Production and perception of V1V2 described in terms of formant transition rates

Vowels can be produced with static articulatory configurations leading to stable formant frequencies (targets). Here, an algorithm computes area functions according to the criterion of minimal deformation leading to maximal acoustic variations. Within this evolutionary dynamics, the deformations of the tube are not performed to reach targets, unknown during the process, but to move in the acoustic space in order to increase acoustic contrast. The corresponding formant trajectories in the acoustic space can be described in terms of formant transition rates. For example, following this dynamic approach, to produce [ae] from [a], the transition rates of F1 and F2 are necessary and sufficient to represent [e] and at the very beginning of the transition and throughout the transition there is sufficient information to detect [e]. This assertion means that the transition duration is more or less constant. Studies of V1V2 production and perception characterized by their formant transition rates are presented. Suc...