Question

A fricative produced at the alveolar ridge, such as /s/, would likely have its first prominent spectral peaks at about

a) 1200 Hz
b) 2000 Hz
c) 4000 Hz
d) 10000 Hz
e) there would be no clear spectral peak

Answer 1

The student's question involves the spectral peaks of alveolar fricatives such as the sound /s/. The first prominent spectral peak for such a sound would typically be at approximately 4000 Hz.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question relates to the characteristics of fricative sounds in human speech and their spectral properties. In the case of an alveolar fricative such as /s/, which is produced at the alveolar ridge, the first prominent spectral peaks typically appear around 4000 Hz. However, this can slightly vary depending on individual vocal tract anatomy and the manner of articulation. The frequency range of normal human conversation typically extends from about 250 Hz to 8000 Hz, with different phonemes having spectral peaks at different frequencies within this range.

The spectral peak of a fricative is important in speech perception as it is one of the features that can help distinguish it from other sounds.