17,692 research outputs found

    Phonological Development in the Early Speech of an Indonesian-German Bilingual Child

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    Current research in bilingual childrenā€™s language development with one language dominant has shown that one linguistic system can affect the other. This is called Crosslinguistic Influence (CLI). This paper explores whether CLI is experienced by a bilingual child raised in two typologically distinct languages in terms of phonological development. It uses data from the study of a child simultaneously acquiring Indonesian and German between the ages of 12 months - 20 months, with Indonesian as the dominant language. The sound segments developed by the child showed universal tendencies, with the appearance of bilabials prior to alveolar sounds, followed by velar sounds. The sounds were produced mostly in the form of stops, nasals and glides. Three phonological processes were displayed by the child: substitution, assimilation and syllable structures. The front rounded vowel [Ź], which exists in German but not in the Indonesian sound system, was systematically replaced by the palatal approximant [j]. This approximant exists in the Indonesian sound system but not in the German phonemic inventory. This provides evidence that, in terms of phonological development, the child experienced CLI, but only for certain sound transfers

    Spirantization of /p t k/ in Sienese Italian and so-called semi-fricatives

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    This paper presents the results of a first acoustic phonetic investigation into voiceless spirantization in the variety of Tuscan Italian spoken in Siena. Based on spontaneous speech data (6 speakers), we focus upon occurrences of a phonetic variant, previously referred to as a ā€˜semi-fricativeā€™. Intermediate between a voiceless stop and a voiceless fricative, it is reported to occur in Pisan (e.g. [1], [2]) but not Florentine Italian (e.g. [3])

    Subphonemic and suballophonic consonant variation : the role of the phoneme inventory

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    Consonants exhibit more variation in their phonetic realization than is typically acknowledged, but that variation is linguistically constrained. Acoustic analysis of both read and spontaneous speech reveals that consonants are not necessarily realized with the manner of articulation they would have in careful citation form. Although the variation is wider than one would imagine, it is limited by the phoneme inventory. The phoneme inventory of the language restricts the range of variation to protect the system of phonemic contrast. That is, consonants may stray phonetically into unfilled areas of the language's sound space. Listeners are seldom consciously aware of the consonant variation, and perceive the consonants phonemically as in their citation forms. A better understanding of surface phonetic consonant variation can help make predictions in theoretical domains and advances in applied domains

    The listening talker: A review of human and algorithmic context-induced modifications of speech

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    International audienceSpeech output technology is finding widespread application, including in scenarios where intelligibility might be compromised - at least for some listeners - by adverse conditions. Unlike most current algorithms, talkers continually adapt their speech patterns as a response to the immediate context of spoken communication, where the type of interlocutor and the environment are the dominant situational factors influencing speech production. Observations of talker behaviour can motivate the design of more robust speech output algorithms. Starting with a listener-oriented categorisation of possible goals for speech modification, this review article summarises the extensive set of behavioural findings related to human speech modification, identifies which factors appear to be beneficial, and goes on to examine previous computational attempts to improve intelligibility in noise. The review concludes by tabulating 46 speech modifications, many of which have yet to be perceptually or algorithmically evaluated. Consequently, the review provides a roadmap for future work in improving the robustness of speech output

    Effect of rate reduction on speech intelligibility in individuals with dysarthria

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    This study examined how speech rate reduction affects speech intelligibility in speakers with dysarthria associated with diverse neurological conditions. Three speakers with dysarthria were recorded reading a paragraph using conversational and reduced speech rates. The samples of both the conversational and slow rates were digitally edited to include silent pauses at the speakersā€™ natural breaks. The samples were then segmented into breath group utterances. Five samples with the greatest rate reductions from each speaker were used as stimuli, each presented in four rate conditions: conversational, slow, synthesized conversational, and synthesized slow. The listeners rated the intelligibility of 60 samples using direct magnitude estimation (DME), a simple scaling technique used to rate items in comparison to a standard. Though each of the speakers successfully reduced their rates, none of their intelligibility ratings improved using rate reduction. In fact, the intelligibility of two of the speakers significantly decreased when rate reduction was employed. Analysis of the acoustic vowel space showed some articulatory changes were made by the speakers. Possible reasons for the negative effects of rate reductions are explored along with clinical implications

    Speaking Rate Effects on Normal Aspects of Articulation: Outcomes and Issues

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    The articulatory effects of speaking rate have been a point of focus for a substantial literature in speech science. The normal aspects of speaking rate variation have influenced theories and models of speech production and perception in the literature pertaining to both normal and disordered speech. While the body of literature pertaining to the articulatory effects of speaking rate change is reasonably large, few speaker-general outcomes have emerged. The purpose of this paper is to review outcomes of the existing literature and address problems related to the study of speaking rate that may be germane to the recurring theme that speaking rate effects are largely idiosyncratic

    Speaking Rate Effects on Locus Equation Slope

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    A locus equation describes a 1st order regression fit to a scatter of vowel steady-state frequency values predicting vowel onset frequency values. Locus equation coefficients are often interpreted as indices of coarticulation. Speaking rate variations with a constant consonantā€“vowel form are thought to induce changes in the degree of coarticulation. In the current work, the hypothesis that locus slope is a transparent index of coarticulation is examined through the analysis of acoustic samples of large-scale, nearly continuous variations in speaking rate. Following the methodological conventions for locus equation derivation, data pooled across ten vowels yield locus equation slopes that are mostly consistent with the hypothesis that locus equations vary systematically with coarticulation. Comparable analyses between different four-vowel pools reveal variations in the locus slope range and changes in locus slope sensitivity to rate change. Analyses across rate but within vowels are substantially less consistent with the locus hypothesis. Taken together, these findings suggest that the practice of vowel pooling exerts a non-negligible influence on locus outcomes. Results are discussed within the context of articulatory accounts of locus equations and the effects of speaking rate change

    Real-time dynamic articulations in the 2-D waveguide mesh vocal tract model

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    Time domain articulatory vocal tract modeling in one-dimensional (1-D) is well established. Previous studies into two-dimensional (2-D) simulation of wave propagation in the vocal tract have shown it to present accurate static vowel synthesis. However, little has been done to demonstrate how such a model might accommodate the dynamic tract shape changes necessary in modeling speech. Two methods of applying the area function to the 2-D digital waveguide mesh vocal tract model are presented here. First, a method based on mapping the cross-sectional area onto the number of waveguides across the mesh, termed a widthwise mapping approach is detailed. Discontinuity problems associated with the dynamic manipulation of the model are highlighted. Second, a new method is examined that uses a static-shaped rectangular mesh with the area function translated into an impedance map which is then applied to each waveguide. Two approaches for constructing such a map are demonstrated; one using a linear impedance increase to model a constriction to the tract and another using a raised cosine function. Recommendations are made towards the use of the cosine method as it allows for a wider central propagational channel. It is also shown that this impedance mapping approach allows for stable dynamic shape changes and also permits a reduction in sampling frequency leading to real-time interaction with the model

    THE PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF METATHESIS WORDS IN INDONESIAN SLANG LANGUAGEUSED BY JABOTABEK TEENAGERS

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    Remaja Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang dan Bekasi yang menggunakan bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa pertama mereka untuk percakapan sehari-hari, memodifikasi bahasa Indonesia menjadi bahasa yang dikenal dengan sebutan bahasa gaul. Bentuk dan variasi bahasa gaul ini bermacam-macam, salah satunya adalah bahasa Indonesia yang mengalami proses metatesis. Metatesis adalah proses fonologis dimana penutur mengubah posisi huruf dalam sebuah kata. Dalam hal ini, penulis tertarik untuk menganalisis fenomena metatesis yang terjadi pada bahasa Indonesia yang digunakan oleh remaja JABOTABEK. Hal yang menjadi fokus dalam skripsi ini adalah munculnya proses fonologis lainnya ketika kata-kata dalam bahasagaul tersebut mengalami proses metatesis. Tujuan penulisan skripsi ini tidak hanya sekedar untuk mengetahui tipe-tipe metatesis dan proses fonologi yang terjadi pada bahasa gaul, namun juga untuk mengetahui alasan remaja-remaja JABOTABEK menggunakan variasi bahasa ini dalam berkomunikasi. Data yang digunakan merupakan kata yang mengalami proses metatesis. Metode pengambilan data menggunakan purposive sampling dan teori Sudaryanto metode simak yaitu observasi dan cakap.Dalam menganalisis data, penulis menggunakan teori dari Schane. Hasil analisa menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 2 tipe metatesis yang ditemukan dalam bahasa gaul yaitu metatesis dengan membalikkan seluruh bunyiyang ada dalam satu kata yaitu dari belakang ke depan dan metatesis yang hanya memindahkan beberapa bunyi saja. Adapun prediksi sistem bahasa tentang bagaimana seseorang membentuk kata baru dengan cara metatesis. Proses fonologis yang muncul setelah kata-kata dalam bahasa Indonesia tersebut mengalami proses metatesis adalah proses menghilangan konsonan, menambahan konsonan, penghilangan bunyi vokal, penurunan bunyi vokal, dan netralisasi. Alasan remaja JABOTABEK menggunakan kata-kata metatesis ini adalah karena mereka tinggal di lingkungan yang juga menggunakan kata-kata tersebut dalam berkomunikasi, membuat suatu kode agar orang lain yang tidak termasuk dalam remaja JABOTABEK tidak mengerti apa yang mereka katakan dan untuk meningkatkan derajat sosial mereka menjadi remaja yang gaul
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