Science & Technology

Unlocking the secrets of the human voice

By T.K. Randall
April 25, 2012 ·  5 comments

Image Credit: sxc.hu In an effort to better understand how the sound coming from each of us is turned into speech, scientists and poet-in-residence James Wilkes are experimenting with "speech jamming", a technique in which your own recorded voice is played back to you on a brief time delay. The results are disorienting to say the least, rendering even the most skilled linguists unable to read or talk properly.

According to Professor Sophie Scott, human speech is the most complex sound we hear as humans. We are able to use it to gather information about someone - especially when we aren't face to face with them. In addition to determining gender we are able to judge a person's age, where they come from, their mood and even their socio-economic status just from listening to them speaking.[!gad]In an effort to better understand how the sound coming from each of us is turned into speech, scientists and poet-in-residence James Wilkes are experimenting with "speech jamming", a technique in which your own recorded voice is played back to you on a brief time delay. The results are disorienting to say the least, rendering even the most skilled linguists unable to read or talk properly.

According to Professor Sophie Scott, human speech is the most complex sound we hear as humans. We are able to use it to gather information about someone - especially when we aren't face to face with them. In addition to determining gender we are able to judge a person's age, where they come from, their mood and even their socio-economic status just from listening to them speaking.

Source: BBC News | Comments (5)

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