Airflow and Turbulence Noise for Fricative and Stop Consonants: Static Considerations

A number of speech sounds are generated by creating turbulent airflow in the vicinity of a constriction in the vocal tract. The equations relating the airflow through such a constriction, the pressure drop across the constriction, and the dimensions of the constriction are reviewed and are summarized in graphical form. Previous theoretical and experimental data on turbulence noise generation at a constriction or obstruction in a tube are described. These data are consistent with a model that represents a turbulence noise source in the vocal tract as an equivalent sound‐pressure source whose magnitude is proportional to the pressure drop across the constriction or obstruction. The characteristics of the sound radiated from the mouth opening are determined by the source location and radiation characteristics, as well as by the properties of the source. The airflow and acoustic characteristics for various classes of speech sounds produced with turbulence noise at the glottis or at a supraglottal constriction...