Intelligible speech needs only a small fraction of its time-frequency units

Evidence

Acoustic signals can be decomposed into temporal envelope (E) and fine structure (FS). Previous studies have demonstrated that E is sufficient for speech perception (Shannon et al. 1995 ; Apoux et al. 2013 ), while FS is important for pitch perception (Smith et al. 2002 ) and lexical tone perception (Xu and Pfingst 2003 ). — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3381 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Practical speech communication uses only a small slice of hearing’s full range — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 983; Temporal envelope suffices for speech while fine structure carries pitch information — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3381

Related

• Temporal envelope suffices for speech while fine structure carries pitch information (similarity 0.88)
• Practical speech communication uses only a small slice of hearing’s full range (similarity 0.84)
• Temporal processing is essential for hearing speech and music (similarity 0.83)
• Envelope and fine structure are mathematically orthogonal but not perceptually independent (similarity 0.82)
• Speech remains understandable at high levels because timing carries formant info (similarity 0.82)
• Sound’s constant speed across wavelengths is what preserves speech intelligibility (similarity 0.81)
• Only about 20% of target speech time-frequency units are needed for near-normal intelligibility. (similarity 0.81)
• Temporal processing aids intelligibility only for clear isolated single words (similarity 0.81)
• Envelope and temporal fine structure are mathematically orthogonal and independently extractable via Hilbert transform (similarity 0.81)
• Temporal processing precision helps only when words are easily audible (similarity 0.81)
• Pitch perception requires a tone lasting at least two signal periods (similarity 0.80)
• Pitch estimates depend on combined envelope-fine structure cues, not envelope alone. (similarity 0.80)
• Temporal fine structure is vital yet not perceived as a temporal event (similarity 0.80)
• Speech is a continuous flow that still requires discrete units to be understood (similarity 0.80)
• Voice differences include formant and temporal cues beyond fundamental frequency (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Temporal envelope suffices for speech while fine structure carries pitch information #expands (0.85) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3381