Lip Movements for an Unfamiliar Vowel: Mandarin Front Rounded Vowel Produced by Japanese Speakers

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruka Saito
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Japanese Adult ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Vowel Formants ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Repetition Task

Purpose The study was aimed at investigating what kind of lip positions are selected by Japanese adult participants for an unfamiliar Mandarin rounded vowel /y/ and if their lip positions are related to and/or differentiated from those for their native vowels. Method Videotaping and post hoc tracking measurements for lip positions, namely protrusion and vertical aperture, and acoustic analysis of vowel formants were conducted on participants' production in a repetition task. Results First, 31.2% of all productions of /y/ were produced with either protruded or compressed rounding. Second, the lip positions for /y/ were differentiated from those for the perceived nearest native vowel; although they correlated with them in terms of vertical aperture, they did not in terms of protrusion/retraction. Conclusions Lip positions for a novel rounded vowel seemed to be produced as a modification of existing lip positions from the native repertoire. Moreover, the degree of vertical aperture might be easily transferred, and the degree of protrusion is less likely to be retained in the new lip positions.

scholarly journals An identity bias in phonotactics: Evidence from Cochabamba Quechua

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Identity ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
Repetition Task

AbstractSpeakers of Cochabamba Quechua (CQ) participated in two tasks involving phonotactically illegal nonce forms with pairs of identical (e.g., [p'ap'u]) and non-identical ejectives (e.g., [k'ap'u]). In a repetition task, speakers were more accurate on identical than non-identical ejective pairs, though no asymmetry was found in an ABX discrimination task, nor in acoustic analysis of nonce roots with identical and non-identical ejective pairs. The latent preference for identical ejectives is unexpected given the phonotactics of CQ, which categorically disallows both identical and non-identical ejective pairs. The asymmetry is in accord with the typology, however. Many languages systematically exempt identical segments from a phonotactic restriction that applies to non-identical segments. It is argued that this cross-linguistic identity preference has its roots in a synchronic bias in favor of identical segments.

Acquiring non-native speech through early media exposure: Belgian children’s productions of english vowels

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Simon ◽  
Ronaldo Lima ◽  
Ludovic De Cuypere
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Media Exposure ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Vowel Formants ◽  
The Media ◽  
Native Speech ◽  
Vowel Categories ◽  
Repetition Task

AbstractThis study aims to map native Dutch and non-native English vowels of Belgian children who have not been immersed and have not received instruction in English, but who are exposed to it through the media. It investigates to what extent this type of exposure is sufficient to develop new phonetic vowel categories. Twenty-four children aged 9–12 years performed production tasks focusing on Dutch and English monophthongs. Vowel formants were normalized and statistically analysed, and results highlight the English contrasts /ɛ–æ/, /ʊ–u/ and /ɒ–ɔ/, which are lacking in Dutch. The children produced contrasting /ɛ/ and /æ/ in F1 and F2 in a repetition task, and English /ɛ/ and /æ/ were considerably different from the closest Dutch vowel /ɛ/ in terms of anteriority. The children’s /ʊ–u/ and /ɒ–ɔ/ differed in F1 and F2. The closest Dutch vowel /u/ did not differ from English /u/, and differed from /ʊ/ only in F1. Dutch /ɔ/ differed from /ɒ/ in F1 and F2 and differed from English /ɔ/ in F1. The results suggest that media-induced Second Language Acquisition should not be underestimated, for even in contexts of L2 acquisition exclusively through media exposure, children learn to produce contrasts between L2 vowels which do not exist in their L1.

scholarly journals Within-session variability as quality control for oscillometry in health and disease

2021 ◽  
pp. 00074-2021
Author(s):  
Louise M. Harkness ◽  
Kieran Patel ◽  
Farid Sanai ◽  
Sandra Rutting ◽  
Alice M. Cottee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Optimal Number ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Repeated Measures Anova ◽  
Copd Patients ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Post Hoc

Oscillometry is increasingly adopted in respiratory clinics, however many recommendations regarding measurement settings and quality control remain subjective. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimal number of measurements and acceptable within-session coefficient of variation (CoV) in health, asthma and COPD.Fifteen healthy, 15 asthma and 15 COPD adult participants were recruited. Eight consecutive 30 s measurements were made using an oscillometry device (tremoFlo C-100, Thorays Thoracic Medical Systems Inc., Canada) from which resistance at 5 Hz (Rrs5) was examined. The effect of progressively including a greater number of measurements on Rrs5 and its within-session coefficient of variation (CoV) was investigated. Data was analysed using one-way repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc test.The CoV(Rrs5) of the first 3 measurements was 6.7±4.7%, 9.7±5.7%, and 12.6±11.2% in healthy, asthma and COPD participants, respectively. Both mean Rrs5 and CoV(Rrs5) were not statistically different when progressively including 4–8 measurements. Selecting the 3 closest Rrs5 values over an increasing number of measurements progressively decreased the CoV(Rrs5). In order for ≥95% of participants to fall within a target CoV(Rrs5) of 10%, ≥4, 5 and 6 measurements were needed in health, asthma, and COPD, respectively.Within-session variability of oscillometry is increased in disease. Furthermore, the higher number of measurements required to achieve a set target for asthma and COPD patients may not be practical in a clinical setting. Provided technical acceptability of measurements is established, i.e. by removing artefacts and outliers, then a CoV of 10% is a marker of quality in most patients, but we suggest higher CoVs upto 15–20% should still be reportable.

Formant-Frequency Differences Between Isolated Whispered and Phonated Vowel Samples Produced by Adult Female Subjects

1984 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken J. Kallail ◽  
Floyd W. Emanuel
Keyword(s):  
Adult Female ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Spectrum ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Vowel Formants ◽  
Female Subjects

This study was designed to investigate the formant frequencies of phonated and whispered productions of five test vowels (/i/,/u/, /æ/, /Δ/, and //). Each test vowel was sustained twice in isolation—once phonated, once whispered—by 20 adult female subjects. The phoneme represented by each recorded production was identified independently by 11 listeners. Only those samples identified by 6 or more of the listeners as the vowel intended were retained for a further (acoustic) analysis. An acoustic spectrum of each retained sample was obtained to permit formant measurements. To provide the clearest formant delineation possible in our lab, the phonated samples were analyzed by broadband spectrography and the whispered samples by very narrowband spectrography. This report presents the formant frequencies (F I -F 3 ) of the test productions as measured from the acoustic vowel spectra and the formant-freqneney differences between the pbonated and whispered productions. In general, the results showed a trend for whispered vowel formants to be higher in frequency than phonated vowel formants, but that trend was only strongly evident for F 1 .

scholarly journals Potential of Timed 25-Foot Walk Values in Predicting Maximum Walking Distance in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 215-218
Author(s):  
Foziah Alshamrani ◽  
Warren Berger ◽  
Hind Alnajashi ◽  
Michael W.C. Payne ◽  
Sarah A. Morrow
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Walk Test ◽  
Expanded Disability Status Scale ◽  
Post Hoc Analysis ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Disability Status ◽  
Relapsing Remitting ◽  
Edss Score ◽  
Post Hoc

Abstract Background: Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores of 4.0 or greater are determined primarily by maximum walking distance (MWD). Estimation of MWD by persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) is often used due to the impracticality of formally walking a person with MS in a clinic setting. Previous studies have demonstrated discrepancies between estimated and actual MWDs. Whether Timed 25-Foot Walk test (T25FW) values can be used to predict MWD is currently unknown. This study aimed to determine whether T25FW time is predictive of MWD in persons with MS. Methods: This study is a post hoc analysis of a previously described prospective cohort study. Persons with MS with an EDSS score of 3.5 to 5.5 were included. The participant’s T25FW values and MWD were measured. Results: Of the 38 adult participants (mean age, 50.8 years; 27 women [71%]), 24 (63%) had relapsing-remitting MS. The median EDSS score was 4.5 (range, 3.5–5.5). The T25FW times were divided into seven categories (<5.0, 5.0–5.9, 6.0–6.9, 7.0–7.9, 8.0–8.9, 9.0–9.9, and ≥10.0 seconds). The MWDs were divided into corresponding EDSS score categories: ≥500, 300–499, 200–299, 100–199, and ≤99 m. Ordinal logistic regression, when controlled for age, found the T25FW categories to be predictive of EDSS score (χ2 = 17.630, df = 7, P = .014). Conclusions: The T25FW value may be used as a surrogate estimate of MWD. Further studies are needed to confirm the reliability of the T25FW in predicting MWD.

scholarly journals Production of Estonian quantity contrasts by Japanese speakers

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 79-96
Author(s):  
Einar Meister ◽  
Rena Nemoto ◽  
Lya Meister
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Phonological Contrasts ◽  
Target Words

Estonian and Japanese are quantity languages both exploiting the duration cue to implement phonological contrasts. However, the quantity systems of the two languages are different – Estonian features a three-way quantity contrast while Japanese has a binary contrast. This paper studies how L2 subjects with Japanese-language background (L2-JP) produce the Estonian quantity contrasts. For the acoustic analysis the speech recordings by six L2-JP subjects and 12 native Estonian (L1-EE) subjects were used. The material analyzed consists of read sentences comprising triplets of segmentally identical disyllabic target words in the quantities Q1 (short), Q2 (long) and Q3 (overlong). In their production, the L2-JP subjects successfully produced the Q1/Q2 contrast but failed in contrasting vocalic Q2 and Q3 (CVVCV vs. CVVːCV) oppositions; however, the subjects managed to produce the Q2/Q3 consonantal quantity contrasts (CVCCV vs. CVCːCV). The L2-JP subjects’ segment durations differing from those of the L1-EE subjects, reveal the role of native durational patterns on the acquisition of Estonian quantity oppositions.Kokkuvõte. Einar Meister, Rena Nemoto, Lya Meister: Eesti välted jaapani emakeelega keelejuhtide häälduses. Eesti ja jaapani keel on kvantiteedikeeled, st mõlemad keeled kasutavad kestust fonoloogiliste vastanduste väljendamiseks. Kvantiteedisüsteemid kahes keeles on siiski erinevad – eesti keelt iseloomustab kolmene vältevastandus, jaapani keeles on kestusvastandus binaarne. Artiklis uuriti eesti väldete hääldust jaapani emakeelega keelejuhtide kõnes ja võrreldi seda eesti emakeelega keelejuhtide hääldusega. Akustiliseks analüüsiks kasutati kuue eesti keelt võõrkeelena kõneleva jaapanlase ja 12 eesti emakeelega keelejuhi etteloetud lausete salvestusi, milles esinesid vältevastandusi kandvad kahesilbilised sõnad. Tulemused näitasid, et jaapani keelejuhid hääldasid kontrastiivselt esma- ja teisevältelisi sõnu, kuid ei eristanud teise- ja kolmandavältelisi vokaalikeskse vastandusega (CVVCV vs CVVːCV) sõnu. Samas hääldasid nad erinevalt teise- ja kolmandavältelisi konsonandikeskse vastandusega (CVCCV vs CVCːCV) sõnu. Leitud segmendikestuste erinevused jaapanlaste ja eestlaste kõnes peegeldavad emakeelsete kestusmustrite erinevusi kahes keeles.Märksõnad: eesti keel, jaapani keel, aktsendiga kõne, fonoloogiline kestus, välted

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