COMD 5070 Exam 2 (Latest 2023/ 2024 Update) Acoustics of Speech and Hearing| Questions and Verified Answers| 100% Correct| Grade A

COMD 5070 Exam 2 (Latest 2023/ 2024
Update) Acoustics of Speech and Hearing|
Questions and Verified Answers| 100%
Correct| Grade A
Q: what is subglottal pressure?
Answer:
P⌄sub
-pressure below the larynx
-driving pressure for phonation
Q: what are some direct ways to measure subglottal pressure?
Answer:
-tracheal puncture
-esophageal pressure
Q: how can you measure subglottal pressure?
Answer:
there are both direct (tracheal puncture and esophageal balloon) and indirect measures (psub
estimate)
Q: how can you estimate subglottal pressure?
Answer:
produce voiceless bilabial plosive (“pah, pah, pah”)
-when oral pressure equals subglottal pressure

Q: how much subglottal pressure (P⌄sub) is necessary for normal speech?
Answer:
5-7 cmH2O
Q: how much subglottal pressure (P⌄sub) is necessary for very loud speech?
Answer:
15-20 cmH2O
Q: there is a clear association between P⌄sub and __.
Answer:
SPL (sound pressure level)
Q: what is phonation threshold pressure (PTP)?
Answer:
pressure for folds to start vibrating
Q: how much PTP is needed to start VF vibration?
Answer:
3-5 cmH2O
Q: what influences PTP?

Answer:
-dehydration (dried out and less compliant vocal cords)
-vocal fatigue (swollen vocal cords)
Q: what is pressure?
Answer:
force per unit area
-is a force divided by the area over which the force is exerted
-force/area
Q: what is flow?
Answer:

E=IR (voltage=current resistance)
pressure = flow x resistance
resistance = pressure / flow
Q: what is the unit for pressure in speech research?
Answer:
cmH2O
-how many cm would a water column be displaced by this pressure?
Q: what is the intra-oral air pressure when a vowel is produced?
Answer:
equal to atmospheric pressure
Q: what is the intra-oral air pressure when a fricative is produced?
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how do you calculate average air flow?

dividing volume used by time
-for example, if 1 liter of air is used and phonation lasts for 5 seconds
-average flow = 1/5 liters per second = 0.2 L/s

what does a u-tube manometer measure?

Static pressure
-tube in the shape of a u
water in tube is identical until
water in the tube/pressure applied
displace water
-easure the difference in height=
amount of centimeters of water displaced by pressure applied

u-tube manometer: what is it best used for?

-can use to calibrate equipment used to measure pressure
very low tech
-can easily see how much pressure there was

what is a u-tube manometer not suited for?

-rather crude
-measuring pressure during dynamic speech production

what does “h” equal for a u-tube manometer?

difference in cmH2O

during inhalation, what happens to the rib cage and abdomen?

both expand

during singing, how do the rib cage and abdomen move?

they move independent of each other, making small changes

how can you measure chest wall movements?

stretchable bands around the body (on abdomen and on rib cage) that measure movements

during exhalation, what happens to the rib cage and abdomen?

both contract

what is subglottal pressure?

P⌄sub
-pressure below the larynx
-driving pressure for phonation

what are some direct ways to measure subglottal pressure?

-tracheal puncture
-esophageal pressure

how can you measure subglottal pressure?

there are both direct (tracheal puncture and esophageal balloon) and indirect measures (psub estimate)

how can you estimate subglottal pressure?

produce voiceless bilabial plosive (“pah, pah, pah”)
-when oral pressure equals subglottal pressure

how much subglottal pressure (P⌄sub) is necessary for normal speech?

5-7 cmH2O

how much subglottal pressure (P⌄sub) is necessary for very loud speech?

15-20 cmH2O

there is a clear association between P⌄sub and ____.

SPL (sound pressure level)

what is phonation threshold pressure (PTP)?

pressure for folds to start vibrating

how much PTP is needed to start VF vibration?

3-5 cmH2O

what influences PTP?

-dehydration (dried out and less compliant vocal cords)
-vocal fatigue (swollen vocal cords)

what is pressure?

force per unit area
-is a force divided by the area over which the force is exerted
-force/area

what is flow?

• E=IR (voltage=current resistance)
– pressure = flow x resistance
– resistance = pressure / flow

what is the unit for pressure in speech research?

cmH2O
-how many cm would a water column be displaced by this pressure?

what is the intra-oral air pressure when a vowel is produced?

equal to atmospheric pressure

what is the intra-oral air pressure when a fricative is produced?

elevated

what is the intra-oral air pressure when a stop consonant is produced?

highest!

pressure = _____ x ______

flow x resistance

According to Ohm’s Law, if you have a lower resistance for any given driving pressure–what happens to the flow?

the flow will increase

According to Ohm’s Law, pressure and flow and resistance are _____ related to one another

linearly

According to Ohm’s Law, if you have a higher resistance at the level of the vocal folds (they are more tightly adducted)–what happens to the flow?

the flow will drop

laryngeal airway resistance (R⌄law) = _______ / _______

subglottic pressure (estimated) / flow (measured)
-Psub (cmH2O) divided by flow (L/s)

what would be a normal measurement for R>law?

between 20-30

what determines how much air flows through the larynx?

Maximum flow during vowels
Minimum air flow during closures
Pressure peaks during closure

• flowing air makes the vocal folds move
• disordered voice often aerodynamically different
– low flows in vocal hyperfunction(strained pressed voice)
– high flows in vocal fold paralysis(folds don’t meet well at midline, breathy)
• air flow constrictions form fricatives
• flow peaks occur at stop release

how can we compute an estimate of laryngeal resistance?

you can measure the flow with a pneumotach mask, estimate subglottic pressure during a closure for /p/ when you measure oral air pressure, and use these two values to calculate laryngeal airway resistance–divide the pressure you measured in the mouth by the flow you measured during the vowel and this gives you an estimate of laryngeal airway resistance
flow during phonation

laryngeal airway resistance (Rlaw)
– Psub (cmH2O) divided by flow (L/s)

what does pneumotachograph mean?

pneumo = air
tacho = speed (rate of air flow)
graph = representation of what’s happening

how does a pneumotachograph work?

1) flow passes through a resistance
2) upstream from the resistance, the pressure is higher
3) downstream, the pressure is lower
4) upstream minus downstream is the ‘differential pressure’

how to do measure exhaled volume?

spirometer
unit – liters/second

vocal folds are (looser OR stiffer) for easy onset.

looser

vocal folds are (looser OR stiffer) for harsh onset.

stiffer

dehydration and vocal fatigue (increase OR decrease) PTP.

increase

how can you identify a stop burst in a flow signal?

flow peak = stop burst

fundamental frequency vs. oscillation period [be able to compute F0 from the period is ms, or vice versa, using easy, round numbers]

1 Hertz = 1 Cycle per second
Period= 1/F0 (fundamental Frequency)
If the F0 is 200 Hz then the oscillation period is 1/200th of a second or 5 MS

what formula can you use to calculate F0?

period = 1/F0
example: if the F0 is 200 Hz…. period is 1/200th of a second or 5 ms

semitone standard deviation [how do the numbers reflect our perception of intonation in speech?]

Using semitones corresponds more closely to our pitch perception
-a semitone is always 1/12th of an octave
-standard deviation in HZ hard to compare across males, females
-semitone standard deviations (STSD) makes values comparable for high or low mean F0

a semitone is always 1/__th of an octave.

1/12th

why does using semitones correspond more closely with our pitch perception?

both systems are not linear
-across males and females, the difference in fundamental frequencies will have a similar standard deviation in semitones
-semitones are proportioned appropriately and scaled to reflect proportional changes in intonation (can compare like for like)

vocal registers how do they differ physiologically?

pitch is a perceptual characteristic
fundamental frequency is a physical measure
-vocal quality changes at pitch extremes
a register is a pattern of vocal fold vibration
the physiology changes across registers: modal register; pulse register; loft register

what is the modal register?

chest voice/typical speaking voice

what is the dynamic range of the modal register?

wide

what is happening physiologically with the modal register?

whole mass of vocal fold oscillates

what is the pulse register?

vocal fry/voice has a pulsatile quality

what is happening physiologically with the pulse register?

-vocal folds are slack
-low subglottal pressure
-limited pitch range
-limited loudness range

what is the loft register?

falsetto

what is happening physiologically with the loft register?

-vocal folds are stretched tightly
-cover of VF oscillates medially
-little/no involvement of TA muscle in vibration
-oscillation is sinusoidal

harmonic spectral slope [how do steep or shallow slopes relate to voice quality?]

fundamental frequency
harmonics are integer multiples
result: a whole spectrum of sound
F0 goes up, harmonics spread
higher harmonics progressively weaker

a steep harmonic spectral slope is indicative of what quality of voice?

weak, thin voice (18 dB/octave)

a gently sloping harmonic spectral slope is indicative of what quality of voice?

typical voice (12 dB/octave)

a shallowly sloping harmonic spectral slope is indicative of what quality of voice?

bright voice (6 dB/octave)

in the source-filter model, what is the source?

larynx (independent)

in the source-filter model, what is the filter?

vocal tract (independent)

source changes:

source changes: vary the source behavior:
• loudness
• pitch
• voice quality
• phonation versus whispering

F0 can change, causing harmonics to change

how will this affect the filter?
vocal tract configuration remains constant

filter changes:

tongue can move, changing filter characteristics

• while F0 remains the same

not just attenuation or removal
resonance ‘echoes’ sound
some sine waves add
constructive interference
their dimensions allow resonance
straight, uniform tubes are simplest to model
resonance frequency depends on tube length
max resonance for waves with a length 4x that of the tube
tubes may vary in diameter along their length
thus, cross-sectional area varies
resonance frequencies differ from
uniform tube
specifics depend on constriction locations

vocal tract transfer function [definition, what influences it?]

-input comes from the larynx
• it’s similar to a sawtooth wave
-output is from the lips
• it is shaped into different vowels
-resonating cavities in between determine the transfer function
-definition=difference between the sound that enters the goal tract and the sound that leaves the vocal tract
-the change that has taken place between the enter of the vocal tract and its exit
-output minus the input

what is the “formula” for the vocal tract transfer function?

output (lips) – input (larynx) = VTTF

what is periodicity?

a signal repeats or recurs

vowel and diphthong formants: what are formants?

vocal tract resonant peaks are formants
these are resonant peaks in the transfer function
energy transfer more efficient at formants
some frequencies are boosted or amplified in their amplitude
they are more prominent in the other sounds in the spectrum

a vocal tract resonance
there can be many for any vowel
first 2 or 3 are of interest
they do not create sound
they shape or alter what comes in
output spectrum yields vowel identity

vowel and diphthong formants: how do they change
during speech?

vocal tract shape can be held constant
time-invariant: a vowel can be prolonged
one point in time looks like any other
contrast with consonants: many are brief

larynx behaves similarly for all vowels
F1, F2, and F3 differ across vowels
F1, F2 sufficient to identify
even in synthetic speech
higher formants contribute to naturalness

vowel and diphthong formants: how and why do they differ for men, women, and children?

differences with dialect
men’s vocal tracts are largest
women, children have higher formants

vocal tract size affects formants
men, women, children
individual anatomy differs markedly
our formants are not uniform

do formants create sound?

what type of sound wave does the larynx emit?

sawtooth

vowel quadrilaterals: what they are …

F1, F2 identify the specific vowel
absolute formant values vary
graphing F1 versus F2 shows “vowel space”

children highest
women medium
men smallest (larger resonating cavity in vocal tract)

vowel quadrilaterals: how they differ for
men/women/children]

-men, women, children have similar vowel quadrilateral shape
-larger vocal tract yields lower formant frequencies

what vowels make up the four corners of the quadrilateral?

clockwise from top left
/i/, /ae/, /a/, /u/
**graph shows F1 (x-axis) v. F2 (y-axis)

a larger vocal tract yields ______ formant frequencies.

lower

as you lower jaw and tongue, you _____ frequency of F1.

increase

as you move tongue forward you _____ frequency of F2.

increase

lip rounding _____ all formants.

lowers

higher vowels have a (lower/higher) F1?

lower F1

lower vowels have a (lower/higher) F1?

higher F1

back vowels have a (lower/higher) F2?

lower F2

front vowels have a (lower/higher) F2?

higher F2

what are the components of a diphthong?

onglide, offglide, transition

what is the onglide of a diphthong?

starting frequency

what is the offglide of a diphthong?

ending frequency

what is the transition in a diphthong?

-duration, extent, slope
-what we perceive as the diphthong
-formants change during production

formant transitions

F1 and F2 change:

C to V transitions
V to C transitions

vowels as formant ‘histories’ instead of steady-states

tongues lips and jaw in constant motion
blending sounds
sounds influenced by neighbors
measures of frequencies don’t last long

where does pathology begin quantifying how normal vowels are articulated

look at the quadrilateral area for the vowels
can be reflective of a person’s overall intelligibility
take measures before and after treatment

where and how sounds are made in the vocal tract: [remember place, manner, and voicing for consonants that you learned in phonetics]

noise spectrum suggests place
frication noise not invariant

spectrum varies with place of constriction
bilabial – lower frequency
alveolar – higher frequency
velar – mid-range frequency
influenced by resonating cavities

Consonants

degree of constriction
presence or absence of noise
nasality

more to go wrong with consonants
more articulation required for production
gainful employ for SLP

how frication noise changes with different sounds: [the spectral cues for place of articulation, etc.]

size of cavity anterior to it
larger cavity resonates lower frequencies from noise source
place of articulation determines spectral shape
filter doesn’t ‘care’ about the source
periodic or aperiodic

formant transition can also do this
VOT varies with anterior/posterior constriction
combined cues work together
redundancy in the signal

detailed ‘anatomy’ of a stop consonant on a spectrogram: closure

word-final stops
released for clear speech
clear frication follows closure
maximize intelligibility

may not be released
in casual speech
difficult to tell where closure ends
no visible frication