perception of Spanish-accentedness. Temporal differences were analyzed in multisyllabic target words spoken in sentences by 22 Spanish speakers of English and five native speakers of American English (AE). Recordings were presented to AE listeners who judged the degree of accentedness on a 9-point scale. Spearman rank order correlation showed that the listeners’ ratings of degree of accentedness in sentences correlated strongly (r= +0.82) with those in words. Listeners’ ratings of accentedness correlated in varying degrees with various temporal measures, namely Overall word durations (+0.04 to +0.56), Stressed/unstressed vowel duration ratios (–0.01 to +0.35), Voice Onset Time of stops (+0.26 to +0.36), and, closure duration (+0.29 to +0.59). Results suggest that Spanish-accented English is characterized by systematic temporal differences from native AE, and that these temporal differences contribute to the perception of accentedness. Implications of findings in improving theoretical understanding and applied practices are discussed.

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Acquisition of the Voicing Contrast by Language-Delayed and Normal-Speaking Children

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.2301.152 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 152-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Z. S. Bond ◽

Howard F. Wilson

Keyword(s):

Developmental Stages ◽

Voice Onset Time ◽

Onset Time ◽

Initial Position ◽

Vowel Duration ◽

Final Position ◽

Stop Consonants ◽

Minimal Pairs ◽

Voicing Contrast ◽

Normal Speaking

Voicing is a phonological contrast which emerges early in the speech of children. However, the acoustic correlates of the voicing contrast for stop consonants are fairly complex. In the initial position, voicing is cued primarily by the relative timing of articulatory versus laryngeal gestures. In the final position, the duration of the preceding vowel is associated with the voicing contrast of stop consonants. The purpose of this study was to examine the pattern of acquisition of the voicing contrast in the speech of ten children diagnosed as language-delayed in comparison with the acquisition of the voicing contrast by normal speaking children. The language-delayed and normal-speaking children were matched according to mean length of utterance (MLU) and placed in one of Brown's five developmental stages. Each participant was first given a short test, using natural speech, to determine his or her ability to identify minimal pairs differing in the voicing of stop consonants. Those who passed the test were recorded under standard recording conditions repeating 12 test words. The test words contrasted voiced and voiceless stop consonants in initial and final positions. Spectrograms of the three best productions of each word were used to examine voice-onset time for stops in initial position and preceding vowel duration for stops in final position. Although the language-delayed and normal-speaking children showed equivalent linguistic sophistication (as measured by MLU), the language-delayed children's control of the acoustic-phonetic details of the voicing contrast was less mature than that of the normal-speaking children.

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The phonetics of code-switched vowels

International Journal of Bilingualism ◽

10.1177/1367006917709093 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 37-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kasia Muldner ◽

Leah Hoiting ◽

Leyna Sanger ◽

Lev Blumenfeld ◽

Ida Toivonen

Keyword(s):

Voice Onset Time ◽

Onset Time ◽

Code Switching ◽

Vowel Duration ◽

Vowel Quality ◽

New Approach ◽

Bilingual Speakers ◽

Research Questions ◽

Switching Method ◽

Target Words

Aims and Objectives: This study investigates the effects of code-switching on vowel quality, pitch and duration among English–French bilinguals. Code-switching has been claimed to influence the morphology, syntax and lexicon, but not the phonology of the switched language. However, studies on voice-onset time have found subtle phonetic effects of code-switching, even though there are no categorical phonological effects. We investigate this further through the following three questions: (1) Are F1 and F2 influenced in the process of code-switching? (2) Are code-switched words hyper-articulated? (3) Does code-switching have an effect on vowel duration before voiced and voiceless consonants? Methodology: To address our research questions we relied on an insertional switching method where words from one language were inserted into carrier phrases of the other to simulate English–French code-switching environments. Bilingual speakers were recorded while they read code-switched sentences as well as sentences that did not involve code-switching, that is, monolingual sentences. Data and Analysis: The vowels of target words in the recorded utterances were compared – code-switched contexts against monolingual contexts – for vocalic duration, F0, F1 and F2. Findings/Conclusions: Like previous voice-onset time studies, our results indicate that code-switching does not shift the phonology to that of the embedded language. We did, however, find subtle lower level phonetic effects, especially in the French target words; we also found evidence of hyper-articulation in code-switched words. At the prosodic level, target switch-words approached the prosodic contours of the carrier phrases they are embedded in. Originality: The approach taken in this study is novel for its investigation of vowel properties instead of voice-onset time. Significance: This new approach to investigating code-switching adds to our understanding of how code-switching affects pronunciation.

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Delayed Auditory Feedback and the Speech of Stuttering and Non-Stuttering Children

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1978.46.2.551 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 551-555 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Beverly A. Timmons ◽

James P. Boudreau

Keyword(s):

Analysis Of Variance ◽

Auditory Feedback ◽

Feedback Condition ◽

Speaking Rate ◽

Delayed Auditory Feedback ◽

Difference Scores ◽

Delay Times ◽

Speaking Task

25 male stutterers and 25 male non-stutterers matched by age and speaking task, read or recited under normal and 113-, 226-, 306-, 413-, 520-msec. delayed auditory feedback conditions. Changes in speaking rate and disfluency count from normal to each delayed auditory feedback condition were calculated as indicators of reaction to delayed auditory feedback. Using an analysis of variance of difference scores for speaking rate, no significant differences were found between stutterers and non-stutterers or among the delays. An analysis of variance of disfluency difference scores showed no differences between stutterers and non-stutterers. Significant differences in disfluency reaction among delay times were found.

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Acoustical Durations of Speech Segments During Stuttering Adaptation

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.3303.494 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 494-504 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

David Prins ◽

Carol P. Hubbard

Keyword(s):

Free Speech ◽

Voice Onset Time ◽

Onset Time ◽

Vowel Duration ◽

Related Literature ◽

Speech Segments ◽

High Adaptation ◽

Speech Naturalness

Acoustical durations of stutter- and disfluency-free speech segments from Readings #1 and #5 in an adaptation series were measured in 4 adapting, 4 nonadapting, and 4 nonstuttering subjects. The segment durations measured were intervocalic interval, stop-gap, voice onset time, and vowel duration. No clear trends in the change of acoustical durations from Reading #1 to Reading #5 distinguished the adapting, nonadapting, or nonstuttering subjects. Moreover, on the basis of speech naturalness judgments, listeners did not differentiate the Reading #1 and #5 phrase segments of subjects with high adaptation versus those with low adaptation scores. From these findings and related literature, adaptation of stuttering, as well as other fluency-inducing conditions, are viewed as circumstances that reduce demands upon central motor-linguistic processes.

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Temporal Acoustic Measures of Dysarthria Associated with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.3001.80 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 80-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Anthony J. Caruso ◽

Estelle Klasner Burton

Keyword(s):

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Voice Onset Time ◽

Onset Time ◽

Vowel Duration ◽

Physiological Mechanisms ◽

Acoustic Measures ◽

Monosyllabic Words ◽

Intelligible Speech ◽

Broadband Sound ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

The purpose of this study was to investigate stop-gap duration, voice onset time (VOT), and vowel duration in intelligible speakers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Broadband sound spectrograms were used to measure 8 normal and 8 ALS speakers' intelligible speech productions of monosyllabic words containing word-initial stop-plosive consonants (/p, t, k, b, d, g/). Significant differences were found between the two groups for both vowel duration and stop-gap duration; moreover, correlational analysis indicated that the ALS speakers, as a group, exhibited a direct relationship between stop-gap and vowel durations associated with productions of /t/ and /k/. No significant differences were found between the two talker groups for VOT. Results will be related to the neuroanatomical and physiological mechanisms involved in dysarthric (ALS) speech.

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