Deviating from one`s own speech: implications for speaker verification in voice disguise situations

• Grant number: 11/23054-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Plinio Almeida Barbosa
• Grantee: Renata Regina Passetti
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem (IEL). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 12/10909-3 - Deviating from one's own speech: implications for speaker verification for speakers and non-speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

This research will analyze the speaker's acoustics strategies in two vocal disguise situations: (1) with an object between the front teeth, and (2) the imitation of a familiar sample from a well-known person (impersonation), evoking long-term memory. The focus will be to determine which acoustic and prosodic cues are modified and which cues remain undifferentiated in the speaker's speech when s/he deviates from his/her own voice. The acoustic techniques include the evaluation of the first four formants, fundamental frequency, duration, and spectral emphasis in Brazilian Portuguese oral vowels. The distribution of silent pauses throughout the utterances will also be analyzed. A previous study is shown in this project aimed at pointing out which were the main changes in the subject's speech for the case of impersonation of Silvio Santos. This preliminary result showed a significant change in the oral vowels' duration means between the samples of both speeches. No significant variation between the interpeak duration of F0 and F0 mean for both studied speeches' samples was observed.(AU)