A new algorithm for estimation of formant trajectories directly from the speech signal based on an extended Kalman-filter

An alternative approach for formant tracking is proposed in this paper. The algorithm is based on the use of an extended Kalman-Filter and calculates the formants directly from the speech signal, i.e. without previous transformation into the frequency domain. The algorithm gives very smooth formant tracks even for long utterances which contain unvoiced fricatives and stops. In the first part of the paper, the basic mathematical principles are introduced. In the second part, the advantages and disadvantages of the algorithm are discussed and the results are compared to the standard methods for formant tracking.