Evaluating cross-linguistic forced alignment of conversational data in north Australian Kriol, an under-resourced language

Speech technology is transforming language documentation; acoustic models trained on “small” languages are now technically feasible. At the same time, forced alignment built for major world languages has matured and now offers ease of use through web interfaces requiring low technical expertise. This paper provides an updated and detailed evaluation of cross-linguistic forced alignment, the approach of using forced aligners untrained on the target language. We compare two options within MAUS (Munich Automatic Segmentation System): language-independent mode vs major world language system (here, Italian) on the one dataset, a comparison that has not previously been reported. The dataset comes from a corpus of adult conversational speech in Kriol, an English-based creole of northern Australia. The results of using MAUS Italian were better than those of using the language-independent mode and those in previous studies: the agreement rate at 20 ms was 72.1% at vowel onset and 57.2% at vowel offset. With completely misaligned tokens excluded, the overall agreement rate rose to 69.2% at 20 ms and over 90% at 50 ms. Most errors in the output SAMPA (Speech Assessment Methods Phonetic Alphabet) labels were resolvable with simple text replacements. These results offer updated benchmark data for an untrained, late-model forced alignment system.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Comparing the performance of forced aligners used in sociophonetic research

Forced aligners have revolutionized sociophonetics, but while there are several forced aligners available, there are few systematic comparisons of their performance. Here, we consider four major forced aligners used in sociophonetics today: MAUS, FAVE, LaBB-CAT and MFA. Through comparisons with human coders, we find that both aligner and phonological context affect the quality of automated alignments of vowels extracted from English sociolinguistic interview data. MFA and LaBB-CAT produce the highest quality alignments, in some cases not significantly different from human alignment, followed by FAVE, and then MAUS. Aligners are less accurate placing boundaries following a vowel than preceding it, and they vary in accuracy across manner of articulation, particularly for following boundaries. These observations allow us to make specific recommendations for manual correction of forced alignment.We gratefully acknowledge support from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, and funding from a Transdisciplinary & Innovation Grant (TIG952018). We thank Robert Fromont, Debbie Loakes, and the anonymous Linguistics Vanguard reviewers for valuable feedback on the paper, as well as Miriam Meyerhoff, Jim Stanford, and Hywel Stoakes for help in formulating the ideas presented here

Comparing the performance of forced alignersused in sociophonetic research

Forced aligners have revolutionized sociophonetics, but while there are several forced aligners available, there are few systematic comparisons of their performance. Here, we consider four major forced aligners used in sociophonetics today: MAUS, FAVE, LaBB-CAT and MFA. Through comparisons with human coders, we find that both aligner and phonological context affect the quality of automated alignments of vowels extracted from English sociolinguistic interview data. MFA and LaBB-CAT produce the highest quality alignments, in some cases not significantly different from human alignment, followed by FAVE, and then MAUS. Aligners are less accurate placing boundaries following a vowel than preceding it, and they vary in accuracy across manner of articulation, particularly for following boundaries. These observations allow us to make specific recommendations for manual correction of forced alignment

Using forced alignment for sociophonetic research on a minority language

Until recently, large-scale phonetic analyses have been out of reach for under-documented languages, but with the advent of methodologies such as forced alignment, they have now become possible. This paper describes a methodology for applying forced alignment (using the Montreal Forced Aligner) to a speech corpus of Matukar Panau, a minority language spoken in Papua New Guinea. We obtained measurements for 68,785 vowel tokens, produced in both narrative and conversational data by 34 speakers. We examined the social conditioning on a subset of these vowels according to traditional sociolinguistic categories of age and gender, and also consider the impact of clan as a major axis of organization in this community. We show that there is a role for clan as a sociolinguistic factor in conditioning the variation observed

Countering misrecognition of Indigenous contact languages and their ecologies in Australia

The current Indigenous language landscape in Australia includes new Indigenous contact languages as well as traditional Indigenous languages and Englishes. Even though some new Indigenous contact languages are estimated to have the largest speakership of any Indigenous language currently spoken in Australia, speakers of contact languages do not have commensurate visibility in policy and service provision. They are 'misrecognised'. Through compiled publications, some collaborative, this thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach, using a range of methods, to present a contextualised analysis of the misrecognition of contemporary Indigenous contact languages in Australia. This investigation of the minoritised positioning of Indigenous contact languages pays special attention to the problem of misrecognition. Where the languages used by speakers of contact languages are not recognised and responded to appropriately, other languages are assumed in their stead, or else their significant communicative role in their language community is misjudged. As misrecognition involves other languages, a typology of contemporary Indigenous language ecologies is developed as a place-based tool for conceptualising common language configurations, a legacy of colonisation. This typology represents different language ecologies according to the main language type spoken as a community vernacular in a specific place, whether it is a contact language, a traditional language or a variety of English. Establishing the typology allows us to show what is distinctive about contact language ecologies in contrast to the other types of language ecologies. The on-the-ground dynamics of misrecognition are established in the thesis through case studies of contact language speaking areas. These make manifest the ramifications of (mis)recognition for effective policy and equitable services delivery for speakers of contact languages. From this grounded foundation, it is possible to explore the issue via linguistics, education or community perspectives. A compilation of published studies in each of these domains illuminates different facets of misrecognition. In four linguistics studies, this includes identifying and differentiating the contact languages, their particular forms and their histories and ecologies and describing previously unrecognised language features. In three education studies, this encompasses the manner and extent to which speakers of contact languages are identified and provided for in first and second language learning classroom contexts. Two studies about community connections showcase innovative ways of working with speakers of contact languages to promote recognition of their language and its situation. This thesis makes three major contributions to the area of Indigenous languages and education. The first is the development of the typology of Indigenous language ecologies which has potential to assist with differentiating policies and service delivery needs for speakers of contact languages. Second, the thesis puts on the map the misrecognition of students with contact language backgrounds who are taught in mainstream English medium classrooms. This research identifies teacher awareness as a major issue. Third, the thesis introduces a co-designed process for creating vernacular language visualisations with a contact language speaking community. The goal of this process is an increase in contact language recognition and community language awareness, which has been reported observationally. In sum, as an outsider researcher in Indigenous communities yet an insider teacher-linguist it is my hope to foster recognition and counter misrecognition of speakers of Indigenous contact languages and their ecologies. The benefits of this are expected to be a more consistent place for contact languages and their speakers in policy and delivery of services, including education

Revitalising Gija: Developing Genre-based Documentation and Description for Community Language Programs

Gija is a language spoken in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia. Based on a number of indicators of language vitality, it has been classified as Severely Endangered or Moribund. This research undertakes description of Gija, applying Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) typology and genre theory in the context of supporting the maintenance of this endangered Australian language. Many linguists now agree that if linguistic scholarship is to contribute directly to language revitalisation processes, it must consider language in use and in its cultural context. SFL, in its orientation towards meaning and its metafunctionally diversified, stratified model of language provides theoretically informed principles for making such a contribution. This study takes texts highly valued in the Gija community and used in language education as its data. It recognises three significant genres - the Ngarranggarni story, plant usage report and mantha. Applying a stratified model of text in context, the analyses investigate the patterns of language choice from a ‘top-down’ perspective. That is, chapters begin with genre, looking at how texts are staged to fulfill their social purpose and what configurations of register variables (known as field, mode and tenor) underpin each text. Within genre stages meanings are realised as unfolding phases, realised in turn as patterns of choice from discourse semantic systems. Finally, each genre becomes the way in to discussing how the verbal group in Gija contributes to ideational, textual and interpersonal meaning at clause, group and word rank. By taking these insights and recontextualising them in teacher training, Gija educators can be supported to bring their knowledge about Gija to consciousness, supporting their growing confidence as teachers of their own language. This study could also be utilised to develop linguistically informed resources for school and community-based Gija language teaching programs in the future