Say “blink”

1. Say “blink” • For each segment (phoneme) write a script using terms of the basic articulators that will say “blink.” • Consider breathing, voicing, and controlling the nasal flow of air. • for each segment, you need to give a clue about the PLACE where airflow is restricted and the MANNER or way(s) that airflow is controlled.

2. Vocal tract

3. IPA chart • The horizontal axis indicates the place of obstruction--lips to glottis (front-back) • The vertical axis indicates how or the manner of obstruction • Vowels are continuous and unobstructed though tongue location is critical

4. IPA big chart • The rightmost symbol of a pair is voiced. Shade indicates impossible articulation.

5. Speech acoustic terms • Speech in terms of Hz, time, intensity • Graphic representations of sound • Time pressure wave (intensity x time plot) • Spectrogram (Hz x time x intensity plot) • Spectrum (histogram of Hz for fixed time) • Formant (Hz band of energy in speech, F0,F1, F2, F3, F4) • VOT (voice onset time) • F0 is the fundamental frequency determined by rate of open/closing vocal cords (in Hz.)

6. See time-pressure wave and spectrogram of “Blink” followed by “plink”

7. Graphic representations of “blink”-”plink” • Notice the difference between the “voiced” B and the “unvoiced” P

8. Let’s say “blink” real slow

9. Here is a crude recipe with graphics • Follow the numbered steps • Test that the recipe is valid at each step • check for voicing (feel larynx) check for nasal by pinching your nose closed

10. 1.TAKE A BREATH

11. 2.EXHALE, AT SAME TIME STOP AIRFLOW AT LIPS

12. 3. CLOSE NASAL CAVITY (NO “MLINK”) • Keep airflow out of nasal cavity with soft palate valve

13. 4. LET PRESSURE BUILD, BLOW OPEN LIPS, START VOICING with no delay • See voicing along the bottom-- dark bars indicate lots of energy. The blue plot tracks the F0 (fundamental).

14. 5. ADJUST TONGUE TO QUICKLY ARTICULATE VOICED “LIN(G)” • Transition to nasal outlet

15. 6. OPEN NASAL CAVITY (SEE DARK BARS SHOWING NASAL RESONANCE, F4)

16. 7. STOP ORAL AIRFLOW AT BACK OF PALATE

17. 8. CONTINUE “NG” FOR A BIT

18. 9. CLOSE NASAL CAVITY • NO AIRFLOW RELEASED AT MOUTH OR NOSE

19. 10. RELEASE STOP (velar K), NO VOICING • Release any remaining air pressure from initial lung burst.

20. The end

21. Note the difference in the initial consonant of “plink” • The so-called phoneme segments are sets of smaller features or instructions on saying the segment. • [s] is an unvoiced continuous alveolar fricative. • [z] is the voiced version • [b] is a voiced stop • [p] is an unvoiced stop • Voicing here refers to onset of voicing after release of stop. Unvoiced is delayed [p]. Voiced is immediate. [b]

22. “Bat”

23. “pat” • VOT is delayed over 30 milliseconds

24. Need to know-- • Fundamental frequency (Fo) • Graphic displays of sound • Time pressure wave • Spectrogram (Hz by time by intensity) • Spectrum (a histogram showing amounts of energy present at various Hz for a given time) • Formant (F1, F2, F3, F4) • Place and manner of articulation • Vocal tract and its operation • Articulatory features of [s/z], [p/b]…

25. Spectrum of entire slow “blink” • Cross cursors show 25 dB (deciBels) at 2515 Hz. • Some suggest the short term(ms) shape of such histograms are the basis for speech perception invariants - that is why we hear “blink” whether said by male, female, or infant. (The voice-recognition problem)

26. Acoustics,parsing &garden path sentences • It is reasonable to suppose that the speech waveform carries some useful parsing information. Changes in the fundamental, Fo can help. • Garden path and intonation (tracking Fo pitch plot) • "The professor (that) the students believed () died." • "the professor (that) the students believed (() died) was just lost."

27. Overview of Fo • Parsing- prevents premature closure • Carries lots of non-linguistic info • Sex • Accents (e.g. place of birth) • Age • Even female fertility?