Automatic prosodic analysis for computer aided pronunciation teaching

Correct pronunciation of spoken language requires the appropriate modulation of acoustic characteristics of speech to convey linguistic information at a suprasegmental level. Such prosodic modulation is a key aspect of spoken language and is an important component of foreign language learning, for purposes of both comprehension and intelligibility. Computer aided pronunciation teaching involves automatic analysis of the speech of a non-native talker in order to provide a diagnosis of the learner's performance in comparison with the speech of a native talker. This thesis describes research undertaken to automatically analyse the prosodic aspects of speech for computer aided pronunciation teaching. It is necessary to describe the suprasegmental composition of a learner's speech in order to characterise significant deviations from a native-like prosody, and to offer some kind of corrective diagnosis. Phonological theories of prosody aim to describe the suprasegmental composition of speech..

Automatic syllable detection for vowel landmarks

Supervised by Kenneth N. Stevens.Also issued as Thesis (Sc.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-200).by Andrew Wilson Howitt

The Effects of Altered Auditory Feedback on Speech Production in Adults: A Comparison of Perturbation and Sensorimotor Adaptation Paradigms

Auditory feedback (AF) plays a crucial role in the acquisition and maintenance of fluent speech. AF allows speakers to monitor and correct for errors in their speech production and also plays an important role to create and maintain the sensorimotor relationships that support vocal motor control. To investigate the importance of AF for these functions, participants are typically exposed to brief, unexpected changes to their AF as part of a frequency altered feedback (FAF) perturbation paradigm, or persistent and predictable changes to their AF as part of a FAF adaptation paradigm. Although responses elicited from both the FAF perturbation and FAF adaptation paradigms have been used to assess the way speakers process and use AF for speech motor control, it is currently unclear whether these responses are regulated in the same manner. To investigate this research question we altered the fundamental frequency (F0) of speakers’ AF while they produced vocalizations in both a FAF perturbation and a FAF adaptation paradigm. Changes in the speakers’ F0 in response to the AF manipulations in each paradigm were measured. Correlational analyses were then conducted to assess whether speakers’ responses showed similar patterns across the two paradigms. There was no significant relationship observed between compensatory responses or vocal variability across paradigms. This means that AF may not be used in the same way for different situational demands