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Perception of Speech and Sound

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Springer Handbook of Speech Processing

Part of the book series: Springer Handbooks ((SHB))

Abstract

The transformation of acoustical signals into auditory sensations can be characterized by psychophysical quantities such as loudness, tonality, or perceived pitch. The resolution limits of the auditory system produce spectral and temporal masking phenomena and impose constraints on the perception of amplitude modulations. Binaural hearing (i.e., utilizing the acoustical difference across both ears) employs interaural time and intensity differences to produce localization and binaural unmasking phenomena such as the binaural intelligibility level difference, i.e., the speech reception threshold difference between listening to speech in noise monaurally versus listening with both ears.

The acoustical information available to the listener for perceiving speech even under adverse conditions can be characterized using the articulation index, the speech transmission index, and the speech intelligibility index. They can objectively predict speech reception thresholds as a function of spectral content, signal-to-noise ratio, and preservation of amplitude modulations in the speech waveform that enter the listenerʼs ear. The articulatory or phonetic information available to and received by the listener can be characterized by speech feature sets. Transinformation analysis allows one to detect the relative transmission error connected with each of these speech features. The comparison across man and machine in speech recognition allows one to test hypotheses and models of human speech perception. Conversely, automatic speech recognition may be improved by introducing human signal-processing principles into machine processing algorithms.

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Abbreviations

ASR:

automatic speech recognition

BILD:

binaural intelligibility level difference

CMR:

co-modulation masking release

EC:

equalization and cancelation

ERB:

equivalent rectangular bandwidth

HSR:

human speech recognition

JND:

just-noticeable difference

RMS:

root mean square

SI:

speech intelligibility

SII:

speech intelligibility index

SNR:

signal-to-noise ratio

SPL:

sound pressure level

SRT:

speech reception threshold

TI:

transinformation index

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medizinische Physik, Universität Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    Birger Kollmeier Prof.

  2. Sektion Medizinphysik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Haus des Hörens, Marie-Curie-Str. 2, 26121, Oldenburg, Germany

    Thomas Brand Dr.

  3. Medical Physics Section, Haus des Hörens, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Marie-Curie-Str. 2, 26121, Oldenburg, Germany

    Bernd Meyer Ph.D

Authors
  1. Birger Kollmeier Prof.
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  2. Thomas Brand Dr.
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  3. Bernd Meyer Ph.D
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Birger Kollmeier Prof. , Thomas Brand Dr. or Bernd Meyer Ph.D .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. INRS-EMT, University of Quebec, 800 de la Gauchetiere Ouest, H5A 1K6, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Jacob Benesty Dr.

  2. Avayalabs Research, 233 Mount Airy Road, 07920, Basking Ridge, NJ, USA

    M. Mohan Sondhi Ph.D.

  3. Alcatel-Lucent, Bell Laboratories, 600 Mountain Avenue, 07974, Murray Hill, NJ, USA

    Yiteng Arden Huang Dr.

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Kollmeier, B., Brand, T., Meyer, B. (2008). Perception of Speech and Sound. In: Benesty, J., Sondhi, M.M., Huang, Y.A. (eds) Springer Handbook of Speech Processing. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49127-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49127-9_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-49125-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49127-9

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