The table below provides the lab topics for the course. Click on a topic to view additional details about a lab session.
Labs
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to begin getting familiar with the various speech analysis and editing tools that are available in the Speech Group.
- You will record speech material for use in future labs.
- You will digitize utterances and make spectrograms.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab 1 Handout (PDF)
The speech material to be recorded is listed in the lab handout. If you do not have access to tools to make the recordings, you can download example recordings.
The Tools
- record - the recording software (VAX).
- lspecto - used to make and print spectrograms (Vax or UNIX®/Linux®).
Reference Readings
Beranek, L. L. Acoustics. Revised Edition. Melville, NY: Amer. Inst. of Physics, 1986, pp. 1-15, 92-93. ISBN: 088318494X.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to study the modification of sounds in context using acoustic analysis. A perception test is prepared and carried out during the next lecture.
Here are the resources you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Utterances
- Spontaneous speech that was recorded in Lab 1.
- Recordings of clear renditions of modified words, to be made during the lab.
If you did not record a database in Lab 1, or if you do not have access to the tools for recording the new utterances, you can download examples of the utterances for this lab.
The Tools
- record - the recording software (VAX)
- maketape - to make listening tests on audiotape (VAX)
- lspecto - used to make spectrograms (UNIX®/Linux®)
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Reading
Oshika, B. T., V. W. Zue, R. V. Weeks, H. Neu, and J. Aurbach. “The Role of Phonological Rules in Speech Understanding Research.” IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing. ASSP-23, no. 1 (1975): 104-112.
Manuel, S. Y., S. Shattuck-Hufnagel, M. Huffman, K. N. Stevens, R. Carlson, and S. Hunnicutt. “Studies of Vowel and Consonant Reduction.” Proc International Conference on Spoken Language Processing. Vol. 2. 1992, pp. 943-946.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to analyze acoustic evidence for phrase boundaries. You will use utterances spoken in one of two prosodic forms: AB utterances and BC utterances. (See the handout for details.)
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Utterances
You will use a set of pre-recorded utterances that are stored in the labc account in the directories prosodylab1 and prosodylab2. These utterances are:
- AB and BC utterances (2 each for four speakers)
- readings by different professional radio news broadcasters that have been labeled for their prosodic structure
If you do not have access to the labc account, you can download the utterances for this lab.
The Tools
You can use either one of the following two analysis tools:
- xwaves - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®). If you use this tool, you also have the option of using the transcriber script. This script configures xwaves for the types of tasks done in this lab.
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Klatt, D. H. “Linguistic uses of segmental duration in English: Acoustic and perceptual evidence.” J Acoust Soc Amer 59 (1976): 1208-1221.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to illustrate some of the kinds of problems that investigators run into when they try to measure the acoustic parameters of a speech signal.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Utterances
You will use the recorded utterances from Lab 1. In this lab, you will use the utterances from that database to measure the acoustic parameters of speech. (See handout for details.)
If you have not recorded an utterance database in Lab 1, you can download example recordings of the utterances needed for this lab.
The Tools
You can use either one of the following two analysis tools:
- xwaves - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®). If you use this tool, you also have the option of using the transcriber script. This script configures xwaves for the types of tasks done in this lab.
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Selkirk, E. O. “The phonology and phonetics of English intonation.” In Phonology and Syntax: The Relation between Sound and Structure. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984, pp. 252-265. ISBN: 0262690985.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to examine two methods of assessing the intelligibility of speech passed through a communication channel.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Audio for the Listening Tests
In this lab, you will participate as a subject in two types of intelligibility tests:
- Consonant-vowel (CV) nonsense syllables with 10 dB, 5 dB and 0 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).
- Sentences in noise (Spin test) with 10 dB and 0 dB signal-to-babble ratios (SBRs).
The stimuli will be presented on audio tape during class. If you do not attend the class, the audio is available on the Lab Database page.
A third type of test is available, although it is not presented in class:
- Consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) nonsense syllables with a 0 dB SNR.
The audio for this test is available on the Lab Database page.
The Tools
- Paper and pencil
- Response sheets: CV response sheet (PDF) (3 copies), Spin test response sheet (PDF) (2 copies)
- Answers to the tests: CV answers (PDF), Spin test 0dB answers (PDF), Spin test 10dB answers (PDF)
- If you choose to do the CVC test, you will need: CVC response sheet (PDF) (1 copy), and CVC answers (PDF)
Reference Readings
Miller, G. A., and P. E. Nicely. “Analysis of perceptual confusions among some English consonants.” J Acoust Soc Am 27 (1955): 338-352.
Kalikow, D. N., K. N. Stevens, and L. L. Elliot. “Development of a test of speech intelligibility in noise using sentence materials with controlled word predictability.” J Acoust Soc Am 61 (1977): 1337-1351.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to use perception and acoustic analysis to study (1) normal speech production of children, (2) misarticulations by children, and (3) speech of deaf children.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Utterances
- Pre-recorded data stored in the labc account under ~labc/6.542 entitled children, ~labc/6.542/misart, and ~labc/6.542/deaf.
If you do not have access to the labc account, you can download the utterances for this lab.
The Tools
- lspecto - used to make spectrograms (UNIX®/Linux®)
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Normal Speech Production in Children
Imbrie, A. K. “Acoustical study of the development of stop consonants in children.” Proc 15th International Conference of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS) (August 2003): 1943-1946. Barcelona, Spain.
Goodell, E. W., and M. Studdert-Kennedy. “Acoustic evidence for the development of gestural coordination in the speech of 2-year-olds: A longitudinal study.” J Speech and Hearing Research 36 (1993): 707-727.
Speech Disorders in Children
Daniloff, R. G., K. Wilcox, and M. I. Stephens. “An acoustic-articulatory description of children’s defective /s/ productions.” J Communications Disorders 13 (1980): 347-363.
Monsen, R. B. “Normal and reduced phonological space: The production of English vowels by deaf adolescents.” J Phonetics 4 (1976): 189-198.
Minifie, F. D., ed. Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders. San Diego, CA: Singular, 1994.
Ohde, R. N., and D. J. Sharf. Phonetic Analysis of Normal and Abnormal Speech. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1992. ISBN: 0675206812.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to introduce you to formant synthesis through synthesis of a monosyllabic English word or a phrase.
Here are the resources you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Supplement to Speech Synthesis Using a Formant Synthesizer (PDF)
Utterances
- New recordings to be made during the lab
If you do not have access to the tools for recording the new utterances, you can use one of the utterances from Lab 5, part B.
The Tools
- record - used to make recordings (VAX)
- lspecto - used to make spectrograms, F0 contours, and formant tracks (UNIX®/Linux®)
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis and formant synthesis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Klatt, D. H. “Software for a Cascade/Parallel Formant Synthesizer.” J Acoust Soc Am 67 (1980): 971-995.
Klatt, D. H., and L. C. Klatt. “Analysis, synthesis, and perception of voice quality variations among female and male talkers.” J Acoust Soc Am 87 (1990): 820-857. (Optional)
Klatt, D. H. “Description of the cascade/parallel formant synthesizer.” Chapter 3 of a book in preparation.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to introduce you to quasi-articulatory synthesis, using the HLsyn program. Here are the resources you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Utterances
- None
The Tools
- HLsyn - the synthesis program (Windows®)
- SpeechStation2 - Spectrum analysis tool (Windows®)
Reference Readings
Hanson, H. M., and K. N. Stevens. “Control of acoustic source parameters in speech synthesis: A quasi-articulatory approach.” J Acoust Soc Am 112 (2002): 1158-1182.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to introduce you to analyzing and annotating acoustic events (landmarks and features) in two sentences. You can choose various ways to analyze the sentences.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab 17 Handout (PDF)
Utterances
In this lab, you will use the recorded utterances stored in the lab17 directory. The utterances are labeled senta, sentb, sentc, and sentd.
If you do not have access to the lab17 directory, you can download example recordings of the utterances needed for this lab.
The Tools
You can use either one of the following two analysis tools:
- xwaves - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®). If you use this tool, you also have the option of using the transcriber script. This script configures xwaves for the types of tasks done in this lab.
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Stevens, K. N. “Toward a model for lexical access based on acoustic landmarks and distinctive features.” J Acoust Soc Am 111 (2002): 1872-1891.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to familiarize you with some speech analysis and editing tools.
- You will digitize some utterances recorded in Lab 1.
- You will use various analysis methods to examine the sounds.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab 2 Handout (PDF)
Utterances
You will need your database of recorded utterances from Lab 1. In this lab, you will use the following utterances from that database:
- The word ‘shutter’.
- Some simple vowel pairs.
If you have not recorded an utterance database in Lab 1, you can download example recordings of the utterances needed for this lab.
The Tools
- record - the recording software (VAX)
- lspecto - used to make and print spectrograms (Vax or UNIX®)
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Peterson, G. E., and H. L. Barney. “Control Methods Used in a Study of the Vowels.” J Acoust Soc Am 24 (1952): 175-185. Also in R. Kent, et al. Papers in Speech Communication: Speech Production. Woodbury, NY: Acoustical Society of America, 1991, pp. 585-594.
Hillenbrand, J., et al. “Acoustic Characteristics of American English Vowels.” J Acoust Soc Am 97 (1995): 3099-3111.
Stevens, K. N. Acoustic Phonetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999, pp. 257-322. ISBN: 026219404X.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to make acoustical analyses of sonorant English consonants in vowel-consonant-vowel phrases.
Here are the resources you will need:
Lab 3 Handout (PDF)
Utterances
You will need your database of recorded utterances from Lab 1. In this lab, you will use the following utterances from that database:
- Nasals: m n ng
- Liquids: r l
- Glides: w y
If you have not recorded an utterance database in Lab 1, you can download example recordings of the utterances needed for this lab.
The Tools
- record - the recording software (VAX)
- lspecto - used to make and print spectrograms (Vax or UNIX®/Linux®)
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Stevens, K. N. Acoustic Phonetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999, chapter 9. ISBN: 026219404X.
Espy-Wilson, C. “Acoustic measures for linguistic features distinguishing the semivowels /wjrl/ in American English.” J Acoust Soc Am 92 (1992): 736-757.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to make acoustical analyses of stop and fricative consonants.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab 4 Handout (PDF)
Utterances
You will need your database of recorded utterances from Lab 1. In this lab, you will use the following consonants from at least one of the following sets in your database:
- Voiced and voiceless stop consonants and /h/
- Voiced and voiceless fricative consonants
- Stops and affricates produced with the tongue blade
If you have not recorded an utterance database in Lab 1, you can download example recordings of the utterances needed for this lab.
The Tools
- record - the recording software (VAX)
- lspecto - used to make and print spectrograms (Vax or UNIX®/Linux®)
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Liberman, A. M. Speech: A Special Code. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996, chapters 4, 5, and 8. ISBN: 0262121921.
Stevens, K. N. “Models for the production and acoustics of stop consonants.” Speech Communication 13 (1993): 367-375.
———. Acoustic Phonetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999, Chapters 7 and 8. ISBN: 026219404X.
See Also the Following Notes and Reprints (in the Speech Group Library)
Manuel, S. Y., and K. N. Stevens. “Formant transitions: Teasing apart consonant and vowel contributions.” Proc International Conference of Phonetic Sciences. Vol. 4. Stockholm, Sweden, 1995, pp. 436-439.
Stevens, K. N., S. E. Blumstein, L. Glicksman, M. Burton, and K. Kurowski. “Acoustic and perceptual characteristics of voicing in fricatives and fricative clusters.” J Acoust Soc Am 91 (1992): 2979-3000.
Stevens, K. N. “Diverse acoustic cues at consonantal landmarks.” Phonetica 57 (2000): 139-151.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to observe glottal-source variations using analysis of vowel spectra.
Here are the resources you will need:
Lab 5 Handout (PDF)
Utterances
- You will analyze a set of pre-recorded example utterances that are stored in the labc account.
- You will record some new utterances during the lab.
If you do not have access to the labc account, or if you do not have access to the tools for recording the new utterances, you can download the utterances for this lab.
The Tools
- record - the recording software (VAX)
- xkl - used for spectrum and waveform analysis (UNIX®/Linux®)
Reference Readings
Hanson, H. M. “Glottal characteristics of female speakers: Acoustic correlates.” J Acoust Soc Am 101 (1997): 466-481.
Hanson, H. M., and E. S. Chuang. “Glottal characteristics of male speakers: Acoustic correlates and comparison with female data.” J Acoust Soc Am 106 (1999): 1064-1077.
Ni Chasaide, A., and C. Gobl. “Contextual variation of the vowel voice source as a function of adjacent consonants.” Language and Speech 36 (1993): 303-330.
Supplemental References kept in Binder (in the Speech Group Library)
Lofqvist, A., L. L. Koenig, and R. S. McGowan. “Vocaltract aerodynamics in /aCa/ utterances: Measurements.” Speech Communication 16 (1995): 49-66.
Holmberg, E. B., R. E. Hillman, and J. S. Perkell. “Glottal airflow and transglottal air pressure measurements for male and female speakers in soft, normal and loud voice.” J Acoust Soc Am 84 (1988): 511-529.
———. “Erratum.” J Acoust Soc Am 85 (1988): 1787.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to study articulatory correlates of phonetic features through observations on cineradiographic motion pictures.
Here are the resources you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Data
- Digital Video of the original films (MP4)
- Still images from video (.gif files)
If you do not attend the labs, you can download sample still images for this lab.
The Tools
- Tracing form
- RealPlayer, or some other tool to view digital video (.ram file)
Reference Readings
Stevens, K. N. Acoustic Phonetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999, chapter 1. ISBN: 026219404X.
Perkell, J. Physiology of Speech Production: Results and Implications of a Quantitative Cineradiographic Study. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, chapter 2, 1969. ISBN: 0262661705.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to measure speech movements using position and velocity data of points on the atriculators and in the vocal tract.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab 7 Handout (PDF)
Position and Velocity Data
- Microbeam data for speaker JW16, located in the mbeam/subj1 subdirectory of the labc account.
- Microbeam data for speaker JW18, located in the mbeam/subj2 subdirectory of the labc account.
If you do not have access to the labc account, you can download the data from the Lab Database page.
The Tools
- MATLAB®, Mathworks®, Inc. (UNIX®/Linux®/Windows®)
- Microbeam display program, Mavis - MATLAB® scripts that are located in the MATLAB® subdirectory of the labc account.
If you do not have access to the labc account, you can download the Mavis scripts from the Lab Software page.
Reference Readings
Westbury, J. R. “The significance and measurement of head position during speech production experiments using the x-ray microbeam system.” J Acoust Soc Am 89 (1991): 1782-1791.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to investigate the quantal theory of speech articulation.
Here are the resources you will need:
Lab 8 Handout (PDF)
Utterances
You will analyze the set of words “beat” and “buy” from the database of recorded utterances from Lab1.
If you have not recorded an utterance database in Lab 1, you can download example recordings of the utterances needed for this lab.
The Tools
- MATLAB® (UNIX®)
- vtcalcs - MATLAB® scripts
The tool vtcalcs is available in the vtcalcs_2002 subdirectory of the labc account. If you do not have access to the labc account, you can download the scripts from the Lab Software page.
Reference Readings
Stevens, K. N. “The quantal nature of speech: Evidence from Articulatory-Acoustic data.” In Human Communication: A Unified View. Edited by E. E. David and P. B. Denes. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1972, pp. 51-66.
———. “On the quantal nature of speech.” J of Phonetics 17 (1989): 3-45.
———. Acoustic Phonetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999, pp. 136-152. ISBN: 026219404X.
Labs: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
The main purpose of this laboratory is to:
- Provide an overview of some of the measurement techniques.
- Examine, in the laboratory setting, the calibration process for estimating lung volume from measures of ribcage and abdomen movement (using respiratory inductive plethysmography) during a set of calibration maneuvers.
- Verify the calibration results and examine some examples from read speech.
- Make some observations on airflow measures in connected speech.
Here are the resources that you will need:
Lab Handout (PDF)
Utterances
You will use a set of pre-recorded utterances that are stored in MATLAB® files in the labc account. These utterances are in the directory 6.542/Lab16_Respiration.
If you do not have access to the labc account, you can download the utterances for this lab.
The Tools
In this lab, you will use the following analysis tool:
- MATLAB® (UNIX®/Linux®) - used to run scripts to estimate lung volume calculations and examine air flow in speech.
Reference Readings
Required Reading
Banzett, R. B., S. T. Mahan, D. M. Garner, A. Brughera, and S. H. Loring. “A simple and reliable method to calibrate respiratory magnetometers and Respitrace.” Journal of Applied Physiology 79, no. 6 (1995): 2169-76.
Suggested Reading
Rothenberg, M. “Measurement of airflow in speech.” Journal of Speech and Hearing Research 20 (1977): 146-154.
Course Info
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Fall
2005
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