The perception of speech sounds recorded within the uterus of pregnant sheep
Wendy S Brown, Thomas R. Sawallis, Kenneth J. Gerhardt, Robert M. Abrams · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1990
An experiment was designed to estimate the perceptual characteristics of speech sounds entering the fetal environment. A hydrophone in the amnion of a pregnant sheep and an air microphone near the flank were used to record speech stimuli delivered through a loudspeaker two meters from the ewe. The speech sample consisted of the carrier phrase “say the word___,” with the blank filled with three lists of 50 CVC token words and 14 VCV nonsense words. The lists were presented at three sound pressure levels (65, 75, and 85 dB). A perceptual tape was constructed utilizing rhyming minimal contrasts with the token words. A large group of listeners judged the intelligibility of the utterances associated with the hydrophone and air microphone. Preliminary analysis indicated that the perceptual scores were generally better for the air microphone and for the higher intensities. Discussion will address the effect transmission from the external environment to the fetal environment may have on the intelligibility of speech sounds.