Exam 3

Question 1

Is the human voice perfectly periodic?

Answer 1

No. It’s semiperiodic; a perfectly periodic voice would sound like a machine to us.

Question 2

Jitter

Answer 2

Variation in F0 from one cycle to the next

• The period of each cycle

Question 3

Shimmer

Answer 3

Variation in amplitude from one cycle to the next

Question 4

Chest register

Answer 4

• Singing vocal register
• Normal voice

Question 5

Falsetto

Answer 5

• Singing or voice
• AKA loft
• Higher pitch
• Breathy, light, & airy
  
  • Due to fast vocal vold vibration

Question 6

Pulse/Vocal fry/Glottal fry/Creaky voice

Answer 6

Voice with very low F0 and creaky voice quality

Question 7

Modal

Answer 7

Voice at normal, comfortable pitch used for talking

Question 8

Open quotient

Answer 8

Proportion of time vocal volds are open during each glottal cycle

How voice quality types are differentiated

Question 9

3 main phonation types in voiced speech

Answer 9

1. Breathy
2. Modal (Normal)
3. Creaky

Question 10

Hypo- vs. Hyperadduction

Answer 10

Hypoadduction: VFs adducted w/ insufficient medial compression

Hyperadduction: VFs adducted w/ excessive medial compression

• false VFs can start vibrating as well (harsh voice/ventricular phonation)

Question 11

Aphonia

Answer 11

Complete absence of voice

Question 12

Dysphonia

Answer 12

Any kind of vocal dysfunction resulting in a deviant-sounding voice

Question 13

Maximum phonation time for adults & children

Answer 13

Adults: 15-25 sec

Children: at least 10 sec

Question 14

Minimum-maximum intensity at varios F0 levels graph

Answer 14

Football-shaped

Question 15

Breathy voice production

Answer 15

Incomplete closure of VFs causes air to leak during phonation

• inefficient, so intensity range is reduced
• more air used than normal phonation

More common in females & increases w/ age

Question 16

Breathy voice: acoustic characteristics

Answer 16

• Less periodic
• More high-frequency noise (above 5 kHz)
• Loss of energy between 2-5 kHz

Question 17

Rough/hoarse voice characteristics

Answer 17

Rough: sounds raspy & low pitched due to aperiodic VF vibration

• Hoarse voice = breathy + rough

Question 18

Rough/hoarse voice: acoustic characteristics

Answer 18

• Larger amt. of spectral noise at lower (100-2600 Hz) frequencies
• Decreased periodic VF vibration

Question 19

Harmonics-to-Noise Ratio

Answer 19

Another way to measure how periodic a voice is

Compares amplitude of harmonics to amplitude of noise in signal

• Mostly periodic voices have high HNR (20 dB + is normal)
• More noisy/less periodic voices have low HNR

Question 20

Vocal tract differences from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens

Answer 20

Larynx is now much lower. We can produce more sounds now, but we also have an increased danger of choking.

Question 21

Vocal tract

Answer 21

Pharynx, oral & nasal cavities

• Can change shape at tongue, lips, jaw & velum
• Allows for speech sound generation

Question 22

Formants

Answer 22

The resonant frequencies of the vocal tract

Question 23

The vocal tract is a _______-wave resonator.

Answer 23

quarter

• Closed end = glottis
• Open end = lips

Question 24

Source-Filter Theory

Answer 24

The vocal tract acts as an acoustic filter, which modifies the sound produced by a sound source (VF vibration, turbulent noise, or a combination of the two)

• Source is independent of filter (F0 doesn’t affect our perception of vowels)

Question 25

How does an acoustic filter work?

Answer 25

Filters out certain frequencies of complex sounds while allowing other frequencies to pass through * Complex sounds are composed of sine waves of more than one frequency * A filter reduces/increases the amplitude of one or more component sine waves

Question 26

Characteristics of the sound produced at the glottis

Answer 26

* A complex periodic wave * Has an infinite number of sinusoidal components (harmonics) * All are integer multiples of F0 * Harmonic amplitude decreases as frequency increases * Harmonics above 10,000 Hz do not make a big contribution to speech production

Question 27

Harmonics

Answer 27

Component sinusoids of a complex periodic wave * Integer multiples of F0 * Identified by numbers from lowest to highest frequency * **F0 = H1**

Question 28

What factors affect sound quality?

Answer 28

Which harmonics are present What the amplitude of each harmonic is * determined by the SLVT

Question 29

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ determines which harmonics are filtered out by the SLVT.

Answer 29

Wavelength

Question 30

What does it mean for a harmonic to "fit" the vocal tract?

Answer 30

Harmonics differ in their wavelength. Different harmonics will "fit" into the resonating chambers. * Harmonics whose wavelengths best fit into a chamber will gain amplitude (resonate) * These are formants * Those that do not fit will lose amplitude & be filtered out.

Question 31

In a neutral-shaped vocal tract, a sinusoid will fit if there is a _______________ at the glottis and a ____________ at the lips.

Answer 31

pressure maximum; zero crossing

Question 32

What is a standing wave?

Answer 32

A wave with a higher amplitude than the original sinusoid that is formed when a sinusoid's wavelength fits the vocal tract * Occurs from the echo (reflection) of the sound in the vocal tract

Question 33

Resonant sounds are characterized by the relationship among the first __ formants

Answer 33

3

Question 34

Formants on spectrograms vs. spectra

Answer 34

**Spectrogram**: frequency is on the **Y axis** **Spectrum**: frequency is on the **X axis**

Question 35

Formant frequencies are ___________ of the rate of vocal fold vibration

Answer 35

independent

Question 36

What 2 factors determine formant frequencies?

Answer 36

1. The length of the speaker's vocal tract 2. The size & shape of the vocal tract cavities

Question 37

Vocal tract shape and F1

Answer 37

Influenced by the **pharynx** * A constriction in the oral cavity (**high vowels**) results in a **large pharynx** and a **low F1** * A constriction in the pharynx (**low vowels**) results in a s**mall pharynx** and a **high F1**

Question 38

Vocal tract shape and F2

Answer 38

Influenced by the **oral cavity** * A constriction at the back of the oral cavity (**back vowels**) results in a **large oral cavity** and a **low F2** * A constriction at the front of the oral cavity (**front vowels**) results in a **small oral cavity** and a **high F2**

Question 39

What effect does lip rounding have on formants?

Answer 39

**Lowers** frequencies of all formants because it lengthens the vocal tract.

Question 40

/w/ and /j/ are like extreme versions of which two vowels?

Answer 40

/u/ and /i/

Question 41

Why do liquids and glides have less amplitude than vowels?

Answer 41

As the vocal tract becomes more constricted, the amplitude drops.

Question 42

Formant values for /l/ are sometimes very similar to those for which sound?

Answer 42

/o/

Question 43

What are "zeroes," "anti-formants" or "anti-resonances"?

Answer 43

Reduce the amplitude of nearby formants. Present in nasal and liquid sounds.

Question 44

/l/ acoustics

Answer 44

Lateral airflow produces zeroes/anti-resonances * On a spectrogram, formants above F1 often vanish

Question 45

The most important acoustic characteristic of /r/ is a low ___ frequency

Answer 45

F3 (extremely unusual)

Question 46

3 constrictions in English /r/

Answer 46

1. lips 2. palate 3. pharynx Are 3 antinodes of F3

Question 47

Nasal articulation/acoustics

Answer 47

Air flows through the nasal cavity, which is large compared to the pharynx & oral cavity * Has a very low first formant (the "nasal formant")