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← Language & CommunicationA spectrogram displays acoustic energy in a spoken word; which mechanism explains how listeners distinguish different vowels despite variations in vocal tract size?
A)Absolute frequency formant matching
B)Normalized formant frequency ratios✓
C)Direct amplitude envelope comparison
D)Raw spectral energy integration
💡 Explanation
Listeners use normalized formant frequency ratios because this process compensates for differences in vocal tract length across speakers, therefore allowing for consistent vowel identification, rather than relying on absolute frequencies which vary with vocal tract size.
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