Dimension of Quality for the Vowel [æ]

Abstract

Multidimensional analysis of similarity data was applied to the domain of a spoken vowel. Thirty-two male speakers provided samples of the vowel [æ]. Judgments of degree of similarity between each pair of vowels were obtained from 100 observers. The similarity judgments provided estimates of psychological distances between the vowels. The distances were used to construct an auditory space, Euclidean in nature, for the vowel samples. Dimensionality of the space was appropriate to account for the distances between vowels. Acoustic data were employed to identify the dimensions. The dimensions related well to frequency and amplitude properties of first, second and third formants, and good predictions as to locations of the vowels in space could be made from the acoustic data. The multidimensional scaling method shows promise as a method for structuring auditory space and for understanding processes of vowel perceptions.