Magnetometry in speech articulation research: some misadventures on the road to enlightenment.
| Number | 893 |
|---|---|
| Year | 1993 |
| Drawer | 16 |
| Entry Date | 07/15/1998 |
| Authors | Gracco, Vincent L., and Nye, Patrick W. |
| Contact | |
| Publication | Proceedings of the ACCOR Workshop on Electromagnetic Articulography in Phonetic Research, 91-104. München, Germany. |
| url | http://www.haskins.yale.edu/Reprints/HL0893.pdf |
| Abstract | With the loss of x-ray microbeam technology (at least in the United States) as a tool for tracking speech articulatory motion, electromagnetic transduction of the lips, jaw, and tongue may soon become a widely used alternative. The technique involves the generation of three alternating magnetic fields and measurement of the three voltages induced in a number of small transducer coils attached to flesh points in the mid-sagittal plane of the device. These voltages are then converted to transducer positions in a two dimensional Cartesian coordinate plane. While the principles of electromagnetic transduction are well known, the application of magnetometry to speech articulation is new and brings with it a number of potential problems. Perkell and colleagues have recently reported on the sensitivity and reliability of one such device (Perkell, Cohen, Svirsky, Matthies, Garabieta and Jackson, 1992). This presentation focuses on some practical problems encountered during the introduction of a new version of the Perkell instrument at Haskins Laboratories. The Haskins system uses similar transducers, and head mounted transmitter coils. However, the physical environment, electronic components and system software differed sufficiently to necessitate the independent evaluation of several performance dimensions. WE conclude that a magnetometer can be a reliable and sensitive instrument for measuring two-dimensional mid-sagittal articulatory motion if certain procedures are adopted to avoid potential artifacts. |
| Notes |
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