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A simulation of the
excitation pattern of the basilar membrane within the cochlea to an
input [i] vowel.
INDEX |
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Michael Ashby & John Maidment
Introducing Phonetic Science
Chapter 11: Speaker and Hearer
Chapter Summary
The main aim of this chapter
is to provide a survey of the way in which the phonetic concepts introduced
throughout the book can be applied to the investigation of speech and the
areas in which phonetic knowledge is useful and important. Much of our book
is concerned with how speech is produced from the articulatory point of view
and with the acoustic consequences of the movements of the speech organs.
However, human speech is used for communicating information to a listener,
so in this chapter we look at speech from the receiving end and outline ways
in which human perception of speech may be investigated. We point out
the main characteristics of the hearing mechanism, show how auditory
sensitivity can be measured, and look at some types of hearing impairment
and their effect on speech perception We see that visual cues can be used to
aid speech perception and understanding. We also look briefly at the
way in which the ability to produce and perceive speech develops in
children.
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