Lung volume initiation levels and selected acoustic measures of English consonants

Abstract

Watson, Ciccia, and Weismer (2003) described the relationship of initiating speech at different lung volumes to selected acoustic variables related to vowel production. It was found that some variables, such as dB SPL were related to a ‘direct' mechanical interaction with the breathing system. They also found that a variable, such as vowel-space, was reduced at low-lung volume initiation levels suggesting an indirect link between one subsystem, breathing, and another articulation. Using a similar procedure to Watson et al. (2003), we studied selected acoustic variables of English fricatives and stops. Participants read aloud a carrier phrase with a 2 syllable V—‘CV embedded within it. Participants were trained to initiate speech at 3 different lung volume levels: normal, low, and high. Data will be discussed in relation to those acoustic variables that have a more direct interaction with the breathing system, e.g., db SPL, and those with a less direct relationship with breathing, e.g., relative duration of voice-onset-time between cognate pairs of voiced and voiceless stop consonants, and the difference of first moment measures between sibilants.