Modeling and perception of 'gesture reduction'

The phenomenon of vowel reduction is investigated by modeling 'gesture reduction' with the use of the Distinctive Region Model (DRM). First, a definition is proposed for the term gesture, i.e. an acoustically efficient command aimed at deforming, in the time domain, the area function of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhonetica Vol. 57; no. 2-4; p. 152
Main Authors Carré, R, Divenyi, P L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland 01.04.2000
Subjects
Humans
Phonetics
Speech - physiology
Speech Production Measurement
Time Factors
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Summary:The phenomenon of vowel reduction is investigated by modeling 'gesture reduction' with the use of the Distinctive Region Model (DRM). First, a definition is proposed for the term gesture, i.e. an acoustically efficient command aimed at deforming, in the time domain, the area function of the vocal tract. Second, tests are reported on the perception of vowel-to-vowel transitions obtained with reduced gestures. These tests show that a dual representation of formant transitions is required to explain the reduction phenomenon: the trajectory in the F(1)-F(2) plane and the time course of the formant changes. The results also suggest that time-domain integration of the trajectories constitutes an integral part of the auditory processing of transitions. Perceptual results are also discussed in terms of the acoustic traces of DRM gestures.
ISSN:0031-8388
DOI:10.1159/000028469