June 2024 JASA Express Letters Cover

The June JASA Express Letters cover features a photo inspired by “Who is singing? Voice recognition from spoken versus sung speech,” by Angela Cooper, Matthew Eitel, Natalie Fecher,  Elizabeth Johnson, and Laura K. Cirelli. The article shows listeners can recognize a person’s singing voice, even if they only previously heard them speak, as well as vice versa. The research highlights our flexible ability to identify individuals from their voice.

This month’s issue also included two Editor’s Picks:

Browse the rest of the issue at https://pubs.aip.org/asa/jel/issue/4/6.

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JASA-EL cover

New Across Acoustics Episode: Why don’t speech recognition systems understand African American English?

Most people have encountered speech recognition software in their day-to-day lives, whether through personal digital assistants, auto transcription, or other such modern marvels. As the technology advances, though, it still fails to understand speakers of African American English (AAE). In this episode, we talk to Michelle Cohn (Google Research and University of California Davis) and Zion Mengesha (Google Research and Stanford University) about their research into why these problems with speech recognition software seem to persist and what can be done to make sure more voices are understood by the technology.

Like the episode? Check out the related article!

Celebrating Pride Month with Across Acoustics: Speech Research and Gender-Diverse Speakers

Happy Pride Month, everyone! This is a time to celebrate and uplift the voices of the LGBTQ+ community, and what better way to do so than by diving into some fascinating research that explores the intersections of speech, perception, and gender diversity? In the Across Acoustics episode, “Speech Research Methods and Gender-Diverse Speakers,” Brandon Merritt discusses the article, “Auditory Free Classification of Gender-Diverse Speakers,” published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA) with co-authors Tessa Bent, Rowan Kilgore, and Cameron Eads. Their research sheds light on how listeners perceive and classify the gender of speakers, moving beyond the traditional binary notions of gender.

Understanding how we perceive gender in speech has profound implications for communication and inclusivity. By exploring the acoustic and perceptual characteristics that influence gender attribution, Merritt’s research helps to create a more nuanced understanding of gender diversity. This is particularly important for supporting the representation and recognition of transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming individuals in both academic research and everyday interactions.

Brandon Merritt’s contributions to the field of speech and gender perception extend beyond this podcast episode. Here are a couple more publications that you should check out:

“Speech Beyond the Binary: Some Acoustic-Phonetic and Auditory-Perceptual Characteristics of Non-Binary Speakers” (JASA Express Letters, March 2023): This paper explores the acoustic and perceptual features of non-binary speakers, providing insights into how non-binary identities are expressed and perceived through speech.

“Revisiting the Acoustics of Speaker Gender Perception: A Gender Expansive Perspective” (JASA, January 2022): This work revisits traditional models of gender perception in speech, incorporating a broader range of gender identities and offering a more inclusive perspective.

As we celebrate Pride Month, it’s crucial to recognize and support research that honors and explores the diversity of human experience. Brandon Merritt’s work exemplifies this commitment by pushing the boundaries of how we understand and categorize gender through speech. So, take a moment to listen to the podcast, read Merritt’s publications, and reflect on the importance of inclusivity in research and beyond.

Happy Pride Month, and here’s to celebrating the vibrant diversity that makes our world a richer, more understanding place!

May 2024 JASA Express Letters Cover

The May JASA Express Letters cover features a portion of Figure 4 from “Predicting underwater acoustic transmission loss in the SOFAR channel from ray trajectories via deep learning,” by Haitao Wang, Shiwei Peng, Qunyi He and Xiangyang Zeng. The image shows acoustic transmission loss maps. The article presents a deep learning-based underwater acoustic transmission loss prediction method, in an effort to address current challenges with predicting acoustic transmission loss in the SOFAR channel.

This month’s issue also had a couple Editor’s Picks:

Browse the rest of the issue at https://pubs.aip.org/asa/jel/issue/4/5.

May JASA Express Letters cover

Popular Social Media Posts – May

The month of May has flown by! Let’s look back at some content that captured the attention of the acoustics community on different social media platforms. These posts sparked engagement and ignited discussions around acoustics research!

First up, a JASA post on Facebook highlighted a paper that presents the most complete description currently available of how femininity and masculinity in a voice is manifested in the acoustic signal. Read the article at https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025932.

Social Media Facebook May

Facebook

Over on Instagram, an image featuring the ASA Press cover of The Science of Musical Sound Volume 1: Stringed Instruments, Pipe Organs, and the Human Voice received over 45 likes. You can get the book at https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-92796-1.

Social Media Instagram May

Instagram

Then, folks on LinkedIn liked the post highlighting ASA awardees’ publications. Read the Propagations blog post at https://acoustics.org/asa-spring-award-recipients-publications/.

Social Media LinkedIn May

LinkedIn

Lastly, on the JASA Express Letters Twitter (X) account, a post about the paper “Predicting underwater acoustic transmission loss in the SOFAR channel from ray trajectories via deep learning” got a lot of love. Read it at https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025976.

Social Media Twitter May

Twitter (X)

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