The influence of auditory acuity on acoustic variability and the use of motor equivalence during adaptation to a perturbation.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to relate speakers' auditory acuity for the sibilant contrast, their use of motor equivalent trading relationships in producing the sibilant /∫/, and their produced acoustic distance between the sibilants /s/ and /∫/. Specifically, the study tested the hypotheses that during adaptation to a perturbation of vocal-tract shape, high-acuity speakers use motor equivalence strategies to a greater extent than do low-acuity speakers in order to reach their smaller phonemic goal regions, and that high-acuity speakers produce greater acoustic distance between 2 sibilant phonemes than do low-acuity speakers.


METHODS
Articulographic data from 7 German speakers adapting to a perturbation were analyzed for the use of motor equivalence. The speakers' produced acoustic distance between /s/ and /∫/ was calculated. Auditory acuity was assessed for the same speakers.


RESULTS
High-acuity speakers used motor equivalence to a greater extent when adapting to a perturbation than did low-acuity speakers. Additionally, high-acuity speakers produced greater acoustic contrasts than did low-acuity-speakers. It was observed that speech rate had an influence on the use of motor equivalence: Slow speakers used motor equivalence to a lesser degree than did fast speakers.


CONCLUSIONS
These results provide support for the mutual interdependence of speech perception and production.
Brunner
Jana
J
Speech Communication Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. jana.brunner@uni-potsdam.de
Ghosh
Satrajit
S
Hoole
Philip
P
Matthies
Melanie
M
Tiede
Mark
M
Perkell
Joseph
J
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010159:Palate / Q000502:physiology; D010700:Phonetics; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests; D013065:Speech Intelligibility / Q000502:physiology*; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology