University of Central Florida (UCF) SPA3011 Speech Science Practice Exam 2

The correct answer highlights that temporal measures are essential for understanding the timing aspects of speech production. Duration specifically refers to the length of time a speech sound is held, which is a fundamental measure in the study of speech.

Voice Onset Time (VOT) is another critical temporal measure, representing the time interval between the release of a stop consonant and the onset of vocal fold vibration. This measure is particularly important in distinguishing between voiced and voiceless consonants in stop consonants, contributing to our understanding of phonetic contrasts.

While jitter and shimmer are related to frequency and amplitude stability and could be important in assessing voice quality, they do not specifically pertain to the temporal aspect of speech. Therefore, the inclusion of VOT and duration in this group's context emphasizes the focus on timing, making this answer correct.

In contrast, the other choices include aspects that do not focus solely on temporal measures—such as pitch and formants that relate to frequency characteristics and vowel quality, which pertains more to the quality rather than temporal timing of speech sounds.