Formant Theory

Formant Theory explains how we produce and perceive speech sounds, particularly vowels. When we speak, our vocal tract shapes the sound waves produced by our vocal cords. The resulting frequencies, called formants, are specific peaks in sound energy that characterize different vowels. Each vowel has a unique pattern of formants, allowing us to distinguish between them. The first two formants, F1 and F2, are particularly important in determining a vowel's identity. Understanding formants helps researchers and engineers in fields like linguistics, speech therapy, and voice recognition technology to analyze and replicate human speech accurately.