A Novel Method For Speech Segmentation Based On Speakers' Characteristics

Speech Segmentation is the process change point detection for partitioning an input audio stream into regions each of which corresponds to only one audio source or one speaker. One application of this system is in Speaker Diarization systems. There are several methods for speaker segmentation; however, most of the Speaker Diarization Systems use BIC-based Segmentation methods. The main goal of this paper is to propose a new method for speaker segmentation with higher speed than the current methods - e.g. BIC - and acceptable accuracy. Our proposed method is based on the pitch frequency of the speech. The accuracy of this method is similar to the accuracy of common speaker segmentation methods. However, its computation cost is much less than theirs. We show that our method is about 2.4 times faster than the BIC-based method, while the average accuracy of pitch-based method is slightly higher than that of the BIC-based method.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Offline speaker segmentation using genetic algorithms and mutual information

We present an evolutionary approach to speaker segmentation, an activity that is especially important prior to speaker recognition and audio content analysis tasks. Our approach consists of a genetic algorithm (GA), which encodes possible segmentations of an audio record, and a measure of mutual information between the audio data and possible segmentations, which is used as fitness function for the GA. We introduce a compact encoding of the problem into the GA which reduces the length of the GA individuals and improves the GA convergence properties. Our algorithm has been tested on the segmentation of real audio data, and its performance has been compared with several existing algorithms for speaker segmentation, obtaining very good results in all test problems.This work was supported in part by the Universidad de Alcalá under Project UAH PI2005/078

The First Duty in Life is to be as Authentic as Possible? Language Ideologies and Authenticity in Contexts of Dialect Contact

In this dissertation, I investigate the language ideologies underlying the development and legitimisation of (relatively new) English varieties that have emerged through contact, as they are embedded within their socio-geographical and sociolinguistic history. Some specific metalinguistic debates will be selected for special examination. I therefore attempt to identify the most salient political, social and cultural debates about language that have shaped and have been shaped by metalinguistic discourses. The English varieties on which this investigation is focused are: New Zealand English and – what I have labelled – (some of) the 'enregistered non-standard contact varieties of the south east of England' (i.e. 'Estuary English', 'Multicultural London English' or 'Jafaican', and 'Mockney'). New (colonial) linguistic varieties – such as koinés – have presented a serious challenge to ideas about 'legitimate' languages and dialects, as traditionally geographical stasis and immobility were considered fundamental to concepts like identity or authenticity. In the context of decolonisation and increasing globalisation, however, positive attitudes to linguistic diversity as a consequence of mobility and language contact have become fortified. The main purpose of this investigation is thus to examine the language ideologies that have shaped and underlain these discourses (e.g. discussions about the appropriateness of New Zealand English vis à vis external, British models of language) and their related practices in public discourses (mainly media and educational discourses). Notions of authenticity have turned out to be central in these metadiscourses. The main questions addressed are thus: a) How are these contact English varieties legitimised and authenticated, and how are other varieties – within the same metadiscourse – 'delegitimised' and 'deauthenticated'?; b) How do these (de/)legitimisation and (de/)authentication practices interact with discourses of nation building and (local) discursive identity construction?; c) Did these (de/)legitimisation and (de/)authentication practices change over time, and if yes how did they change – and possibly – why

Audiovisual Translation: Subtitling Netflix documentary â Black Hole Apocalypseâ

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The Chronicle [October 27, 1995]

The Chronicle, October 27, 1995https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/chron/4158/thumbnail.jp

Gaywaves: Transcending Boundaries - the Rise and Demise of Britain's First Gay Radio Program

At the beginning of 1982 an array of conflicting forces were working to shape the landscape of Europe's metropolitan radio services, and to alternatively control, commodify or liberate its gay communities. This paper examines the drivers, which inspired Gaywaves, a nascent weekly gay community radio programme broadcasting to an inner London audience on pirate station Our Radio from May 1982 until March 1983