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← Language & CommunicationWhy does transcribing speech in a noisy environment require careful acoustic analysis of consonant sounds, especially fricatives and plosives?
A)Vowel formants are highly environment-dependent
B)Context predicts articulation accurately always
C)Listeners correct transcriptions unconsciously typically
D)Consonants are more susceptible to masking✓
💡 Explanation
Consonant sounds are generally lower in energy and shorter in duration than vowels; therefore, consonants, particularly fricatives and plosives, are more susceptible to masking by background noise because their acoustic features are weaker, rather than because listeners correct errors unconsciously.
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