Abstract
Current models of human vocal production that capture peripheral dynamics in speech require large dimensional measurements of the neural activity, which are mapped into equally complex motor gestures. In this work we present a motor description for vowels as points in a discrete low-dimensional space. We monitor the dynamics of 3 points at the oral cavity using Hall-effect transducers and magnets, describing the resulting signals during normal utterances in terms of active/inactive patterns that allow a robust vowel classification in an abstract binary space. We use simple matrix algebra to link this representation to the anatomy of the vocal tract and to recent reports of highly tuned neuronal activations for vowel production, suggesting a plausible global strategy for vowel codification and motor production.
Highlights
Phonetics comprises different strategies for transforming the sounds of speech to different spaces
Vowels are produced by the combined action of the vocal tract and the vocal folds as follows: the vocal folds are set into oscillatory motion by the transfer of energy from the airflow expelled from the lungs, and the perturbed airflow produced by this oscillation is injected into the vocal tract, that acts as a waveguide for the sound
Each transducer signal either remains at a baseline or responds with a voltage change during the utterance of the different vowels, which leads to a simplified binary description where each transducer acts as a switch between 2 dynamical states
Summary
Phonetics comprises different strategies for transforming the sounds of speech to different spaces. The utterance of vowels results from the combined action of the vocal tract and vocal folds, both blocks act rather independently during normal speech, because the folds are not appreciably affected by the re-injection of sound from the tract, which is known as source-filter theory [1]. The challenge and success of classical phonetics has been the reduction of the problem to low-dimensional spaces, like the canonical descriptions of vowels using a few vocal tract resonances or positions of the articulators. These descriptions still assume the continuous nature of the morphological changes of the vocal tract
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 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.
