This paper proposes a method for duration (time scale) modification using Glottal Closure Instants (GCI, also known as instants of significant excitation) and Vowel Onset Points (VOP). In general, most of the time scale modification methods attempt to vary the duration of speech segments uniformly over all regions. But it is observed that consonant regions and transition regions between a conso...

The coordination of velum and lingual gestures for Brazilian Portuguese nasal vowels in CV syllables is studied with real-time magnetic resonance imaging (rt-MRI). Four syllable structures were compared: stop-oral vowel, stop-nasal vowel, nasal-oral vowel, nasal-nasal vowel. Results show near-synchrony timing (in-phase) for the consonant onset and nasal vowel’s lingual onset, and for the conson...

A fundamental problem in understanding speech production is how the temporal coherence of the speech units associated with a given lexical unit is maintained despite changes due to speaking rate, prosodic embedding, and transient perturbations. To address this, a dynamical model of temporal planning of speech has been developed [21, 13, 26, 27). In this model, each speech unit (constriction ges...

Hearing aids (HAs) only partially restore the ability of older hearing impaired (OHI) listeners to understand speech in noise, due in large part to persistent deficits in consonant identification. Here, we investigated whether adaptive perceptual training would improve consonant-identification in noise in sixteen aided OHI listeners who underwent 40 hours of computer-based training in their hom...

It has been claimed that patterns of regressive place assimilation in consonant clusters are attributable to the ‘inherent velocities’ primary oral articulators involved. The present study used articulatory data from Moroccan Arabic evaluate whether there were reliable differences peak velocity or measured stiffness based on articulator. Evidence for such was limited. We also evaluated degree o...

This paper proposed two acoustic modelings of the onsetrhyme for speech recognition. The two models are Phonotactic Onset-Rhyme Model (PORM) and Contextual Onset-Rhyme Model (CORM). The models comprise a pair of onset and rhyme units, which makes up a syllable. An onset comprises an initial consonant and its transition towards the following vowel. Together with the onset, the rhyme consists of ...

This instrumental study first describes the five lexical tones in S’gaw Karen and their interaction with breathy, creaky and modal phonation types. It is found that there is a phonotactic restriction on onset consonant and phonation. The combination of an aspirated onset with a breathy high tone is exceptionally rare and an aspirated onset does not co-occur with a breathy low tone. Acoustically...

Previous studies have shown that listeners have difficulty discriminating between non-native CC sequences and licit alternatives (e.g. Japanese [ebzo]-[ebuzo], English [bnif]-[b=nif]) (Berent et al., 2007; Dupoux et al., 1999). Some have argued that the difficulty in distinguishing these illicit–licit pairs is due to a ‘‘perceptual illusion’’ caused by the phonological system, which prevents li...

Subjects naturally integrate auditory and visual information in bimodal speech perception. To assess the robustness of the integration process, the relative onset time of the audible and visible sources was systematically varied. In the first experiment, bimodal syllables composed of the auditory and visible sy l l ab le s /ba / a n d / d a / w e r e present at five different onset asynchronies...

This paper examines how the strategies for L2 production utilized by foreign language learners affect the performance of non-native speech recognition. Producing English consonant clusters are the most problematic for Korean learners of English because of difference between Korean and English phonotactics. The strategies of Korean learners in producing English consonant clusters entail a large ...