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

语言使用者通常会有这样一种印象，即理解母语中的语言是瞬间的、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，为了从说话的声音模式中获得意义，必须进行这些过程。与计算机语音识别系统不同，人类听众能迅速适应语音信号中巨大的声学变化。例如，这种极端的变异性可能是由不寻常的声学环境、新的声音或口音、非常快的语速和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加深我们对人类语言的理解，还可能有助于解开关于人类思维的一些最深层次的谜团。这一基本知识也可能有助于改进当前的语音技术，以及当前针对语音理解和产生障碍的补救方法。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名为“协同发音补偿”的言语感知现象，目的是完善当前的言语感知理论。协同发音补偿是一种声音感知受前后音质影响的现象。对这一现象的传统解释呼吁基于声道和语音发音的物理特性的知觉调节的主动机制。然而，现在有三种不同的解释来解释重叠的结果子集，每一种解释都来自不同的言语感知理论。马格努森博士和他的研究团队将对人类说话者和听者进行声学分析和语音实验，以区分对协同发音补偿的不同解释。这个项目的结果有望促进我们对言语和潜在的许多感官体验所依据的感知机制的总体理解。

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.