This study examines how ethnophonetic sounds are perceived in three different language/cultural g... more This study examines how ethnophonetic sounds are perceived in three different language/cultural groups. Specifically, Japanese, Chinese and American listeners were asked to listen to samples of voices of Japanese cake-selling street voices, and to rate which voice was the "best". The results indicate Japanese listeners are quite sensitive to what voice is best as a seller of fashionable Western cakes, and that this voice is different from sellers in less fashionable stores. The non-Japanese listeners rated the experienced Japanese cake-street seller voice considerably lower than did the Japanese listeners; moreover, Chinese and American listeners' differed on which street-seller voice they preferred. Tentative analysis suggests that Chinese listeners preferred a street selling voice with a higher F0, one that sounds like the moe anime voice, while American listeners preferred the voice with a more dynamic range of F0. Japanese listeners, on the other hand, preferred the voice that sounded "more elegant"-one with a touch of twang and some breathiness, a voice quality that is often perceived as being nasal (hana ni kakatta koe). An interesting question to be explored in the future is why the same voice is interpreted differently in different cultures. .
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2016
The term “Street Seller’s Voice” (henceforth SSV) refers to a category of voice quality which can... more The term “Street Seller’s Voice” (henceforth SSV) refers to a category of voice quality which can be uttered only by, but not all, Japanese young girls, especially selling something cute and fashionable. We can hear this voice at cake shops, but never at “wagashi” (i.e., Japanese cake) shops, since “wagashi” is not cute and fashionable, unlike western cake which for Japanese people is cute. In order to catch the nature of SSV we recorded voices of several street sellers, and also conducted MRI experiments with 3 subjects. The results suggest that SSV has a twang quality [e.g., Estill et al. 1983, Proc. Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference, 157-174; Honda et al. 1995, Vocal Fold Physiology; Voice Quality Control, 23-38], which is manifested in the acoustic signal by, among other things, sustained high energy in the upper frequency regions, and may possibly be produced with high larynx and change in pharyngeal cavity size. One advantage to this type of voice production is it is easily...
Voice quality differences [1] can convey different attitudes and emotions [2], with speakers of d... more Voice quality differences [1] can convey different attitudes and emotions [2], with speakers of different languages showing different sensitivities to voice qualities, e.g., [3, 4, 5]. It remains to be explored, however, precisely which acoustic properties are perceptually associated with what emotional meanings, and whether such perceptual mappings hold universally or differ across languages. This paper offers a first step addressing these issues. Building upon the previous findings that speakers of different languages demonstrate different sensitivities to voice quality differences, the study examines particularly how the perceptions of arousal and valence are affected by different voice qualities. The current experiment reveals that speakers of the three language groups share similar ratings of arousal in association with breathy voices. Yet the valence ratings vary among the groups: Japanese and Mandarin listeners rate voices with high F0 and small OQ with positivity, whereas Brazilian Portuguese rate voices with low F0 and larger OQ with positivity. The findings of this study have applications for second language teaching, and carry over to the worlds of business, politics, and advertisement; in general, this type of research may have a potential to be useful for improving communication in crosscultural inter-personal relationships.
Background: Twang quality is a bright, piercing quality often produced in contemporary pop/rock/ ... more Background: Twang quality is a bright, piercing quality often produced in contemporary pop/rock/ country music, musical theatre singing, and character voices. Despite its potential application to voice therapy and singing pedagogy, limited information is available regarding the exact physiologic underpinnings of twang quality. The purpose of this study was to provide quantitative information regarding three-dimensional (3D) vocal tract configurations of twang quality using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Two participants, with professional singing and pedagogy experience in a variety of singing styles, sustained twang and speech quality on vowel /i/ while lying supine in the MRI scanner. Vocal tract measures included larynx height and velar height in the midsagittal view as well as lateral pharyngeal width, anteroposterior pharyngeal (AP) width, and pharyngeal area in the axial view. Results: When compared to speech /i/, participants produced twang with a smaller pharyngeal area with significant narrowing in the lateral dimension, a slightly elevated laryngeal position, and closed VP port. Of note, Participant 1 also demonstrated significant pharyngeal narrowing in the AP dimension at the oropharyngeal level. Conclusion: The results are consistent with some aspects of previous descriptions of twang but provide further clarification regarding physiologic underpinnings of twang quality for therapeutic and pedagogic application.
Objectives: To provide detailed descriptions of contraction-induced morphometric changes in the e... more Objectives: To provide detailed descriptions of contraction-induced morphometric changes in the extravelar segments of the levator veli palatini (LVP) muscle using 3-dimensional (3-D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Design: Three-dimensional MRI data were acquired at rest and during “silent /i/” from 4 singers. During silent /i/, participants voluntarily sustained velar elevation while breathing orally for the entire scan time. Focusing on the extravelar segments, LVP length, angle of the muscle origin, and cross-sectional area (CSA), measurements were obtained and compared between tasks. Results: Three of the 4 participants exhibited the expected patterns of change following concentric contraction of the LVP muscle. Consistent changes from the resting to the contracted state included reductions in LVP length by 13.5% and angle of the muscle origin by 9.8%, as well as increases in CSAs by 22.1%, on average. Conclusions: This study presented high-resolution data of the LVP muscle b...
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2002
Optimal speech intelligibility is naturally of primary concern for individuals who have had their... more Optimal speech intelligibility is naturally of primary concern for individuals who have had their larynxes removed due to cancer and are now using tracheoesophageal (TE) speech as their primary mode of communication. The current study examines the acoustic characteristics associated with the oral stops /pbtdkg/ produced by TE speakers as compared to normal speakers. Of particular interest are the acoustic
This study examines how ethnophonetic sounds are perceived in three different language/cultural g... more This study examines how ethnophonetic sounds are perceived in three different language/cultural groups. Specifically, Japanese, Chinese and American listeners were asked to listen to samples of voices of Japanese cake-selling street voices, and to rate which voice was the "best". The results indicate Japanese listeners are quite sensitive to what voice is best as a seller of fashionable Western cakes, and that this voice is different from sellers in less fashionable stores. The non-Japanese listeners rated the experienced Japanese cake-street seller voice considerably lower than did the Japanese listeners; moreover, Chinese and American listeners' differed on which street-seller voice they preferred. Tentative analysis suggests that Chinese listeners preferred a street selling voice with a higher F0, one that sounds like the moe anime voice, while American listeners preferred the voice with a more dynamic range of F0. Japanese listeners, on the other hand, preferred the voice that sounded "more elegant"-one with a touch of twang and some breathiness, a voice quality that is often perceived as being nasal (hana ni kakatta koe). An interesting question to be explored in the future is why the same voice is interpreted differently in different cultures. .
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2016
The term “Street Seller’s Voice” (henceforth SSV) refers to a category of voice quality which can... more The term “Street Seller’s Voice” (henceforth SSV) refers to a category of voice quality which can be uttered only by, but not all, Japanese young girls, especially selling something cute and fashionable. We can hear this voice at cake shops, but never at “wagashi” (i.e., Japanese cake) shops, since “wagashi” is not cute and fashionable, unlike western cake which for Japanese people is cute. In order to catch the nature of SSV we recorded voices of several street sellers, and also conducted MRI experiments with 3 subjects. The results suggest that SSV has a twang quality [e.g., Estill et al. 1983, Proc. Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference, 157-174; Honda et al. 1995, Vocal Fold Physiology; Voice Quality Control, 23-38], which is manifested in the acoustic signal by, among other things, sustained high energy in the upper frequency regions, and may possibly be produced with high larynx and change in pharyngeal cavity size. One advantage to this type of voice production is it is easily...
Voice quality differences [1] can convey different attitudes and emotions [2], with speakers of d... more Voice quality differences [1] can convey different attitudes and emotions [2], with speakers of different languages showing different sensitivities to voice qualities, e.g., [3, 4, 5]. It remains to be explored, however, precisely which acoustic properties are perceptually associated with what emotional meanings, and whether such perceptual mappings hold universally or differ across languages. This paper offers a first step addressing these issues. Building upon the previous findings that speakers of different languages demonstrate different sensitivities to voice quality differences, the study examines particularly how the perceptions of arousal and valence are affected by different voice qualities. The current experiment reveals that speakers of the three language groups share similar ratings of arousal in association with breathy voices. Yet the valence ratings vary among the groups: Japanese and Mandarin listeners rate voices with high F0 and small OQ with positivity, whereas Brazilian Portuguese rate voices with low F0 and larger OQ with positivity. The findings of this study have applications for second language teaching, and carry over to the worlds of business, politics, and advertisement; in general, this type of research may have a potential to be useful for improving communication in crosscultural inter-personal relationships.
Background: Twang quality is a bright, piercing quality often produced in contemporary pop/rock/ ... more Background: Twang quality is a bright, piercing quality often produced in contemporary pop/rock/ country music, musical theatre singing, and character voices. Despite its potential application to voice therapy and singing pedagogy, limited information is available regarding the exact physiologic underpinnings of twang quality. The purpose of this study was to provide quantitative information regarding three-dimensional (3D) vocal tract configurations of twang quality using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Two participants, with professional singing and pedagogy experience in a variety of singing styles, sustained twang and speech quality on vowel /i/ while lying supine in the MRI scanner. Vocal tract measures included larynx height and velar height in the midsagittal view as well as lateral pharyngeal width, anteroposterior pharyngeal (AP) width, and pharyngeal area in the axial view. Results: When compared to speech /i/, participants produced twang with a smaller pharyngeal area with significant narrowing in the lateral dimension, a slightly elevated laryngeal position, and closed VP port. Of note, Participant 1 also demonstrated significant pharyngeal narrowing in the AP dimension at the oropharyngeal level. Conclusion: The results are consistent with some aspects of previous descriptions of twang but provide further clarification regarding physiologic underpinnings of twang quality for therapeutic and pedagogic application.
Objectives: To provide detailed descriptions of contraction-induced morphometric changes in the e... more Objectives: To provide detailed descriptions of contraction-induced morphometric changes in the extravelar segments of the levator veli palatini (LVP) muscle using 3-dimensional (3-D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Design: Three-dimensional MRI data were acquired at rest and during “silent /i/” from 4 singers. During silent /i/, participants voluntarily sustained velar elevation while breathing orally for the entire scan time. Focusing on the extravelar segments, LVP length, angle of the muscle origin, and cross-sectional area (CSA), measurements were obtained and compared between tasks. Results: Three of the 4 participants exhibited the expected patterns of change following concentric contraction of the LVP muscle. Consistent changes from the resting to the contracted state included reductions in LVP length by 13.5% and angle of the muscle origin by 9.8%, as well as increases in CSAs by 22.1%, on average. Conclusions: This study presented high-resolution data of the LVP muscle b...
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2002
Optimal speech intelligibility is naturally of primary concern for individuals who have had their... more Optimal speech intelligibility is naturally of primary concern for individuals who have had their larynxes removed due to cancer and are now using tracheoesophageal (TE) speech as their primary mode of communication. The current study examines the acoustic characteristics associated with the oral stops /pbtdkg/ produced by TE speakers as compared to normal speakers. Of particular interest are the acoustic
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Papers by Kerrie Obert