PROCESSES OF SPEAKER NORMALIZATION IN SPEECH PERCEPTION

这个项目将调查听众理解讲话的能力 由不同的谈话者产生。 这种感知能力（被称为 说话人标准化）是语音自适应性的一个例子 感知，因此更好地了解听众如何适应 不同的谈话者可能会导致更好地理解自适应 听觉障碍时发生的感知过程。 尽管说话人规范化具有内在的和实际的重要性， 并不是大多数言语感知研究者感兴趣的焦点。 该项目将比较两种说话人标准化模型。 的 中介规范化模型认为，语音的感知是 认知介导的信息有关的发言人，而 立即归一化模型保持语音信号中信息 由于扬声器之间的声学差异， 与语言声学线索相结合， 扬声器之间的距离被消除。 这两个模型将在 13个实验涉及测试（1）熟悉的作用， 特别是发言人在言语知觉，（2）次要的作用， 用于说话者身份的声学线索（例如呼吸）和视觉线索 关于扬声器的信息，以及（3）扬声器归一化效应， 爆破音和鼻音 拟议的实验利用 合成语音或数字处理的自然语音，并包括 操纵用于说话者身份的声学线索，刺激间隔， 和呈现类型（随机混合扬声器或通过 在观察这些操纵对 元音、摩擦音、塞音和鼻音的感知。 除了有 实验中，提出的研究方案涉及建设 语言感知的数学模型。 基于样本 中介和即时标准化模型的实现 将根据 实验

This project will investigate the listener's ability to understand speech produced by different talkers. This perceptual ability (which is called speaker normalization) is one example of the adaptiveness of speech perception, and so a better understanding of how listeners adapt to different talkers may lead to a better understanding of the adaptive perceptual processes which take place in response to hearing impairment. In spite of its intrinsic and practical importance, speaker normalization has not been a focus of interest for most speech perception researchers. The project will compare two models of speaker normalization. The mediated normalization model holds that the perception of speech is cognitively mediated by information about the speaker, whereas the immediate normalization model holds that information in the speech signal resulting from acoustic differences between speakers is auditorily integrated with linguistic acoustic cues in such a way that differences between speakers are eliminated. These two models will be contrasted in 13 experiments involving tests of (1) the role of familiarity with particular speakers in speech perception, (2) the role of secondary acoustic cues for speaker identity (such as breathiness) and visual information about the speaker, and (3) speaker normalization effects for plosive consonants and nasals. The proposed experiments make use of synthetic speech or digitally processed natural speech and involve manipulating acoustic cues for speaker identity, interstimulus interval, and presentation type (randomly mixing speakers or blocking stimuli by speaker) while observing the impact of these manipulations on the perception of vowels, fricatives, stops, and nasals. In addition to the experiments, the proposed program of research involves the construction of mathematical models of speech perception. Exemplar-based implementations of both the mediated and immediate normalization models will be constructed and tested against the data generated by the experiments.