Persuasion prosody in prosecutor’s speech: Ukrainian and english

This paper presents the research of prosodic means conveying the persuasion modality in a prosecutor’s speech in court. The material under study consists of English and Ukrainian speeches of the prosecutors (the total duration time is 16 hours). The results of the experimental material examination demonstrate common and specific characteristics of prosody components (melody, loudness, tempo, timber and sentence stress) in English and Ukrainian. Pragmatics of prosody semantics and correlation between its parameters have been proved. It has been stated that in both English and Ukrainian an utterance becomes emphatic due to the prosodic means of persuasion in a prosecutor’s speech as follows:  1) changes of tempo; 2) changes of the pitch of a voice; 3) replacements of the rising tone with the falling one and vice versa; 4) usage of complex tones; 5) use of an interrupted ascending or descending scale; 6) change of sentence stress type; 7) division of a sense group into two or more parts. The above mentioned facts enable us to conclude that: while describing the first of these aspects of typological similarity of prosody in the compared languages, the parameters of the pitch component of intonation are most informative when differentiating attitudinal ones. The specificity of interaction between prosodic and grammar means when expressing persuasion in Ukrainian and English prosecutor’s speech is caused by a degree of distinction between the grammatical and vocabulary systems of the compared languages

Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by failure to acquire, retrieve, or use information competently. They are the most severe and chronic form of learning difficulty in children. They can be present at birth or acquired as a result of illness, exposure to toxins, poor nutrition, medical treatment, sociocultural deprivation, or injury. Learning problems typically consist in failure to acquire reading, writing, or math skills, which are traditionally considered core domains. This book explores the epidemiology, neurobiological bases, and diagnostic tools necessary for a comprehensive assessment of children with learning disabilities. It also presents examples of children with specific learning disabilities and explains possible intervention strategies

Subsidia: Tools and Resources for Speech Sciences

Este libro, resultado de la colaboración de investigadores expertos en sus respectivas áreas, pretende ser una ayuda a la comunidad científica en tanto en cuanto recopila y describe una serie de materiales de gran utilidad para seguir avanzando en la investigació

ADOLPHE NOURRIT, GILBERT-LOUIS DUPREZ, AND TRANSFORMATIONS OF TENOR TECHNIQUE IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY: HISTORICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The April 1837 debut of tenor Gilbert-Louis Duprez at the Paris Opéra sparked uproarious applause and inspired a new group of tenors with a different vocal technique from tenors of the previous generation. Whereas previous tenors of the nineteenth century sang in a graceful, light, and flexible style that complemented the operatic compositions of Gluck, Rossini, and Bellini, Duprez sang in a powerful, forceful voice that brought new dramatic fervor to the existing repertoire of French Grand Opera. Duprez’ stentorian vocal representations of Arnold in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and Robert in Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable, among others, inspired composers to write more prominent and dramatic tenor roles, eventually leading to the tenor roles in the operas of Verdi and Wagner. Duprez’ 1837 debut also marked the end of Adolphe Nourrit’s eleven-year reign as the sole leading tenor at the Paris Opéra. Threatened by the prospect of competition, Nourrit eventually left France for Italy in pursuit of the same vocal technique that insured Duprez’ fame. Nourrit studied with Donizetti and debuted at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, but grew impatient with his slow progress, disliked the sound of his new voice, and tried to turn back to his old way of singing. He failed to do so and lost his high notes, as well as his head voice. Nourrit’s pursuit ended in 1839 as he threw himself from the third floor of his residence, his voice, his health, and his psyche all in shambles. The shift in vocal technique involved a lowered laryngeal position, a raised velum, and a greater use of chest voice muscles in the higher ranges of the tenor voice. The resulting voix sombrée or “closed” or “covered” timbre, offers distinct hygienic and acoustic advantages, resulting in healthier vocalization and greater amplification of the upper harmonics of the voice. The voix sombrée allows the singer to sing at higher pitch levels with lower levels of tension in the vocal folds and the harmonics from the voice source are greatly enhanced at 2500-3200 Hz, the “singer’s formant,” the range at which the human ear is most sensitive. By reviewing the writings of singers, teachers, and critics of the early nineteenth century and comparing their descriptions of singers’ voices, and then comparing those descriptions with modern studies on the physiology and acoustics of the voice, one can paint a more informed picture concerning the nature and sound of the voices of Nourrit and Duprez. Analysis seems to show that Adolphe Nourrit utilized the lighter vocal production typical of earlier Rossinian tenors, combined with the nasal vocalization of French singers of the early 1800’s. His technique included a low velum, raised larynx, and a pure head voice in the high register. Conversely, Duprez sang with a lowered larynx and a larger degree of chest voice function in his high register. Duprez also incorporated Italian ideals of emphasis on the sound of the voice, rather than the French tendency to emphasize the words. Duprez’s innovations, based in the vocal technique already being used in Italy in the early 1830’s, propelled the voix sombrée technique into the French spotlight, and led to the eventual globalized use of the technique in the opera world

Aural Multitasking in Personal Media Devices

Henkilökohtaisten medialaitteiden (personal media device, PMD) käyttö liikenteessä saattaa johtaa onnettomuuksiin. Tämä johtuu kyseisten laitteiden käytön aikana tapahtuvasta visuaalisen huomiokyvyn jakamisesta laitteen ja ympäristön välillä. Tämä diplomityö käsittelee äänenvaraista monikäyttöä (auditory multitasking) PMD-laitteissa käyttäen lähtökohtanaan äänikäyttöliittymiä. äänenvarainen monikäyttö viittaa useiden samanaikaisten tehtävien suorittamiseen käyttäen ääntä ensisijaisena modaliteettina. Jotta tähän tavoitteiseen päästäisiin, on ratkaistava useita perustavanlaatuisia ongelmia monilähteisen ääni-informaation esittämiseen ja interaktioon liittyen. Tämä diplomityö koostuu kolmesta aiheesta. Ensimmäinen aihe esittelee eleisiin perustuvan ohjaustavan äänikäyttöliittymille. Ohjain käyttää äänentunnistusta neljän haptisen eleen luokitteluun. Tästä johtuen ohjainta voidaan käyttää esimerkiksi taskun läpi. Toinen aihepiiri esittelee monikerroksisen äänikäyttöliittymän, joka hyödyntää ns. ympäristöön sulautuvien näyttöjen (ambient display) ideoita ja luo henkilökohtaisen, kerrostetun äänimaiseman. Tarkoituksena on luoda äänimaisema, jossa käyttäjä pystyy keskittämään huomiokykynsä haluamaansa äänivirtaan. Kyseisessä toteutuksessa äänilähteet jaotellaan etu- ja taustakerroksiin niiden prioriteettien perusteella. Viimeinen aihe esittelee nopean head-related transfer function -pohjaisen (HRTF) tilaäänijärjestelmän personalisointimetodin. Metodi voidaan toteuttaa äänipelinä ja se ei vaadi kuulokkeiden lisäksi erillisiä laitteita.The use of personal media devices (PMDs) in traffic can lead to safety critical situations. This is due to divided visual attention between the device and the interface. This thesis considers the use of auditory interfaces for multitasking in PMDs. Aural multitasking refers to performing several simultaneous tasks by using sound as the primary display modality. In order to create such an eyes-free multitasking interface, the problems of presenting information from various sound sources and issues regarding the interaction must be solved. This thesis consists of three distinct topics. The first topic presents a gesture controller for auditory interfaces. The controller uses acoustic classification to recognize four tactile gestures and it can be operated for example through a pocket. The second topic presents a multilayer auditory interface. The multilayer interface incorporates ideas from ambient displays and creates a personal, layered, soundscape that enables auditory attention managing. The method divides the information and tasks into foreground and background streams according to their priorities. The last topic presents a rapid head-related transfer function (HRTF) personalization method for PMD usage. The method is implemented as an auditory game and it does not require additional accessories besides the headphones