Fundamental frequency influences vowel discrimination in 6-month-old infants

Authors

  • Renee N. Desjardins McMaster Univ, Hamilton, Canada
  • Laurel J. Trainor McMaster Univ, Hamilton, Canada

Keywords:

Audition, Frequencies, Linguistics, Speech, Fundamental frequency, Vowel discrimination

Abstract

The effects of a female fundamental frequency (F0) on the discrimination of two vowel tokens, /i/ and /I/, both known to be discriminable to very young infants were investigated. Three different F0 were examined: the low steady F0 of the typical female voice in adult-directed speech, 250 Hz; the F0 more typical in speech directed to infants, 350 Hz; and a falling F0 reminiscent of infant-directed pitch contours, 350-250 Hz. Discrimination of the tokens for 6-month-olds is possible when the F0 is 250 Hz, and when falling, but only when /I/ is the background token. However, with a high steady F0, infants perform at chance suggesting that they are unable to discriminate the two vowels.

Additional Files

Published

1998-09-01

How to Cite

1.
Desjardins RN, Trainor LJ. Fundamental frequency influences vowel discrimination in 6-month-old infants. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 1998 Sep. 1 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];26(3):96-7. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/1175

Issue

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada