ASA 129th Meeting - Washington, DC - 1995 May 30 .. Jun 06

4aSC25. Clarity versus effort in speech production: Initial results of a pilot study.

Speech Commun. Group, Res. Lab. of Electron., Rm. 36-511, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139

The goal of this research is to test the hypothesis that there is a trading relation between clarity and effort in speech production. Midsagittal-plane articulatory movements of points on the tongue body, tongue blade, lips and mandible (with an EMMA system) and the acoustic signal from a male talker in five speaking conditions: normal, clear, clear plus fast, fast, and slow, were recorded. Different CVC words were embedded in two positions in a carrier phrase. Analyses were performed as a function of speaking condition and position in the phrase. As an example, CV movements of a point on the tongue body for the word ``cab'' have the following characteristics. Movement duration was shorter for position two; in both positions, it followed the order: slow>clear>normal>clear plus fast>fast. The range of distance traveled was greater for slow and for clear, than the other conditions. Peak velocity was higher for fast and clear plus fast than the other conditions. Midsagittal plane location at movement end was less variable with the longer duration movements of the word in position one. Effort was higher for clear, clear plus fast and fast, than for normal or slow, in both word positions. [Work supported by N.I.D.C.D.]