Hermes D J, van Gestel J C
Institute for Perception Research/IPO, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
J Acoust Soc Am. 1991 Jul;90(1):97-102. doi: 10.1121/1.402397.
In intonation research, prominence-lending pitch movements have either been described on a linear or on a logarithmic frequency scale. An experiment has been carried out to check whether pitch movements in speech intonation are perceived on one of these two scales or on a psychoacoustic scale representing the frequency selectivity of the auditory system. This last scale is intermediary between the other two scales. Subjects matched the excursion size of prominence-lending pitch movements in utterances resynthesized in different pitch registers. Their task was to adjust the excursion size in a comparison stimulus in such a way that it lent equal prominence to the corresponding syllable in a fixed test stimulus. The comparison stimulus and the test stimulus had pitches running parallel on either the logarithmic frequency scale, the psychoacoustic scale, or the linear frequency scale. In one-half of the experimental sessions, the test stimulus was presented in the low register, while the comparison stimulus was presented in the high register, and, conversely, for the other half of the sessions. The result is that, in all cases, stimuli are matched in such a way that the average excursion sizes in different registers are equal on the psychoacoustic scale.
在语调研究中，赋予重音的音高变化要么在线性频率尺度上进行描述，要么在对数频率尺度上进行描述。已经开展了一项实验，以检验言语语调中的音高变化是在这两种尺度之一上被感知，还是在代表听觉系统频率选择性的心理声学尺度上被感知。这最后一种尺度介于另外两种尺度之间。受试者匹配了在不同音高范围重新合成的语句中赋予重音的音高变化的偏移大小。他们的任务是以这样一种方式调整比较刺激中的偏移大小，即它赋予固定测试刺激中相应音节同等的重音。比较刺激和测试刺激的音高在对数频率尺度、心理声学尺度或线性频率尺度上平行变化。在一半的实验环节中，测试刺激呈现在低音高范围，而比较刺激呈现在高音高范围，反之，在另一半实验环节中则相反。结果是，在所有情况下，刺激的匹配方式使得不同音高范围的平均偏移大小在心理声学尺度上是相等的。
