Exam 1998 Question 4
" Use the model of the speech chain to discuss the processes involved in the communication of the identity of a phonological vowel (e.g. /æ/ in ‘cat’) from speaker to hearer."
20 things you should mention:
- Articulation
- phonological vowel / æ / = mental representation
- choice of articulatory target
- movement of articulators from consonant to vowel etc
- different accents give different articulations
- articulation also affected by rate / stress / consonantal environment
- Acoustics
- given articulatory configuration defines tube shape
- tube shape affects v.t. frequency response
- response shapes noise generated by larynx vibration
- 2-tube model for /a/ or /a/ vowels
- formant positions most important
- Hearing
- formant frequencies for 1st and 2nd formants most relevant for vowel quality
- plot in F1/F2 plane
- diagram
- hearing mechanism performs spectral analysis
- resolution of energy in formant regions => formant frequencies
- Perception
- normalisation of formant frequencies
- w.r.t. speaker's range of F1/F2 realisation
- identify phonological vowel
- taking into phonetic context
- and e.g. accent
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