Some Aspects of Acoustical and Cineradiographic Analysis of Newborn-Infant and Adult Phonation and Associated Vocal Tract Activity
H. M. Truby · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1960
A 16-mm cineradiographic sound film will be shown demonstrating certain critical vocal tract articulatory activity during speech. Particulars of this film will be discussed in correlation with sound spectrographic and over-all intensity analysis, as adjunctive, at the acoustic signal level, to general machine translation considerations. Apparent successivities such as the sounds corresponding to the “pl-” or “plea,” e.g., are shown to have simultaneous presentation of positive sound criteria. Affricates are physically analyzed as “simultaneities,” while “clusters,” by the same principles, must be classified as “successivities.” A technique for making microchronomatic (down to 4000 parts of a second) investigation of acoustic signals utilizing tape-segmentation-along-the-time-axis is presented in some detail, both in reference to the presentation and perceptual evaluation of speech sounds and of sounds generated in the infant vocal tract during natal transition. Mechanical segmentation (such as tape segmentation) demands special consideration in perceptual analysis, especially as regards its contrast with linguistic segmentation; reference is made to pertinent evaluation criteria. Some statements regarding the application of natal transition vocal tract sound analysis to clinical diagnosis and its potential value as part of the newborn's permanent record are offered for discussion.