Static and dynamic spectral characteristics of Swedish voiceless fricatives.

Descriptions of the acoustic characteristics of Swedish voiceless fricatives are scarce and are limited to static measures derived from the speech of a small number of speakers. The current study provides an updated acoustic description of the static (spectral, temporal, and intensity) characteristics of word-initial voiceless fricatives in Central Standard Swedish. In addition, temporal variation of spectral centre of gravity is modelled using a generalized additive mixed model.

Classification of Voice Quality Using Neck-Surface Acceleration: Comparison With Glottal Flow and Radiated Sound.

Objectives: The aim of the present study is to investigate the usefulness of features extracted from miniature accelerometers attached to speaker's tracheal wall below the glottis for classification of phonation type. The performance of the accelerometer features is evaluated relative to features obtained from inverse filtered and radiated sound. While the former is a good proxy for the voice source, obtaining robust voice source features from the latter is considered difficult since it also contains information about the vocal tract filter.

Breathing in Conversation.

This work revisits the problem of breathing cues used for management of speaking turns in multiparty casual conversation. We propose a new categorization of turn-taking events which combines the criterion of speaker change with whether the original speaker inhales before producing the next talkspurt. We demonstrate that the latter criterion could be potentially used as a good proxy for pragmatic completeness of the previous utterance (and, by extension, of the interruptive character of the incoming speech).

Respiratory Constraints in Verbal and Non-verbal Communication.

In the present paper we address the old question of respiratory planning in speech production. We recast the problem in terms of speakers' communicative goals and propose that speakers try to minimize respiratory effort in line with the H&H theory. We analyze respiratory cycles coinciding with no speech (i.

Lexical Specification of Prosodic Information in Swedish: Evidence from Mismatch Negativity.

Like that of many other Germanic languages, the stress system of Swedish has mainly undergone phonological analysis. Recently, however, researchers have begun to recognize the central role of morphology in these systems. Similar to the lexical specification of tonal accent, the Swedish stress system is claimed to be morphologically determined and morphemes are thus categorized as prosodically specified and prosodically unspecified.

Perceptual Correlates of Turkish Word Stress and Their Contribution to Automatic Lexical Access: Evidence from Early ERP Components.

Perceptual correlates of Turkish word stress and their contribution to lexical access were studied using the mismatch negativity (MMN) component in event-related potentials (ERPs). The MMN was expected to indicate if segmentally identical Turkish words were distinguished on the sole basis of prosodic features such as fundamental frequency (f 0), spectral emphasis (SE), and duration. The salience of these features in lexical access was expected to be reflected in the amplitude of MMN responses.

Neural correlates of lexical stress: mismatch negativity reflects fundamental frequency and intensity.

Neural correlates of lexical stress were studied using the mismatch negativity (MMN) component in event-related potentials. The MMN responses were expected to reveal the encoding of stress information into long-term memory and the contributions of prosodic features such as fundamental frequency (F0) and intensity toward lexical access. In a passive oddball paradigm, neural responses to changes in F0, intensity, and in both features together were recorded for words and pseudowords.

Detection thresholds for gaps, overlaps, and no-gap-no-overlaps.

Detection thresholds for gaps and overlaps, that is acoustic and perceived silences and stretches of overlapping speech in speaker changes, were determined. Subliminal gaps and overlaps were categorized as no-gap-no-overlaps. The established gap and overlap detection thresholds both corresponded to the duration of a long vowel, or about 120 ms.

Exploring prosody in interaction control.

This paper investigates prosodic aspects of turn-taking in conversation with a view to improving the efficiency of identifying relevant places at which a machine can legitimately begin to talk to a human interlocutor. It examines the relationship between interaction control, the communicative function of which is to regulate the flow of information between interlocutors, and its phonetic manifestation. Specifically, the listener's perception of such interaction control phenomena is modelled.