Investigating the Relationship between Speech Production and Perception

Abstract

The study, based on two theoretical models, i.e. SLM and PAM, consisted of two experiments which were controlled with the computer software E-Prime and assisted by Praat, a software used for analysis, editing and synthesis of sound signals. The first experiment is a production test which examined the first two formants of the vowels in Putonghua produced by the research subjects. The second experiment is a perception test which investigated the categorical perception of the vowels in Putonghua by the participants. The results show that vowel perception partially correlates with that of production.