Consonant identification in consonant-vowel-consonant syllables in speech-spectrum noise

Identification functions of 20 initial and 20 final consonants were characterized in 9600 randomly sampled consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) tokens presented in speech-spectrum noise. Because of differences in the response criteria for different consonants, signal detection measures were used to quantify identifiability. Consonant-specific baseline signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were adjusted to produce a d′ of 2.20 for each consonant. Consonant identification was measured at baseline SNRs (B), at B-6, and at B+6 dB. Baseline SNRs varied by more than 40 dB for different consonants. Confusion analysis revealed that single-feature place-of-articulation errors predominated at the highest SNR, while combined-feature errors predominated at the lowest SNR. Most consonants were identified at lower SNRs in initial than final syllable position. Vowel nuclei (/a/, /i/, or /u/) significantly influenced the identifiability of 85% of consonants, with consistent vowel effects seen for consonant classes defined by manner, voicing, and place. Manner and voicing of initial and final consonants were processed independently, but place cues interacted: initial and final consonants differing in place of articulation were identified more accurately than those sharing the same place. Consonant identification in CVCs reveals contextual complexities in consonant processing.