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14 - Observing and Measuring Speech Articulation

from Section III - Measuring Speech

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2021

By
Susan Lin
Edited by
Rachael-Anne Knight  and
Jane Setter
Rachael-Anne Knight
Affiliation:
City, University of London
Jane Setter
Affiliation:
University of Reading
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Summary

The observation and measurement of the movement of the organs of the vocal tract during speech is relevant for the understanding of phonetic phenomena, from descriptions of under-documented languages and cross-linguistic comparison of speech sound production, to investigations of factors impacting speech motor planning, and to testing models of the relationship between the vocal tract and acoustics. This chapter describes the most commonly used methods for measuring or recording the position and movements of the organs that make up the vocal tract during speech. Techniques discussed in this chapter include direct vocal tract imaging (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), laryngoscopy, ultrasound imaging), articulatory point tracking (e.g. X-ray microbeam tracking (XRMB), electromagnetic articulography (EMA), Velotrace), and indirect measures of articulator movement (e.g. electroglottography (EGG), airflow and air pressure measures, static palatography and electropalatography (EPG)). These methods vary in a number of respects. This chapter discusses advantages and drawbacks of each method described, as well as factors relevant to researchers during the planning stages of a study.

Keywords

articulatory phoneticsspeech articulationimagingpoint trackingtonguelipslarynxvelum
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Phonetics , pp. 362 - 386
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

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