Formantvärdena

Formantvärdena are important acoustic characteristics of speech sounds, particularly vowels. They represent the resonant frequencies of the vocal tract, which are shaped by the position of the tongue, lips, and jaw. When we produce a vowel sound, the vocal folds vibrate, creating a complex sound wave. This sound wave then passes through the vocal tract, which acts as a filter, amplifying certain frequencies and attenuating others. The prominent amplified frequencies are the formants.

The first two formants, known as F1 and F2, are the most crucial for distinguishing between different vowel sounds. F1 is primarily related to the height of the tongue. A high tongue position, as in the vowel "ee" (as in "see"), results in a low F1 value. Conversely, a low tongue position, as in the vowel "ah" (as in "father"), leads to a high F1 value. F2 is mainly influenced by the frontness or backness of the tongue. A front tongue position, again in "ee," produces a high F2 value. A back tongue position, as in the vowel "oo" (as in "moon"), results in a low F2 value.

The specific values of these formants, measured in Hertz (Hz), create a unique acoustic fingerprint for each vowel. Variations in formant values can occur due to individual differences in vocal tract anatomy, as well as dialectal and emotional influences on speech production. Analyzing formant values is a key technique in speech science, phonetics, and speech technology, such as automatic speech recognition.