Speech Acoustics

42 Pages·2012·1 MB·English

by  Nanette Thompson

Speech Acoustics and Its
Critical Implications for CI
Programming
Nanette Thompson, M.S., CCC-
SLP, LSLS Cert AVT

Allison Biever, AuD, CCC-A
Rocky Mountain Ear Center
Foundations of
Speech Production
What Are Speech Sounds?
Air flowing through resonating cavities and being
modified along it’s course by obstructions

Manner of articulation:
Vowels - openness and tongue tension and placement
Consonants - how the airstream is obstructed?

Place of articulation

Voicing
Consonant Classification:
Manner, Place and Voice
Manner Place Voiced Voiceless
Bilabial b p
Stop Alveolar d t
Velar g k
Glottal -----?----- -----------
Labiodental v f
Fricative
Linguadental th 
Alveolar z s
Palatal 3 f
Glottal h
Affricate

Palatal d3 t f
Nasal Bilabial m

Alveolar n

Velar ng
Lateral
Alveolar l
Rhotic
Palatal r w
Palatal j
Glide
Labial/Velar w
Source: From Kent R: Normal Aspects of Articulation. In Bernthal JE, Bankson NW: Articulation and
Phonological Disorders, 3rd ed. Copyright by Allyn & Bacon. Reprinted/adapted by permission.
An Analysis of the Most Frequently Occurring
Words in Spoken American English
35
30

s
e 25
c
n
e
r
r
u
20
c
c
O

f
o
15
e
g
a
t
n
e 10
c
r
e
P
5
0
Stops Fricatives Sibilants Affricates Semi-Vowels Nasals
Manner of Articulation
Percentage of occurrence for manner of articulation from the analysis of the 500 most frequently
occurring words in Dahl’s (1979) corpus.
Geoff Plant, Volta Review, vol. 101, number 2
Consonants: Frequency of Occurrence
Made at Different Places of Articulation
Based on data from Dewey (1923). Source: Kent R: Normal Aspects of Articulation. In Bernthal JE, Bankson NW
(eds.): Articulation and Phonological Disorders, 3rd ed. Copyright 1993 by Allyn & Bacon.
Describing Speech
Production Errors
/pish/ for /fish/ /share/ for /chair/

/take/ for /tape/ /tar/ for /car/

/big/ for /pig/ /man/ for /nan/

/done/ for /sun/
Speech Acoustics
Speech Acoustics
It’s not Magic! We ALL need to understand
the science behind the technology!

Critical information for determining:
Speech production vs. speech perception
Hearing aids vs. cochlear implants
Necessary equipment adjustments
A Challenge
to all professionals working with children who have
hearing loss to:
Know and understand the acoustical
information of the Ling Sounds!
Have a working knowledge of the child’s
hearing loss and their most appropriate fitting
amplification device.
Keep speech acoustics information handy in
order to frequently examine a child’s errors in
perception and production