Development of Acoustic Space in 3 to 5 Years Old Hindi Speaking Children

Abstract

Many studies have described the acoustics of speech focusing on the speech of adults, but only a few have analyzed children's speech. Studies on development of language in children often include their articulatory speech patterns but the process of speech development is only partially understood. This research focuses on the development of Acoustic/Vowel space in Hindi speaking children. The study assumes that the acoustic space is continuously being redefined and modified in order to achieve and maintain a certain perceptual contrast and attempts to explore how acoustic space develops in children from three to five years of age.An acoustic study of seven peripheral vowels of Hindi, this study uses the first two formants of the vowels to arrive at a graphic representation of the acoustic space for peripheral vowels as articulated by the subjects under study. The area of the vowel/ acoustic space is then calculated using Irregular Polygon Area Calculator. The development of acoustic space in six Hindi speaking children from 3 to 5 years of age shows interesting results which are presented in this paper.