Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T15:13:18.788Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Speaker sex effects on temporal and spectro-temporal measures of speech

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2014

Frank Herrmann ,
Stuart P. Cunningham  and
Sandra P. Whiteside
Frank Herrmann
Affiliation:
Department of English, University of [email protected]
Stuart P. Cunningham
Affiliation:
Department of Human Communication Sciences, University of [email protected]
Sandra P. Whiteside
Affiliation:
Department of Human Communication Sciences, University of [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigated speaker sex differences in the temporal and spectro-temporal parameters of English monosyllabic words spoken by thirteen women and eleven men. Vowel and utterance duration were investigated. A number of formant frequency parameters were also analysed to assess the spectro-temporal dynamic structures of the monosyllabic words as a function of speaker sex. Absolute frequency changes were measured for the first (F1), second (F2), and third (F3) formant frequencies (ΔF1, ΔF2, and ΔF3, respectively). Rates of these absolute formant frequency changes were also measured and calculated to yield measurements for rF1, rF2, and rF3. Normalised frequency changes (normΔF1, normΔF2, and normΔF3), and normalised rates of change (normrF1, normrF2, and normrF3) were also calculated. F2 locus equations were then derived from the F2 measurements taken at the onset and temporal mid points of the vowels. Results indicated that there were significant sex differences in the spectro-temporal parameters associated with F2: ΔF2, normΔF2, rF2, and F2 locus equation slopes; women displayed significantly higher values for ΔF2, normΔF2 and rF2, and significantly shallower F2 locus equation slopes. Collectively, these results suggested lower levels of coarticulation in the speech samples of the women speakers, and corroborate evidence reported in earlier studies.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Phonetic Association , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , April 2014 , pp. 59 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © International Phonetic Association 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baayen, R. Harald, Piepenbrock, Richard & van Rijn, Hedderik. 1993. The CELEX database (Release 1) [CD Rom]. Philadelphia, PA.Google Scholar
Boersma, Paul & Weenink, David. 2008. Praat: Doing phonetics by computer (version 5.0.35). http://www.praat.org (accessed 7 October 2008).Google Scholar
Brancazio, Lawrence & Fowler, Carol A.. 1998. On the relevance of locus equations for production and perception of stop consonants. Perception & Psychophysics 60 (1), 24–50.Google Scholar
Byrd, Dani. 1992. Preliminary results on speaker-dependent variation in the TIMIT database. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 92 (1), 593–596.Google Scholar
Byrd, Dani. 1994. Relations of sex and dialect to reduction. Speech Communication 15, 39–54.Google Scholar
Chang, Soo-Eyn, Ohde, Ralph N. & Conture, Edward G.. 2002. Coarticulation and formant transition rate in young children who stutter. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 45 (4), 676–688.Google Scholar
Chartrand, Tanya L. & Bargh, John A.. 1999. The chameleon effect: The perception–behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76 (6), 839–910.Google Scholar
Diehl, Randy L., Lindblom, Björn, Hoemeke, Kathryn A. & Fahey, Richard P.. 1996. On explaining certain male–female differences in the phonetic realization of vowel categories. Journal of Phonetics 24 (2), 187–208.Google Scholar
Ferguson, George A. 1959. Statistical analysis in psychology and education, 5th edn. London: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Fisher, Ronald A. 1950. Statistical methods for research workers, 11th edn. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd.Google Scholar
Fitch, W. Tecumseh & Giedd, Jay. 1999. Morphology and development of the human vocal tract: A study using magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 106 (3), 1511–1522.Google Scholar
Fowler, Carol A. 1994. Invariants, specifiers, cues: An investigation of locus equations as information for place of articulation. Perception & Psychophysics 55 (6), 597–610.Google Scholar
Fowler, Carol A. & Saltzman, Elliot L.. 1993. Coordination and coarticulation in speech production. Language and Speech 36, 171–195.Google Scholar
Giles, Howard, Coupland, Nikolas & Coupland, Justine. 1991. Accommodation theory: Communication, context and consequence. In Giles, Howard, Coupland, Nikolas & Coupland, Justine (eds.), Contexts of accommodation: Developments in applied sociolinguistics, 1–68. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Henton, Caroline G. & Bladon, R. Anthony W.. 1985. Breathiness in normal female speech: Inefficiency versus desirability. Language and Communication 5 (3), 221–227.Google Scholar
Herrmann, Frank. 2011. Syllable frequency and speaker sex effects on coarticulation: An acoustic investigation. Ph.D. thesis, University of Sheffield.Google Scholar
Hillenbrand, James M., Getty, Laura A., Clark, Michael J. & Wheeler, Kimberlee. 1995. Acoustic characteristics of American English vowels. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 97 (5), 3099–3111.Google Scholar
Iskarous, Khalil, Fowler, Carol A. & Whalen, Douglas H.. 2010. Locus equations are an acoustic expression of articulator synergy. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 128 (4), 2021–2032.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacewicz, Ewa, Fox, Robert A. & Wei, Lai. 2010. Between-speaker and within-speaker variation in speech tempo of American English. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 128 (2), 839–850.Google Scholar
Junqua, Jean-Claude. 1993. The Lombard reflex and its role on human listeners and automatic speech recognizers. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 93 (1), 510–524.Google Scholar
Kleinbaum, David G. & Kupper, Lawrence L.. 1978. Applied regression analysis and other multivariate methods. Boston, MA: Duxbury Press.Google Scholar
Krull, Diana. 1987. Second formant locus patterns as a measure of consonant–vowel coarticulation. Phonetic Experimental Research at the Institute of Linguistics, University of Stockholm V, 43–61.Google Scholar
Lee, Sungbok, Potamianos, Alexandros & Narayanan, Shrikanth. 1999. Acoustics of children's speech: Developmental changes of temporal and spectral parameters. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 105 (3), 1455–1468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindblom, Björn. 1963. Spectrographic study of vowel reduction. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 35, 1773–1781.Google Scholar
Lindblom, Björn, Agwuele, Augustine, Sussman, Harvey M. & Cortes, Elisabet E.. 2007. The effect of emphatic stress on consonant vowel articulation. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 121 (6), 3802–3813.Google Scholar
Lindblom, Björn & Sussman, Harvey M.. 2012. Dissecting coarticulation: How locus equations happen. Journal of Phonetics 40 (1), 1–19.Google Scholar
Löfqvist, Anders. 1999. Interarticulator phasing, locus equations, and degree of coarticulation. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 106 (4), 2022–2030.Google Scholar
Lombard, Étienne. 1911. Le signe de l'elévation de la voix. Annales des Maladies de L'Oreille et du Larynx 37 (2), 101–119.Google Scholar
McLeod, Amy, Baillargeon, Megan, Metz, Dale E., Schiavetti, Nicholas & Whitehead, Robert L.. 2001. Locus Equations as a source of relational invariance for stop place categorization: A direct replication. Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders 28, 98–103.Google Scholar
Nearey, Terrence M. & Shammass, S. E.. 1987. Formant transitions as partly distinctive invariant properties in the identification of voiced stops. Canadian Acoustics 15 (4), 17–24.Google Scholar
Simpson, Adrian P. 1998. Phonetische Datenbanken des Deutschen in der empirischen Sprachforschung und der phonologischen Theoriebildung (Arbeitsberichte des Instituts für Phonetik und digitale Sprachverarbeitung (AIPUK) 33). Kiel: Institut für Phonetik und digitale Sprachverarbeitung Universität Kiel.Google Scholar
Simpson, Adrian P. 2001. Dynamic consequences of differences in male and female vocal tract dimensions. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 109 (5), 2153–2164.Google Scholar
Simpson, Adrian P. 2002. Gender-specific articulatory-acoustic relations in vowel sequences. Journal of Phonetics 30, 417–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, Adrian P. 2003. Possible articulatory reasons for sex-specific differences in vowel duration. 6th International Seminar on Speech Production, Sydney, 261–266.Google Scholar
Simpson, Adrian P. 2009. Phonetic differences between male and female speech. Language and Linguistics Compass 3 (2), 621–640.Google Scholar
Simpson, Adrian P. 2011. Is there a relationship between acoustic vowel space size and fundamental frequency? 17th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XVII), Hong Kong, vol. 1, 1854–1857.Google Scholar
Simpson, Adrian P. & Ericsdotter, Christine. 2003. Sex-specific durational differences in English and Swedish. 15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XV), Barcelona, vol. 1, 1113–1116.Google Scholar
Sussman, Harvey M. 1994. The phonological reality of locus equations across manner class distinctions: Preliminary observations. Phonetica 51, 119–131.Google Scholar
Sussman, Harvey M., Bessell, Nicola, Dalston, Eileen & Majors, Tivoli. 1997. An investigation of stop place articulation as a function of syllable position: A locus equation perspective. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 101 (5), 2826–2838.Google Scholar
Sussman, Harvey M., Dalston, Eileen & Gumbert, S.. 1998. The effect of speaking style on a locus equation characterization of stop place articulation. Phonetica 55, 204–225.Google Scholar
Sussman, Harvey M., McCaffrey, Helen A. & Matthews, Sandra A.. 1991. An investigation of locus equations as a source of relational invariance for stop place categorization, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 90 (3), 1309–1325.Google Scholar
Tabain, Marija. 2000. Coarticulation in CV syllables: A comparison of locus equation and EPG data. Journal of Phonetics 28, 137–159.Google Scholar
Tabain, Marija. 2002. Voiceless consonants and locus equations: A comparison with electropalatographic data on coarticulation. Phonetica 59, 20–37.Google Scholar
Traunmüller, Hartmut. 1988. Paralinguistic variation and invariance in the characteristic frequencies of vowels. Phonetica 45, 1–29.Google Scholar
Whiteside, Sandra P. 1996. Temporal-based acoustic-phonetic patterns in read speech: Some evidence for speaker sex differences. Journal of the International Phonetic Association 26, 23–40.Google Scholar
Whiteside, Sandra P. 2001. Sex-specific fundamental and formant frequency patterns in a cross-sectional study. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 110 (1), 464–478.Google Scholar