Acoustics of
the Vowel
Preliminaries
the Vowel
Preliminaries
Acoustics of the Vowel – Preliminaries
Materials (Digital Version)
Dieter Maurer
Content
It seems as if the fundamentals of how we produce vowels and how
they are acoustically represented have been clarified: we phonate and
articulate. Using our vocal chords, we produce a vocal sound or noise
which is then shaped into a specific vowel sound by the resonances
of the pharyngeal, oral, and nasal cavities, that is, the vocal tract.
Accordingly,
the acoustic description of vowels relates to vowel-specific
patterns of relative energy maxima in the sound spectra, known as
patterns of formants.
The intellectual and empirical reasoning presented in this treatise,
however, gives rise to scepticism with respect to this understanding of
the sound of the vowel. The reflections and materials presented provide
reason to argue that, up to now, a comprehensible theory of the
acoustics of the voice and of voiced speech sounds is lacking, and
consequently, no satisfying understanding of vowels as an achievement
and particular formal accomplishment of the voice exists. Thus,
the question of the acoustics of the vowel—and with it the question of
the acoustics of the voice itself—proves to be an unresolved
fundamental problem.
The book
The treatise entitled "Acoustics of the Vowel — Preliminaries" is
published by Peter Lang Verlag, Bern/Frankfurt a.M., as an open access
eBook (ISBN 978-3-0351-0912-2) as well as in printed form (ISBN
978-3-0343-2031-3).
The treatise is published as volume 12 of the series subTexte, edited
by Anton Rey, Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, Zurich University of
the Arts.
For the eBook please refer to:
>> Link to the eBook (open access, PDF)
Also available on OAPEN:CH:
>> Link to the eBook (open access, PDF on OAPEN.CH)
For the print version please refer to:
>> Link to the printed book (publisher)
For the subTexte series please refer to:
>>
Link to subTexte
The present online version of the materials
The
treatise is divided into a main body and the two sections Materials and
Experiments. This online presentation is a replication and extension of
the Materials section. For details, please refer to the Introduction.
>>
Link to the Introduction
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank Christian d'Heureuse for adapting the M.A.T. software for this presentation.
Contact
Dieter Maurer, Prof. PhD
Zurich University of the Arts
Institute for the Performing Arts and Film
to.dieter.maurer@gmail.com
Research website
www.phones-and-phonemes.org
Website of the Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, Zurich University of
the Arts
www.zhdk.ch/ipf