Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Sound and the auditory system
- 2 Spatial localization and binaural hearing
- 3 Perception of acoustic repetition: pitch and infrapitch
- 4 Judging auditory magnitudes: the sone scale of loudness and the mel scale of pitch
- 5 Perception of acoustic sequences
- 6 Perceptual restoration of missing sounds
- 7 Speech
- 8 The relation of hearing to perception in general
- References
- Index
7 - Speech
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Sound and the auditory system
- 2 Spatial localization and binaural hearing
- 3 Perception of acoustic repetition: pitch and infrapitch
- 4 Judging auditory magnitudes: the sone scale of loudness and the mel scale of pitch
- 5 Perception of acoustic sequences
- 6 Perceptual restoration of missing sounds
- 7 Speech
- 8 The relation of hearing to perception in general
- References
- Index
Summary
Earlier chapters dealing with nonlinguistic auditory perception treated humans as receivers and processors of acoustic information. But when dealing with speech perception, it is necessary also to consider humans as generators of acoustic signals. The two topics of speech production and speech perception are closely linked, as we shall see.
We shall deal first with the generation of speech sounds and the nature of the acoustic signals. The topic of speech perception will then be described in relation to general principles, which are applicable to nonspeech sounds as well as to speech. Finally, the topic of special characteristics and mechanisms employed for the perception of speech will be examined.
Speech production
The structures used for producing speech have evolved from organs that served other functions in our prelinguistic ancestors and still perform nonlinguistic functions in humans.
It is convenient to divide the system for production of speech into three regions (see Figure 7.1). The subglottal system delivers air under pressure to the larynx (located within the Adam's apple) which contains a pair of vocal folds (also called vocal cords). The opening between the vocal folds is called the glottis, and the rapid opening and closing of the glottal slit interrupts the air flow, resulting in a buzz-like sound. The buzz is then spectrally shaped to form speech sounds or phonemes by the supralaryngeal vocal tract having the larynx at one end and the lips and the nostrils at the other.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Auditory PerceptionAn Analysis and Synthesis, pp. 174 - 215Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008