Economy of Effort or Maximum Rate of Information? Exploring Basic Principles of Articulatory Dynamics

Frontiers in Psychology
Yi Xu, Santitham Prom-On

Abstract

Economy of effort, a popular notion in contemporary speech research, predicts that dynamic extremes such as the maximum speed of articulatory movement are avoided as much as possible and that approaching the dynamic extremes is necessary only when there is a need to enhance linguistic contrast, as in the case of stress or clear speech. Empirical data, however, do not always support these predictions. In the present study, we considered an alternative principle: maximum rate of information, which assumes that speech dynamics are ultimately driven by the pressure to transmit information as quickly and accurately as possible. For empirical data, we asked speakers of American English to produce repetitive syllable sequences such as wawawawawa as fast as possible by imitating recordings of the same sequences that had been artificially accelerated and to produce meaningful sentences containing the same syllables at normal and fast speaking rates. Analysis of formant trajectories shows that dynamic extremes in meaningful speech sometimes even exceeded those in the nonsense syllable sequences but that this happened more often in unstressed syllables than in stressed syllables. We then used a target approximation model based on a mass-s...Continue Reading

References

Oct 1, 1978·Language and Speech·K S Harris
Jan 1, 1991·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·J EdwardsJ Fletcher
Dec 1, 1989·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·C E GelferK S Harris
Sep 1, 1987·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·D H Klatt
May 1, 1988·The Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders·L LeeJ C Stemple
Feb 1, 1985·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·D J Ostry, K G Munhall
Jan 1, 1985·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·J A KelsoB Kay
Oct 1, 1985·Cognition·A M Liberman, I G Mattingly
Nov 1, 1967·Psychological Review·A M LibermanM Studdert-Kennedy
Oct 1, 1973·Language and Speech·B Sigurd
Dec 1, 1968·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·T Gay
Aug 1, 1983·Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance·D J OstryA Parush
Mar 1, 1984·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·W L NelsonJ R Westbury
Jan 1, 1983·Biological cybernetics·W L Nelson
Dec 1, 1980·Journal of Speech and Hearing Research·W R Tiffany
Jan 1, 1995·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·K J de Jong
Apr 1, 1993·Language and Speech·K de JongJ Edwards
Aug 1, 1993·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·K JohnsonM Lindau
Apr 1, 1996·Journal of Speech and Hearing Research·P PerrierR Laboissière
Jul 1, 1997·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·I Hertrich, H Ackermann
Mar 25, 1999·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·S LeeS Narayanan
Mar 25, 1999·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·A Löfqvist, V L Gracco
Oct 24, 2000·Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging : JMRI·J M SerfatyE Atalar
Aug 25, 2001·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·M ItoM Yano
Feb 8, 2002·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Johan Wouters, Michael W Macon
Apr 5, 2002·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Yi Xu, Xuejing Sun
Sep 24, 2002·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Helen M Hanson, Kenneth N Stevens
Oct 26, 2002·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Joseph S PerkellHarlan Lane
Sep 1, 1960·Scientific American·C F HOCKETT
Dec 8, 2004·Language and Speech·D H WhalenKhalil Iskarous
Jan 29, 2009·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Santitham Prom-onBundit Thipakorn
Nov 10, 2009·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Patti Adank, Esther Janse
Aug 8, 2014·Laboratory Phonology·Aude NoirayD H Whalen
Oct 26, 2014·Experimental Brain Research·Daniela MattosMark L Latash
Jul 24, 2018·Journal of Phonetics·D H WhalenHosung Nam
Jul 28, 2019·Journal of Voice : Official Journal of the Voice Foundation·Kathleen WermkeJohannes Wirbelauer

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jan 29, 2021·Cognition·Kevin Tang, Jason A Shaw
Feb 26, 2021·American Journal of Speech-language Pathology·Nancy Pearl SolomonRael T Lange

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

Praat script
qTA
SoundEdit
R package TIMP
SP
FormantPro

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved