PERCEPTION OF SPEECH IN THE PRESENCE OF COMPETING VOICES

拟议的研究有三个总体目标：第一， 调查声学特性，使听众与正常 听力将言语从竞争的声音中分离出来，包括其他声音; 第二，研究受试者提取信息的感知策略 这些属性的复合波形;第三，开发和 评估语音源分离的模型。 的个体 来自耳蜗源性听力障碍的患者经常报告在以下方面存在困难： 当竞争的声音出现时理解语音。 研究 涉及将语音与其他声音分离的感知过程可以 深入了解听障人士面对的困难 听众，-并可能建议信号处理的形式，以提高 被背景噪声破坏的语音信号的可懂度， 从而改进未来信号处理助听器的设计。 该项目的实验部分将调查 的声音基频（f 0）和共振峰频率， 竞争声音的知觉分离。 在一组实验中， 听众将注意到两种合成的“声音”的混合， 识别他们每个人在说什么。 对声音的贡献 f 0差异的分离、f随时间的变化和共振峰 频率随时间的变化将根据以下方面进行评估： 识别性能 第二组实验将使用 匹配范式，以检查音高感知和语音之间的联系 种族隔离 第三组将使用元音匹配任务来检查 共振峰重叠的感知后果，这经常存在，当 声音竞争。 项目的建模组件涉及 进一步发展和评价 听觉和感知过程是听者表现的基础 在涉及两个竞争声音的任务中（Assmann和萨默菲尔德，1990）。 新的发展&将包括引入滑动时间分析 窗口以适应变化的f o和变化的共振峰模式，以及 详细的隔离程序，反映了 知觉实验

The proposed research has three overall objectives: first, to investigate the acoustic properties which enable listeners with normal hearing to separate speech from competing sounds, including other voices; second, to study the perceptual strategies used by listeners to extract these properties from the composite waveform; and third, to develop and evaluate a model of speech-source segregation. Individuals suffering from hearing impairment of cochlear origin often report difficulties in understanding speech when competing voices are present. Research on the perceptual processes involved in separating speech from other sounds may provide insights into the difficulties faced by hearing-impaired listeners,-and may suggest forms of signal processing to enhance the intelligibility of speech signals corrupted by background noise and thereby improve the design of future signal-processing hearing aids. The experimental component of the project will investigate the role of voice fundamental frequency (f 0) and formant frequencies in the perceptual segregation of competing voices. In one set of experiments, listeners will attend to a mixture of two synthesized "Voices" and identify what each of them is saying. The contribution to voice separation of f 0 differences, f, changes over time, and formant frequency changes over time will be assessed in terms of the accuracy of identification performance. A second set of experiments will use a matching paradigm to examine the link between pitch perception and voice segregation. A third set will use a vowel-matching task to examine the perceptual consequences of formant overlap, which frequently exists when voices compete. The modeling component of the project involves the further development and evaluation of a computational model of the auditory and perceptual processes underlying the performance of listeners in tasks involving two competing voices (Assmann and Summerfield, 1990). New development& will include the introduction of a sliding time analysis window to accommodate changing f o's and changing formant patterns, and an elaborated segregation procedure which reflects the findings of the perceptual experiments.