Formant dynamics of bilingual identical twins

Zuo, Donghui; Mok, Peggy

doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2015.03.003

Cited by 16 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Considering that in [ 35 ], identical twins raised apart exhibited the same degree of similarities in their vocalic transitions as identical twins raised together did, suggest a greater influence of physiology over learning regarding dynamical features. Moreover, in [ 31 ], MZ twins that were more frequently in contact with each other displayed comparable levels of similarities comparable than to those that were less frequently in contact.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the variable “choice” has been widely considered as one of the probable explanations for variations observed between very similar speakers, as in the case of identical twin pairs who had grown up and lived together [ 1 , 4 , 34 , 35 ]. The possible implications of choice as an attempt to establish an individual linguistic identity, especially in contexts where this identity competes or is challenged by another, remains to be explored.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of the research has been carried out with English-speaking subjects, limiting the possibilities of cross-language comparisons. Other languages, however, have been addressed in recent years, such as German [ 8 , 30 – 32 ], European Spanish [ 6 , 7 , 33 , 34 ], Shanghainese and Mandarin [ 35 ]. It is also relevant to mention that small-sized studies are persistent in research involving identical twin speakers, which does not invalidate the observations but suggests some caution regarding generalizations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From a dynamic perspective, there is also evidence of vowel formant transitions as being remarkably speaker discriminatory, with identical twins displaying consistent variations in the production of vocalic sequences, such as diphthongs [ 33 – 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, monophthongs may be regarded as substantially more recurrent, as evidenced by the higher frequency of monopthongs in relation to diphthongs during the analysis of the present study. Also, for this reason, most of the studies carried out with dynamic parameters are undertaken with controlled speech material, as to prompt the very same vowel sequences across individuals, as in [ 35 ]; or require an ad hoc design to induce the intended sequences in spontaneous speech [ 34 ]. This factor may solely reduce the practical application of dynamic features in some forensic speaker comparison contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Acoustic analysis of vowel formant frequencies in genetically-related and non-genetically related speakers with implications for forensic speaker comparison

2021

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The purpose of this study was to explore the speaker-discriminatory potential of vowel formant mean frequencies in comparisons of identical twin pairs and non-genetically related speakers. The influences of lexical stress and the vowels’ acoustic distances on the discriminatory patterns of formant frequencies were also assessed. Acoustic extraction and analysis of the first four speech formants F1-F4 were carried out using spontaneous speech materials. The recordings comprise telephone conversations between identical twin pairs while being directly recorded through high-quality microphones. The subjects were 20 male adult speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP), aged between 19 and 35. As for comparisons, stressed and unstressed oral vowels of BP were segmented and transcribed manually in the Praat software. F1-F4 formant estimates were automatically extracted from the middle points of each labeled vowel. Formant values were represented in both Hertz and Bark. Comparisons within identical twin pairs using the Bark scale were performed to verify whether the measured differences would be potentially significant when following a psychoacoustic criterion. The results revealed consistent patterns regarding the comparison of low-frequency and high-frequency formants in twin pairs and non-genetically related speakers, with high-frequency formants displaying a greater speaker-discriminatory power compared to low-frequency formants. Among all formants, F4 seemed to display the highest discriminatory potential within identical twin pairs, followed by F3. As for non-genetically related speakers, both F3 and F4 displayed a similar high discriminatory potential. Regarding vowel quality, the central vowel /a/ was found to be the most speaker-discriminatory segment, followed by front vowels. Moreover, stressed vowels displayed a higher inter-speaker discrimination than unstressed vowels in both groups; however, the combination of stressed and unstressed vowels was found even more explanatory in terms of the observed differences. Although identical twins displayed a higher phonetic similarity, they were not found phonetically identical.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Acoustic analysis of vowel formant frequencies in genetically-related and non-genetically related speakers with implications for forensic speaker comparison

2021

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Visual mechanisms for voice‐identity recognition flexibly adjust to auditory noise level

Maguinness

Kriegstein

2021

Human Brain Mapping

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Recognising the identity of voices is a key ingredient of communication. Visual mechanisms support this ability: recognition is better for voices previously learned with their corresponding face (compared to a control condition). This so-called 'face-benefit' is supported by the fusiform face area (FFA), a region sensitive to facial form and identity. Behavioural findings indicate that the face-benefit increases in noisy listening conditions. The neural mechanisms for this increase are unknown. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined responses in face-sensitive regions while participants recognised the identity of auditory-only speakers (previously learned by face) in high (SNR À4 dB) and low (SNR +4 dB) levels of auditory noise. We observed a face-benefit in both noise levels, for most participants (16 of 21). In high-noise, the recognition of face-learned speakers engaged the right posterior superior temporal sulcus motion-sensitive face area (pSTS-mFA), a region implicated in the processing of dynamic facial cues. The face-benefit in high-noise also correlated positively with increased functional connectivity between this region and voice-sensitive regions in the temporal lobe in the group of 16 participants with a behavioural face-benefit. In low-noise, the face-benefit was robustly associated with increased responses in the FFA and to a lesser extent the right pSTS-mFA. The findings highlight the remarkably adaptive nature of the visual network supporting voiceidentity recognition in auditory-only listening conditions.

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Twin identification from speech: linear and non-linear cepstral features and models

Revathi

Nagakrishnan

Sasikaladevi

2020

Int J Speech Technol

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Formant dynamics of bilingual identical twins

Cited by 16 publications

References 31 publications

Acoustic analysis of vowel formant frequencies in genetically-related and non-genetically related speakers with implications for forensic speaker comparison

Acoustic analysis of vowel formant frequencies in genetically-related and non-genetically related speakers with implications for forensic speaker comparison

Visual mechanisms for voice‐identity recognition flexibly adjust to auditory noise level

Twin identification from speech: linear and non-linear cepstral features and models

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