HCS 6367 – Speech Perception – Fall 2005 `

Instructor: Dr. Peter Assmann Office: GR 4.126

Course: Speech Perception Course number: HCS 6367-501
Class meetings: Thu 7:00-9:45 PM Office hours: Tue 11:00 am-12:00 noon
Classroom: GR 4.204 Tel: 972-883-2435
Email: assmann@utdallas.edu Web: http://www.utdallas.edu/~assmann/hcs6367/

Course description:
Listeners can extract information from speech produced under extreme conditions: for example,
when the speaking rate is 400 words per minute; in high levels of background noise; and when
the identity of the speaker is unknown. This course considers how human listeners achieve this
by looking at auditory, perceptual, cognitive and neural processes that intervene between the
production of speech and its recognition. Topics include: acoustic correlates of phonetic
categories; auditory processing of speech in background noise and the "cocktail party" problem;
the problem of lexical access; the development of speech perception in infancy; the auditory
analysis of speech and its breakdown in hearing impairment; audio-visual speech perception;
neural coding of speech and models of speech perception.

Readings: The primary readings are journal articles and book chapters. Most will be available
online and will be assigned 1-2 weeks before they are covered in class. Assigned readings must
be completed prior to the class in which they are discussed.
Recommended texts:
• Kent, R.D. & Read, C. (2001). The Acoustic Analysis of Speech. (Singular).
• Stevens, K.N. (1999). Acoustic Phonetics (Current Studies in Linguistics). M.I.T. Press.

Course requirements:
• Two class presentations (15%).
• Written reports on class presentations (15%).
• Takehome midterm exam (30%)
• Term paper (40%)

Class presentation and report: Pick two topics from the assigned list. For each topic, pick one
of the assigned readings (or a related, approved substitute). Your job will be to present a brief
summary of the paper to the class (10-15 minutes) and lead class discussion of the paper. A
written report (recommended length 3-5 pages) on the topic of the paper is due two weeks after
the oral presentation.

Term paper: Choose a topic in the field of speech perception and write a paper of
approximately 15-20 pages (double-spaced). Topics must be approved by the instructor.
Dates Lecture topic Discussion topic Readings

Thu Aug 18 Speech acoustics

Thu Aug 25 Vowel production and perception

Thu Sep 1 Consonant production and perception

Thu Sep 8 Suprasegmentals and prosody

Thu Sep 15 Speech perception in noise

Thu Sep 22 Auditory grouping and segregation

Thu Sep 29 Speech perception and hearing loss Midterm takehome due

Thu Oct 6 Cochlear implants and speech coding

Thu Oct 13 Development of speech perception

Thu Oct 20 Second language acquisition

Thu Oct 27 Audiovisual speech perception

Thu Nov 3 Neural coding of speech

Thu Nov 10 Models of speech perception

Thu Nov 17 Models of speech perception

Thu Nov 24 Thanksgiving Holiday (no class)

Thu Dec 1 Term paper due