Separation of voiced and unvoiced speech, and silence, using energy and periodicity
John Bancroft · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1980
The percentage of voiced speech, unvoiced speech, and silence (VUS) are quantifiable acoustic parameters which may be used to evaluate speech production and intelligibility. It is difficult, however, to separate these parameters using computational methods. A new procedure was therefore developed to assist in the analysis of these parameters by comparing energy and periodicity on a contour map. The contour map is a two-dimensional histogram that is formed when energy and periodicity are measured on small sections (20 ms) of continuous speech. The regions of VUS are then distinguishable and may be separated and quantified by allocating areas on the two-dimensional histogram. This method has been undertaken in an attempt to quantify some of the factors which effect speech intelligibility in hearing-impaired young adults. Examples will be presented, comparing the VUS contours of normal hearing and hearing-impaired speakers. [Work supported by U.S. Department of Education.]