Work

Vocal effort modulates the motor planning of short speech structures

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Speech requires programming the sequence of vocal gestures that produce the sounds of words. Here we explored the timing of this program by asking our participants to pronounce, as quickly as possible, a sequence of consonant-consonant-vowel (CCV) structures appearing on screen. We measured the delay between visual presentation and voice onset. In the case of plosive consonants, produced by sharp and well defined movements of the vocal tract, we found that delays are positively correlated with the duration of the transition between consonants. We then used a battery of statistical tests and mathematical vocal models to show that delays reflect the motor planning of CCVs and transitions are proxy indicators of the vocal effort needed to produce them. These results support that the effort required to produce the sequence of movements of a vocal gesture modulates the onset of the motor plan.

Source: Physical review. E

DOI: 10.1103/physreve.97.052406

Authors: Alan Taitz, Diego E. Shalom, Marcos A. Trevisan

Institutions: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires, Universidad de Buenos Aires

Language: English

Topic: Phonetics and Phonology Research

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, National Institutes of Health

Awards: G2439265903, G9000327782