Land acknowledgement

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto

operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the
Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the
Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many
Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have
the opportunity to work on this land.
Announcements
LIN228 coursework has been rescheduled as follows:
• Quiz 3 will take place on Thursday, November 14th (tutorial 9). It will be on
broad transcription and will be similar (but not identical) to last week’s
tutorial. We’ll go over some important points during the lecture tomorrow.
• Quiz 4 will take place on Thursday, November 28th (tutorial 11).
• Homework Assignment 4 will be due on Thursday, November 21st (tutorial
10). It will be on acoustic phonetics and will be posted on Quercus
tomorrow.
• Homework Assignment 5 will be a revision one and will be due on Thursday,
November 28th (tutorial 11).
• Your final exam has been scheduled for December 16th.
 acoustic phonetics I

LIN228H5F: Phonetics (HUM), Fall 2019

University of Toronto Mississauga
Instructor: Photini Coutsougera
Lecture 9

In today’s lecture we will study

§ the physical properties of the speech signal
§ sound waves – simple and complex
§ Resonance
§ Describe the 3 ways of representing sound visually (waveform, spectrum
and spectrogram)
the speech chain (Denes & Pinson 1993)
When air pressure
fluctuations reach
the eardrum, this
is set in motion.
Then these
fluctuations are
translated into
neural impulses by
our ears and we
experience them
as sound.

https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/14-1-sensory-perception/
When we speak, we push a stream of air with a
constantly varying pressure out of our mouth.
These variations in air pressure are caused by
various different actions in our vocal tract. They are
transmitted through the air and when reached by
the listener they are perceived as speech. These
variations in air pressure are complex because they
are caused by different actions in different areas of
the vocal tract.
 sound waves
“A sound wave is a traveling pressure fluctuation that propagates through
any medium that is elastic enough to allow molecules to crowd together
and move apart.” Johnson (2012: 8)

§ In order to have a sound wave we must first have a sound source.

§ Sound originates from the vibration of a sound source (e.g. a tuning

fork, a musical instrument, the vocal tract etc.) These vibrations are
transmitted through the air in the form of waves.
Waves

http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/waves-intro/waves-intro.html
 sound waves

Speech: simultaneous use of different sound sources in the

vocal apparatus à production of complex sound waves
representing sound visually

Waveform
pressure time

amplitude
Spectrum
frequency

Spectrogram
frequency

time
waveform

Sound wave Waveform

representation of air pressure
air pressure fluctuations
fluctuations
Types of sounds

PERIODIC APERIODIC
Have a pattern that repeats No repeating pattern
at regular intervals

Simple
Complex Continuous Transient
(sine waves)

All sounds can be represented by waveforms, spectra, and spectrograms

Plotting air pressure changes (waveform)

compression rarefaction

http://www.neurophys.wisc.edu/h&b/textbase/sect1.html
 A tuning fork: a fork-shaped
resonator that produces a pure
tone (fixed), with most of its
vibrational energy being at the
fundamental frequency.
compression and rarefaction
simple periodic waves = sine waves or pure tones
sine waves
Sine wave are theoretically important despite the fact that they are
limited in real life (e.g. in music, there are very few instruments that
produce a sine-wave type of sound with the exception of the
synthesised sounds of electronic music).

It is important to study sine waves because they constitute the basis

on which we define complex waves. They therefore provide us with
a basic vocabulary for referring to the physical properties of sounds.
a sine wave graph

https://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/Sine_Wave.html
Waveform of simple periodic waves (sine waves)
100 Hz
2
1
pressure

0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)

Properties defining sine waves:

Frequency
Amplitude
Phase
Frequency
• Frequency is a physical property of sound
• Pitch is the perceptual correlate (what we perceive)

• Higher frequency à higher perceived pitch (psychoacoustics)

 Frequency
• Frequency: How many times a cycle repeats per
second.
• Measured in Hertz (Hz)
• Period: the duration of one cycle (in seconds)
200 Hz

Frequency = 1/period
period
Period = 1/frequency

0 time (seconds) 1
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
Frequency of some common sounds
Sound Frequency
Average child’s speech 265 Hz
Average woman’s speech 225 Hz
Average man’s speech 120 Hz

The human ear can hear sounds in the range of about 20–20,000 Hz.
A modern piano has a low note of 27.5 Hz and a high note of 3520 Hz. The
instruments of an orchestra are tuned so that the A above middle C is 440 Hz.
 50 Hz
2
1

pressure
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
100 Hz
2
1

pressure
0

cy
−1
−2

en
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
200 Hz

qu
2
1

pressure
r
0

F
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
300 Hz
2
1

pressure
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
400 Hz
2
1
pressure

0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
Calculating frequency
(Remember: frequency = 1/period)
a b c
2 one period 2 2
1 1 1
pressure

pressure

pressure
0 0 0
−1 −1 −1
−2 −2 −2
0.0000 0.0025 0.0050 0.0075 0.0100 0.0000 0.0025 0.0050 0.0075 0.0100 0.0000 0.0025 0.0050 0.0075 0.0100
0 time (s)
time (s) 0.01 0 time(s)
time (s) 0.01 0 time(s)
time (s) 0.01

1 period = 0.005 seconds 1 period = .01 / 3 1 period = .01 / 4

1 / period = frequency 1 / (.01/3) = 300 Hz 1 / (.01/4) = 400 Hz
1 / 0.005 = 200 Hz

number of periods / time = frequency

2 / 0.01 = 200 Hz 3 / .01 = 300 Hz 4 / .01 = 400 Hz
Amplitude
• The degree of maximum displacement from the equilibrium point (the
neutral pressure value) reflects the highest pressure point, and
therefore the highest amount of acoustic energy.
• Amplitude is not connected to frequency.
• The perceptual correlate of amplitude is loudness.
Amp3 Amp5
2 2
1 1
pressure

pressure
0 0 0
−1 −1
−2 −2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03
0.00 0.04
0.01 0.05
0.02 0.03 0.04 0.0
time (s) time (s)
Amplitude
• There are different ways to measure the “magnitude” of a sound wave
• Intensity (slightly different from amplitude) is measured in decibels
(dB).
• dB is a relative measure of the ratio between two pressures
• 0 dB is not silence, but the reference level
• Each addition of 10 dB refers to a 10-fold increase in intensity
 Amp1
2
1

pressure
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time
Amp2(s)
2
1

pressure
0

e
−1

d
−2

u
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05

i t
time
Amp3(s)

pl
2
1

pressure
Am
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time
Amp4(s)
2
1

pressure
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time
Amp5(s)
2
1
pressure

0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
 Amplitude
Table 7.1 Common intensity levels (Rogers, 2000: 135)
Intensity (dB) Sound
130 4-engined jet aircraft, 120 ft
120 Threshold of pain; pneumatic hammer, 3 ft
110 Rock band
100 Car horn, 15 ft; orchestra playing loud
90 Pneumatic hammer, 4 ft
80 Noisy subway train; loud radio music
70 Busy traffic, 70 ft
60 Conversation, 3 ft; car 30 ft
50 Quiet office
40 Residential area, no traffic; subdued conversation
30 Quiet garden; whispered conversation
20 Ticking of watch, at ear; broadcast studio
10 Rustle of leaves
0 Threshold of audibility
Phase
9781405194662_4_001.qxd 5/19/11 10:22 AM Page 12

• Timing of a waveform
12 (relative toFundamentals
some reference point)
90°

Amplitude
180°

0°

0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02

Time (sec)

Figure 1.4 Two sine waves with identical frequency and amplitude, but 90° out of phase.

cycle in 0.01 seconds. The number of cycles this wave could complete in one
second is 100 (that is, one second divided by the amount of time each cycle takes
 Phase1
2
1

pressure
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
Phase2
2
1

pressure
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05

e
time (s)
Phase3

s
2

ha 1

pressure
P
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
Phase4
2
1

pressure
0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
Phase5
2
1
pressure

0
−1
−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
time (s)
Phase

The timing of the wave form (the peak of displacement) relative to some
reference point

• Generally not very relevant for perception

Phase
• Generally not very relevant for perception

variable
pressure

0 wav1
wav2

−1

−2
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 By Marekich (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0
time (s) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via
Wikimedia Commons
Physical properties of sine waves
• Frequency
• number of periods per second What is the perceptual
• Perceptual correlate is __________ correlate of amplitude?
frequency?
• Amplitude
• magnitude of air pressure fluctuations a. Speed
b. Loudness
• Perceptual correlate is __________
c. Hertz
• Phase d. Pitch
• relative timing of waveform e. Decibels
Complex periodic waves
4 4
2

pressure
2

pressure
0 0

−2 −2

−4 −4
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020
time (s) time (s)

4 4
2 2
pressure

pressure
0 0
−2 −2
−4 −4
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020
time (s) time (s)

4 4
2

pressure
2
pressure

0 0

−2 −2

−4 −4
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020
time (s) time (s)
Complex periodic waves
100 Hz Amp 4 200 Hz Amp 3 300 Hz Amp 2 400 Hz Amp 1
5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
pressure

pressure

pressure

pressure
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
−2.5 −2.5 −2.5 −2.5
−5.0 −5.0 −5.0 −5.0
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020
time (s) time (s) time (s) time (s)

Sum

5
pressure

−5

0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020

time (s)
Complex periodic waves
Sum
4 4
2 2 5
pressure

pressure

pressure
0 0 0
−2 −2 −5
−4 −4
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020
time (s) time (s) time (s)

100 Hz 100 Hz + 200 Hz 100 Hz + 200 Hz + 300 Hz + 400 Hz

Fundamental frequency (f0): corresponds to perceived pitch

• The frequency of the (complex) repeating cycle.

• If all component waves are multiples of the lowest component wave, f0
is the frequency of the lowest component wave
This waveform shows a small
portion of the vowel /a/.

less zoomed in:

more zoomed in:

What is f0 of this vowel?

Waveforms of periodic sounds: recap
• x-axis shows ?
• y-axis shows ?

pressure
• Three properties:
1. Frequency
2. Amplitude time
3. Phase
 3 ways of representing sound:

pressure
Waveforms
time

amplitude
Spectra
frequency

Spectrograms
frequency

time
Spectra
• A spectrum does not show time.
• It represents one slice of time (spectral slice).
• In a steady sound, the spectrum is the same across the whole sound.
• It represents frequency on the x axis and amplitude on the y axis.
A spectrum (plural = spectra) shows the frequency and
relative amplitude of each component sine wave.

Waveform Spectrum
4

2
variable
3

Amplitude
wav1
pressure

Frequency
0 wav2
2
100
wav3
1
sum
−2

0
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 100
time (s) Frequency

Frequency = 1/0.01 = 100 Hz

Amplitude = 3
A spectrum (plural = spectra) shows the frequency and
relative amplitude of each component sine wave.

Waveform Spectrum
4

2
variable
3

Amplitude
wav1
pressure

Frequency
0 wav2
2
100
wav3
1
sum
−2

0
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 100
time (s) Frequency

Frequency = 1/0.01 = 100 Hz

Amplitude = 3
A spectrum (plural = spectra) shows the frequency and
relative amplitude of each component sine wave.

Waveform Spectrum
4

2
variable
3

Amplitude
wav1
pressure

Frequency
0 wav2
2
100
wav3
1
sum
−2

0
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 100
time (s) Frequency

6 4

3 variable
3 Frequency

Amplitude
wav1
pressure

50
0 wav2
2
100
wav3
500
−3 1
sum

−6 0
0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 50 100 500
time (s) Frequency
• Two component waves separately (but they still need to be added
together):
• Added together:
Spectra of naturalistic speech sounds
• Waveform of vowel /i/

• Spectrum of vowel /i/

Types of sound sources
a. tuning fork - periodic

b. Vowel sounds – periodic

c. Flow of water - continuous random noise

d. Fricative - random within certain constraints

e. Hammer hitting table - transient

f. Stop consonant - transient + noise.

Aperiodic sounds: no repeating pattern

random pressure white noise, wind

CONTINUOUS fluctuations blowing through
across time trees
non-repeating: door slam,
TRANSIENT clicks, bursts balloon pops
Waveforms of aperiodic sounds
Continuous Transient
(white noise)
sineWithNoise (snap)
untitled

0.2682 1.5

0 0

-0.2999 -1.5
0 0.01 0 0.4317
Time (s) Time (s)
Spectra of aperiodic sounds
• Can still do Fourier analysis on aperiodic sounds, but it is made up of
many sine waves, so we don’t see individual lines on the spectrum
• But speech is dynamic – it changes over time

[thi]

burst aspiration vowel

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)

40 40 40

20 20 20

0 0 0

-20 -20 -20

-40 -40 -40

0 8000 0 8000 0 8000
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
https://swphonetics.com/praat/tutorials/understanding-waveforms/speech-waveforms/
 3 ways of representing sound:

pressure
Waveforms
time

amplitude
Spectra
frequency

Spectrograms
frequency

time
Spectrograms
• Show three dimensions
• Time
• Frequency
• Amplitude
6000
Frequency (Hz)

Time Amplitude
(darkness)
0
Spectrograms
• Made up of many spectra, placed side by side and rotated.
Spectrograms
• Made up of many spectra, rotated and placed side by side

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)

40
40 40

20
20 20

0
0 0
6000

0 8000 0 8000 0 8000

Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
Frequency (Hz)

Time Amplitude
(darkness)
0
Spectrograms
• Made up of many spectra, rotated and placed side by side

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)

40

20

0 8000
6000

Frequency (Hz)
Frequency (Hz)

Time Amplitude
(darkness)
0
Spectrograms
• Made up of many spectra, rotated and placed side by side

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)

Sound pressure level (dB/Hz)
40
40

20
20

0
0
6000

0 8000 0 8000
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
Frequency (Hz)

Time Amplitude
(darkness)
0
Periodic vs. aperiodic speech sounds
phonetically
voiced
PERIODIC voiced sounds
consonants,
vowels
Continuous:
fricatives,
APERIODIC voiceless sounds aspiration noise
Transient: stop
release bursts
wide band and narrow band spectrograms of [aː]

https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~robh/howto.html
Wide band spectrograms of the vowels of American English in a /b__d/ context.
Top row, left to right: [i, ɪ, eɪ, ɛ, æ]. Bottom row, left to right: [ɑ, ɔ, o, ʊ, u].

https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~robh/howto.html
Table 8.1 Vowel formants of [ɪ ɛ æ ʊ]
(Rogers, 2000: 153)

ɪ ɛ æ ʊ
F1 500 700 800 500
F2 2300 2100 1800 1000–1500
F3 3000 3100 3000 3000
F4 4400 4500 4500 4300
Table 8.2 English vowel formants for adult male speakers (RP from Gimson,1980; GA from Peterson and
Barney, 1952) (Rogers, 2000: 154)

RP GA
F1 F2 F3 F1 F2 F3
i 280 2620 3380 270 2290 3010
ɪ 360 2220 2960 390 1990 2550
ɛ 600 2060 2840 530 1840 2480
æ 800 1760 2500 660 1720 2410
ɜ 560 1480 2520 — — —
ʌ 760 1320 2500 640 1190 2390
ɑ 740 1180 2640 730 1090 2440
ɒ 560 920 2560 — — —
ɔ 480 760 2620 570 840 2410
ʊ 380 940 2300 440 1020 2240
u 320 920 2200 300 870 2240
https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~krussll/phonetics/acoustic/spectrogram-sounds.html
Recap
• properties of sine waves
• Waveforms, spectra and spectrograms
• Periodic vs. aperiodic sounds
• Acoustic properties of vowels (with a focus on English)
• Fricatives
Preparation for tutorial 10 and HW A4
§ Johnson, K. (2011). Acoustic and Auditory Phonetics, 3rd Ed.: chapter 1
§ Rogers, H. (2000). The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to
Phonetics: chapters 7 and 8.