Author: Steven B. Chin, Nathan R. Large, and David B. Pisoni
Abstract:
This study examined the effects of alcohol on acoustic parameters of spoken words
in sentential contexts. Nine male talkers recorded 66 isolated sentences in a
shadowing task in both a nonalcohol (BAC = 0.00%) and an alcohol condition (BAC „
0.10%). From these sentences, 79 keywords were isolated and analyzed in terms of
duration, fundamental frequency, probability of voicing, RMS amplitude, and AC
peak. All talkers exhibited an increase in mean word duration; this increase was
significant across talkers as well as for seven of the individual talkers. There
was no significant difference in mean fundamental frequency, but the variability
of fundamental frequency increased significantly from the nonalcohol to the
alcohol condition. No significant differences were found between conditions in
probability of voicing and AC peak. However, RMS amplitude increased significantly
from the nonalcohol to the alcohol condition. These results are consistent with
previous findings regarding the effects of alcohol on acoustic-phonetic parameters
of speech.