An Index for Quantifying Tongue Curvature

Authors

  • Stade Stolar
  • Bryan Gick University of British Columbia, Dept. of Linguistics, Totem Field Studios 2613 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4

Abstract

This study develops a method of quantifying tongue curvature by modeling the shape of the tongue surface in any anatomical plane using a polynomial approximation. In a validation experiment, the curvature indices of English vowel and consonant sounds were calculated across ten native speakers’ productions based on midsagittal ultrasound images of the tongue. Indices confirm substantially higher curvature values for liquids /r/ and /l/ than for all other sounds in the inventory. This method is both more generalized and less dependent upon fixed locations than previous methods, and provides a simple, powerful metric for evaluating shape complexity with applications in areas such as motor development and aeroacoustics.

Additional Files

How to Cite

1.
Stolar S, Gick B. An Index for Quantifying Tongue Curvature. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2013 Mar. 1 [cited 2024 Dec. 8];41(1). Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2598

Issue

Section

Article - Speech Sciences

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