Work

An overview of the impacts of vowels and consonants in speech understanding and their applications

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: As a primary mode of human interaction, speech consists of two fundamental sound categories, i.e., vowels and consonants. This overview paper begins by providing an overview of the relative contributions of vowels and consonants to speech understanding. Their significance in speech understanding varies depending on the type of stimulus, the language, and the hearing abilities of the listener. With outcomes of these perceptual studies, a number of applications have been developed, including speech recognition, speech enhancement, auditory prosthetic devices, language acquisition, and speech privacy protection. By processing vowels and consonants, these speech technologies and applications have a significant impact on everyday life. Finally, the future research challenges in this field are outlined.

Source: npj Acoustics

DOI: 10.1038/s44384-025-00032-7

Authors: Yonghong Yan, Fei Chen, Junfeng Li

Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Acoustics, Southern University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Phonetics and Phonology Research

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,490

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China