Color and texture associations in voice-induced synesthesia

Voice-induced synesthesia, a form of synesthesia in which synesthetic perceptions are induced by the sounds of people's voices, appears to be relatively rare and has not been systematically studied. In this study we investigated the synesthetic color and visual texture perceptions experienced in response to different types of “voice quality” (e.g., nasal, whisper, falsetto). Experiences of three different groups—self-reported voice synesthetes, phoneticians, and controls—were compared using both qualitative and quantitative analysis in a study conducted online. Whilst, in the qualitative analysis, synesthetes used more color and texture terms to describe voices than either phoneticians or controls, only weak differences, and many similarities, between groups were found in the quantitative analysis. Notable consistent results between groups were the matching of higher speech fundamental frequencies with lighter and redder colors, the matching of “whispery” voices with smoke-like textures, and the matching of “harsh” and “creaky” voices with textures resembling dry cracked soil. These data are discussed in the light of current thinking about definitions and categorizations of synesthesia, especially in cases where individuals apparently have a range of different synesthetic inducers

Sociophonetic deception: the elements of vocal disguise

The focus of my research is vocal disguise within forensic linguistics. Specifically, I answer the question of what individuals are most likely to do with their voice when they do not want to be recognized by a listener. I also focus on whether specific sociolinguistic characteristics – gender and place of origin – have an effect on the disguise choices that individuals make. My research has found that participants show a preference for altering pitch and/or duration across conditions, as well as taking on a foreign accent. Gender and origin were found to be significant for respect to differences in duration, and significance was also found between origin and pitch. These results suggest that disguise might contain elements of style shifting, and that a speaker's choice is more systematic than random

Assessing the influence of phonetic variation on the perception of spoken threats

In spite of the belief that there is such a thing as a ‘threatening tone of voice’ (Watt, Kelly and Llamas, 2013), there is currently little research which explores how listeners infer traits such as threat from speakers’ voices. This thesis addresses the question of how listeners infer traits such as how threatening speakers sound, and whether phonetic aspects of speakers’ voices can play a role in shaping these evaluations. Additionally, it is sometimes the case that a victim of a crime will never see the perpetrator’s face but will hear the perpetrator’s voice. In such cases, attempts can be made to get the witness or victim to describe the offender’s voice. However, one problem with this is whether phonetically untrained listeners have the ability to accurately describe different aspects of speakers’ voices. This issue is also addressed throughout this thesis. Over five experiments, this thesis investigates the influence of a range of linguistic and phonetic variables on listeners’ evaluations of how threatening speakers sounded when producing indirect threat utterances. It also examines how accurately phonetically-untrained listeners can describe different aspects of speakers’ voices alongside their evaluative judgements of traits such as threat and intent-to-harm. As well as showing that a range of linguistic and phonetic variables can influence listeners’ threat evaluations, results support the view that caution should be adopted in over-reliance on the idea that people will “know a threat when they hear one” (Gingiss, 1986:153). This research begins to address the phonetic basis for the perceptual existence of a ‘threatening tone of voice’, along with how listeners evaluate and describe voices in earwitness contexts. Suggestions are made at the end of the thesis for improvements in the elicitation and implementation of accurate, meaningful information about speakers’ voices from linguistically-untrained listeners in evaluative settings involving spoken threats

An exploration of the accentuation effect: errors in memory for voice fundamental frequency (F0) and speech rate

The accentuation effect demonstrates how memory often reflects category typical representations rather than the specific features of learned items. The present study investigated the impact of manipulating fundamental frequency (F0) and speech rate (syllables per second) on immediate target matching performance (selecting a voice from a pair to match a previously heard target voice) for a range of synthesised voices. It was predicted that when participants were presented with high or low frequency target voices, voices even higher or lower in frequency would be selected. The same pattern was also predicted for speech rate. Inconsistent with the accentuation account, the results showed a general bias to select voices higher in frequency for high, moderate, and low frequency target voices. For speech rate, listeners selected voices faster in rate for slow rate target voices. Overall it seems doubtful that listeners rely solely on categorical information about voices during recognition

The Relationship between Kinesthetic Perceptions of Elite Music Theater Singers and Acoustic Measures of Voice Production Methods: A Pedagogic Analysis

This study relates acoustic changes that occur during female belt voice, mix voice, and legit voice to the self-reported physical sensations of elite music theater (MT) singers for the purposes of developing further pedagogic language to convey imagery and sensation to students of MT singing.;Six professional female MT singers comfortable producing belt, mix, and legit styles of singing sang a series of C major and E-flat major scales on the vowels /alpha/, /ae/, /epsilon/, and /[special character omitted]/, followed by three brief excerpts from the modern MT repertoire. Both prior to and following the sung exercises, subjects described the three styles based on their own kinesthetic feedback. Sung examples were recorded using spectrograph software and compared to the stated physical sensations of the singers.;The results of the study support the need for a MT specific pedagogy. Information provided by the six singers, both through interview and sung exercises, shows a clear difference between techniques they successfully use in the MT industry and those traditionally taught to classical singers. The results support the current literature on belt and mix techniques. In addition, a pattern in the acoustic spectrum of legit voice was found that shows a distinct difference between legit and classical styles of singing. Further research in this area is needed to clarify terminology used in the MT industry

Understanding the operatic tenor's legitimate head voice: A comparative study of historical and modern pedagogical approaches

The modern operatic tenor, with his chest-voice-like upper register, produces a vastly different sound to that of the castrato-trained tenore di grazia of the eighteenth century. Notwithstanding this change in tenor vocality, the practice of register-blending or -unification, originally developed by the castrati as a means of extending their voices upwards with a seamless transition to the falsetto register, has remained a core element of classical voice training. The change in tenor vocality did, however, provide an impetus for the evolution of this pedagogical practice during the nineteenth century. It led to the emergence of “mixed voice” as the purported mechanism for the tenor's upper register, and the introduction of a more mechanistic approach to register-blending or -unification as a means of developing the mixed voice source mechanism. In light of more recent discoveries in voice science, the validity of the registerblending or -unification approach has been called into question. An important, albeit minority, view is that the tenor's legitimate head voice is simply an upwards extension of his chest voice mechanism. Science has not found any evidence of a “mixed voice” laryngeal mechanism, while there is evidence suggesting that it is possible to extend the chest voice mechanism upwards through vocal training that strengthens the thyroarytenoid muscle, coupled with the development of the necessary fine motor skill to maintain balanced adduction of the top and bottom edges of the vocal folds at high pitches. If this view is correct, it would have important implications for tenor training methods, in particular the practice of register-blending or -unification in the mechanistic sense

Effects of forensically-relevant facial concealment on acoustic and perceptual properties of consonants

This thesis offers a thorough investigation into the effects of forensically-relevant facial concealment on speech acoustics and perception. Specifically, it explores the extent to which selected acoustic-phonetic and auditory-perceptual properties of consonants are affected when the talker is wearing ‘facewear’ while speaking. In this context, the term ‘facewear’ refers to the various types of face-concealing garments and headgear that are worn by people in common daily communication situations; for work and leisure, or as an expression of religious, social and cultural affiliation (e.g. surgical masks, motorcycle helmets, ski and cycling masks, or full-face veils such as the niqāb). It also denotes the face or head coverings that are typically used as deliberate (visual) disguises during the commission of crimes and in situations of public disorder (e.g. balaclavas, hooded sweatshirts, or scarves). The present research centres on the question: does facewear influence the way that consonants are produced, transmitted, and perceived? To examine the effects of facewear on the acoustic speech signal, various intensity, spectral, and temporal properties of spoken English consonants were measured. It was found that facewear can considerably alter the acoustic-phonetic characteristics of consonants. This was likely to be the result of both deliberate and involuntary changes to the talker’s speech productions, and of sound energy absorption by the facewear material. The perceptual consequences of the acoustic modifications to speech were assessed by way of a consonant identification study and a talker discrimination study. The results of these studies showed that auditory-only and auditory-visual consonant intelligibility, as well as the discrimination of unfamiliar talkers, may be greatly compromised when the observer’s judgements are based on ‘facewear speech’. The findings reported in this thesis contribute to our understanding of how auditory and visual information interact during natural speech processing. Furthermore, the results have important practical implications for legal cases in which speech produced through facewear is of pivotal importance. Forensic speech scientists are therefore advised to take the possible effects of facewear on speech into account when interpreting the outcome of their acoustic and auditory analyses of evidential speech recordings, and when evaluating the reliability of earwitness testimony