Journal article
The auditory representation of vowels as inferred from psychoacoustical masking patterns
Journal of phonetics, Vol.16(1), pp.125-137
01/1988
DOI: 10.1016/S0095-4470(19)30470-X
Abstract
The auditory representation of vowels can be inferred through such psychoacoustic procedures as simultaneous and non-simultaneous masking, which include forward masking and the pulsation threshold. These techniques involve determination of a sinusoid’s (“signal”) threshold in the presence of a “masking” vowel. The masker’s auditory spectral representation is assumed to be correlated with the threshold (masking) pattern of the signal. However, simultaneous-masking patterns should be interpreted with caution in view of the potentially confounding effects of beats, combination tones and suppression. Non-simultaneous-masking procedures can be used to minimize these problems. When the masker is a vowel the masking pattern typically resolves the formant peaks. This auditory representation of the speech spectrum is based on the frequency resolving capabilities of the cochlea. The masking patterns obtained from some patients with sensorineural hearing loss of cochlear origin do not show clearly delineated peaks associated with the formant regions. Although present psychoacoustic techniques do not provide a means to determine, with assurance, the anatomical locus of the masking patterns, it is likely that they reflect neural activity at a relatively peripheral level of the auditory pathway. Therefore, the procedures can be used to help define the peripheral consequences of acoustic manipulations of speech.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The auditory representation of vowels as inferred from psychoacoustical masking patterns
- Creators
- Richard S Tyler - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of phonetics, Vol.16(1), pp.125-137
- DOI
- 10.1016/S0095-4470(19)30470-X
- ISSN
- 0095-4470
- eISSN
- 1095-8576
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/1988
- Academic Unit
- Communication Sciences and Disorders; Otolaryngology
- Record Identifier
- 9984267723902771
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