Subject: Re: Location of phonemic boundaries From: "Robert E. Remez" <remez@xxxxxxxx> Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:11:43 -0400 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>--Apple-Mail-1--242664971 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; delsp=yes; format=flowed You are right. The characterization that you give is a paraphrase of =20 a classic descriptive paper by Fant. Liberman showed the perceptual =20 effects, and Stevens considered the consequences of the asynchronous =20 correspondence of phoneme segment and acoustic correlates in a =20 feature-based account of speech perception and lexical access. Here are the citations: Fant, C. G. M. (1962). Descriptive analysis of the acoustic aspects =20 of speech. Logos, 5, 3-17. Liberman, A. M. (1970). The grammars of speech and language. =20 Cognitive Psychology, 1, 301-323. Stevens, K. N. (2005). Features in speech perception and lexical =20 access. In D. B. Pisoni and R. E. Remez (Eds.), The Handbook of =20 Speech Perception (pp. 125-155). Oxford, Blackwell. Each of these papers is readily available, I believe. On Aug 12, 2008, at 6:03 PM, Athanassios Protopapas wrote: > But the phonemes are still overlapping, aren' they? > That is to say, the perceptual beginning of each phoneme typically > precedes the perceptual end of at least one previous phoneme. > Therefore, this procedure may help identify reliably some points in > time meeting specific criteria, but does not help segment time into > individual phonemes. And the extent of overlap varies quite > substantially, depending on phonemes, speaker, conditions, tempo etc. > Right? > > > On Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 7:42 PM, Richard Warren <rmwarren@xxxxxxxx> =20 > wrote: >> Dear List, >> >> Jim Miller pointed out on 8 August that "It is well =20 >> established that the >> acoustic information used by a listener to identify a consonant or =20= >> a vowel >> is overlapping and distributed acoustically across a considerable =20 >> span of >> time." He indicated that although some have attempted to identify =20= >> the >> acoustic locations of consonants and vowels in running speech, =20 >> they have for >> the most part failed since coarticulation extends well into adjacent >> phonemes. But if the question is changed from "acoustic" =20 >> boundaries to >> "perceptual" boundaries, the task becomes rather easy. >> >> When a sentence is abruptly terminated, the last speech sound =20= >> is easily >> perceived. By using an arbitrary starting point before the =20 >> beginning of a >> recorded sentence, and moving the time of the cutoff through the =20 >> sentence, >> it is easy to map the perceptual beginning and end of each phoneme =20= >> within a >> few milliseconds. We have been using this procedure for several =20 >> decades. >> =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D= -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=20 =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- Robert E. Remez, Ph. D. =09 Professor, Department of Psychology =09 Barnard College, Columbia University =09 3009 Broadway =09 New York, New York 10027-6598 =97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97 212.854.4247 office 212.854.3601 facsimile 212.854.2069 Department Email: remez@xxxxxxxx Homepage: http://www.columbia.edu/~remez --Apple-Mail-1--242664971 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=WINDOWS-1252 <html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">You are right. The = characterization that you give is a paraphrase of a classic descriptive = paper by Fant. Liberman showed the perceptual effects, and Stevens = considered the consequences of the asynchronous=A0correspondence=A0of = phoneme segment and acoustic correlates in a feature-based account of = speech perception and lexical access.<div><br></div><div>Here are the = citations:</div><div><br></div><div><div>Fant, C. G. M. (1962). = Descriptive analysis of the acoustic=A0aspects of speech. <i>Logos</i>, = 5, 3-17.</div><div><br></div><div>Liberman, A. M. (1970). The grammars = of speech and language. <i>Cognitive Psychology</i>, 1, = 301-323.</div><div><br></div><div>Stevens, K. N. (2005). Features in = speech perception and lexical access. In D. B. Pisoni and R. E. Remez = (Eds.), <i>The Handbook of Speech Perception</i> (pp. 125-155). Oxford, = Blackwell.=A0</div><div><br></div><div>Each of these papers is readily = available, I believe.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div>On = Aug 12, 2008, at 6:03 PM, Athanassios Protopapas wrote:</div><br = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div>But = the phonemes are still overlapping, aren' they?</div><div>That is to = say, the perceptual beginning of each phoneme = typically</div><div>precedes the perceptual end of at least one previous = phoneme.</div><div>Therefore, this procedure may help identify reliably = some points in</div><div>time meeting specific criteria, but does not = help segment time into</div><div>individual phonemes. And the extent of = overlap varies quite</div><div>substantially, depending on phonemes, = speaker, conditions, tempo = etc.</div><div>Right?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>On Tue, = Aug 12, 2008 at 7:42 PM, Richard Warren <<a = href=3D"mailto:rmwarren@xxxxxxxx">rmwarren@xxxxxxxx</a>> wrote:</div> = <blockquote type=3D"cite"><div>Dear List,</div><div><br></div><div>=A0 =A0= Jim Miller pointed out on 8 August that "It is well established that = the</div><div>acoustic information used by a listener to identify a = consonant or a vowel</div><div>is overlapping and distributed = acoustically across a considerable span of</div><div>time."=A0 He = indicated that although some have attempted to identify = the</div><div>acoustic locations of consonants and vowels in running = speech, they have for</div><div>the most part failed since = coarticulation extends well into adjacent</div><div>phonemes.=A0 But if = the question is changed from "acoustic" boundaries = to</div><div>"perceptual" boundaries, the task becomes rather = easy.</div><div><br></div><div>=A0=A0 =A0 When a sentence is abruptly = terminated, the last speech sound is easily</div><div>perceived.=A0 By = using an arbitrary starting point before the beginning of = a</div><div>recorded sentence, and moving the time of the cutoff through = the sentence,</div><div>it is easy to map the perceptual beginning and = end of each phoneme within a</div><div>few milliseconds.=A0 We have been = using this procedure for several decades.</div><div><br></div> = </blockquote></blockquote></div><br><div> = <div>=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D= -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D= -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-</div><div>Robert E. Remez, Ph. D.<span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> = </span></div><div>Professor, Department of Psychology<span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span = class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; = "></span></div><div><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: = pre; ">Barnard College, Columbia University<span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" = style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" = style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" = style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" = style=3D"white-space: pre; "> </span></span></div><div>3009 = Broadway<span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> = </span><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> = </span><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> = </span><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> = </span><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> = </span><span class=3D"Apple-tab-span" style=3D"white-space: pre; "> = </span></div><div>New York, New York = 10027-6598=A0</div><div>=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97=97</= div><div>212.854.4247 office=A0</div><div>212.854.3601 = facsimile=A0</div><div>212.854.2069 Department=A0</div><div>Email: <a = href=3D"mailto:remez@xxxxxxxx">remez@xxxxxxxx</a>=A0</div><div>Hom= epage: <a = href=3D"http://www.columbia.edu/~remez">http://www.columbia.edu/~remez</a>= </div><br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><br = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br></div></body></html>= --Apple-Mail-1--242664971--