Abstract

Purpose
Differences in vocal tract morphology have the potential to explain interspeaker variability in speech production. The potential acoustic impact of hard palate shape was examined in simulation, in addition to the interplay among morphology, articulation, and acoustics in real vowel production data.
Method
High-front vowel production from 5 speakers of American English was examined using midsagittal real-time magnetic resonance imaging data with synchronized audio. Relationships among hard palate morphology, tongue shaping, and formant frequencies were analyzed. Simulations were performed to determine the acoustical properties of vocal tracts whose area functions are altered according to prominent hard palate variations.
Results
Simulations revealed that altering the height and position of the palatal dome alters formant frequencies. Examinations of real speech data showed that palatal …

Date

2013

Authors

Adam Lammert, Michael Proctor, Shrikanth Narayanan

Journal

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

Volume

56

Issue

6

Pages

1924-1933