NDLI: Reliable methods for estimating relative vocal tract lengths from formant trajectories of common words

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Watanabe, A. Sakata, T.
Copyright Year	2006
Abstract	This paper describes reliable methods for estimating relative vocal tract lengths from speech signals. Two proposed methods are based on the simple principle that resonant frequencies in an acoustic tube are inversely proportional to the tube length in cases where the configuration is constant. We estimated the ratio between two speakers' vocal tract lengths using first and second formant trajectories of the same words uttered by them. In the first method, which is referred to as "strict estimation method", we sought instances at which the gross structures of two vocal tracts are analogous by applying dynamic time-warping to formant-trajectories of common words that were uttered at different speeds. In those instances, which were found from among more than 100 common words by two speakers, an average formant ratio proved to be an excellent estimate (about plusmn0.1% in errors) for a reciprocal of the vocal tract length ratio. Next, we examined a simplified method for estimating those ratios using all corresponding points of two formant-trajectories: it is the "direct estimation method". Estimation errors in the direct estimation were evaluated to be about plusmn0.3% at equal utterance-speeds and plusmn2% at most, within 2.0 of the ratios of "fast" to "slow". Finally, we estimated relative vocal tract lengths for four Japanese speaker groups, whose members differed in terms of age and gender. Experimental results showed that the average vocal tract length of adult females and that of 7-10-year-old boys and girls are 21%, 27%, and 30%, respectively, shorter than adult males'
Sponsorship	IEEE Signal Processing Society
Starting Page	1193
Ending Page	1204
Page Count	12
File Size	888002
File Format	PDF
ISSN	15587916
Volume Number	14
Issue Number	4
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2006-07-01
Publisher Place	U.S.A.
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Magnetic resonance imaging Speech recognition Speech processing Estimation error Speech synthesis Frequency estimation Resonant frequency Computer science Cities and towns Speech enhancement vocal tract length Acoustic tube dynamic time warping formant frequency
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Acoustics and Ultrasonics Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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