Compensation for Coarticulation: Implications for the Basis and Architecture of Speech Perception

协同发音的补偿：对语音感知的基础和架构的影响

• 批准号: 0642300
• 负责人: James Magnuson
• 金额: $ 27.18万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-04-15 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0642300&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Compensation; Coarticulation; Implications; Basis; Architecture

Language users typically have the impression that understanding speech in their native tongue is instantaneous and effortless. This apparent ease belies a vastly complex chain of processes that must be engaged in order to derive meaning from the acoustic patterns of speech. Unlike computer speech recognition systems, human listeners adapt quickly to tremendous acoustic variability in the speech signal. This extremes of this variability can result, for instance, from unusual acoustic environments, new voices or accents, very fast speaking rates, and many other factors. Speech is one of the most difficult perceptual challenges that humans face, so research on its underlying mechanisms will not only further our understanding of human language, but may also help to unlock some of the deepest mysteries about the human mind. This basic knowledge may also serve to improve current speech technologies, and current methods of remediation for impairments in speech comprehension and production. With the support of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Magnuson is studying a speech perception phenomenon called "compensation for coarticulation" with the goal of refining current theories of speech perception. Compensation for coarticulation is a phenomenon whereby the perception of a sound is affected by the qualities of preceding or following sounds. Traditional explanations of this phenomenon appeal to active mechanisms of perceptual adjustment based on physical properties of the vocal tract and speech articulators. However, there are now three distinct explanations that account for overlapping subsets of results, each of which follows from a different theory of speech perception. Dr. Magnuson and his research team will use acoustic analyses and speech experiments with human speakers and listeners in order to distinguish between these differing explanations of compensation for coarticulation. The results of this project promise to advance our general understanding of the perceptual mechanisms that underlie speech and potentially many sensory experiences.

语言用户通常有这样的印象：理解母语语音是即时且毫不费力的。 这种表面上的轻松掩盖了一个极其复杂的过程链，必须参与这些过程才能从语音的声学模式中获取意义。 与计算机语音识别系统不同，人类听众能够快速适应语音信号中巨大的声学变化。 这种极端的变化可能是由于不寻常的声学环境、新的声音或口音、非常快的语速以及许多其他因素造成的。 语音是人类面临的最困难的感知挑战之一，因此对其潜在机制的研究不仅将进一步加深我们对人类语言的理解，而且可能有助于解开人类思维的一些最深奥的谜团。 这些基础知识还可以用于改进当前的语音技术以及当前针对语音理解和生成中的损伤的补救方法。在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，马格努森博士正在研究一种称为“协同发音补偿”的语音感知现象，目的是完善当前的语音感知理论。 协同发音补偿是一种声音感知受到之前或之后声音质量影响的现象。 对这种现象的传统解释诉诸于基于声道和发音器官的物理特性的感知调节的主动机制。 然而，现在存在三种不同的解释来解释结果的重叠子集，每种解释都源于不同的语音感知理论。 马格努森博士和他的研究团队将使用声学分析和对人类说话者和听众进行语音实验，以便区分这些对协同发音补偿的不同解释。 该项目的结果有望促进我们对构成言语和潜在许多感官体验的感知机制的总体理解。