EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONAL-MOTIVATIONAL CONNOTATIONS WITH A ONE-WORD UTTERANCE

The expression of ''naming,'' ''commanding,'' ''angry,'' ''frightened, '' ''pleading,'' ''astonished,'' ''satisfied,'' ''admiring,'' ''scornf ul,'' and ''sad'' was studied with the word [saara] spoken by 12 subje cts. Using the same connotations, the 120 utterances were categorized by 73 listeners. Most samples were agreed on by 50%-99% of the judges. Most samples of ''astonished,'' ''angry,'' ''frightened,'' and ''comm anding'' were judged as intended, while ''pleading'' was often confuse d with ''sad,'' and ''content'' with ''admiring.'' Acoustic difference s between the categories were examined for F0, duration, and sound pre ssure; spectral features of [aa] were visualized with the self-organiz ing map of Kohonen. Most intraspeaker variation of mean F0, F0 range, sound pressure, and duration took place during the [aa] segment. Peak sound pressure, mean F0, and spectral energy distribution of [aa] diff erentiated among ''commanding,'' ''angry,'' ''frightened,'' ''naming,' ' and ''sad.'' Specific intonations of the [aa] segment were encounter ed for ''astonished,'' ''scornful,'' and ''pleading.'' The best-convey ed ''admiring'' samples were distinguished from ''content'' by spectra l cues for a breathy voice quality. (C) 1997 Acoustical Society of Ame rica.