On this page, we provide the stimulus vowels created for a smiled speech perception experiment using the articulatory speech synthesis system developed by Peter Birkholz (Vocal Tract Lab).
The screenshot below shows the average ratings of 36 listeners on the perceived degree of smileyness for each vowel stimulus. In order to listen to the sounds, please download the ppt file here.
N = Neutral, S = Spread (lips), R = Raised (larynx), H = Higher F0.
An example of the articulatory changes from "neutral" to "smiled" can be seen in the screenshot below. Left: Neutral vocal tract for /a:/; right: "smiled" vocal tract for /a:/ with spread lips and raised larynx.
Created: Sept 13, 2008 - Last updated: Dec 02, 2008 by evaly