New Perspectives in Teaching Pronunciation

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VOICE QUALITY AND TV INTERPRETING: A PROPOSAL FOR A GESTALTIC EVALUATION

RESUMEN. La presente tesis doctoral es un estudio de interpretaci\uf3n basado en corpus y consiste en una propuesta de evaluaci\uf3n subjetiva de tipo gest\ue1ltico de la interpretaci\uf3n simult\ue1nea transmitida por televisi\uf3n. El objetivo principal del estudio ha sido la construcci\uf3n de un modelo de evaluaci\uf3n de la calidad basado en la percepci\uf3n gest\ue1ltica del habla y del sonido-imagen percibido a trav\ue9s del medio auiovisual. El modelo de percepci\uf3n gest\ue1ltica adoptado est\ue1 formado por voz-s\uedlaba-prosodia-sentido-contexto-conocimiento (ling\u3cb\uedstico) del mundo, propuesto en \u201cIl volto fonico delle parole\u201d (Albano Leoni 2009), que es una reelaboraci\uf3n del modelo basado en melod\ueda-ritmo-palabras-oraciones, propuesto por Karl B\u3cbhler en su \u201cTeor\ueda del lenguaje\u201d (1934). Se construy\uf3 un corpus tem\ue1tico formado por las interpretaciones en italiano (2) y en espa\uf1ol (2 \u2013 Espa\uf1a y Estados Unidos) de los Debates Presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 2012: el corpus ORenesit (Obama-Romney English espa\uf1ol italiano) se incluye en el corpus de referencia CorIT (Corpus Italiano de Interpretaci\uf3n Televisiva). El modelo de evaluaci\uf3n fue ensayado en una encuesta piloto basada en cuestionario, que incluye 3 extractos v\ueddeo de la interpretaci\uf3n en italiano del Tercer Debate Presidencial de EE.UU. de 2008, entre Obama y McCain, debido a que el corpus ORenesit todav\ueda no se hab\ueda terminado. Uno de los tres v\ueddeos fue modificado por fines experimentales: la voz del int\ue9rprete original se sustituy\uf3 por la de un actor doblador profesional que imit\uf3 en estudio la interpretaci\uf3n original leyendo la transcripci\uf3n y escuchando al orador. Esta decisi\uf3n respond\ueda a dos necesidades, relacionadas sobre todo a la validez ecol\uf3gica del experimento: a) ensayar el efecto de una voz teleg\ue9nica; b) utilizar la expresi\uf3n natural y personal del sujeto. El cuestionario se construy\uf3 sobre categor\uedas extra\ueddas de \u201cLa vive voix\u201d (F\uf3nagy 1983) e \u201cL\u2019Audio-Vision\u201d (Chion 1990). Los datos obtenidos del cuestionario se trataron estad\uedsticamente. Los resultados del estudio cuali-cuantitativo parecen confirmar una percepci\uf3n gest\ue1ltica de la interpretaci\uf3n simult\ue1nea percibida a trav\ue9s del medio audio-visual formada por las componentes: sonido-imagen, s\uedlaba-melod\ueda(-voz-personalidad), palabras-oraciones. Lor resultados parecen poner en duda la efectividad del enfoque cuantitativo para el an\ue1lisis de la percepci\uf3n del habla.ABSTRACT. The present thesis is a corpus-based Interpreting study consisting of a proposal for a gestaltic subjective evaluation of quality in television broadcast simultaneous interpreting. The main objective of the research was to build and test a model of quality assessment based on the gestaltic perception both of speech and the sound-image perceived through the audiovisual medium. The model of gestaltic perception adopted is the one formed by voice-syllable-prosody-sense-context-(linguistic) knowledge of the world, proposed in \u201cIl volto fonico delle parole\u201d (Albano Leoni 2009), which is a re-elaborated version of the model based on melody-rhythm-words-sentences, proposed by Karl B\u3cbhler in his \u201cTheory of Language\u201d (1934). A thematic corpus was built consisting of 2 Italian and 2 Spanish (Spain and United States) interpretations of the 2012 US Presidential Debates: the corpus ORenesit (Obama-Romney English espa\uf1ol italiano) is included in the reference corpus CorIT (Italian Television Interpreting Corpus). The assessment model was tested in a questionnaire-based pilot survey including 3 video excerpts from the Italian interpretations of the 2008 Third Presidential Debate (Obama vs. McCain), since the corpus ORenesit had not been completed yet. One of the 3 video excerpts was modified for experimental purpose: the interpreter\u2019s voice was replaced with the voice of a professional actor and dubber, who imitated in studio the original interpretation while reading the transcript and listening to the speaker. This choice was made to fulfill two needs, mainly related to the ecological validity of the experiment: i) to test the effect of a telegenic voice; and ii) to use a natural and personal expression of the subject. The questionnaire was built on categories extracted from the \u201cLa vive voix\u201d (F\uf3nagy 1983) and \u201cL\u2019Audio-Vision\u201d (Chion 1990). The data obtained were treated statistically. Results of the qualitative and quantitative research seem to confirm a gestaltic perception of interpreting speech received through audio-vision and formed by the following components: sound-image; syllable-melody(-voice-personality), words-sentences. Results seem to raise doubts on the effectiveness of the quantitative approach to the analysis of speech perception

A proposal for an assessment of voice quality in TV broadcast simultaneous interpreting through a gestaltic approach: theoretical paradigm for a new questionnaire

After a literature review of questionnaire-based surveys on quality evaluation (both expectations or ideal preferences and assessment or judgment after a real experience) of simultaneous interpreting (De Gregoris 2014), Albano Leoni’s model of speech perception (Il volto fonico delle parole, 2009), Chion’s proposal for audio-vision perception (L’Audio-vision, 1994) and Fónagy’s research on live speech (La vive voix, 1983) were studied in order to understand how to elicit an assessment of voice quality in television broadcast simultaneous interpreting from a gestaltic point of view.Dopo aver eseguito una panoramica sulle indagini basate su questionari riguardanti la valutazione della qualità dell’interpretazione simultanea (sia le aspettative o le preferenze ideali che la valutazione o il giudizio in seguito ad un’esperienza reale; De Gregoris 2014), si è passati a studiare il modello di percezione del parlato proposto da Albano Leoni (Il volto fonico delle parole, 2009), la proposta di Chion per la percezione audiovisiva (L’Audio-vision, 1994) e lo studio di Fónagy sulla viva voce (La vive voix, 1983) al fine di capire come ottenere una valutazione gestaltica della qualità della voce nell’interpretazione simultanea televisiva

Quality evaluation of synthesized speech

Fonetische correlaten en communicatieve functies van linguïstische structuu

The Phonetic Realization of Narrow Focus in English L1 and L2. Data from Production and Perception

The typological differences between the two languages are reflected in the strategies adopted to mark sentence-level prominence. While English mark focus by modulating prosodic parameters (namely, pitch, duration and intensity), Italian normally recurs to word order strategies, benefitting from the freer word order admitted by its syntax. This study is aimed to investigate the acquisition of the prosodic marking of narrow non-contrastive focus by Italian speakers of English L2. This study was mainly aimed at: (a) determining and comparing the prosodic cues used by English native speakers and Italian speakers of English L2 when marking narrow focus; (b) verifying if the Italian speakers are able to acquire the English prosodic strategies in focus marking as a function of their competence in English, progressively avoiding the focus marking strategies that characterize their L1 in favor of more native-like solutions; (c) investigating the phenomenon not only at the production level, but also from the point of view of perception. Consequently, this work is composed by a production and a perception study. The production study consisted in the acoustic analysis of native and non-native productions. The speech data were collected using a semi-spontaneous method, where speakers recorded a set of short sentences as replies to wh- questions, with the aim of eliciting sentences presenting narrow focus on subject or on verb. Three groups of speakers were recorded: English native speakers NS), Italian native speakers with a higher competence in English L2 (NNS1), and Italian native speakers with a lower competence in English L2 (NNS2). A similar set of Italian L1 sentences was also elicited from the Italian speakers. The acoustical analysis was performed at sentence and word level, and it was mainly based on the measurement of fundamental frequency and duration. The results confirmed that English native speakers mark narrow focus mainly by modulating pitch. NNS1 showed a progress towards the target model, by implementing an active use of pitch, although not perfectly matching with the native one. Finally, NNS2 were not able to mark focus with the use of prosodic parameters. The analysis of the Italian L1 data set suggested that in Italian narrow non-contrastive focus is not marked prosodically. Not even duration, which in Italian is the prosodic cue normally used to mark prominence at word level seems to play a role in signaling prominence at sentence level. The perception study was designed to verify whether the differences shown by the acoustical measurements could also have an impact on the listeners' perception. Two perception tests were designed, based on a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, where listeners were asked to identify narrow focus by guessing the wh- question that had triggered each sentence. Experiment 1 presented natural sentences to two groups of listeners: 22 British native speakers and 22 Italian native listeners. The Italian native listeners were also presented with an extra set of stimuli, consisting of the Italian L1 data set. The results of Experiment 1 showed that English native listeners could correctly identify narrow focus even without extra contextual information. This happened for NS and NNS1, whereas the listeners could not recognize focus in the productions by NNS2. The Italian listeners could also detect focus well above chance level in the productions by NS. However, they failed to identify focus in the productions by NNS1 and NNS2. As for the Italian L1 data set, the Italian listeners failed to distinguish narrow focus, providing perceptual evidence to the hypothesis that Italians do not mark narrow focus by prosody. Experiment 2 was designed to investigate the effect of the differences in pitch modulation on the correct detection of narrow focus by English native listeners. In this case, the productions of the speakers were acoustically manipulated. The participants were 20 British English native speakers. In general, the results of Experiment 2 confirmed that pitch plays an important role in the recognition of narrow focus also from the perceptual point of view. This is particularly true for NS productions, while the listeners could not successfully identify focus in the modified non-native productions. The results of the production study and the perception study converged in showing that in English pitch plays an important role in the production and perception of narrow non-contrastive focus. As for non-native productions, NNS1 could approach the native model to a certain extent by modulating "FO". From the perceptual point of view, their productions were effective enough to be successfully understood by English native listeners. In contrast, NNS2 had not managed to adopt the strategies of English, showing a poor prosodic characterization of the constituent in focus. As a consequence, the listeners could not identify focus in the NNS2 productions. These findings are particularly interesting not only for research in L2 phonetics, but also for their implications for language instruction, where prosody has only recently started to be studied and taught with renewed interest and momentum

Exploring the influence of suprasegmental features of speech on rater judgements of intelligibility

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThe importance of suprasegmental features of speech to pronunciation proficiency is well known, yet limited research has been undertaken to identify how raters attend to suprasegmental features in the English-language speaking test encounter. Currently, such features appear to be underrepresented in language learning frameworks and are not always satisfactorily incorporated into the analytical rating scales that are used by major language testing organisations. This thesis explores the influence of lexical stress, rhythm and intonation on rater decision making in order to provide insight into their proper place in rating scales and frameworks. Data were collected from 30 raters, half of whom were experienced professional raters and half of whom lacked rater training and a background in language learning or teaching. The raters were initially asked to score 12 test taker performances using a 9-point intelligibility scale. The performances were taken from the long turn of Cambridge English Main Suite exams and were selected on the basis of the inclusion of a range of notable suprasegmental features. Following scoring, the raters took part in a stimulated recall procedure to report the features that influenced their decisions. The resulting scores were quantitatively analysed using many-facet Rasch measurement analysis. Transcriptions of the verbal reports were analysed using qualitative methods. Finally, an integrated analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data was undertaken to develop a series of suprasegmental rating scale descriptors. The results showed that experienced raters do appear to attend to specific suprasegmental features in a reliable way, and that their decisions have a great deal in common with the way non-experienced raters regard such features. This indicates that stress, rhythm, and intonation may be somewhat underrepresented on current speaking proficiency scales and frameworks. The study concludes with the presentation of a series of suprasegmental rating scale descriptors