Phonemic Segmentation and Labelling using the MAUS Technique

We describe the pronunciation model of the automatic segmentation technique MAUS based on a data-driven Markov process and a new evaluation measure for phonemic transcripts relative symmetric accuracy; results are given for the MAUS segmentation and labelling on German dialog speech. MAUS is currently distributed as a freeware package by the Bavarian Archive for Speech Signals and will also be implemented as a web-service in the near future

Property Forms in Tension: Preference Inefficiency, Rent-Seeking, and the Problem of Notice in the Modern Condominium

There is tension in the universe of entity property forms-tension between the traditional conception of the residential leasehold interest and the expanding property form known as the common-interest community. Commoninterest communities, a mix of both fee simple and tenancy in common property, are distinguished by collective governance regimes that impose restrictions on property owners through the use of ever-evolving covenants. These restrictions are determined, amended, and enforced through majoritarian governance, such that these communities effectively form private governments. \u27 Condominiums, the subject of this Note, are among the fastest growing forms of these private governments

The articulatory and acoustic characteristics of Polish sibilants and their consequences for diachronic change

The study is concerned with the relative synchronic stability of three contrastive sibilant fricatives /s (sic)/ in Polish. Tongue movement data were collected from nine first-language Polish speakers producing symmetrical real and non-word CVCV sequences in three vowel contexts. A Gaussian model was used to classify the sibilants from spectral information in the noise and from formant frequencies at vowel onset. The physiological analysis showed an almost complete separation between /s (sic)/ on tongue-tip parameters. The acoustic analysis showed that the greater energy at higher frequencies distinguished /s/ in the fricative noise from the other two sibilant categories. The most salient information at vowel onset was for /(sic)/, which also had a strong palatalizing effect on the following vowel. Whereas either the noise or vowel onset was largely sufficient for the identification of /s (sic)/ respectively, both sets of cues were necessary to separate /(sic)/ from /s (sic)/. The greater synchronic instability of /(sic)/ may derive from its high articulatory complexity coupled with its comparatively low acoustic salience. The data also suggest that the relatively late stage of /(sic)/ acquisition by children may come about because of the weak acoustic information in the vowel for its distinction from /s/