scholarly journals An Acoustic Analysis of New Zealand English Vowels in Auckland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brooke Ross
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Regional Variation ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Young Group ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Sentence Stress

<p>This study presents an acoustic analysis looking at phonetic diversity in Auckland. New Zealand English is often characterized by a lack of regional variation; however, this claim has been made without considering Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. Over the last 30 years there has been increased migration to New Zealand, specifically to Auckland. In 35% of Auckland’s suburbs, no ethnic group represents more than 50% of the population. In addition, many speakers were born overseas, and many more have grown up using different varieties of English as the spoken norm. In this study, 40 New Zealand English speakers from three suburbs in Auckland (Mt. Roskill n= 14, Papatoetoe, n=13, Titirangi, n=13) were recorded. For our young group (n=33) the participants were aged between 18 and 25 years, and each suburb was evenly split between male and female participants. Speakers were either New Zealand born or arrived in the country under the age of seven. Our older group (n=7) were female speakers, all New Zealand born, and aged between 40 and 70 yrs. Vowels which had sentence stress were identified and extracted, and formant values were calculated at the vowel target. All formant tracks were hand checked. Over 8000 monophthong tokens and 4000 diphthongs were analysed in this study. Whilst no differences were found between young speakers from different suburbs, there were age effects. Further, speech from the young Auckland speakers was noticeably different to findings from other studies on New Zealand English. Most notably monophthongs TRAP and DRESS were lower than expected. In addition the first targets of the diphthongs FACE and GOAT have risen, and PRICE has fronted, for younger speakers from all suburbs. The thesis concludes discussing the implications of the results.</p>

scholarly journals An Acoustic Analysis of New Zealand English Vowels in Auckland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brooke Ross
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Regional Variation ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Young Group ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Sentence Stress

<p>This study presents an acoustic analysis looking at phonetic diversity in Auckland. New Zealand English is often characterized by a lack of regional variation; however, this claim has been made without considering Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. Over the last 30 years there has been increased migration to New Zealand, specifically to Auckland. In 35% of Auckland’s suburbs, no ethnic group represents more than 50% of the population. In addition, many speakers were born overseas, and many more have grown up using different varieties of English as the spoken norm. In this study, 40 New Zealand English speakers from three suburbs in Auckland (Mt. Roskill n= 14, Papatoetoe, n=13, Titirangi, n=13) were recorded. For our young group (n=33) the participants were aged between 18 and 25 years, and each suburb was evenly split between male and female participants. Speakers were either New Zealand born or arrived in the country under the age of seven. Our older group (n=7) were female speakers, all New Zealand born, and aged between 40 and 70 yrs. Vowels which had sentence stress were identified and extracted, and formant values were calculated at the vowel target. All formant tracks were hand checked. Over 8000 monophthong tokens and 4000 diphthongs were analysed in this study. Whilst no differences were found between young speakers from different suburbs, there were age effects. Further, speech from the young Auckland speakers was noticeably different to findings from other studies on New Zealand English. Most notably monophthongs TRAP and DRESS were lower than expected. In addition the first targets of the diphthongs FACE and GOAT have risen, and PRICE has fronted, for younger speakers from all suburbs. The thesis concludes discussing the implications of the results.</p>

New Zealand English in Auckland

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-81
Author(s):  
Brooke Ross ◽  
Elaine Ballard ◽  
Catherine Watson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Sentence Stress

Abstract This study acoustically analyses the vowel space of adult New Zealand English speakers from a predominantly Pasifika suburb in Auckland (Papatoetoe). These speakers (n = 13) are compared to two equivalent groups from non-Pasifika Auckland suburbs, Mount Roskill (n = 14) and Titirangi (n = 6). All participants are New Zealand English speakers aged 16–25. There were equal numbers of male and female participants. For the acoustic analysis vowels with sentence stress were identified and extracted and formant values were calculated at the vowel target. This study looks at over 8000 monophthongs and 4000 diphthongs. The study found minimal differences between speakers from different suburbs, but all groups had notable differences from the traditional New Zealand English (NZE) vowel space. These differences align with previous comments regarding the vowels of Pasifika New Zealand English. The paper concludes by contemplating what these results say about Pasifika New Zealand English and New Zealand English in Auckland.

scholarly journals Indigenous ethnic identity, in-group warmth, and psychological wellbeing: A longitudinal study of Māori

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Houkamau ◽  
Petar Milojev ◽  
Lara Greaves ◽  
Kiri Dell ◽  
Chris G Sibley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Identity Centrality

AbstractLongitudinal studies into the relationship between affect (positive or negative feelings) towards one’s own ethnic group and wellbeing are rare, particularly for Indigenous peoples. In this paper, we test the longitudinal effects of in-group warmth (a measure of ethnic identity affect) and ethnic identity centrality on three wellbeing measures for New Zealand Māori: life satisfaction (LS), self-esteem (SE), and personal wellbeing (PW). Longitudinal panel data collected from Māori (N = 3803) aged 18 or over throughout seven annual assessments (2009–2015) in the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study were analyzed using latent trajectory models with structured residuals to examine cross-lagged within-person effects. Higher in-group warmth towards Māori predicted increases in all three wellbeing measures, even more strongly than ethnic identity centrality. Bi-directionally, PW and SE predicted increased in-group warmth, and SE predicted ethnic identification. Further, in sample-level (between-person) trends, LS and PW rose, but ethnic identity centrality interestingly declined over time. This is the first large-scale longitudinal study showing a strong relationship between positive affect towards one’s Indigenous ethnic group and wellbeing. Efforts at cultural recovery and restoration have been a deliberate protective response to colonization, but among Māori, enculturation and access to traditional cultural knowledge varies widely. The data reported here underline the role of ethnic identity affect as an important dimension of wellbeing and call for continued research into the role of this dimension of ethnic identity for Indigenous peoples.

Two new species of Prolixus (Acari: Trombidiformes: Tenuipalpidae) on Gahnia (Cyperaceae) from New Zealand

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 1521
Author(s):  
Yun Xu ◽  
Jian Huang ◽  
Zhi-Qiang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
World Species ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Active Life ◽  
Two New Species

Two new species, Prolixus nicholasi sp. nov. and Prolixus setifolius sp. nov., are described and illustrated from leaves of Gahnia setifolia (Cyperaceae) in Auckland, New Zealand. In this paper, we present the ontogenetic additions in idiosomal and the leg chaetotaxy from larva to adult. The adult male and female of P. setifolius have different leg setae, allowing all active life stages to be sexed. A key to world species of Prolixus is also proposed.

scholarly journals ACOUSTIC MEASUREMENT ON VOWEL PRODUCTION OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE BY INDONESIAN EFL LEARNERS

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Rudha Widagsa ◽  
Ahmad Agung Yuwono Putro
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
British English ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Second Formant

Indonesian is the most widely spoken language in Indonesia. More than 200 million people speak the language as a first language. However, acoustic study on Indonesian learners of English (ILE) production remains untouched. The purpose of this measurement is to examine the influence of first language (L1) on English vowels production as a second language (L2). Based on perceptual magnet hypothesis (PMH), ILE were predicted to produce close sounds to L1 English where the vowels are similar to Indonesian vowels. Acoustic analysis was conducted to measure the formant frequencies. This study involved five males of Indonesian speakers aged between 20-25 years old. The data of British English native speakers were taken from previous study by Hawkins & Midgley (2005). The result illustrates that the first formant frequencies (F1) which correlates to the vowel hight of Indonesian Learners of English were significantly different from the corresponding frequencies of British English vowels. Surprisingly, the significant differences in second formant (F2) of ILE were only in the production of /ɑ, ɒ, ɔ/ in which /ɑ/=p 0.002, /ɒ/ =p 0,001, /ɔ/ =p 0,03. The vowel space area of ILE was slightly less spacious than the native speakers. This study is expected to shed light in English language teaching particularly as a foreign language.Keywords: VSA, EFL, Indonesian learners, formant frequencies, acoustic

City Children’s Nature Knowledge and Contact: It Is Not Just About Biodiversity Provision

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 1145-1171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Freeman ◽  
Aviva Stein ◽  
Kathryn Hand ◽  
Yolanda van Heezik
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Linear Modeling ◽  
Generalized Linear Modeling ◽  
Nature Contact

Much attention has been directed at the perceived decline in city children’s contact with nature. We used a child-centric approach to assess neighborhood nature knowledge in 187 children aged 9 to 11 years, from different socioeconomic and ethnic groups in three New Zealand cities. We evaluated the relative importance of social (independence, gender, social connections, deprivation, age) and environmental factors (biodiversity) in explaining variation in knowledge at a scale relevant to each child’s independent movements. Our biodiversity evaluation reflected the natural dimensions of the habitats where children interacted with nature. Generalized linear modeling identified ethnicity as having the strongest association with nature knowledge. Within each ethnic group, social factors were most important (independence, social connections, deprivation) except for Pākehā/NZ European children, where local biodiversity was most important. Enhancing biodiversity values of private green spaces (yards) would be effective in facilitating opportunities to experience nature, which is fundamental to supporting nature contact.

scholarly journals The Perception of Spontaneous and Volitional Laughter Across 21 Societies

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 1515-1525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Bryant ◽  
Daniel M. T. Fessler ◽  
Riccardo Fusaroli ◽  
Edward Clint ◽  
Dorsa Amir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Potential Importance ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
The World ◽  
High Consistency ◽  
Sound Features

Laughter is a nonverbal vocalization occurring in every known culture, ubiquitous across all forms of human social interaction. Here, we examined whether listeners around the world, irrespective of their own native language and culture, can distinguish between spontaneous laughter and volitional laughter—laugh types likely generated by different vocal-production systems. Using a set of 36 recorded laughs produced by female English speakers in tests involving 884 participants from 21 societies across six regions of the world, we asked listeners to determine whether each laugh was real or fake, and listeners differentiated between the two laugh types with an accuracy of 56% to 69%. Acoustic analysis revealed that sound features associated with arousal in vocal production predicted listeners’ judgments fairly uniformly across societies. These results demonstrate high consistency across cultures in laughter judgments, underscoring the potential importance of nonverbal vocal communicative phenomena in human affiliation and cooperation.

scholarly journals An Acoustic Investigation of Pakistani and American English Vowels

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Abdul Malik Abbasi ◽  
Mansoor Ahmed Channa ◽  
Stephen John ◽  
Masood Akhter Memon ◽  
Rabia Anwar
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
American English ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Acoustic Measurements ◽  
Computer Laboratory ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
English Vowels

Acoustic analysis tests the hypothesis that the physical properties of Pakistani English (PaKE) vowels differ in terms of acoustic measurements of Native American English speakers. The present paper aims to document the physical behavior of English vowels produced by PaKE learners. The major goal of this paper is to measure the production of sound frequencies coupled with vowel duration. The primary aim of this paper is to explore the different frequencies and duration of the vowels involved in articulation of PaKE. English vowels selected for this purpose are: /æ/, /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /ɒ/ and /ə/. Total ten samplings were obtained from the department of computer science at Sindh Madressatul Islam University, Karachi. The study was based on the analysis of 500 (10×5×10=500) voice samples. Five vowel minimal pairs were selected and written in a carrier phrase [I say CVC now]. Ten speakers (5 male & five female) recorded their 500 voice samples using Praat speech processing tool and a high-quality microphone on laptop in a computer laboratory with no background sound. Three parameters were considered for the analysis of PaKE vowels i.e., duration of five vowels, fundamental frequency (F1 and F2). It was hypothesized that the properties of PaKE vowels are different from that of English native speakers. The hypothesis was accepted since the acoustic measurements of PaKE and English Native American speakers’ physical properties of sounds were discovered different.

scholarly journals Te Reo Māori: indigenous language acquisition in the context of New Zealand English

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELAINE REESE ◽  
PETER KEEGAN ◽  
STUART MCNAUGHTON ◽  
TE KANI KINGI ◽  
POLLY ATATOA CARR ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Short Forms ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
The Status

AbstractThis study assessed the status of te reo Māori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, in the context of New Zealand English. From a broadly representative sample of 6327 two-year-olds (Growing Up in New Zealand), 6090 mothers (96%) reported their children understood English, and 763 mothers (12%) reported their children understood Māori. Parents completed the new MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory short forms for te reo Māori (NZM: CDI sf) and New Zealand English (NZE: CDI sf). Mothers with higher education levels had children with larger vocabularies in both te reo Māori and NZ English. For English speakers, vocabulary advantages also existed for girls, first-borns, monolinguals, those living in areas of lower deprivation, and those whose mothers had no concerns about their speech and language. Because more than 99% of Māori speakers were bilingual, te reo Māori acquisition appears to be occurring in the context of the acquisition of New Zealand English.

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