Speech research using ultrasound
Lillian Peters
Undergraduate Researcher
Speech & Hearing Sciences Major (College of Arts & Sciences)
Malgorzata Cavar
Faculty Mentor
Malgorzata Cavar (College of Arts & Sciences)
Project Description
We use 3D/4D ultrasound technology to investigate the articulation of speech sounds in languages such as Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Chinese and Arabic. We want to find out what vocal tract and tongue shape is necessary to articulate palatalized consonants (those sounds that sound relatively softer, as in English "k" in 'keep' - as opposed to the sound "k" in 'cold'). If you decide to work with me you will learn about ultrasound as an imaging method. You will work with audio and ultrasound files using primarily Matlab and Praat and will help to extract and analyze large amounts of data, produce figures and graphs, and potentially contribute to recruiting speakers and recording speech samples.
Technology or Computational Component
Students will learn to work with Matlab and a Matlab application WASL to analyze ultrasound data and with Praat to analyze audio files. They will convert file formats, generate figures, annotate and clean data.