scholarly journals On the physical origin of linguistic laws and lognormality in speech

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 191023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iván G. Torre ◽  
Bartolo Luque ◽  
Lucas Lacasa ◽  
Christopher T. Kello ◽  
Antoni Hernández-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
Mathematical Formulation ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Physical Origin ◽  
Speech Corpus ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Size Rank ◽  
Linguistic Units ◽  
Mathematical Derivation ◽  
Statistical Laws

Physical manifestations of linguistic units include sources of variability due to factors of speech production which are by definition excluded from counts of linguistic symbols. In this work, we examine whether linguistic laws hold with respect to the physical manifestations of linguistic units in spoken English. The data we analyse come from a phonetically transcribed database of acoustic recordings of spontaneous speech known as the Buckeye Speech corpus. First, we verify with unprecedented accuracy that acoustically transcribed durations of linguistic units at several scales comply with a lognormal distribution, and we quantitatively justify this ‘lognormality law’ using a stochastic generative model. Second, we explore the four classical linguistic laws (Zipf’s Law, Herdan’s Law, Brevity Law and Menzerath–Altmann’s Law (MAL)) in oral communication, both in physical units and in symbolic units measured in the speech transcriptions, and find that the validity of these laws is typically stronger when using physical units than in their symbolic counterpart. Additional results include (i) coining a Herdan’s Law in physical units, (ii) a precise mathematical formulation of Brevity Law, which we show to be connected to optimal compression principles in information theory and allows to formulate and validate yet another law which we call the size-rank law or (iii) a mathematical derivation of MAL which also highlights an additional regime where the law is inverted. Altogether, these results support the hypothesis that statistical laws in language have a physical origin.

scholarly journals Linguistic Laws in Speech: The Case of Catalan and Spanish

Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoni Hernández-Fernández ◽  
Iván G. Torre ◽  
Juan-María Garrido ◽  
Lucas Lacasa
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Acoustic Signal ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Acoustic Signals ◽  
Zipf’S Law ◽  
Physical Origin ◽  
Zipf's Law ◽  
Written Texts ◽  
Size Rank

In this work we consider Glissando Corpus—an oral corpus of Catalan and Spanish—and empirically analyze the presence of the four classical linguistic laws (Zipf’s law, Herdan’s law, Brevity law, and Menzerath–Altmann’s law) in oral communication, and further complement this with the analysis of two recently formulated laws: lognormality law and size-rank law. By aligning the acoustic signal of speech production with the speech transcriptions, we are able to measure and compare the agreement of each of these laws when measured in both physical and symbolic units. Our results show that these six laws are recovered in both languages but considerably more emphatically so when these are examined in physical units, hence reinforcing the so-called ‘physical hypothesis’ according to which linguistic laws might indeed have a physical origin and the patterns recovered in written texts would, therefore, be just a byproduct of the regularities already present in the acoustic signals of oral communication.

Paralinguistics in Spoken English: Investigating the Use of Proxemics and Kinesics in an EFL Context

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Pelin Irgin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cultural Communication ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Significant Difference

This research presents how important the body language in oral communication for the foreign language users is in cross cultural communication. Yet, very little attention has been given in the international setting for incorporating paralinguistics into the classroom environment. This paper aims to explain the essential elements of paralinguistics, and to have a special consideration on the use of paralinguistic elements by foreign language learners in a Turkish context. The participants of the study included 68 EFL tertiary level students at a state university in Turkey. The data were collected using a questionnaire “Paralinguistics in Spoken English” developed by the researcher. Descriptive statistics, frequencies and independent samples t-test procedures have been calculated to analyze the collected data. It has been found that item 34, 49, 43, 31, 46 (see Table 2) are the most frequent used proxemics and kinesics by the participants. There is a significant difference in terms of the use of the kinesics and proxemics regarding both gender and regional differences. The results reveal that cultural values should be taught as paralinguistics to prevent both intra cultural and inter cultural communication among EFL students.

Causality and information transfer in systems with extreme events

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Palus
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Mathematical Formulation ◽  
Multiple Time Scales ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
Theoretic Approach ◽  
Heavy Tailed

<p>The mathematical formulation of causality in measurable terms of predictability was given by the father of cybernetics N. Wiener [1] and formulated for time series by C.W.J. Granger [2]. The Granger causality is based on the evaluation of predictability in bivariate autoregressive models. This concept has been generalized for nonlinear systems using methods rooted in information theory [3,4]. The information-theoretic approach, defining causality as information transfer, has been successful in many applications and generalized to multivariate data and causal networks [e.g., 5]. This approach, rooted in the information theory of Shannon, usually ignores two important properties of complex systems, such as the Earth climate: the systems evolve on multiple time scales and their variables have heavy-tailed probability distributions. While the multiscale character of complex dynamics, such as air temperature variability, can be studied within the Shannonian framework [6, 7], the entropy concepts of Rényi and Tsallis have been proposed to cope with variables with heavy-tailed probability distributions. We will discuss how such non-Shannonian entropy concepts can be applied in inference of causality in systems with heavy-tailed probability distributions and extreme events, using examples from the climate system.</p><p>This study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation, project GA19-16066S.</p><p> </p><p> [1] N. Wiener, in: E. F. Beckenbach (Editor), Modern Mathematics for Engineers (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1956)</p><p>[2] C.W.J. Granger, Econometrica 37 (1969) 424</p><p>[3] K. Hlaváčková-Schindler et al., Phys. Rep. 441 (2007)  1</p><p>[4] M. Paluš, M. Vejmelka, Phys. Rev. E 75 (2007) 056211</p><p>[5] J. Runge et al., Nature Communications 6 (2015) 8502</p><p>[6] M. Paluš, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 (2014) 078702</p><p> [7] N. Jajcay, J. Hlinka, S. Kravtsov, A. A. Tsonis, M. Paluš, Geophys. Res. Lett. 43(2) (2016) 902–909</p>

Theory of Topographical Image Contrast

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 188-189
Author(s):  
S. Nakahara ◽  
A. G. Cullis ◽  
D. M. Maher
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
Wave Function ◽  
Fourier Transforms ◽  
Lateral Displacement ◽  
Mathematical Formulation ◽  
Image Contrast ◽  
Theoretical Treatment ◽  
Image Transfer ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Concept Of Information

It has been shown recently that image contrast arising from specimen topographical structure may be obtained using the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The contrast was produced with an adaptation of the Foucault technique in which electrons suffering deviations of typically 10-4 to 10-3 rad were selected by the lateral displacement of a standard objective aperture. The mechanism of image formation was discussed in terms of electron refraction within the specimen inner potential, the contrast being amplitude in nature.In the present paper the imaging process is described by a detailed mathematical formulation.The theoretical treatment is based upon the concept of information theory for image transfer, in which successive Fourier transforms are utilized to derive the wave function of the image from an appropriate object.

Oral English Teaching Context Construction Based on New Media Environment

2013 ◽  
Vol 860-863 ◽  
pp. 3013-3016
Author(s):  
Dong Bo Cao
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
New Media ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Teaching Context ◽  
The University

Along with the increasing requirement of society to the students English ability, college students' English learning should focus on students' practical English comprehensive ability, especially for the purpose of the ability of oral communication. This paper discussed the important role of the construction of university spoken English context to oral capability, and it proposed the strategies of the university English context construction based on new media environment.

scholarly journals Application of Virtual Scenario Teaching in Spoken English Teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Mengqing Han ◽  
Shanshan Niu
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
English Language ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Research Results ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
The Status ◽  
Oral Expression ◽  
Learning Interest

The ultimate goal of learning the English language is oral communication. Virtual scenario teaching (VST) provides the speaking and listening opportunities for learners of spoken English, and allows students to actively participate in the creation of an English environment. Based on VST, this paper summarizes the status quo of spoken English teaching, applies VST to the teaching of spoken English, and evaluates the teaching effect. The results show that VST enhances the students’ ability of language expression, and stimulates their learning interest. With the aid of VST, students can master relevant knowledge, learn spoken English more fluently, and acquire better skills of oral expression. About 95% of teachers speak highly of VST. The research results lay a theoretical basis for reforming and improving the teaching of spoken English.

Google translate in healthcare: preliminary evaluation of transcription, translation and speech synthesis accuracy

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjinnov-2019-000347
Author(s):  
Jack Birkenbeuel ◽  
Helen Joyce ◽  
Ronald Sahyouni ◽  
Dillon Cheung ◽  
Marlon Maducdoc ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Limited English Proficiency ◽  
Speech Synthesis ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Medical Terminology ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Time Translation ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Translation Errors

ObjectiveTo assess the ability of Google Translate (GT) to accurately interpret single sentences and series of sentences commonly used in healthcare encounters from English to Spanish.DesignEnglish-speaking volunteers used GT to interpret a list of 83 commonly used sentences and series of sentences of different lengths containing both medical and non-medical terminology. A certified medical interpreter evaluated whether the meaning of these sentences was preserved.ParticipantsEighteen English-speaking subjects (nine males and nine females), with a mean age of 36 years, volunteered for this study to read sentences.Main outcome measuresThe accuracy of GTs (1) real-time voice recognition (ie, transcription) of English sentences, (2) real-time translation of these transcribed English sentences to Spanish, and (3) GTs speech synthesis ability to preserve the meaning of spoken English sentences after translation to Spanish.ResultsSpeech synthesis accuracy, with preservation of the original English-spoken sentence(s), was 89.4% for single sentences with ≤8 words; 90.6% for single sentences with >8 words; 52.2% for two sentences and 26.6% for three sentences. Furthermore, the number of transcription and translation errors per sentence(s) significantly increased with the number of sentences (p<0.05).ConclusionsDespite the fact that GTs accuracy was widely variable and dependent on the length of the spoken sentence(s), GT is readily accessible, has no associated monetary costs, and offers nearly immediate interpretation services. As such, it has the potential to routinely facilitate effective one-way oral communication between English-speaking physicians and Spanish-speaking patients with limited English proficiency.

scholarly journals Scaling Laws for Phonotactic Complexity in Spoken English Language Data

2020 ◽  
pp. 002383092094444
Author(s):  
Andreas Baumann ◽  
Kamil Kaźmierski ◽  
Theresa Matzinger
Keyword(s):  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
English Language ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Zipf’S Law ◽  
Zipf's Law ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Statistical Laws ◽  
Scaling Coefficient

Two prominent statistical laws in language and other complex systems are Zipf’s law and Heaps’ law. We investigate the extent to which these two laws apply to the linguistic domain of phonotactics—that is, to sequences of sounds. We analyze phonotactic sequences with different lengths within words and across word boundaries taken from a corpus of spoken English (Buckeye). We demonstrate that the expected relationship between the two scaling laws can only be attested when boundary spanning phonotactic sequences are also taken into account. Furthermore, it is shown that Zipf’s law exhibits both high goodness-of-fit and a high scaling coefficient if sequences of more than two sounds are considered. Our results support the notion that phonotactic cognition employs information about boundary spanning phonotactic sequences.

scholarly journals Problems in and Solutions to Oral English Teaching in Rural Middle School—A Case Study in ZhaoCheng Middle School

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 372
Author(s):  
Yayan Yu
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Rural Students ◽  
Shanxi Province ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Communication Ability ◽  
Rural Middle School

As a key skill for language learners, oral communication ability is one of the most important factors to measure one person’s overall quality. Being a widely used language, English has become an important communicative medium between countries. However, the purpose of learning English is to communicate. One can really master the language only by putting it into flexible use. However, English teaching in our country has been the problem of “dumb English” for a long time, especially oral English teaching in rural middle school. Due to the various constraints, oral English teaching still takes the traditional teaching methods. Students have no necessary English environment to exercise English. This kind of “dumb English” makes students lack language communicative ability. So it is urgent to improve the oral English teaching in rural school. In this paper, the investigation and questionnaire survey were aimed at investigating students’ oral English in the Middle School of Zhaocheng Town in Linfen, Shanxi Province, in order to find out the insufficiency of spoken language and give the recommendations, so as to improve the interest of speaking English for rural students and cultivate their communicative competence in spoken English. Finally, it can promote the students’ overall quality and overall performance for our society.

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