Novel speech features of disturbances in laryngeal muscle coordination

Abstract

The present paper proposes speech features derived from the fundamental frequency (Fo) contour decomposition. The decomposition method is designed in order to differentiate, as much as possible, simultaneous neurobiological effects on vocal fold vibration. The focus of this paper is placed on involuntary disturbances of such vibrations, which are analyzed in the context of emotional stress. The proposed features are compared with conventional perturbation measures, i.e. jitter and shimmer, using two datasets: Synthetic perturbations and SUSAS (Speech Under Simulated and Actual Stress) subset - Roller-coaster. Features are additionally analyzed in the context of elimination potential of voluntary effects like Fo contour changes during natural pronunciation. Results of the initial synthetic perturbation analysis indicate that the proposed features could be less affected by the voluntary control and, on the other hand, more related to disturbances in laryngeal muscle coordination. The proposed features generally outperform conventional perturbation features in speech under stress analysis.