This proposal describes research which will determine articulatory, acoustic and perceptual correlates of the basic syllabic types in English speech production. This research also provides the basis for future research which will determine the factors which contribute to the appearance of syllabic organization in speech. Two projects are described which employ an elicitation paradigm in which speakers repeat tokens of various syllable structures in time to a metronome. Each experiment, then, examines the effect of producing sequences at different rates. A pilot study has revealed that each syllable type is characterized by stability in various temporal aspects across an extreme variety of rates. Also the pilot reveals modality shifts which occur as speakers change rates. The first proposed project will analyze a previously acquired set of articulatory data which includes articulatory motion in the sagittal plane as well as an indicator of the time course of glottal opening. These articulatory records will be analyzed for correlates of basic syllable structures, as well as for gradient and sudden changes in temporal organization due to rate changes. Such analyses will reveal aspects of gestural timing which remain stable for a particular syllable structure, and which are subject to systematic rate variation. In the second project, acoustic records will be submitted to perceptual analyses in order to determine which aspects of the articulation and acoustics are used by listeners in identifying a syllabic type. In this manner, perceptual correlates of syllable structure will also be obtained. The research proposed here will provide a definitive characterization of the temporal structure of basic syllable types, as well as provide a foundation for determining what factors in production and perception give rise to syllabic structure in speech in general. The findings of this project will thus be important for advances in research in speech production, speech apraxia, language acquisition and linguistics.
| Nagao, Kyoko; de Jong, Kenneth (2007) Perceptual rate normalization in naturally produced rate-varied speech. J Acoust Soc Am 121:2882-98 |
| de Jong, Kenneth J; Lim, Byung-Jin; Nagao, Kyoko (2004) The perception of syllable affiliation of singleton stops in repetitive speech. Lang Speech 47:241-66 |
| de Jong, K J (2001) Effects of syllable affiliation and consonant voicing on temporal adjustment in a repetitive speech-production task. J Speech Lang Hear Res 44:826-40 |
