Speech, speech signal and articulation processes: a comparative synopsis

The speech signal, conveniently respresented by the short-time spectrogram possesses characteristics which can be related both to the articulation process and to auditory perception. It appears logical to classify them into characteristics of the temporal structure, the spectral structure and of the frequency time pattern. As to the temporal and the spectral dimensions, both macro and micro structures can be distinguished. An overview of the speech-acoustic causes of the characteristics and their interrelationships with auditory perception is given. In this context, a high degree of reciprocal adjustment and interaction between speech signal, articulation and auditory perception is seen to exist. The central hearing manifests an adaptation of its processing algorithms to speech signal properties on the one hand and to the properties of peripheral hearing on the other. The central integral processing operations appear to be strongly influenced by speech communication.