Acoustic Characteristics of Spondee Syllable Stress

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to examine the acoustic characteristics of syllable stress of the spondees in terms of fundamental frequency (f0), duration, and amplitude and to determine whether the spondee syllables were equally stressed. Q/Mass Speech Audiometry, Volume 1, 1988 recording of CID Auditory Test List W-1 Spondees was used as the stimulus material for the present study. The procedure consisted of two tasks. In Task 1, all the spondee syllables were acoustically analyzed using a Computerized Speech Lab (CSL) for f0, duration, and amplitude measurements. In Task 2, a group of 12 trained adult participants was asked to perceptually judge the syllable stress of the same spondee words. In Task 1, the acoustic analyses showed a statistically significant difference between the first and second syllables of the spondees for duration and f0, respectively, but not for amplitude. In Task 2, the participants rated the spondee syllables as “not equally stressed.” The spondees configured in the recorded CD were not equally stressed either acoustically or perceptually. The findings of the study warrant a need for this version of the CD to be corrected and/or swift development and production of better CDs.