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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Strycharczuk, Patrycja, Kirkham, Sam
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.17543
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author Strycharczuk, Patrycja
Kirkham, Sam
author_facet Strycharczuk, Patrycja
Kirkham, Sam
contents This paper outlines the conceptual and computational foundations of the AURORA (Acoustic Understanding and Real-time Observation of Resonant Articulations) model. AURORA predicts tongue displacement and shape in vowel sounds based on the first two formant values. It is intended as a didactic aid helping to explain the relationship between formants and the underlying articulation, as well as a foundation for biofeedback applications. The model is informed by ultrasound tongue imaging and acoustic data from 40 native speakers of English. In this paper we discuss the motivation for the model, the modelling objectives as well as the model architecture. We provide a qualitative evaluation of the model, focusing on selected tongue features. We then present two tools developed to make the model more accessible to a wider audience, a Shiny app and a prototype software for real-time tongue biofeedback. Potential users include students of phonetics, linguists in fields adjacent to phonetics, as well as speech and language therapy practitioners and clients.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_17543
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle AURORA Model of Formant-to-Tongue Inversion for Didactic and Clinical Applications
Strycharczuk, Patrycja
Kirkham, Sam
Computation and Language
This paper outlines the conceptual and computational foundations of the AURORA (Acoustic Understanding and Real-time Observation of Resonant Articulations) model. AURORA predicts tongue displacement and shape in vowel sounds based on the first two formant values. It is intended as a didactic aid helping to explain the relationship between formants and the underlying articulation, as well as a foundation for biofeedback applications. The model is informed by ultrasound tongue imaging and acoustic data from 40 native speakers of English. In this paper we discuss the motivation for the model, the modelling objectives as well as the model architecture. We provide a qualitative evaluation of the model, focusing on selected tongue features. We then present two tools developed to make the model more accessible to a wider audience, a Shiny app and a prototype software for real-time tongue biofeedback. Potential users include students of phonetics, linguists in fields adjacent to phonetics, as well as speech and language therapy practitioners and clients.
title AURORA Model of Formant-to-Tongue Inversion for Didactic and Clinical Applications
topic Computation and Language
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.17543