JASA express letters最新文献

Identifying speakers of interest in an auditory scene is a fundamental task that facilitates effective communication. Little is known about the specific contributions of spectral and temporal detail required for identifying a specific speaker of interest by human listeners. This study investigated the relative contributions of spectral and temporal detail for identifying a speaker of interest and perceived effort in doing so. Results showed significant improvements in speaker identification and decreased effort ratings as spectral channels increased. Improved speaker identification performance with increased temporal filter cutoff from 20 Hz to 800 Hz was observed. These results have implications for speech signal processing by amplification devices and automated speaker recognition systems.

A prior solution for the scattering of traveling wave sound by concentric fluid spheres is recast using complex unimodular s-function notation, which is convenient for expressing partial wave amplitudes and radiation forces on spheres in standing waves. Viscous and thermal energy dissipation are neglected. The fluid core affects the low-frequency dynamics of the fluid shell. The lowest monopole mode of air-filled liquid shells in air is considered. The frequency is approximated by generalizing the analysis of the Minnaert resonance of an air bubble in water. This analysis is relevant to the acoustical scattering by and conditions for trapping of compound drops.

We present a speech motor control model that integrates optimal feedback control (OFC) for movement planning and execution with a biomechanical model of the vocal tract. The OFC model was designed to optimize a cost function that combines motor effort and the achievement of multisensory goal zones. We show that the model can account for various aspects of speech production: kinematic properties, coarticulation, and sensorimotor integration. Furthermore, we provide evidence that hearing, proprioception, and tactile feedback may play distinct roles in shaping speech trajectories.

The glockenspiel is a bright, resonant percussion instrument with a series of simple bars mounted next to each other in a frame. Its acoustic radiation remains underexplored, particularly in its full instrument configuration. This study investigates the acoustic radiation and vibrational behavior of a glockenspiel bar in different mounting conditions. Directivity measurements and the scanning laser Doppler vibrometer were used to compare a single bar in free-free, baffled, and full-instrument configurations. The results show that the mounting significantly alters radiation patterns of the bar, particularly at higher modes. Torsional modes exhibited greater deviation from free-free predictions than bending modes, especially in the full-instrument case. The findings highlight the importance of considering frame and structural interactions in modeling glockenspiel vibration and radiation.

The passive localization of dual targets composed of a surface ship and a submerged source located nearby beneath the ship is an intriguing problem. This study develops a passive localization method based on multipath arrival angles for dual targets, with similar source levels in the deep-ocean direct arrival zone, using a horizontal line array. Compared to the classical minimum variance distortionless response method, the sparse Bayesian learning method is used to improve resolution for multipath arrival angles under coherent signal conditions, enhancing both the effective range and localization accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been validated through simulation and experiment.

Speech foundation models (SFMs) achieve state-of-the-art results in many tasks, but their performance on elderly, multilingual speech remains underexplored. In this work, we investigate SFMs' ability to analyze multilingual speech from older adults using spoken language identification as a proxy task. We propose three key qualities for foundation models to serve multilingual aging populations: robustness to input duration, invariance to speaker demographics, and few-shot transferability in low-resource settings. Zero-shot evaluation indicates a noticeable performance drop for shorter inputs. We find that native speakers' speech consistently outperforms non-native speech across languages. Few-shot learning indicates better transferability in larger models.

Modelling studies suggest that twang-like voice production with supralaryngeal constriction increases vocal economy. This has not been studied in contemporary commercial music (CCM) singers. This study explores the vocal economy of twang-like voices in CCM singers using the "quasi-output-cost ratio" (QOCR). Ten CCM singers sang the syllable [pa:] loudly, using neutral and twang-like voices at low and high pitches. QOCR, electroglottografic contact quotient, sound pressure level, air pressure, and inverse filtering measures were obtained. QOCR showed no significant differences between the voice types. Air pressure measures were significantly higher in twang-like voices, suggesting increased aerodynamic effort to compensate for supralaryngeal constriction. New tools for studying vocal economy in singing are warranted.

Creaky voice is a linguistic feature that is perceived to have increased in prevalence in English over recent years, particularly in women's speech. However, there is limited empirical evidence for this apparent increase. Using real-time acoustic analysis, we explore whether generational change in creaky voice prevalence can be seen among teenage speakers from Sydney, Australia. We conducted a trend analysis comparing creak prevalence in the speech of 28 teenagers collected in 1989 to 21 teenagers collected 30 years later. Results provide evidence for an increase in creak prevalence over time for young female (but not male) speakers of Australian English.

Ultrasonic inspection plays a critical role in nondestructive material characterization. Contact-based methods have been used in industry and field inspections for decades due to their portability. Although immersion testing provides improved spatial resolution, its adoption has been limited to commercial or research facilities due to its cost and footprint. Here, we present a frugal design for a custom immersion system based on a repurposed three-dimensional printer and show that ultrasonic wave speed measurements collected with the custom system and a commercial system are in statistical agreement. This work enables broader adoption of immersion ultrasonics for industry, education, and workforce development.

Merged productions of /ɪ/ and /ɛ/ before nasal consonants is well documented in Southern U.S. English, but perception studies on this merger are limited. A two-alternative forced-choice perception task asked U.S. listeners from inside and outside the South to respond to stimuli on continua from bid to bed and bin to Ben. Vowel nasality and coda nasality were fully crossed in the stimuli. The results confirm that Southern speakers are to some degree merged in perception, and that the presence of a nasal coda, and not vowel nasality, conditions merger in perception.