Vowel Perception and Production [Hardcover]

Although the last 50 years have witnessed a rapid growth in the understanding of vowel articulation and acoustics, most contemporary theories of speech perception have concentrated on consonant perception. Authored by leading academic and industrial authorities, this volume is intended to balance such a bias. The authors propose a computational theory of auditory vowel perception that accounts for vowel identification in the face of acoustic differences between speaker, speaking rate, stress. Topics include: acoustic and auditory effects of articulation, vowel categorization, and vowel constancy, among others. This work lays the foundation for future experimental and computational studies of vowel perception. With its important applications to linguistics research and artificial intelligence, this book will be eagerly read by students and researchers in psychology, linguistics, and computer science.

Introduction
Acoustic and auditory effects of articulation
Vowel categorization: Auditory processing
Vowel categorization: Extensions to the initial theory
Vowel constancy: Normalization
Vowel constancy: Coarticulation
Vowel constancy: Rate and stress
Vowel perception and theories of speech perception

In this well-written and organized book, the authors provide an extensive review of the literature concerning vowel production and perception, which is organized around their theory of vowel perception, still under development .... The authors make a contribution to the field by proposing the beginning of a computational auditory theory ... and by pointing out specific investigations that should be undertaken, thus providing ideas for future work. --Contemporary Psychology