Automatic English phoneme recognition from articulatory data generated by EPG systems with grid and anatomical layout of contact sensors

The aim of the study was to conduct automatic phoneme identification from articulatory data that accompanied the production of these phonemes in continuous speech. The articulatory data were obtained from 2 electropalatographic systems, Palatometer by Complete Speech and Linguagraph by Rose-Medical. Palatometer was used with the artificial palate containing 124 contact sensors in a grid layout, including 2 sensors monitoring the lip contact. The palate included a vacuum-thermoformed flexible printed circuit. Linguagraph was used with the acrylic artificial palate designed and developed for the purpose of this study, containing 62 electrodes in anatomical layout. Palatometer was used by one native of General American and Linguagraph by one native of General British, each reading 140 phonetically balanced sentences that included Harvard Sentences and TIMIT prompts. The EPG data were parametrised into dimensionality reduction indexes, which were analysed by means of linear discriminant analysis and a probabilistic neural network. The results of classifications are discussed.National Science Centre (grant no. 2013/11/B/HS2/03151

Dynamic Targets in the Acquisition of L2 English Vowels

This paper presents acoustic data on the dynamic properties of the FLEECE and TRAP vowels in the speech of two groups of Polish users of English. Results reveal that the more proficient group users, made up of teachers and professors with professional-level proficiency in English, produce more dramatic patterns of formant movement, reminiscent of native productions, than first year students. It is argued that vowel inherent spectral change (VISC) is an inherent aspect of English phonology, originated in interactions between vowels and neighboring consonants, and later generalized to the vowel system as a whole. By contrast, Polish is a language with a minimal role of VISC. Consequently, successful acquisition of L2 English vowels involves not only the mastery of vowels in F1- F2 space, but also formant trajectories over time

Conference Secretaries

We have attempted, as far as possible, to preserve all the relevant formatting used by the authors. However, limitations imposed by the style sheet used herein may have resulted in some minor detail being lost. PLM2006 Book of Abstracts Issued on the occasion of the 37th Poznań Linguistic Meeting “Reaching far: Distant countries, distant disciplines

Doing phonetic transcription on Moodle

Poster presented at the 3rd International Conference on English Pronunciation: Issues & PracticesMoodle is an open-source learning management system, one of the leading e-learning platforms in use today at all levels of education. It has been successfully used in the teaching of phonetics and pronunciation (e.g. Ashby et al. 2009; Wilson 2008). This paper will present various aspects of the use of phonetic transcription on Moodle on the example of a b-learning module supporting a course in English Phonetics and Phonology within a university programme in English Studies. First, we will present our approach to interactive transcription exercises based on two Moodle question types: multiple choice and short answer with input from a custom-developed keyboard with IPA symbols. Pre-programmed hints for both wrong and correct answers provide comprehensive just-in-time feedback, which creates a more personalised and effective learning environment. A survey on students’ attitudes to Moodle solutions shows, however, that students prefer paper exercises because they can be completed faster. Various ways of delivering phonetic transcription to participants for presentation purposes will be presented (image vs. PDF vs. Flash vs. Unicode text), and their relative strengths and weaknesses will be discussed. Methods of styling the Unicode text of phonetic transcription as part of Moodle web pages will be described. Finally, we will demonstrate how the preparation of quiz questions can be automated and performed in batch mode offline (bypassing the often cumbersome question-building interface of Moodle) using widely available word-processing software such as MS Word. (The poster contains links to templates and tutorials. Feel free to contact the authors in case of any questions.

Automatic English phoneme recognition from articulatory data generated by EPG systems with grid and anatomical layout of contact sensors

The aim of the study was to conduct automatic phoneme identification from articulatory data that accompanied the production of these phonemes in continuous speech. The articulatory data were obtained from 2 electropalatographic systems, Palatometer by Complete Speech and Linguagraph by Rose-Medical. Palatometer was used with the artificial palate containing 124 contact sensors in a grid layout, including 2 sensors monitoring the lip contact. The palate included a vacuum-thermoformed flexible printed circuit. Linguagraph was used with the acrylic artificial palate designed and developed for the purpose of this study, containing 62 electrodes in anatomical layout. Palatometer was used by one native of General American and Linguagraph by one native of General British, each reading 140 phonetically balanced sentences that included Harvard Sentences and TIMIT prompts. The EPG data were parametrised into dimensionality reduction indexes, which were analysed by means of linear discriminant analysis and a probabilistic neural network. The results of classifications are discussed.National Science Centre (grant no. 2013/11/B/HS2/03151