A verification experiment of the second formant transition feature as a perceptual cue in natural speech

Abstract

Over the past century, a significant amount of of research has been devoted toward understanding the acoustic features that are used as perceptual cues in human speech perception. A brief history of this research is given, with emphasis on one important feature, the second formant (F2) transition. A review of historical arguments made for and against its role in the perception of speech, as well as theories that accentuate its significance, is provided. A verification experiment is run to evaluate the importance of this feature, along with two features within the consonantal release. Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) modifications are made to consonant-vowel (CV) non-sense syllables to remove each of the tested acoustic features. Changes in listener response error are reported. An ANalysis Of VAriance (ANOVA)is used to determine the perceptual significance of the features in question. Perceptual scores provide strong evidence against the role of the F2 transition in speech perception and strong evidence for the role of the excited resonance frequency in the consonantal release.