How can specific acoustic cues help distinguish German vowels

Specific acoustic cues help distinguish German vowels primarily through variations in their formant frequencies, duration, and tenseness. The first and second formants (F1 and F2) are crucial, as they represent vowel height and frontness/backness respectively, which are key in differentiating vowel sounds. For example, high vowels have lower F1 values, and front vowels have higher F2 values. Duration also plays a role, with tense vowels often being longer than lax vowels, providing an additional acoustic cue. Dynamic spectral cues, depicting changes in formants over time, can further aid the perception of German vowels. These acoustic parameters collectively allow listeners to reliably identify vowel categories in German speech. ^{1, 2, 11}

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