• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

This study investigates how the phonological and phonetic information of vowels influences prosodic prominence among linguistically untrained listeners using public speech in American English. We first examined the speech material's phonetic realization of vowels (i.e., maximum F0, F0 range, phone rate [as a measure of duration considering the speech rate of the utterance], and mean intensity). Results showed that the high vowels /i/ and /u/ likely had the highest max F0, while the low vowels /æ/ and /ɑ/ tended to have the highest mean intensity. Both high and low vowels had similarly high phone rates. Next, we examined the effects of the vowels' phonological and phonetic information on listeners' perceptions of prosodic prominence. The results showed that vowels significantly affected the likelihood of perceived prominence independent of acoustic cues. The high and low vowels affected probability of perceived prominence less than the mid vowels /ɛ/ and /ʌ/, although the former two were more likely to be phonetically enhanced in the speech than the latter. Overall, these results suggest that perceptions of prosodic prominence in English are not directly influenced by signal-driven factors (i.e., vowels' acoustic information) but are mediated by expectation-driven factors (e.g., vowels' phonological information).

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.37-47
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• 2024

This study was conducted on 27 male students majoring in or preparing for popular music vocals to determine whether they were aware of their voice classification and vocal range. Additionally, differences in the fundamental frequency and average speaking fundamental frequency were compared among the voice classifications. Moreover, considering that they may differ in their ability to produce high frequencies depending on the vowel, differences in voice ranges among the cardinal vowels, /a/, /i/, and /u/, were examined, and differences in voice ranges between vowels were compared by voice classification. The results showed that more than half of the male students majoring in or preparing for popular music vocals were not accurately aware of their voice types. In addition, statistically significant differences were found in the maximum fundamental frequency and frequency range among vowels, indicating differences in the voice range that can be produced depending on the vowel type. In particular, the voice range decreased in the following order: /a/>/u/>/i/. This suggests that while the vowel /a/ is easier to articulate in the high register compared to other vowels, vowels /u/ and /i/ as high vowels involve narrowing of the oral cavity due to the raised position of the tongue, accompanied by raising of the larynx, resulting in a decrease in voice range and difficulty in vocalizing in the high register.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.197-218
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• 2000

The vocal tract shapes were measured from tracheoesophageal speakers during the sustained phonation of five Korean vowels /u/, /o/, /a/, /e/, /i/ using magnetic resonance image(MRI). The subject's original vowel utterances with speech intelligibility and the synthesized vowels from MR images were analyzed. The results were as follows: (1) The vowels /a/, /e/, /i/ were perceived as the same sounds of actual subject's speech, but the vowels /o/ and /u/ were perceived as /$\partial$/ and strained /u/, respectively. (2) The synthesized vowels /a/ and /e/ from the MR images were perceived as the same sounds, but the vowels /u/, /o/, /i/ were perceived as different sounds. (3) The synthesized vowel by the expanded pharyngeal segment of 3 times in vowel /o/ was perceived as more natural than that of 2 times. The pharyngeal areas with varied sizes should be experimented to secure better speech production because the correct shapes of the vocal tract lead to distinct vowel production.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.19-34
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• 1998

The author collected and compared midsagittal, coronal, coronal oblique, and transversal images of Korean monophthongs /a, i, e, o, u, i, v/ produced by a healthy male speaker using 1.5 T MR, VISION. Area was measured by computer software after tracing the cross-section at different points along the tract. Results showed that the width of the oral and pharyngeal cavities varied compensatorily from each other on the midsagittal dimension. Formant frequency values estimated from the area functions of the seven vowels showed a strong correlation (r=0.978) with those analyzed from the spoken vowels. Moreover, almost all of 35 students who listened to the synthesized vowels from area data perceived the synthesized vowels as equivalent to the spoken ones. Movement of constriction points of vowel /u/ with wider lip opening sounded /i/ and led to slight changes in vowel quality. Jaw and tongue movement led to major volume variation with an anatomical limitation. Each comer vowel varied systematically from a somewhat constant volume of the average area. Thus, the author proposed that any simulation studies related to vocal tract area variation should reflect its constant volume. The results may be helpful to verify exact measurement of the vocal tract area through vowel synthesis and a simulation study before having any operation of the vocal tract.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.133-144
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• 2009

Pharyngeal flap surgery changes the space and shape of the oral cavity and vocal tract, and these changing conditions bring resonance change. The purpose of this study was to determine the most reliable and valuable parameters for evaluating hypernasality to distinguish two patients before and after pharyngeal flap surgery. Each patient was asked to clearly speak the vowels /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/ for voice recording. There were nine parameters: Formant (F1, F2, F3), Bandwidth (BW1, BW2, BW3), LPC energy slope ($\Delta$ |A2-A1/F2-F1|), and Band Energy (0-500 Hz, 500-1000 Hz) by each vowel. From the results of discrimination analyses on acoustic parameters, the vowels /a/, /e/ appeared to be insignificant but vowels /i/, /u/, /o/ appeared to be efficient in the separation. A 95%, 100%, and 100% recognition score could be reached when vowels /i/, /u/, and /o/ were analyzed. The results showed that F2, BW3, and LPC slope are more important parameters than the others. Finally, there is a relation between perceptual evaluation score and LPC energy slope of acoustic parameters by least square slope.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.7-16
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• 2005

The purpose, this experimental study was to identify pronunciation difficulties between male and female Korean speakers in their articulation of English vowels. Ten English mono-syllabic words were spoken six times by six male and six female college students. Formant frequencies were measured from sound spectrograms made by Pitch Works. Results show that Korean female speakers uttered English vowels more similar to those uttered by English native speakers than did Korean male speakers. While Korean male speakers could not readily distinguish between /i/ and /I/, /u/ and /v/, and /$\epsilon$/ and /ae/, respectively, Korean female speakers had difficulty only with /$\epsilon$/ and /ae/. The tentative results suggests that on the whole Korean speakers have difficulty in discriminating tense vowels from lax vowels, and they also have articulatory problems pronouncing low and back vowels such as /ae/. /a/ and /c/.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.75-80
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• 2010

The present research investigated the characteristics of voice between genders and nationalities by measuring the acoustic parameter values of Korean and Chinese students. Sound Forge was used to collect voice samples and Praat was used to measure and analyze jitter, shimmer, NHR, $sF_0$, and pitch range. The results of this research are a follows. First, during prolongation of the vowels, there was no significant difference in $F_0$ between Korean and Chinese males and Korean and Chinese females. Korean males and females had higher $F_0$ values than Chinese males and females. Secondly, during sentence reading, there was no significant difference between Korean and Chinese males in $sF_0$. But between female groups, there was a significant difference in $sF_0$. Thirdly, during sentence reading, the pitch range in Korean males was found to be narrower compared to Korean and Chinese females who had wider pitch range, showing a significant difference. Fourthly, jitter in the five vowels /a, i, u, e, o/ was found to be higher in Chinese than Korean subjects. In the vowels /a, e, u/ females were higher than males showing a significant difference. Fifthly, shimmer in the vowels /a, e, u/ was found to be higher in Chinese than Korean subjects showing a significant difference. Finally, NHR in the vowels /a, u, o/ was found to be higher in Chinese than Korean subjects showing a significant difference.

• MALSORI
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• no.62
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• pp.1-17
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate and quantitatively describe the acoustic characteristics of current Korean monophthongs. Recordings were made of 33 men and 27 women producing the vowels /i, e, ${\epsilon}$, a, ${\partial}$, o, u, i/ in a carrier phrase "This character is ___." A listening test was conducted in which 19 participants judged each vowel. F1, F2, and F3 were measured from the vowels judged as intended vowels by more than 17 people from the listening test. Analysis of formant data shows some interesting results including the undeniable confirmation of the 7-vowel system in modern Korean. It turns out that quite different sounding Korean vowels and English vowels happen to have very similar formant measurements. Also the difference between "citation-form reading" vs. "natural utterance reading" is discussed.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.49-56
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• 2011

This study investigates how American English high back vowels are identified. American English and Korean speakers participated in a phonetic experiment for this study. This study shows their response times of the vowels and discusses how the speakers identified them. For the experiment I used a synthesized vowel continuum between American English /u/ and /$\mho$/based on American English male speakers' voice obtained by Peterson and Barney (1952). I manipulated spectral steps and vowel duration of the stimuli. The statistical results showed that American English speakers were not able to distinguish the stimuli based on spectral quality. Instead they relied on vowel duration. This suggests that the American English high back vowels have changed since Peterson and Barney recorded them in 1952. The Korean speakers also relied on vowel duration, not spectral quality since they could not distinguish them. American speakers' response times of these vowels were not affected by both spectral quality and vowel duration. Koreans' response times were affected by vowel durations only.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.39
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• pp.9.1-9.5
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• 2017

Background: Nasalance is used to evaluate the velopharyngeal incompetence in clinical diagnoses using a nasometer. The aim of this study is to find the nasalance differences between Vietnamese cleft palate children and Korean cleft palate children by measuring the nasalance of five oral vowels. Methods: Ten Vietnamese cleft palate children after surgery, three Vietnamese children for the control group, and ten Korean cleft palate children after surgery with the same age participated in this experimentation. Instead of Korean control, the standard value of Korean version of the simplified nasometric assessment procedures (kSNAP) was used. Result: The results are as follows: (1) the highest nasalance score among the Vietnamese normal vowels is the low vowel /a/; however, that of Korean normal vowels is the high vowel /i/. (2) The average nasalance score of Korean cleft palate vowels is 18% higher than that of Vietnamese cleft palate vowels. There was a nasalance score of over 45% among the vowels /e/ and /i/ in Vietnamese cleft palate patients and /i/, /o/, and /u/ in Korean cleft palate patients. Conclusion: These different nasalance scores of the same vowels seem to cause an ethnic difference between Vietnamese and Korean cleft palate children.