Abstract
The question whether isolated stationary vowels are imitated in a continuoys or categorical fashion — raised by Chistovich et al. [2] and followed up primarily by Kent [4]—was further by replicating Kent's study with some slight modifications. The subjects (the two authors) imitated synthetic stimuli from [u]-[i] and [i]-[æ] continua at three different temporal delays. Acoustic analysis of the response vowels revealed very similar pattern across delays. Both subjects showed clear evidence of nonlinearities in the stimulus-response mapping of preferred response formant frequencies, though strictly categorical responses were generally absent. The origin of these nonlinearities and their relation to the phonemic vowel categories of English are not fully understood at present. Vowel imitation responses presumably reflect the joint influences of perceptual and articulatory factors that need to be disentangled in future research.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
