Alcohol Language Corpus

The Alcohol Language Corpus (ALC) is the first publicly available speech corpus comprising intoxicated and sober speech of 162 female and male German speakers. Recordings are done in the automotive environment to allow for the development of automatic alcohol detection and to ensure a consistent acoustic environment for the alcoholized and the sober recording. The recorded speech covers a variety of contents and speech styles. Breath and blood alcohol concentration measurements are provided for all speakers. A transcription according to SpeechDat/Verbmobil standards and disfluency tagging as well as an automatic phonetic segmentation are part of the corpus. An Emu version of ALC allows easy access to basic speech parameters as well as the us of R for statistical analysis of selected parts of ALC. ALC is available without restriction for scientific or commercial use at the Bavarian Archive for Speech Signals

Laying the Foundation for In-car Alcohol Detection by Speech

The fact that an increasing number of functions in the automobile are and will be controlled by speech of the driver rises the question whether this speech input may be used to detect a possible alcoholic intoxication of the driver. For that matter a large part of the new Alcohol Language Corpus (ALC) edited by the Bavarian Archive of Speech Signals (BAS) will be used for a broad statistical investigation of possible feature candidates for classification. In this contribution we present the motivation and the design of the ALC corpus as well as first results from fundamental frequency and rhythm analysis. Our analysis by comparing sober and alcoholized speech of the same individuals suggests that there are in fact promising features that can automatically be derived from the speech signal during the speech recognition process and will indicate intoxication for most speakers

Perception of Alcoholic Intoxication in Speech

The ALC sub-challenge of the Interspeech Speaker State Chal-lenge (ISSC) aims at the automatic classification of speech sig-nals into intoxicated and sober speech. In this context we con-ducted a perception experiment on data derived from the same corpus to analyze the human performance on the same task. The results show that human still outperform comparable baseline results of ISSC. Female and male listeners perform on the same level, but there is strong evidence that intoxication in female voices is easier to be recognized than in male voices. Prosodic features contribute to the decision of human listeners but seem not to be dominant. In analogy to Doddington’s zoo of speaker verification we find some evidence for the existence of lambs and goats but no wolves. Index Terms: alcoholic intoxication, speech perception, forced choice, intonation, Alcohol Language Corpu

Alcohol Language Corpus

The Alcohol Language Corpus (ALC) is the first publicly available speech corpus comprising intoxicated and sober speech of 162 female and male German speakers. Recordings are done in the automotive environment to allow for the development of automatic alcohol detection and to ensure a consistent acoustic environment for the alcoholized and the sober recording. The recorded speech covers a variety of contents and speech styles. Breath and blood alcohol concentration measurements are provided for all speakers. A transcription according to SpeechDat/Verbmobil standards and disfluency tagging as well as an automatic phonetic segmentation are part of the corpus. An Emu version of ALC allows easy access to basic speech parameters as well as the us of R for statistical analysis of selected parts of ALC. ALC is available without restriction for scientific or commercial use at the Bavarian Archive for Speech Signals

Alcoholic fetal syndrome - a problem of the 21st century?

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a disease entity that occurs in children who have been exposed to teratogenic alcohol durning fetal life. It includes neurobehavioral abnormalities and changes in the body structure and internal organs. The only reason for the occurrence of this type of disorder is the consumption of alcohol by a pregnant woman (even in small amounts). It is estimated that in Poland about 30% of women consume alcohol in this period (also in small amounts), while in the US every year is born about 40,000 children who are diagnosed with FAS or related disorders

Is the right anterior superior temporal sulcus involved in speaker-identity recognition?: a study using transcranial direct current stimulation

Neuroimaging studies have revealed regions in the human brain that respond preferentially to human voices. These regions are mostly located along the superior temporal gyrus and sulcus (STG/S). It has been hypothesized that the right anterior STG/S is crucial for voice-identity recognition because the amplitudes of anterior STG/S neuroimaging responses correlate positively with voice-identity recognition performance. Here, my aim was to test this hypothesis by using non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tdcs) in a randomized double-blind sham- controlled within-participants design. 24 neurotypical participants were familiarized with four unfamiliar speakers voices and were then tested on voice-identity and speech recognition. While performing the voice-identity and speech recognition test, participants received anodal, cathodal, and sham tdcs on three different days, respectively. As hypothesized, voice-identity recognition was improved when applying anodal tdcs to the right anterior STG/S as compared to cathodal and sham. However, this was only the case on day three. My results support the hypothesis that the right anterior STG/S is behaviourally relevant for identifying a speakers voice

Speech/Language and Social Behavior Performance as Predictors of Literacy Acquisition in Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects

This study was a review of existing case files and focused on the struggles of one particular segment of the special needs student population and the challenges that educators face as they attempt to engage them in meaningful learning experiences. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) are completely preventable; yet, their presence in classrooms remains high and bears profound implications for educators. This study examined the specific relationships between FAS/FAE and literacy acquisition in children. Specific variables of children with FAS/FAE were considered. They included IQ, speech/language development, and social behavior performance. Hypotheses guiding this study were the following: Evidence of developmentally delayed speech/language functions and social behavior performance relates highly with literacy acquisition in children with FAS/FAE.Expressive and receptive speech/language functions are expected to be the most critical indicator of literacy performance in children with FAS/FAE.IQ will evidence itself as a factor in literacy acquisition in children with FAS/FAE. Case files reviewed represented youngsters from the Midwest region, identified through a variety of screening and community services. These subjects have been monitored for several years by a northern plains research university and hospital. Cases represent both genders as well as a variety of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Initial referral came from schools, childcare providers, social service personnel, health care workers or physicians, and occasionally from parents themselves. Information gathered included general health and psychological analyses, as well as specific developmental evaluations. Based on the cases reviewed, it generally appeared that social behavior bears slightly more influence on literacy acquisition than does speech/language development. A variety of conclusions and recommendations were offered. Collaboration between social and health care agencies must be improved. Educational entities must continue to develop effective instructional practices which meet the needs of this particular group of youngsters. Yet, without question, prevention efforts are the only reasonable response and must receive our most concerted efforts

Effect of alcohol on speech signal

Hlavním tématem diplomové práce je zkoumání vlivu požitého alkoholu na řečový aparát a řečový signál. V první části je pozornost věnována projevům a zjišťování koncentrace alkoholu v lidském organismu. Dále jsou popsány některé vědecké publikace a projekty, které se zabývaly podobným tématem. Rovněž byla vytvořena česká dokumentace k německé databázi ALC. Na základě fonetických poznatků byl sestaven český text, který byl čten jednotlivými mluvčími a tím získána vlastní databáze alkoholické i střízlivé řeči. Vzorky od jednotlivých mluvčích, jsou zpracovány za pomoci lineární predikce, formantové a kepstrální analýzy v prostředí MATLAB a vyhodnocen vliv alkoholu na vybrané parametry řečového signálu.The main theme of the thesis is to examine the influence of alcohol on the speech apparatus and speech signal. The first part is focused on symptoms and detection of alcohol concentration in the human body. The following part describes somescientific publications and projects, which dealt witha a similar theme. Also the czech documentation to german database ALC was created. Based on phonetic knowledge, Czech text was compiled. Different speakers were reading this text so we go tour own database of alcoholic and sober speech. Samples from individual speakers are processed using linear prediction, formant and cepstral analysis in MATLAB and the effect of alcohol on selected parameters of speech signal is evaluated.

Hvordan lyder det når man er fuld? En fonologisk analyse af alkoholiseret tale i Curlingklubbens Julefrokost og Bjorholms Corner Julekalender.

This article presents a suggestion for how to ethically examine changes in speech production caused by alcohol consumption. Specifically, the study examines palatalizations of consonants in speech in two different settings: One in the setting of a podcast Christmas party and the other of social media hosts who each drink 24 beers. We have been able to describe the phonological and auditory features of palatalization and also measure the increase of palatalization in speech from increasingly drunk speakers. We have used Curlingklubben’s podcast for a qualitative analysis. We have found that under the influence of alcohol the tongue control is diminished, and we suggest that it is therefore more likely to produce palatalization. We have used Bjorholms Corner Julekalender for a quantitative study from which we found that the increase in palatalization has some correspondence with intake of alcohol in one speaker and that /l/ /g/ /k/ and /t/ were the phonemes most affected. This article contributes to our understanding of the influence that alcohol has on human speech using publicly available recordings of drunk speakers. This article presents a suggestion for how to ethically examine changes in speech production caused by alcohol consumption. Specifically, the study examines palatalizations of consonants in speech in two different settings: One in the setting of a podcast Christmas party and the other of social media hosts who each drink 24 beers. We have been able to describe the phonological and auditory features of palatalization and also measure the increase of palatalization in speech from increasingly drunk speakers. We have used Curlingklubben’s podcast for a qualitative analysis. We have found that under the influence of alcohol the tongue control is diminished, and we suggest that it is therefore more likely to produce palatalization. We have used Bjorholms Corner Julekalender for a quantitative study from which we found that the increase in palatalization has some correspondence with intake of alcohol in one speaker and that /l/ /g/ /k/ and /t/ were the phonemes most affected. This article contributes to our understanding of the influence that alcohol has on human speech using publicly available recordings of drunk speakers.&nbsp

The Gemeinschaft der Eigenen and the Cultural Politics of Homoeroticism in Germany, 1896-1933

The Gemeinschaft der Eigenen (The Society of the Self-Determined) was established in 1903 on the outskirts of Berlin to realize the social and political goals espoused by its leader: the author, photographer, and perennial activist, Adolf Brand (1874–1945). Inspired by anarchist political thought, Brand and the organization\u27s members used a rhetoric of personal liberation to advocate for greater social acceptance of male bonding and intimacy and to promote a cult of youthful beauty. The group\u27s unwavering faith in the transformative power of culture was central to the realization of these objectives. A secondary goal was the elimination from the German penal code of Paragraph 175, the statute that prohibited “unnatural acts” between men. This dissertation considers how prominent members of the group contributed to and reacted against the emerging political and scientific debates about the nature of male sexuality in Germany. Representative pieces of literature and visual art produced by the group\u27s members are examined within the context of the era\u27s shifting crosscurrents of political ideology, spirituality, and scientific theory in order to provide greater insight into the cultural anxieties and obsessions of German society. Source material is largely drawn from the thirteen volumes of the organization\u27s flagship publication, Der Eigene—published intermittently from 1896 until 1932 and now regarded as the world\u27s first homosexual journal. In its pages, homoerotic literature, illustrations, and photography depicted an honorable masculine tradition of camaraderie and brotherhood that extended from ancient Greece, through the valor of medieval knights, and into the modern era. Although themselves victims of much prejudice, the group that coalesced around Brand and his magazine was not especially enlightened on many social causes. This myopia is partly explained by the group\u27s emphasis on inherited tradition. Such an emphasis led many of the group\u27s members to be resolutely anti-feminist, disdainful of the women\u27s rights movement, and increasingly anti-Semitic. Finally, the dissertation evaluates the collapse and failure of Brand\u27s political goals as well as his ill-fated project to “rescue” German men and intimate male relationships from what he perceived to be the corrupting influences of femininity and scientific investigation