scholarly journals Convergence in voice fundamental frequency during synchronous speech

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258747
Author(s):  
Abigail R. Bradshaw ◽  
Carolyn McGettigan
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Speech Motor Control ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Speech Timing ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Speech Feedback ◽  
Voice Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Speech Motor ◽  
Speech Condition

Joint speech behaviours where speakers produce speech in unison are found in a variety of everyday settings, and have clinical relevance as a temporary fluency-enhancing technique for people who stutter. It is currently unknown whether such synchronisation of speech timing among two speakers is also accompanied by alignment in their vocal characteristics, for example in acoustic measures such as pitch. The current study investigated this by testing whether convergence in voice fundamental frequency (F0) between speakers could be demonstrated during synchronous speech. Sixty participants across two online experiments were audio recorded whilst reading a series of sentences, first on their own, and then in synchrony with another speaker (the accompanist) in a number of between-subject conditions. Experiment 1 demonstrated significant convergence in participants’ F0 to a pre-recorded accompanist voice, in the form of both upward (high F0 accompanist condition) and downward (low and extra-low F0 accompanist conditions) changes in F0. Experiment 2 demonstrated that such convergence was not seen during a visual synchronous speech condition, in which participants spoke in synchrony with silent video recordings of the accompanist. An audiovisual condition in which participants were able to both see and hear the accompanist in pre-recorded videos did not result in greater convergence in F0 compared to synchronisation with the pre-recorded voice alone. These findings suggest the need for models of speech motor control to incorporate interactions between self- and other-speech feedback during speech production, and suggest a novel hypothesis for the mechanisms underlying the fluency-enhancing effects of synchronous speech in people who stutter.

scholarly journals Synchronised speech and speech motor control: convergence in voice fundamental frequency during choral speech

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Bradshaw ◽  
Carolyn McGettigan
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Speech Motor Control ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Speech Timing ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Speech Feedback ◽  
Voice Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Speech Motor

Synchronised speech behaviours such as choral speech (speaking in unison) are found in a variety of everyday settings, and have clinical relevance as a temporary fluency-enhancing technique for people who stutter. It is currently unknown whether such synchronisation of speech timing among two speakers is also accompanied by alignment in their vocal characteristics, for example in acoustic measures such as pitch. The current study investigated this by testing whether convergence in voice fundamental frequency (F0) between speakers could be demonstrated during choral speech. Sixty participants across three online experiments were audio recorded whilst reading a series of sentences, first on their own, and then in synchrony with another speaker (the accompanist) in a number of between-subject conditions. Experiment 1 demonstrated significant convergence in participants’ F0 to a pre-recorded accompanist voice, in the form of both upward (high F0 accompanist condition) and downward (low F0 accompanist condition) changes in F0; however, upward convergence was greater than downward convergence. Experiment 2 found that downward convergent changes in F0 could not be increased by the use of an accompanist voice with an even lower F0. Experiment 3 demonstrated that such convergence was not seen during a visual choral speech condition, in which participants spoke in synchrony with silent video recordings of the accompanist. Further, convergence in F0 was enhanced for a condition where participants could both see and hear the accompanist in pre-recorded videos compared to synchronisation with the pre-recorded voice alone. These findings suggest the need for models of speech motor control to incorporate interactions between self- and other-speech feedback during speech production, and suggest a novel hypothesis for the mechanisms underlying the fluency-enhancing effects of choral speech in people who stutter.

The prosodic governance of surface phonetic variation: Support for an alternative approach III

Speech Timing ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 132-145
Author(s):  
Alice Turk ◽  
Stefanie Shattuck-Hufnagel
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Speech Motor Control ◽  
Prosodic Structure ◽  
Phonetic Variation ◽  
Speech Timing ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Adjustment Mechanisms ◽  
Speech Motor

Effects of prosodic structure on surface phonetics are modeled in AP/TD in two ways: 1) via a set of PI and MuT adjustment mechanisms used to model lengthening effects at boundaries and on prominent syllables, and 2) via a hierarchy of coupled syllable, cross-word foot, and phrase oscillators, used to model poly-subconstituent shortening effects, and to control overall speech rate. These mechanisms are challenged by 1) findings presented in previous chapters that suggest that longer durations associated with boundaries and prominences are due to longer surface duration specifications, 2) findings presented here that show that polysyllabic shortening does not affect all words in an utterance, inconsistent with an oscillator-based mechanism that controls all aspects of any produced utterance, and 3) findings relating to speech rate presented in previous chapters which suggest that speech rate specifications relate to surface durations, rather than to planning oscillator frequencies. Patterns of speech timing presented in this chapter thus suggest that there are reasons to be uncertain whether periodicity is a major factor in speech motor control in typical speaking circumstances, and therefore call into question the use of suprasegmental oscillators.

scholarly journals Effects of Fundamental Frequency, Vocal Intensity, Sample Duration, and Vowel Context in Cepstral and Spectral Measures of Dysphonic Voices

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1326-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marília Sampaio ◽  
Maria Lúcia Vaz Masson ◽  
Maria Francisca de Paula Soares ◽  
Jörg Edgar Bohlender ◽  
Meike Brockmann-Bauser
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Sample Duration ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Vowel Context ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Cepstral Peak Prominence ◽  
Vocal Intensity ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Voice Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Syllable Stress

Purpose Smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS) and harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR) are acoustic measures related to the periodicity, harmonicity, and noise components of an acoustic signal. To date, there is little evidence about the advantages of CPPS over HNR in voice diagnostics. Recent studies indicate that voice fundamental frequency (F0) and intensity (sound pressure level [SPL]), sample duration (DUR), vowel context (speech vs. sustained phonation), and syllable stress (SS) may influence CPPS and HNR results. The scope of this work was to investigate the effects of voice F0 and SPL, DUR, SS, and token on CPPS and HNR in dysphonic voices. Method In this retrospective study, 27 Brazilian Portuguese speakers with voice disorders were investigated. Recordings of sustained vowels (SVs) /a:/ and manually extracted vowels (EVs) /a/ from Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice sentences were acoustically analyzed with the Praat program. Results There was a highly significant effect of F0, SPL, and DUR on both CPPS and HNR ( p < .001), whereas SS and vowel context significantly affected CPPS only ( p < .05). Higher SPL, F0, and lower DUR were related to higher CPPS and HNR. SVs moderately-to-highly correlated with EVs for CPPS, whereas HNR had few and moderate correlations. In addition, CPPS and HNR highly correlated in SVs and seven EVs ( p < .05). Conclusion Speaking prosodic variations of F0, SPL, and DUR influenced both CPPS and HNR measures and led to acoustic differences between sustained and excised vowels, especially in CPPS. Vowel context, prosodic factors, and token type should be controlled for in clinical acoustic voice assessment.

Physiologic Studies Provide New Perspectives on Early Speech Development

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Erin M. Wilson ◽  
Ignatius S. B. Nip
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Motor Development ◽  
Motion Tracking ◽  
Speech Development ◽  
Speech Motor Control ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Facial Motion ◽  
Disordered Speech ◽  
Speech Motor ◽  
Physiologic Data

Abstract Although certain speech development milestones are readily observable, the developmental course of speech motor control is largely unknown. However, recent advances in facial motion tracking systems have been used to investigate articulator movements in children and the findings from these studies are being used to further our understanding of the physiologic basis of typical and disordered speech development. Physiologic work has revealed that the emergence of speech is highly dependent on the lack of flexibility in the early oromotor system. It also has been determined that the progression of speech motor development is non-linear, a finding that has motivated researchers to investigate how variables such as oromotor control, cognition, and linguistic factors affect speech development in the form of catalysts and constraints. Physiologic data are also being used to determine if non-speech oromotor behaviors play a role in the development of speech. This improved understanding of the physiology underlying speech, as well as the factors influencing its progression, helps inform our understanding of speech motor control in children with disordered speech and provide a framework for theory-driven therapeutic approaches to treatment.

Effects of Laryngeal Topical Anesthesia on Voice Fundamental Frequency Perturbation

1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Sorensen ◽  
Yoshiyuki Horii ◽  
Rebecca Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Frequency Control ◽  
Topical Anesthesia ◽  
Proprioceptive Feedback ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Voice Fundamental Frequency

Fundamental frequency perturbation (jitter) during sustained vowel phonations of speakers under topical anesthesia of the larynx was investigated for five adult males. The results showed that the average jitter was significantly greater under the anesthesia than normal conditions, and that the jitter difference between the two conditions was more prominent at high frequency phonations. Implications of these data for tactile and proprioceptive feedback in phonatory frequency control are discussed.

Goal-based speech motor control: A theoretical framework and some preliminary data

1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 23-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph S. Perkell ◽  
Melanie L. Matthies ◽  
Mario A. Svirsky ◽  
Michael I. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Preliminary Data ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Speech Motor Control ◽  
Speech Motor

A Study of Buccal Speech

1971 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 652-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Weinberg ◽  
Jan Westerhouse
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Intensive Study ◽  
Speech Characteristics ◽  
Voice Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Normal Speaking

An intensive study of a normal-speaking subject, proficient in the use of buccal speech, was conducted. With respect to voice fundamental frequency variability, phonation time, and speaking rate his buccal speech characteristics compared favorably with those reported for excellent esophageal speakers. However, the reduced intelligibility of his buccal speech on rhyme-test words, the high average fundamental frequency of his buccal voice, and his conspicuous buccal gestures during speech represent distinct vocal liabilities.

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