A Time-Domain Waveform Display/Analyzer for Speech Research

摘要

A system was developed for visually displaying the up-crossings (zero-crossing with positive slope) of a speech acoustic waveform on a storage CRT. Studies of these displays have revealed readily distinguishable visual patterns which are useful for discriminating some consonants, often even in connected speech. Representative displays are included to illustrate the salient features of this visual speech display. Based on preliminary investigations, the system shows promise for application as a speech training aid for deaf children and as a cross-cultural language training aid. Complete design data and schematics for the visual Time-Domain Display/Analyzer are included with recommendations for using the system in evaluating time-domain parameter extractors based on zero-crossings in future speech research. This Time-Domain Waveform Display/Analyzer system provides valuable results for comparing parameter extractors based on zero-crossings and indicates how they might be related iteratively or combined to yield better extractors. (Author)