Acoustic Methods for Speech Science is the first-of-its-kind textbook to provide clear guidance on the use of acoustic analyses to identify and describe speech patterns in children and adults, including individuals with disorders or dialectal variations. For courses in speech and voice science, sociophonetics, linguistics, and related areas, it encompasses both practical advice and experience in acoustic analysis, with hands-on activities to engage students and ensure comprehension. The activities present examples of speakers of different ages and genders with advice on how analyses should be adjusted for different speaker characteristics. The book includes examples from growing populations in the United States, such as bilingual individuals, and discusses current topics such as automatic speech recognition, speech synthesis, text-to-speech, and various applications of artificial intelligence.
The material covered in the book is made understandable for students who do not have a strong background in mathematics or physical sciences. Acoustic concepts and methods are clearly explained and amply illustrated. The text uses the freely available Praat software for activities guiding students through the applications of acoustic analysis, providing readers with little or no experience in acoustics with multiple opportunities for learning by doing. With its integration of knowledge and robust learning activities, this textbook will be a go-to resource for practitioners-in-training or anyone who seeks to understand contemporary applications of speech acoustics.
Key Features
Discusses a wide range of topics including acoustic theories of speech, techniques of analysis, acoustic and perceptual features of various phonetic classes, acoustic cues for suprasegmentals, sociophonetics, speech technologies, clinical applications, and effects of age, gender, and sex Focuses on the application of speech and voice acoustics to disorders and dialects in different age-gender populations Includes a wide array of activities showing how Praat can be used to analyze speech samples Utilizes bolded key words, case studies, chapter summaries, and a glossary for enhanced learning Contains information on acoustic profiles of speech sounds, Praat-based activities, advice on optimal analysis methods, and key references to the literature Abundant ancillary support for both instructors and students
PluralPlus Online AncillariesFor instructors: PowerPoint Slides, Test Bank, Audios For students: eFlashcards, Audios, Activities/Exercises
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Chapter
1. Theoretical Foundations
Chapter
2. Methods of Acoustic Analysis
Chapter
3. Acoustic and Perceptual Characteristics of Vowels
Chapter
4. Acoustic and Perceptual Characteristics of Obstruent Consonants
Chapter
5. Sonorant Consonants
Chapter
6. Coarticulation and Suprasegmentals
Chapter
7. Speech Technologies
Chapter
8. Applications in Sociolinguistics and Multilingualism
Chapter
9. Clinical Applications
Chapter
10. Speaker Characteristics: Sex, Gender, and Age Hands-On Speech
Analysis Activities
Activity 1: Selected Speech Analysis Programs
Activity 2: Working with Computer Sound Files
Activity 3: Working with Speech Analysis Programs
Activity 4: Sound File Editing
Activity 5: Digitizing and Aliasing
Activity 6: Graphs Most Commonly Used in Speech Analyses
Activity 7: Frequency and f0 Measurements
Activity 8: Harmonics and Resonance
Activity 9: Vowels: Introduction to Formants and Resonance
Activity 10: Vowels: Formants and Pitch
Activity 11: Vowel Duration, Formant Transitions, and Intensity
Activity 12: Stop Consonant Manner Cues
Activity 13: Stop Consonant Place Cues
Activity 14: Stop Voicing Cues
Activity 15: Additional Duration Measurements for Vowels, Stop Gaps, and
Voice Onset Time
Activity 16: Fricatives and Affricates
Activity 17: Fricatives: Gender and Vocal Tract Differences
Activity 18: Liquids and Glides
Activity 19: Nasals
Appendix
Glossary
References
Index
Raymond D. Kent, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His publications include more than 250 journal articles, book chapters, and reviews on various topics in speech science and speech pathology. He has authored or edited 18 books, including: Clinical Phonetics, Intelligibility in Speech Disorders, Reference Manual for Communicative Sciences and Disorders: Speech-Language Pathology, The Speech Sciences, Handbook of Voice Quality Measurement, The MIT Encyclopedia of Communication Disorders, and Handbook on Children's Speech: Development, Disorders, and Variations. He served as editor of the Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, associate founding editor of Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, and associate editor of Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica. His awards include Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Docteur Honoris Causa from Universite de Montreal; Honorary Professor, The University of Queensland, Australia; Visiting Erskine Fellow, University of Canterbury, New Zealand; and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Oulu, Finland.
Ferenc Bunta, PhD, is Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Houston and Adjunct Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. His publications include more than 50 journal articles, book chapters, and other scholarly works primarily on multilingual phonology and speech in typically developing children and their peers with hearing loss who use cochlear implants. His research has received funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Department of Education, Cochlear Americas, and the Spencer Foundation. He has served as guest editor and editorial board member of scholarly journals, including the Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, and reviewed grant proposals for various agencies (including the European Research Council and National Science Foundation). He is also the founding director of the PhD program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Houston.
