On the Acoustic and Perceptual Characterization of Reference Vowels in a Cross-language Perspective.
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: Due to the difficulty of a clear specification in the articulatory or the acoustic space, the same IPA symbol is often used to transcribe phonetically different vowels across different languages. On the basis of the acoustic theory of speech production, this paper aims to propose a set of focal vowels characterized by an almost complete merging of two adjacent formants: F1 and F2, F2 and F3, and F3 and F4 (sometimes F4 and F5 for some speakers). These reference vowels constitute a subset of Jones‟s Cardinal Vowels (CVs); they are the only vowels that can be called "quantal" in Stevens‟ sense. Formant merging creates a vowelspecific sharp concentration of spectral energy in a narrow region of the frequency scale. This acoustic result results from very specific articulatory configurations and entails special perceptual characteristics.
Author: Jacqueline Vaissière
Institution: Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2567215862