Monophthongal vowel changes in Received Pronunciation: an acoustic analysis of the Queen's Christmas broadcasts

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 63-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Harrington ◽  
Sallyanne Palethorpe ◽  
Catherine Watson
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
High Vowels ◽  
Received Pronunciation ◽  
Over Time

In this paper we analyse the extent to which an adult's vowel space is affected by vowel changes to the community using a database of nine Christmas broadcasts made by Queen Elizabeth II spanning three time periods (the 1950's; the late 1960's/early 70's; the 1980's). An analysis of the monophthongal formant space showed that the first formant frequency was generally higher for open vowels, and lower for mid-high vowels in the 1960's and 1980's data than in the 1950's data, which we interpret as an expansion of phonetic height from earlier to later years. The second formant frequency showed a more modest compression in later, compared with earlier years: in general, front vowels had a decreased F2 in later years, while F2 of the back vowels was unchanged except for [u] which had a higher F2 in the 1960's and 1980's data. We also show that the majority of these Fl and F2 changes were in the direction of the vowel positions of 1980's Standard Southern British speakers reported in Deterding (1997). Our general conclusion is that there is evidence of accent change within the same individual over time and that the Queen's vowels in the Christmas broadcasts have shifted in the direction of a more mainstream form of Received Pronunciation.

The Effects of Changes in Hearing Status in Cochlear Implant Users on the Acoustic Vowel Space and CV Coarticulation

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 552-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harlan Lane ◽  
Melanie Matthies ◽  
Joseph Perkell ◽  
Jennell Vick ◽  
Majid Zandipour
Keyword(s):  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Hearing Status ◽  
Vowel Formant ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Deaf Adults ◽  
Second Formant

In order to examine the role of hearing status in controlling coarticulation, eight English vowels in /bVt/ and /dVt/ syllables, embedded in a carrier phrase, were elicited from 7 postlingually deafened adults and 2 speakers with normal hearing. The deaf adults served in repeated recording sessions both before and up to a year after they received cochlear implants and their speech processors were turned on. Each of the two hearing control speakers served in two recording sessions, separated by about 3 months. Measures were made of second formant frequency at obstruent release and at 25 ms intervals until the final obstruent. An index of coarticulation, based on the ratio of F2 at vowel onset to F2 at midvowel target, was computed. Changes in the amount of coarticulation after the change in hearing status were small and nonsystematic for the /bVt/ syllables; those for the /dVt/ syllables averaged a 3% increase—within the range of reliability measures for the 2 hearing control speakers. Locus equations (F2 at vowel onset vs. F2 at vowel midpoint) and ratios of F2 onsets in point vowels were also calculated. Like the index of coarticulation, these measures tended to confirm that hearing status had little if any effect on coarticulation in the deaf speakers, consistent with the hypothesis that hearing does not play a direct role in regulating anticipatory coarticulation in adulthood. With the restoration of some hearing, 2 implant users significantly increased the average spacing between vowels in the formant plane, whereas the remaining 5 decreased that measure. All speakers but one also reduced vowel duration significantly. Four of the speakers reduced dispersion of vowel formant values around vowel midpoint means, but the other 3 did not show this effect.

scholarly journals The Influence of Guttural Consonants /χ/, /ħ/, and /h/ on Vowel /a/ in Saudi Arabic

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Haroon N. Alsager
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Unified Model ◽  
The Other ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Natural Class ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Saudi Arabic

This paper presents a comparative study which investigates the influence of Saudi Arabic guttural consonants /χ/, /ħ/ and /h/ on the vowel /a/ when they are adjacent and in the same syllable. Cohn (2007, 2009), Flemming (2001), and Keating (1996) discuss a unified model in which phonology and phonetics are treated as two distinct elements of one domain where each element has an effect on the other to some degree. McCarthy (1991, 1994), Rose (1996), Zawaydeh (1999, 2004), and BinMuqbil (2006) presented phonological studies on gutturals, as well as discussions on gutturals as a natural class, which uphold the phonological aspect of Cohn’s (2009) unified model. The aim of this study is to address the phonetic aspect of Cohn’s (2009) unified model by analyzing the phonetic effects of guttural-vowel coarticulation. An acoustic analysis method was used as a framework for this investigation to extract first formant frequency (F1) and second formant frequency (F2) to measure the influence in the coarticulation. For the purpose of this study, seven native Saudi Arabic speakers were recorded pronouncing 70 Saudi Arabic words. The results showed that guttural consonants have an influence on the vowel /a/ by lowering and backing it when they are adjacent and in the same syllable, while the vowel /a/ in the nonguttural consonants is raising and fronting their adjacent vowel /a/ in the same syllable in comparison with the vowel /a/ in the guttural environment.

scholarly journals A comparison of three speaker-intrinsic vowel formant frequency normalization algorithms for sociophonetics

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne H. Fabricius ◽  
Dominic Watt ◽  
Daniel Ezra Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Research Tool ◽  
Test Cases ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Vowel Formant ◽  
Normalization Methods ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Received Pronunciation ◽  
Existing Data ◽  
Better Than

AbstractThis article evaluates a speaker-intrinsic vowel formant frequency normalization algorithm initially proposed in Watt & Fabricius (2002). We compare how well this routine, known as the S-centroid procedure, performs as a sociophonetic research tool in three ways: reducing variance in area ratios of vowel spaces (by attempting to equalize vowel space areas); improving overlap of vowel polygons; and reproducing relative positions of vowel means within the vowel space, compared with formant data in raw Hertz. The study uses existing data sets of vowel formant data from two varieties of English, Received Pronunciation and Aberdeen English (northeast Scotland). We conclude that, for the data examined here, the S-centroid W&F procedure performs at least as well as the two speaker-intrinsic, vowel-extrinsic, formant-intrinsic normalization methods rated as best performing by Adank (2003): Lobanov's (1971) z-score procedure and Nearey's (1978) individual log-mean procedure (CLIHi4 in Adank [2003], CLIHi2 as tested here), and in some test cases better than the latter.

Acoustic Analysis of Correct and Misarticulated Semivowels

1988 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Chaney
Keyword(s):  
Transition Rate ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Acoustic Pattern ◽  
Impaired Children

Four children who produced correct /w,r,l,j/, four children with developmental w/r and w/l substitutions, and four articulation impaired children with w/r and w/l substitutions were subjects. They produced sets of minimally contrasted words with /w,r,l,j/ in word-initial position with four vowels and with /w,r,l/ in two types of consonant clusters. Children's utterances were spectrographically analyzed for three formant frequencies and transition rate of the second formant. Children with correct semivowels produced distinctive formant frequency patterns for semivowels that were similar to those previously reported in the literature for adults and children. Developmental and articulation impaired children produced acoustic features for /j/ that were similar to the /j/ produced by the control group; but neither group differentiated among /w,r,l/ by either formant frequencies or transition rate. Some individuals in both groups produced formant frequency and/or transition rate differences among semivowels in some phonetic contexts. The /w/ produced for target /w/ and in substitution for /r/ and /l/ by three developmental children and two articulation-impaired children did not match the acoustic pattern of control /w/. These productions had higher second formants, occurring between control /w/ and /r,l/ or in the range of correct /r,l/.

scholarly journals F2 slope as a Perceptual Cue for the Front–Back Contrast in Standard Southern British English

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kateřina Chládková ◽  
Silke Hamann ◽  
Daniel Williams ◽  
Sam Hellmuth
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Measurements ◽  
British English ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
High Vowels ◽  
Abstract Feature ◽  
Slope Direction

Acoustic studies of several languages indicate that second-formant (F2) slopes in high vowels have opposing directions (independent of consonantal context): front [iː]-like vowels are produced with a rising F2 slope, whereas back [uː]-like vowels are produced with a falling F2 slope. The present study first reports acoustic measurements that confirm this pattern for the English variety of Standard Southern British English (SSBE), where /uː/ has shifted from the back to the front area of the vowel space and is now realized with higher midpoint F2 values than several decades ago. Subsequently, we test whether the direction of F2 slope also serves as a reliable cue to the /iː/-/uː/ contrast in perception. The findings show that F2 slope direction is used as a cue (additional to midpoint formant values) to distinguish /iː/ from /uː/ by both young and older Standard Southern British English listeners: an otherwise ambiguous token is identified as /iː/ if it has a rising F2 slope and as /uː/ if it has a falling F2 slope. Furthermore, our results indicate that listeners generalize their reliance on F2 slope to other contrasts, namely /ɛ/-/ɒ/ and /æ/-/ɒ/, even though F2 slope is not employed to differentiate these vowels in production. This suggests that in Standard Southern British English, a rising F2 seems to be perceptually associated with an abstract feature such as [+front], whereas a falling F2 with an abstract feature such as [-front].

The Emergence of Vowels in an Infant

1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Buhr
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Frequency Measurements ◽  
Over Time

Recordings of vocal production of an infant (age 16–64 weeks) were subjected to perceptual and acoustic analysis. Sounds resembling the vowel sounds of English were identified, and formant frequency measurements were made from spectrograms. Significant longitudinal trends for individual vowel sounds were not apparent during this period, although formant relationships for some vowels after 38 weeks were consistent with the notion of restructuring of the infant's vocal tract. However, analysis of F 1 /F 2 plots over time revealed the emergence of a well-developed vowel triangle, resembling that of older children and adults. The acute axis of this triangle seems to develop before the grave axis. Implications for anatomical, neuromuscular, and linguistic development are discussed.

Speech Deterioration of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Before and After Diagnosis: A Case Study of a Newscaster

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1189-1198
Author(s):  
Emily Watkins ◽  
Austin Thompson ◽  
Yunjung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Speech Disorders ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Motor Speech ◽  
Motor Speech Disorders ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Purpose This case study traced speech deterioration in an individual before and after the time of diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Our participant was diagnosed with spinal-onset, familial ALS in 2017. The speaker's occupation, a professional newscaster for 37 years, allowed a retrospective examination of her speech during news segments over 37 months around the diagnosis, including prediagnosis. Method A total of 6 time points were selected to track auditory-perceptual and acoustic speech deterioration (2 years, 14 months, and 7 months prior to diagnosis; the month of diagnosis; and 7 months and 12 months after diagnosis). For perceptual ratings, 2 experts in motor speech disorders rated 17 speech dimensions on a 7-point scale. Four acoustic parameters were chosen for measurement: articulation rate, utterance duration, second formant frequency slope, and acoustic vowel space. Additionally, kinematic data were obtained from 1 time-point (8 months postdiagnosis) and descriptively compared to the movement of other individuals with ALS and to healthy speakers. Results As expected, both perceptual and acoustic results indicated a decline in the selected speech measures as the disease progressed. More interestingly, the measures showed a consistent curvilinear appearance in which the speech parameters exhibit an improvement until immediately before and around the diagnosis, followed by sudden, drastic deterioration. Kinematic results indicated a greater degree of movement and speed compared to healthy speakers, probably due to the speaker's occupation. Conclusions Based on the findings, the time around diagnosis is considered a critical period with respect to speech deterioration in ALS wherein a dynamic, increasing–decreasing pattern of changes occur. This finding appears to reflect the patient's compensatory strategies and the speech deficits associated with bulbar involvement.

Effects of Aging on the Subcortical Encoding of Stop Consonants

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-403
Author(s):  
Dania Rishiq ◽  
Ashley Harkrider ◽  
Cary Springer ◽  
Mark Hedrick
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Auditory Brainstem ◽  
Auditory Brainstem Responses ◽  
Aging Effects ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Effects Of Aging

Purpose The main purpose of this study was to evaluate aging effects on the predominantly subcortical (brainstem) encoding of the second-formant frequency transition, an essential acoustic cue for perceiving place of articulation. Method Synthetic consonant–vowel syllables varying in second-formant onset frequency (i.e., /ba/, /da/, and /ga/ stimuli) were used to elicit speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses (speech-ABRs) in 16 young adults ( M age = 21 years) and 11 older adults ( M age = 59 years). Repeated-measures mixed-model analyses of variance were performed on the latencies and amplitudes of the speech-ABR peaks. Fixed factors were phoneme (repeated measures on three levels: /b/ vs. /d/ vs. /g/) and age (two levels: young vs. older). Results Speech-ABR differences were observed between the two groups (young vs. older adults). Specifically, older listeners showed generalized amplitude reductions for onset and major peaks. Significant Phoneme × Group interactions were not observed. Conclusions Results showed aging effects in speech-ABR amplitudes that may reflect diminished subcortical encoding of consonants in older listeners. These aging effects were not phoneme dependent as observed using the statistical methods of this study.

scholarly journals Structured and Systematic Team and Procedure Training in Severe Trauma: Going from ‘Zero to Hero’ for a Time-Critical, Low-Volume Emergency Procedure Over Three Time Periods

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1340-1348
Author(s):  
Maryam Meshkinfamfard ◽  
Jon Kristian Narvestad ◽  
Johannes Wiik Larsen ◽  
Arezo Kanani ◽  
Jørgen Vennesland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Injury Severity ◽  
Trauma System ◽  
Severe Trauma ◽  
Emergency Procedure ◽  
Emergency Thoracotomy ◽  
Severity Scores ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Low Volume ◽  
Time Critical ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Resuscitative emergency thoracotomy is a potential life-saving procedure but is rarely performed outside of busy trauma centers. Yet the intervention cannot be deferred nor centralized for critically injured patients presenting in extremis. Low-volume experience may be mitigated by structured training. The aim of this study was to describe concurrent development of training and simulation in a trauma system and associated effect on one time-critical emergency procedure on patient outcome. Methods An observational cohort study split into 3 arbitrary time-phases of trauma system development referred to as ‘early’, ‘developing’ and ‘mature’ time-periods. Core characteristics of the system is described for each phase and concurrent outcomes for all consecutive emergency thoracotomies described with focus on patient characteristics and outcome analyzed for trends in time. Results Over the study period, a total of 36 emergency thoracotomies were performed, of which 5 survived (13.9%). The “early” phase had no survivors (0/10), with 2 of 13 (15%) and 3 of 13 (23%) surviving in the development and mature phase, respectively. A decline in ‘elderly’ (>55 years) patients who had emergency thoracotomy occurred with each time period (from 50%, 31% to 7.7%, respectively). The gender distribution and the injury severity scores on admission remained unchanged, while the rate of patients with signs on life (SOL) increased over time. Conclusion The improvement over time in survival for one time-critical emergency procedure may be attributed to structured implementation of team and procedure training. The findings may be transferred to other low-volume regions for improved trauma care.

scholarly journals Longitudinal assessment of the bovine ocular bacterial community dynamics in calves

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison C. Bartenslager ◽  
Nirosh D. Althuge ◽  
John Dustin Loy ◽  
Matthew M. Hille ◽  
Matthew L. Spangler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Bacterial Community Composition ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Sampling Time ◽  
Experimental Population ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogens ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (IBK), commonly known as pinkeye, is one of the most significant diseases of beef cattle. As such, IBK costs the US beef industry at least 150 million annually. However, strategies to prevent IBK are limited, with most cases resulting in treatment with antibiotics once the disease has developed. Longitudinal studies evaluating establishment of the ocular microbiota may identify critical risk periods for IBK outbreaks or changes in the microbiota that may predispose animals to IBK. Results In an attempt to characterize the establishment and colonization patterns of the bovine ocular microbiota, we conducted a longitudinal study consisting of 227 calves and evaluated the microbiota composition over time using amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) based on 16S rRNA sequencing data and culture-based approaches. Beef calves on trial consisted of both male (intact) and females. Breeds were composed of purebred Angus and composites with varying percentages of Simmental, Angus, and Red Angus breeds. Average age at the start of the trial was 65 days ±15.02 and all calves remained nursing on their dam until weaning (day 139 of the study). The trial consisted of 139 days with four sampling time points on day 0, 21, 41, and 139. The experimental population received three different vaccination treatments (autogenous, commercial (both inactivated bacteria), and adjuvant placebo), to assess the effectiveness of different vaccines for IBK prevention. A significant change in bacterial community composition was observed across time periods sampled compared to the baseline (p < 0.001). However, no treatment effect of vaccine was detected within the ocular bacterial community. The bacterial community composition with the greatest time span between sampling time periods (98d span) was most similar to the baseline sample collected, suggesting re-establishment of the ocular microbiota to baseline levels over time after perturbation. The effect of IgA levels on the microbial community was investigated in a subset of cattle within the study. However, no significant effect of IgA was observed. Significant changes in the ocular microbiota were identified when comparing communities pre- and post-clinical signs of IBK. Additionally, dynamic changes in opportunistic pathogens Moraxella spp. were observed and confirmed using culture based methods. Conclusions Our results indicate that the bovine ocular microbiota is well represented by opportunistic pathogens such as Moraxella and Mycoplasma. Furthermore, this study characterizes the diversity of the ocular microbiota in calves and demonstrates the plasticity of the ocular microbiota to change. Additionally, we demonstrate the ocular microbiome in calves is similar between the eyes and the perturbation of one eye results in similar changes in the other eye. We also demonstrate the bovine ocular microbiota is slow to recover post perturbation and as a result provide opportunistic pathogens a chance to establish within the eye leading to IBK and other diseases. Characterizing the dynamic nature of the ocular microbiota provides novel opportunities to develop potential probiotic intervention to reduce IBK outbreaks in cattle.

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