Acoustic Realization of Contrastive Stress in Individuals with Parkinson\u27s Disease

This study investigated the acoustic correlates of contrastive stress produced by individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) to learn more about their ability to modulate acoustic cues to mark contrastive stress. Speech materials from 10 individuals with PD and 10 gender- and age-matched neurologically healthy controls (HC) were recorded and analyzed. The four acoustic measures (peak intensity, peak F0, vowel duration, and acoustic vowel space area) of stressed and unstressed syllables were compared to determine which acoustic parameters are preferentially employed by each group to mark contrastive stress. The results indicated that individuals with PD exhibited significant changes in vowel duration and intensity of stressed/unstressed words to mark contrastive stress in similar ways to their HC counterparts. Unlike the HC group, individuals with PD did not demonstrate an expanded vowel space area (VSA) or employed changes in F0 to mark contrastive stress. Findings on which abilities are better preserved in the PD population for the purposes of marking contrastive stress add to our knowledge of prosodic deficits in this dysarthric population and can aid in the planning and executing of intervention services

Perceptual Dialectology in Ohio

The Midwest of the United States is an interesting area for dialectologists to study because while some claim it has its own Midland dialect (Labov et al. 2006), others say it is only an area of transition from the North to the South (Davis and Houck 1992, 1995). One way to study this area is through folk linguistics. Benson (2003) and Preston (1999) discuss the importance of using folk linguistics to help learn about these dialect areas, especially in the Midland where the dialect boundaries are not clearly defined. While there may be concern as to whether or not non-linguists are up to this task, recent dialectologist studies say people can make dialectal decisions in smaller geographic regions (Benson 2005, Bucholtz et al. 2008, Campbell-Kibler 2012), but are they also able to articulate their perceptions of the language features that differentiate these dialect regions? Through the use of dialectology maps and a mimicry task, this current study investigates people’s perceptions of dialects in Ohio, mainly where they think different dialects are and what language features are associated with these dialects, along with whether they are able to produce features. This study shows that people do have perceptions about dialects that are more or less accurate, although not complete. It is understandably easier for people to discuss where they believe dialects to be than to produce examples of these dialects.Buckeye Language NetworkURO Summer Research FellowshipArts and Sciences Undergraduate Research ScholarshipNo embargoAcademic Major: Linguistic

Ukrainian vowel phones in the IPA context

Acoustic and articulatory properties of Ukrainian vowels are investigated in this study and a full set of relevant IPA notations are proposed. The notations are shown in the vowel diagram and the table. The results of the earlier acoustic invariant speech analysis based on special software, auditory and spectrum analysis were used and the results are discussed in the context of general and Ukrainian phonetic laws governing language evolution and acoustic properties of non-stressed vowels in relation to their stressed cognates. Such combined approach resulted in a more detailed vowel inventory than proposed heretofore. The findings of this research contribute to better understanding of Ukrainian language and its special features in comparison with other world languages that may have substantial practical use in various phonetic and translation studies, as well as in modern linguistic technologies aimed at artificial intelligence development, machine translation incorporating text-to-speech conversion, automatic speech analysis, recognition and synthesis, and in other areas of applied linguistics

Authentic and Play-Acted Vocal Emotion Expressions Reveal Acoustic Differences

Play-acted emotional expressions are a frequent aspect in our life, ranging from deception to theater, film, and radio drama, to emotion research. To date, however, it remained unclear whether play-acted emotions correspond to spontaneous emotion expressions. To test whether acting influences the vocal expression of emotion, we compared radio sequences of naturally occurring emotions to actors’ portrayals. It was hypothesized that play-acted expressions were performed in a more stereotyped and aroused fashion. Our results demonstrate that speech segments extracted from play-acted and authentic expressions differ in their voice quality. Additionally, the play-acted speech tokens revealed a more variable F0-contour. Despite these differences, the results did not support the hypothesis that the variation was due to changes in arousal. This analysis revealed that differences in perception of play-acted and authentic emotional stimuli reported previously cannot simply be attributed to differences in arousal, but by slight and implicitly perceptible differences in encoding

The German school of singing: a compendium of German treatises 1848-1965

The German school of singing is often characterized by the principles of a muscular approach to respiration, an overexpansion of the chest, a darker tonal preference, fabricated laryngeal position, and an emphasis on text over vocalism. Singers, teachers of singing, musicologists, composers, and conductors rely on astute observations and intensive study of historical artifacts, including original writings, translated work, and secondary analyses to understand the German approach. English-speaking audiences typically "know'" German technique through English language writings or translated versions of scholars such as Richard Miller and German pedagogues such as Marchesi, Stockhausen, and Lehmann. However, omission of some seminal writings by German pedagogues not yet translated to English limit a full understanding of both the evolution of German technique and its applicability to teaching singing today. This analysis documents the approach to singing advocated by nine German pedagogues beginning in the mid-1800's through the middle of the twentieth century. Using original German writings from these authors as sources for this review, it becomes clear that as the German style developed, there was a desire to move away from other European techniques, particularly Italian principles, to create a unique German method. Yet ultimately, many Italian ideas remained in the German approach. By comparing the beliefs and singing techniques of important German authors, a chronological appraisal of German style identifies the essentials of a German school of singing. These include Italian fundamentals of diaphragmatic-costal breathing, elastic tension of the breath musculature, imposto (breath-resonance connection), chiaroscuro tonal quality, an importance of head voice in blending registers, use of consonants in balancing a tone, and a gestalt approach to singing. These principles were modified to fit German preferences and taste