Lingual target regions for consonants: constancy and variability across speakers

这个项目的主要目标是研究辅音的发音靶区。尽管辅音在世界语言中的普遍地位及其对语音清晰度的重要性，但在当代言语产生模型中，辅音发音和辅音表征不足的数据的缺乏推动了这项工作。这项研究的具体目标包括：(1)确定辅音在说话人内部和说话人之间的目标区域在口腔中的位置和大小是否不同；(2)确定声道几何特征，特别是硬腭形状是否影响目标区域，以及如何影响目标区域；(3)确定说话条件(如语速、清晰度等)是否影响辅音目标区域特征，以及如何影响辅音目标区域特征；(4)确定在受控条件下产生的目标区域和在有意义的语音中产生的目标区域的差异；以及(5)建立舌头目标区域的视觉模型。运动学和声学数据将使用一种新的电磁运动跟踪技术来获取。以加拿大英语为母语的成年人会产生嵌入到载体短语和有意义的句子中的音节。辅音的目标区域将根据辅音期间舌头最大抬高的点来确定。将获得目标区域位置和大小的测量以及拟人化的测量。本研究的结果有望为完善当代语音运动控制理论提供必要的数据，并有助于发展辅音目标区域的视觉模型，用于未来语音运动学习中视觉信息的研究。

The main goal of this project is to investigate articulatory target regions for consonants. The work is driven by the lack of data on consonant articulation and subsequent under-representation of consonants in the contemporary models of speech production, despite the consonants' prevalent status in the world's languages and their importance to speech intelligibility. The specific objectives of the study included: (1) determining whether consonants differ with respect to the location and size of their target regions in the mouth within and across speakers, (2) determining whether and how the features of vocal tract geometry, specifically the shape of the hard palate, affect the target regions, (3) determining whether and how speaking conditions (e.g., speech rate, clarity etc) affect the target region characteristics for consonants, (4) determining the differences in target regions produced in controlled conditions and in meaningful speech, and (5) developing a visual model of tongue target regions. Kinematic and acoustic data will be acquired using a novel electromagnetic motion tracking technology. Adult speakers of Canadian English will produce syllables embedded in a carries phrase and meaningful sentences. Target regions for consonants will be established based on points of maximum tongue elevation during consonants. Measures of the target region locations and sizes as well as anthropomorphic measures will be obtained. The results of this study are expected to provide essential data for refining the contemporary theories of speech motor control and to lead to the development of a visual model of consonant target regions to be used in future studies of visual information in speech motor learning.