Abstract:

A mechanical vocal tract with a pneumatic sound source, silicone tongue, and lip rounding mechanism is introduced. The tract is designed to make controlled transitions between static articulatory vowel configurations. The focus on transitions is important because many argue that it is the change between steady‐state sounds that the nervous system is tuned for in extracting information from the speech signal. I draw on examples and experimental results as I review this steady state versus transition distinction. The notion of articulatory transitions as the motor control targets of robotic speech production is then discussed. Video demonstrations of the mechanical tract helps to illustrate how transitions as control targets may be implemented. In conclusion, I argue for why an analog vocal tract with its true aerodynamics (as opposed to synthesis using a cascade of digital filters) is called for in generating articulator‐transition‐based speech sounds.