Speech features found in a continuous high order statistical analysis of speech

Statistical measures commonly used in signal processing applications such as blind equalisation and optimal filter design are often applied over long periods (seconds). This paper introduces a technique for analysing speech in the time domain using high order statistics. Two measures are investigated kurtosis and skew. Plots of skew and kurtosis are analysed for consistencies and inconsistencies across utterances by a single speaker and multiple speakers. Preliminary results presented show that voiced, unvoiced and silence periods are well characterised using these statistical measures even when applied over a short term (milliseconds).