PROJECTS of the Speech Production Laboratory (2013-present)
Menu:
Projects
Embodied Phonetics
Most of
what we know about the physical production of speech sounds is based on data
collected from healthy young adults sitting in a chair in front of a
microphone, while completing unchallenging speaking tasks in a quiet
environment. Most of the time, most of us speak and converse under very different
conditions. Embodied phonetics is a new research program that seeks to use
cutting-edge research methods, instruments, and analyses to understand speech
in the variety of embodied conditions in which we find ourselves. Embodiment
includes not only gender, race, age, and native language, but also posture, health,
background noise, attentional demands, and so much more. Embodied phonetics is
an umbrella for the more specific research projects outlined below.
Children’s Speech: Production, Development & Technology
We have
been carrying out federally-funded research on the speech of children between
kindergarten and 5th grade since 2015. We specialize in vocal tract imaging,
articulatory-acoustic modeling, and longitudinal research design. This project
also contributes to the development of novel software tools for collecting and
analyzing multimodal data sets. In collaboration with the UCLA Speech Processing
and Auditory Perception Laboratory, we develop cutting-edge speech
technologies for children. We also collaborate with the IU Voice Physiology and
Imaging Laboratory to investigate voice therapies for children with voice
disorders.
We are currently
recruiting children to participate in this study. Feel free to have a look at the Informed
Consent Document and reach out to us
if you have any questions or are interested in getting your child involved.
This project
has been funded by NSF Grants #1551131 and #2006818.
The WASL
software has been developed in part through this project.
Peripheral Speech Motor Control
Since
2023 we have begun working to understand peripheral speech motor control, which
is how signals in the brainstem, cranial nerves, and vocal tract musculature
work together to produce speech sounds. In collaboration with Dr. Daniel Aalto
(from the University of Alberta) and Dr. Hu Cheng (from the Indiana University Imaging
Research Facility), we are developing brainstem fMRI, muscle fMRI, and muscle
fiber tractography (from diffusion weighted MRI) techniques and protocols that will
help us better understand the relationship between speech motor control and
articulatory phonetics.
Articulatory and Acoustic Phonetics of the World’s Languages
Since the
founding of the Speech Production Laboratory in 2013, we have collaborated with
faculty and students in the IU Department of Linguistics, as well as with
colleagues at universities around the world, to study the articulatory and
acoustic phonetics of the world’s languages.
Breath Support, Pulmonary Function, and Subglottal Acoustics
The lungs play
a critical role in speech production – and in music – both by providing the
airflow that generates the sound source for most speech sounds – and for
singing or woodwind instrument performance – and by creating an acoustic
impedance that affects voice production, speech acoustics, and musical
acoustics. We investigate breath support, pulmonary function, and subglottal
acoustics in speech, singing, and clarinet performance.
Swallowing
The vocal
tract and the upper GI tract are the same space, and make use of the same
structures for both speaking and swallowing, namely the jaw, lips, tongue, soft
palate, pharyx, and larynx. We specialize in real-time three-dimensional
imaging of the tongue during swallowing.