Description

  The Acoustics of Speech and Hearing is an H-Level graduate course (4-1-7) that reviews the physical processes involved in the production, propagation and reception of human speech with particular attention to how the the acoustics and mechanics of the speech and auditory system define what sounds we are capable of producing and what sounds we can sense. Particular attention will be paid to (1) the acoustic cues used in determining the direction of a sound source, (2) the acoustic and mechanical mechanisms involved in speech production and (3) the acoustic and mechanical mechanism used to transduce and analyze sounds in the ear.

(From Denes & Pinson 1992) 
 
 

Time wave forms of sound pressure and the corresponding magnitude spectra for the vowels 'ah' (a) ; and 'uh'(b). (From Denes & Pinson 1992)
 
 

(Drawing by Anne Greene)
 
 

 An acoustico-mechanical schematic of the middle ear including the ear canal (EAM), Middle-ear cavity (MEC), Tympanic Membrane (TM), the ossicular linkage (M,I,SFP) and the fluid filled inner ear

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Grading: 15% of the final grade is based on homework, 15% is based on participation in class and in discussions of relevant literature, 10% is based on the two lab reports, 60% is based on the mid-term and final exam. Students are encouraged to seek the help of the teaching assistants and other TAs in performing the homeworks.

The course secretary is Denise Rossetti in Room 36-767, drossett@mit.edu, phone: 3-6955

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Lectures are held Tuesdays (T) and Thursdays (R) from 1PM - 2:30PM in 36-737 (or 713).

Recitations are on Wednesdays (W) from Noon -1 PM in 36-156

Laboratory Session 1 and 2 will be computer-based take-home exercises. 

Class assignments and lecture notes are available at http://stellar.mit.edu/S/course/HST/fa09/HST.714/

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The recomended but not required book for the course is:
"The Speech Chain: The physics and biology of spoken speech" by P.B. Denes & E.N. Pinson, WH Freeman 2nd ed. 1993, ISBN 0-7167-2344-1.
This text is written for non-engineers; it contains a clear basic description of the physiologic and physical processes involved in speech production, transmission, reception and recognition. This book may be purchased for $27 from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com.  

Other more detailed and engineering oriented texts found in the Barker Engineering Libraries may be useful, including:

"Fundamentals of Acoustics" by Kinsler, Frey, Coppens and Saunders, Academic Press 1982.

"Acoustics" by Leo Beranek, American Institute of Physics 1986.

"Acoustic Phonetics" by Ken Stevens, MIT Press 1998.

"Signals and System for Speech and Hearing" by Stuart Rosen & Peter Howell , Academic Press 1991.

A book that gives a more quantitative view point of acoustics and speech and hearing is
"Acoustic Systems in Biology" by Neville Fletcher, Oxford University Press 1992.

A more thorough treatment of the hearing process is
"Fundamentals of Hearing" by William Yost, 3rd edition, Academic Press, 1994.

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Louis D. Braida, Ph.D.
Henry Ellis Warren Professor of Electrical Engineering
Office 36-791, phone: 3-2575
email: ldbraida@mit.edu

Satrajit S. Ghosh, Ph.D.
Reasearch LAboratory of Electronics, Office 36-547, phone: 3-5957
email: satra@mit.edu

John J. Rosowski, Ph.D.
Professor of Otology and Laryngology and Health Sciences and Technology,
Harvard Medical School,
MIT Office 26-169 & Mass Eye & Ear (617) 573-4237
email: John_Rosowski@meei.harvard.edu

Christopher A. Shera, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Otology and Laryngology and Health Sciences and Technology,
Harvard Medical School,
Office at Mass Eye & Ear, phone (617) 573-4235
email: shera@epl.meei.harvard.edu

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(last updated 30-October-2009)

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