Transparent pronunciation scoring using articulatorily weighted phoneme edit distance

Peer reviewe

Weighted Edit Distance for Country Code Recognition in License Plates

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Using Phonologically Weighted Levenshtein Distances for the Prediction of Microscopic Intelligibility

International audienceThis article presents a new method for analyzing Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) results at the phonological feature level. To this end the Levenshtein distance algorithm is refined in order to take into account the distinctive features opposing substituted phonemes. This method allows to survey features additions or deletions, providing microscopic qualitative information as a complement to word recognition scores. To explore the relevance of the qualitative data gathered by this method, a study is conducted on a speech corpus simulating presbycusis effects on speech perception at eight severity stages. Consonantic features additions and deletions in ASR outputs are analyzed and put in relation with intelligibility data collected in 30 human subjects. ASR results show monotonic trends in most conso- nantic features along the degradation conditions, which appear to be consistent with the misperceptions that could be observed in human subjects

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music by Steven Jan is a comprehensive account of the relationships between evolutionary theory and music. Examining the ‘evolutionary algorithm’ that drives biological and musical-cultural evolution, the book provides a distinctive commentary on how musicality and music can shed light on our understanding of Darwin’s famous theory, and vice-versa. Comprised of seven chapters, with several musical examples, figures and definitions of terms, this original and accessible book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the relationships between music and evolutionary thought. Jan guides the reader through key evolutionary ideas and the development of human musicality, before exploring cultural evolution, evolutionary ideas in musical scholarship, animal vocalisations, music generated through technology, and the nature of consciousness as an evolutionary phenomenon. A unique examination of how evolutionary thought intersects with music, Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music is essential to our understanding of how and why music arose in our species and why it is such a significant presence in our lives