Abstract:
The importance of formants and spectral shape was investigated for vowel perception in severe
noise. Twelve vowels were synthesized using two different synthesis methods, one where the original
spectral detail was preserved, and one where the vowel was represented by the spectral peaks of
the first three formants. In addition, formants F1 and F2 were suppressed individually to investigate
the importance of each in severe noise. Vowels were presented to listeners in quiet and in speechshaped
noise at signal to noise ratios (SNRs) of 0, 5, and 10 dB, and vowel confusions were
determined in a number of conditions. Results suggest that the auditory system relies on formant information
for vowel perception irrespective of the SNR, but that, as noise increases, it relies
increasingly on more complete spectral information to perform formant extraction. A second finding
was that, while F2 is more important in quiet or low noise conditions, F1 and F2 are of similar
importance in severe noise.
