Individual variation in filled pauses in the native and second language

Individual variation in filled pauses in the native and second language Meike de Boer & Willemijn Heeren Leiden University Centre for Linguistics Hesitation behavior is a relatively unconscious part of language [1], which shows much between-speaker variation [2−4]. Furthermore, individuals are rather consistent in how they hesitate in their native language [2, 5]. This study investigates between-speaker variation in hesitation behavior in the first (L1) and second (L2) language, and within-speaker consistency of filled pauses across languages. In Dutch and English, two fillers are mainly used to express hesitation: uh and um. However, their exact phonetic realization and the ratio between the two are different for these languages [6, 7]. Flege’s Speech Learning Model [8] says that L2 learners only adapt their pronunciation when they perceive a difference between the L1 and L2. Therefore, we expect that Dutch speakers of English more clearly adapt their uh:um proportions than their vowel formants of the uh/um vowels. For other pronunciation features of uh and um, e.g. duration and fundamental frequency (F0), we expect speakers to be consistent across languages [9, 2]. We investigated the speech of 40 Dutch students of University College Utrecht (20 females; 20 males). The speakers were selected from the Longitudinal Corpus of University College English Accents (LUCEA), collected by Orr and Quené [10]. Students from University Colleges have advanced L2 proficiency. Preliminary results show substantial between-speaker variation in the filled pauses uh and um in both Dutch and English. The within-speaker consistency was low where expected: when speaking English, students used the um variant more often than in Dutch. Also, the vowel quality of their filled pauses was pronounced more open and more backwards in English than in Dutch. According to the SLM, this suggests that differences in vowel realization between Dutch and English were sufficiently salient to these speakers, as were the different uh:um ratios. As expected, filled pauses’ durations and F0 remained relatively stable across languages. References [1] Clark, H. H., & Fox Tree, J. E. (2002). Using uh and um in spontaneous speaking. Cognition, 84, 73−111. [2] Braun, A., Rosin, A. (2015). On the speaker-specificity of hesitation markers. Proc. 18th ICPhS Glasgow, 731−736. [3] Hughes, V., Wood, S., & Foulkes, P. (2016). Filled pauses as variables in forensic voice comparison. Int. J. Speech Lang. Law, 23, 99−132. [4] McDougall, K., & Duckworth, M. (2017). Profiling fluency: An analysis of individual variation in disfluencies in adult males. Speech Comm., 95, 16−27. [5] Künzel, H. F. (1997). Some general phonetic and forensic aspects of speaking tempo. For. Linguist., 4, 48−83. [6] De Leeuw, E. (2007). Hesitation markers in English, German, and Dutch. J. Germ. Ling. 19, 85–114. [7] Wieling, M., Grieve, J., Bouma, G., Fruehwald, J., Coleman, J., & Liberman, M. (2016). Variation and change in the use of hesitation markers in Germanic languages. Language Dynamics and Change, 6, 199−234. [8] Flege, J. E. (1995). Second language speech learning: Theory, findings, and problems. In: Strange, W. (Ed.), Speech Perception and Linguistic Experience: Issues in Cross-Language Research. York: York Press, 233−277. [9] Kolly, M. J., Leemann, A., De Mareüil, P. B., & Dellwo, V. (2015). Speaker-idiosyncrasy in pausing behavior: Evidence from a cross-linguistic study. Proc. 18th ICPhS Glasgow, 294−299. [10] Orr, R., & Quené, H. (2017). D-LUCEA: Curation of the UCU Accent Project data. In: Odijk, J., & Van Hessen, A. (Eds.), CLARIN in the Low Countries. London: Ubiquity Press, 177–190. NWOTheoretical and Experimental Linguistic

Nonverbal Vocalisations – A Forensic Phonetic Perspective

This contribution approaches nonverbal vocalisations from an angle which is probably quite different from most other perspectives – its usability for forensic speaker comparison purposes. Thus the question is whether and if so, to what extent, nonverbal vocalisations are speaker specific. In this paper, it is argued that it is not so much any one individual trait which is speaker specific but rather a behavioral pattern consisting of various elements. How these vocalisations are covered in forensic phonetic reports is described. Various aspects of the behavioral pattern are dealt with: hesitations/filled pauses, breathing, clicks, question tags, tempo, and laughter

Nonverbal Vocalisations – A Forensic Phonetic Perspective

This contribution approaches nonverbal vocalisations from an angle which is probably quite different from most other perspectives – its usability for forensic speaker comparison purposes. Thus the question is whether and if so, to what extent, nonverbal vocalisations are speaker specific. In this paper, it is argued that it is not so much any one individual trait which is speaker specific but rather a behavioral pattern consisting of various elements. How these vocalisations are covered in forensic phonetic reports is described. Various aspects of the behavioral pattern are dealt with: hesitations/filled pauses, breathing, clicks, question tags, tempo, and laughter

Wittgenstein on Knowledge (1949-1951)

In this paper, I want to characterize Wittgenstein"s epistemology, namely his contextualism, presented in his notes published under the title On Certainty. This characterization will be made in terms of a comparison with four control points in order to put into light the peculiarities of Wittgenstein"s epistemological position. The markers I will use for that purpose will give an indication of the level of conceptual commitment toward four important epistemological theses: holism, internalism, fallibilism, and egalitarianism. These markers have been chosen in function of the power of discrimination they provide regarding the two main trends in the past 40 years (or so) of debate in contemporary epistemology, i.e., foundationalism and coherentism. Using these conceptual markers, one can easily distinguish between strict foundationalism, which shows a low level of each markers, and strict coherentism, which shows a high level of each markers

Distributional and Acoustic Characteristics of Filler Particles in German with Consideration of Forensic-Phonetic Aspects

In this study, we investigate the use of the filler particles (FPs) uh, um, hm, as well as glottal FPs and tongue clicks of 100 male native German speakers in a corpus of spontaneous speech. For this purpose, the frequency distribution, FP duration, duration of pauses surrounding FPs, voice quality of FPs, and their vowel quality are investigated in two conditions, namely, normal speech and Lombard speech. Speaker-specific patterns are investigated on the basis of twelve sample speakers. Our results show that tongue clicks and glottal FPs are as common as typically described FPs, and should be a part of disfluency research. Moreover, the frequency of uh, um, and hm decreases in the Lombard condition while the opposite is found for tongue clicks. Furthermore, along with the usual F1 increase, a considerable reduction in vowel space is found in the Lombard condition for the vowels in uh and um. A high degree of within- and between-speaker variation is found on the individual speaker level

Forensic transcript analysis: A forensic linguistic examination of a 2015 criminal case in the United States

Forensic linguistics is an emerging field of research that applies linguistics to analyze language and its use in a legal setting, including criminal, civil, and family court proceedings. Police interviews are a critical source of evidence in law enforcement investigations, and the quality of the interview process is essential in analyzing police interview transcripts. The detection of deception is a significant challenge in various contexts, including law enforcement, politics, business, and personal relationships. Language patterns can signal deception and indicate underlying cognitive and emotional processes. Therefore, in this study, special attention is given to the use of language, both verbal and non-verbal cues, to gauge the veracity of an individual, as well as the application of police interview techniques and discourse analysis. The study aims to determine the reliability of the suspect's statements during a police interview and explore the effectiveness of different police interview techniques and their ethical implications. The analysis will draw on existing research in the field of forensic linguistics and aims to provide an accurate understanding of police interviews to inform legal decisions. The thesis analyzes the reliability of linguistic information gathered through interviews in a 2015 criminal case in the United States, using a forensic linguistic perspective. The thesis explores relevant literature on police interviews, deception, misrepresentations, interview techniques, and reliability discourse analysis. The research questions focus on the reliability of police interviews, in particular on the spoken word, misrepresentations within police interviews. The second research question focuses on the use of police techniques and how they affect the reliability of interviews. The findings suggest a nuanced impression of the reliability of the statements made within the transcripts

L1 and L2 Production of Non-Lexical Hesitation Particles of German and English Native Speakers

This study focuses on the vowel quality of non-lexical hesitation particles produced by 24 English and German native speakers in their native language (L1) and their second language (L2) both of which are English and German. The aim is to show that a) English and German hesitation particles employ a different vowel quality and b) L2-learners of the respective language can adapt the native-like vowel quality if they are sufficiently proficient in their L2