Comparative Study of English, Dutch and German Prosodic Features (Fundamental Frequency and Intensity) as Means of Speech

2013 ◽  
pp. 86-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Moskvina
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Prosodic Features

Speech Synthesis of Emotions Using Vowel Features

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-67
Author(s):  
Kanu Boku ◽  
Taro Asada ◽  
Yasunari Yoshitomi ◽  
Masayoshi Tabuse
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Speech Synthesis ◽  
Male Subject ◽  
Maximum Amplitude ◽  
Synthetic Speech ◽  
Emotional Speech ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Initial Investigation ◽  
Synthesis Research ◽  
Case Based

Recently, methods for adding emotion to synthetic speech have received considerable attention in the field of speech synthesis research. For generating emotional synthetic speech, it is necessary to control the prosodic features of the utterances. The authors propose a case-based method for generating emotional synthetic speech by exploiting the characteristics of the maximum amplitude and the utterance time of vowels, and the fundamental frequency of emotional speech. As an initial investigation, they adopted the utterance of Japanese names, which are semantically neutral. By using the proposed method, emotional synthetic speech made from the emotional speech of one male subject was discriminable with a mean accuracy of 70% when ten subjects listened to the emotional synthetic utterances of “angry,” “happy,” “neutral,” “sad,” or “surprised” when the utterance was the Japanese name “Taro.”

scholarly journals A comparative study of phonetogram parameters among female trained Hindustani classical singers, untrained singers and non-singers

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1527
Author(s):  
Ankur Bandhopadhyay ◽  
Indranil Chaterjee ◽  
Sanghamitra Dey
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Respiratory System ◽  
Trained Subjects ◽  
Speech Task ◽  
Level Of Confidence ◽  
Accessible Method ◽  
Classical Singers ◽  
Frequency Intensity ◽  
Female Subjects

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Vocal sound is based on the complex yet co-ordinated interaction of phonatory system, resonatory system and respiratory system. Phonetography is a practicable and readily accessible method to investigate and map the quantitative potentialities of vocal output. The objectives of the present study were to determine the phonetogram of trained (Hindustani classical) singers, untrained singer sand non-singers elicited from singing as well as speech task to see if statistically significant differences were present which may indicate an effect of training.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> 90 female subjects between the ages 20-45 (mean age 34.2 years for trained subjects, 26.3 years for untrained subjects and 25.8 years for non-singers) divided into three groups each group consisting of 30 subjects. For the singing task, the individuals had to phonate |a| at habitual level by traversing through eight musical scales. In the speech task, the subjects were asked to count from one to twenty in Bengali at habitat level and at Sustainable cohorts of intensity. This was recorded using phonetogram software Dr. Speech (version 4). The parameters considered were fundamental frequency, intensity, semitones and area.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The study revealed that in both tasks singing and non-singing task for all three groups in all the four parameters of phonetogram significant differences were seen (p=0.000) at 95% level of confidence.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The present study depicted the phonetographic profile of a genre of trained singers and tracked out the parameters on which differences are pronounced between a trained and untrained singer and non-singer.</p>

Relations Between Prosodic Variables and Emotions in Normal American English Utterances

1968 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
George L. Huttar
Keyword(s):  
Human Physiology ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Causal Explanation ◽  
American English ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Semantic Differential ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Perceived Emotion

The emotional states of an adult male American speaker, as reflected in 30 utterances, were evaluated by 12 subjects on nine 7-point semantic differential scales. The subjects also evaluated the utterances on similar scales for pitch, loudness, and speed. Significant correlations were found between some acoustic variables and the judgments of some types of emotion. Higher correlations were found between the acoustic variables and judgments of degree of emotion. Correlation coefficients between judgments of emotion and judgments of prosodic features were in general higher than the correlations involving the acoustic variables. Degree of perceived emotion was found to be highly and positively correlated with fundamental frequency range and intensity range. A causal explanation of these relations in terms of human physiology is suggested.

The prosody of maternal speech: infant age and context related changes

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. N. Stern ◽  
S. Spieker ◽  
R. K. Barnett ◽  
K. MacKain
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Neonatal Period ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Healthy Infants ◽  
Naturalistic Setting ◽  
Maternal Speech

ABSTRACTThe speech of 6 mothers to their healthy infants was examined longitudinally during the neonatal period and at 4, 12, and 24 months in a semi-naturalistic setting. Features of speech analysed were: contour of fundamental frequency, repetitiveness, timing (durations of vocalizations and pauses), tempo and MLU. The neonatal period was characterized by elongated pauses. During the 4-month period the extent of pitch contouring and repetitiveness was greater than at earlier or later ages. By 24 months, the duration of vocalizations and length of MLU became markedly greater. The period of intense face-to-face interaction around the fourth month proved to involve more changes in certain prosodic features. Some of the possible functions of these changes during this phase are discussed.

The Language-specific Use of Fundamental Frequency Rise in Segmentation of an Artificial Language: Evidence from Listeners of Taiwanese Southern Min

2019 ◽  
pp. 002383091988660
Author(s):  
Shu-chen Ou ◽  
Zhe-chen Guo
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Artificial Language ◽  
Lexical Tone ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Segmentation Strategy ◽  
Southern Min ◽  
Final Syllable ◽  
Taiwanese Southern Min

Experience with native-language prosody encourages language-specific strategies for speech segmentation. Conflicting findings from previous research suggest that these strategies may not be abstracted away from the acoustic manifestation of prosodic features in the native speech. Using the artificial language learning paradigm, the current study explores this possibility in connection with listeners of a lexical tone language called Taiwanese Southern Min (TSM). In TSM, the only rising lexical tone occurs almost only on the final syllable of the language’s tone sandhi domain and is phonetically associated with final lengthening. Based on these observations, Experiment I examined what constituted a sufficient finality cue for use by TSM listeners to support segmentation: (a) final fundamental frequency (F0) rise only; or (b) final F0 rise conjoined with final lengthening. The results showed that segmentation was inhibited by the former cue but facilitated by the latter. Experiment II showed that the facilitation cannot be attributed entirely to final lengthening, as a null effect was found when final lengthening was the sole prosodic cue to segmentation. It is thus assumed that acoustic details as fine-grained as the lengthening of the rising tone are involved in the modulation of the segmentation strategy whereby TSM listeners perceive F0 rise as signaling finality. The inhibitory effect of final F0 rise alone found in Experiment I motivated Experiment III, which revealed that initial F0 rise in the absence of lengthening cues improved TSM listeners’ segmentation. It is speculated that such use of initial F0 rise might reflect a cross-linguistic segmentation solution.

Does a ‘musical’ mother tongue influence cry melodies? A comparative study of Swedish and German newborns

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Prochnow ◽  
Soly Erlandsson ◽  
Volker Hesse ◽  
Kathleen Wermke
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Interesting Issue ◽  
Ample Opportunity ◽  
Maternal Language ◽  
Single Arc ◽  
Hearing System

The foetal environment is filled with a variety of noises. Among the manifold sounds of the maternal respiratory, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems, the intonation properties of the maternal language are well perceived by the foetus, whose hearing system is already functioning during the last trimester of gestation. These intonation (melodic) features, reflecting native-language prosody, have been found to shape vocal learning. Having had ample opportunity to become familiar with their mother’s language in the womb, newborns have been found to exhibit salient pitch-based elements in their own cry melodies. An interesting issue is whether an intrauterine exposure to a maternal pitch accent language, such as Swedish, in which emphatic syllables are pronounced typically on a higher pitch relative to other syllables will affect newborns’ cry melody (fundamental frequency contour). The present study aimed to answer this question by quantitatively analysing and comparing the melody structure in 52 Swedish compared with 79 German newborns. In accordance with previous approaches, cry melody structure was analysed by calculating a melody complexity index (MCI) expressing the share of cries exhibiting two or more (well-defined) arc-like substructures uttered during the recording sessions. A low MCI reflects a dominance of cries with a ‘simple’, i.e. single-arc melody. A significantly higher MCI was found in the Swedish infant group, which further corroborates the assumption that the well-known foetal sensitivity for musical (melodic) stimuli seems to shape infants’ cry melody.

scholarly journals Comparative Study on the Supre-Segmental Phonemes between English and Sichuan Dialect

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 51-59
Author(s):  
Chuan Dong Ma ◽  
Lun Hua Tan
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Transfer Theory ◽  
Word Stress ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Sichuan Dialect

Supra-segmental phonemes, the prosodic features of a language, including stress, pitch, intonation, rhythm and juncture, play a very important role in distinguishing meaning in English. This paper analyzes the supra-segmental phoneme differences between English and Sichuan Dialect from the following four aspects: word stress, intonation, rhythm and junture. We are convinced that if language teachers in China have some knowledge of the transfer theory and if they know clearly the similarities and differences of the supra-segmental phonemes between English and their mother tongue, it would be much easier for them to know the language focuses and difficulties for the learners and their teaching would be more effective.

Efficiency of horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) in defining the fundamental frequency in Muscat Region, Sultanate of Oman: a comparative study

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 2423-2436
Author(s):  
I. El-Hussain ◽  
A. Deif ◽  
K. Al-Jabri ◽  
A. M. E. Mohamed ◽  
S. El-Hady ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Spectral Ratio ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman
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