Question 1

Computer speech recognition is
A) better than human speech recognition in all conditions.
B) better than human speech recognition in accuracy.
C) equal in all respects to human speech recognition.
D) worse than human speech recognition.

Accepted Answer

Computer speech recognition still has limitations and is not as accurate as human speech recognition in all conditions. It can struggle with variations in accents, background noise, and sometimes even different speech patterns. While it has improved significantly over the years, it still has room for improvement.

Question 2

The vowel sound /ae/ (as in "had") has
A) a single formant.
B) two formants.
C) three formants.
D) no formants.

Accepted Answer

The vowel sound /ae/ has three formants, with the first formant being the most important for determining its quality.

Question 3

Spectrograms of sentences show
A) that clear pauses occur between each spoken word.
B) that formant transitions account for the breaks between words.
C) no clear pauses or breaks between words.
D) segmentation of words is easily accomplished by listeners in any context.

Accepted Answer

Spectrograms of sentences do not show clear pauses or breaks between words. Instead, the boundaries between words are marked by acoustic cues such as changes in pitch, duration, and intensity. These cues are often subtle and context-dependent, making segmentation a complex task for listeners, especially for those learning a new language.

Question 4

The voice onset time (VOT) for the sound /da/ is 17 ms, and the VOT for the sound /ta/ is 91 msec. When a computer produces a sound with a VOT of 65 msec, listeners are likely to report hearing
A) the /da/ sound
B) the /ta/ sound
C) the /ja/ sound
D) a combination of /ta/ and /da/

Accepted Answer

The VOT of 65 ms is closer to the typical VOT for /ta/ (91 ms) than for /da/ (17 ms), so listeners are more likely to perceive the sound as /ta/.

Question 5

The McGurk effect is most similar to which of the following performers?
A) ventriloquists
B) hockey players
C) ballet dancers
D) gymnasts

Accepted Answer

The McGurk effect is a phenomenon where a person's visual perception of lip movement can influence their auditory perception of speech sounds. Similarly, ventriloquists use their visual movements to create the illusion that a doll or puppet is speaking, which can influence the audience's perception of the sound. Therefore, the McGurk effect is most similar to ventriloquists.

Question 6

Listening to someone speak a foreign language you are not familiar with can lead to
A) the correspondence problem.
B) the segmentation problem.
C) the formant transition effect.
D) acoustic signaling.

Accepted Answer

The segmentation problem refers to the difficulty in breaking down the continuous flow of speech into individual words or units when listening to an unfamiliar language. This can make it difficult to understand the meaning of the spoken message. The correspondence problem refers to the challenge of matching the sounds that we hear to specific phonemes or units within a language's phonetic system. The formant transition effect refers to how changes in the vocal tract shape during speech production result in changes in the acoustic properties of the sound. Acoustic signaling refers to the use of sound as a means of communication. While it is relevant to listening and language processing, it does not specifically relate to the challenges posed by an unfamiliar language.

Question 7

Which of the following can be considered an articulator?
A) a sound spectrogram
B) a running spectral display
C) the soft palate
D) an articulation agreement

Accepted Answer

The soft palate (also known as the velum) is an articulator, as it can be moved and positioned to produce and modify sounds in speech. A sound spectrogram and running spectral display are visual representations of speech sounds, and do not physically participate in the production of speech. An articulation agreement refers to a legal or contractual agreement between parties, and is not related to speech production.

Question 8

Humans perceive the sound /b/ to be the same, even when the coarticulation of the sound is be different. This phenomenon is an example of
A) perceptual constancy.
B) acoustic consistency.
C) phonemic transitions.
D) the segmentation problem.

Accepted Answer

Perceptual constancy is the ability of the brain to perceive the same sound consistently despite variations in the acoustic properties of the sound. In this case, even when the coarticulation of the sound /b/ is different, humans still perceive it as the same sound due to perceptual constancy.

Question 9

The ______ is the shortest segment of speech that, if changed, changes the meaning of the word.
A) formants
B) phonemes
C) tadomas
D) morphemes

Accepted Answer

Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in language that can distinguish words from one another. Changing a phoneme in a word changes its meaning, whereas changing a formant (which are resonances of the vocal tract that contribute to the quality of a sound) or a morpheme (which is a meaningful unit of language that cannot stand alone) may not necessarily change the meaning of the word. Tadomas is not a term used in linguistics.

Question 10

There are _____ phonemes for vowel sounds in the English language.
A) two
B) five
C) six
D) thirteen

Accepted Answer

There are thirteen vowel sounds in the English language, which include both short and long vowels, as well as the diphthongs.

Question 11

The McGurk effect illustrates the importance of ___________ on speech perception.
A) the motor cortex
B) articulators
C) formants
D) vision

Accepted Answer

The McGurk effect is an audio-visual illusion where a person's perception of speech sounds can be influenced by what they see. It demonstrates that visual cues from the speaker's mouth and face can have a significant impact on how speech is perceived. Therefore, the McGurk effect illustrates the importance of vision on speech perception.

Question 12

Rubin et al. (1976) asked participants to respond when they heard a word that started with the /b/ sound. The average response time when real words were used was ____; and ______ when non-words were used.
A) 100 msec; 57 msec
B) 580 msec; 631 msec
C) 995 msec; 900 msec
D) 1.87 sec; 1.88 sec

Accepted Answer

According to the passage, Rubin et al. (1976) found that the average response time for real words starting with the /b/ sound was 580 msec and the average response time for non-words starting with the /b/ sound was 631 msec. Therefore, the best choice is B.

Question 13

The ubiquitous "Whazzup!" is a sloppy pronunciation of "What's up?" The spectrograms of each of these two spoken phrases would indicate
A) no difference in the spectrograms between the two phrases.
B) only a difference in the frequency axis between the two phrases.
C) that there is a pause in the middle of "What's up?".
D) major differences between the two, especially in the middle of the spectrograms.

Accepted Answer

The two phrases have different phonemes ("Wha" vs. "What") and different stress patterns, which would result in significant differences in their spectrograms. Additionally, "Whazzup" likely has more intense and prolonged high-frequency components than "What's up." Therefore, the spectrograms of the two phrases would be quite different.

Question 14

The existence of phonetic boundaries
A) is currently debated among speech perception researchers.
B) only occurs at VOTs of greater than 250 ms.
C) has been demonstrated using discrimination experiments.
D) shows that categorical perception does not occur in speech perception.

Accepted Answer

Studies have demonstrated the existence of phonetic boundaries through discrimination experiments, which provide evidence for categorical perception in speech perception.

Question 15

Jessica looks at Ashlee on a videotape. Ashlee's lips are making the movement for the sound /ga-ga/, but the sound that is actually presented is the acoustic signal for /ba-ba/. What sound is Jessica most likely to report hearing?
A) /ga-ga/
B) /ba-ba/
C) /da-da/
D) /pa-pa-joe/

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the McGurk effect, where conflicting visual and auditory information leads to a third perception. In this case, the combination of visual /ga-ga/ and auditory /ba-ba/ often results in the perception of /da-da/.

Question 16

If a listener is asked to pay attention to speech provided by familiar voices, the _____ is activated, as shown by fMRI studies.
A) FFA
B) STS
C) both the FFA and STS
D) none of these

Accepted Answer

Both the FFA (fusiform face area) and STS (superior temporal sulcus) are activated when a listener is asked to pay attention to speech provided by familiar voices, as seen in fMRI studies. The FFA is responsible for processing facial features and is activated when we see or recognize familiar faces, while the STS is involved in social perception and understanding communicative intent, including interpreting speech cues.

Question 17

The problem of variability from the way different people speak can be demonstrated by
A) the pitch differences in different people's voices.
B) the different accents of different speakers.
C) the speed at which the speaker talks.
D) all of these.

Accepted Answer

All of these factors (pitch, accent, speed) contribute to the variability in how different people speak. Different people have different pitches, accents, and speaking speeds that can impact how they are understood and can make it challenging for speech recognition technology to accurately transcribe what is being said.

Question 18

When you say "bat" and "boot," the /b/ sound is articulated differently. This is an example of
A) phoneme contiguity.
B) phoneme incontiguity.
C) coarticulation.
D) alveolar context.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of coarticulation, where the pronunciation of one phoneme is influenced by the following phoneme. In this case, the /b/ in "bat" is pronounced with a stronger burst of air, whereas in "boot," the /b/ is pronounced with less air pressure due to the following /u/ sound. Phoneme contiguity and incontiguity refer to the proximity or separation of phonemes within a word or across different words, respectively. Alveolar context refers to the specific location within the mouth where certain sounds are articulated.

Question 19

A sound spectrogram is a plot of ______________ as a function of _____________, with darker areas representing greater intensity.
A) frequency; time
B) amplitude; frequency
C) time; amplitude
D) time; spatial location of sound source

Accepted Answer

A sound spectrogram displays frequency on the y-axis and time on the x-axis, with darker areas indicating higher intensity or amplitude of sound.

Question 20

The consonant sound "____" is produced by placing your bottom lip against your upper front teeth and then pushing the air between the lips and the teeth.
A) d
B) g
C) r
D) f

Accepted Answer

The consonant sound "f" is produced by placing your bottom lip against your upper front teeth and then pushing the air between the lips and the teeth.

Quiz 13: Speech Perception

Computer speech recognition is

The vowel sound /ae/ (as in "had") has

Spectrograms of sentences show

The voice onset time (VOT) for the sound /da/ is 17 ms, and the VOT for the sound /ta/ is 91 msec. When a computer produces a sound with a VOT of 65 msec, listeners are likely to report hearing

The McGurk effect is most similar to which of the following performers?

Listening to someone speak a foreign language you are not familiar with can lead to

Which of the following can be considered an articulator?

Humans perceive the sound /b/ to be the same, even when the coarticulation of the sound is be different. This phenomenon is an example of

The ______ is the shortest segment of speech that, if changed, changes the meaning of the word.

There are _____ phonemes for vowel sounds in the English language.

The McGurk effect illustrates the importance of ___________ on speech perception.

Rubin et al. (1976) asked participants to respond when they heard a word that started with the /b/ sound. The average response time when real words were used was ; and __ when non-words were used.

The ubiquitous "Whazzup!" is a sloppy pronunciation of "What's up?" The spectrograms of each of these two spoken phrases would indicate

The existence of phonetic boundaries

Jessica looks at Ashlee on a videotape. Ashlee's lips are making the movement for the sound /ga-ga/, but the sound that is actually presented is the acoustic signal for /ba-ba/. What sound is Jessica most likely to report hearing?

If a listener is asked to pay attention to speech provided by familiar voices, the _____ is activated, as shown by fMRI studies.

The problem of variability from the way different people speak can be demonstrated by

When you say "bat" and "boot," the /b/ sound is articulated differently. This is an example of

A sound spectrogram is a plot of __ as a function of _, with darker areas representing greater intensity.

The consonant sound "____" is produced by placing your bottom lip against your upper front teeth and then pushing the air between the lips and the teeth.