Quantifying anatomical variation in the vocal tract in typical and atypical speakers

This project explores how anatomical variation in the vocal tract affects the phonetics of speech, and considers atypical speakers - such as those recovering from oral surgery - for the first time.

Building upon ongoing work at York, 3D magnetic resonance imaging data for typical speakers will be used to develop vocal tract shape analysis methods which can then be applied to new data from atypical speakers, obtained through connections with ENT surgeons at York Hospital.

This work has important implications for forensic phonetics and for understanding the range of human variation in the voice.