scholarly journals FORENSIC SPEAKER PROFILING FROM THE SAMPLE IN ЕNGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE – VOWEL DURATION ANALYSIS

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (49) ◽  
pp. 29-46
Author(s):  
Kristina Tomić ◽  
Katarina Milenković
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Novi Sad ◽  
The Voice

Forensic speaker profiling is a procedure employed in criminal cases where there is a voice recording of the criminal, but there is no suspect. It encompasses determining the age, gender, origin or socio- economic status of the recorded speaker (Rose 2002; Kašić, Đorđević 2009a; Jessen 2010). One of the challenges of modern forensic phonetic science is speaker profiling from the voice sample in a foreign language. In the current research, we analyzed the vowel duration of five speakers from Novi Sad and five speakers from Niš, when they were speaking spontaneously in their mother tongue, Serbian, and in a foreign lan- guage, English. We compared the quantity of vowels of each group of speakers within-language and across languages. The acoustic analysis of vowels was performed manually in Praat (Boersma, Weenink 2018), by looking at the spectrogram and waveform of the recordings. To test the difference in means of two groups of data, we used the Welch t-test (Welch 1947). Our results show that urban speakers from Niš and Novi Sad do not exhibit statistically significant differences in the duration of their English vowels. However, certain duration relations that exist between vowels may be indicative of one’s native dialect.

scholarly journals The effectiveness of explicit or Implicit pronunciation teaching to Greek learners of english

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Βάϊα Παπαχρήστου
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Speaker Variability ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
The One

Previous research on second language phonological acquisition has shown that mastery of the L2 phonological system constitutes a challenging task for L2 learners. Several parametres have been suggested to constrain pronunciation accuracy, such as, interference from speakers’ mother tongue, learners’ age, quality and quantity of exposure to the target language, as well as motivation, attitude and other social and psychological factors. However, research on pronunciation teaching and its potential effectiveness on learners’ L2 phonological development has been quite limited, especially in foreign language contexts.The main aim of the present thesis is to investigate the production of English vowels by Greek learners of English and the effectiveness of explicit vs. implicit pronunciation instruction within a foreign language setting. To this end, three groups of speakers aged 9 and 15 years old were examined; i.e. two experimental groups, one which received explicit pronunciation tuition and one which was taught the pronunciation of the English vowels implicitly, via the use of recasts, and a control one which did not get any pronunciation tuition. Both experimental groups received 43 mini pronunciation interventions embedded in the regular English classes at school. The methodology adopted was the one proposed by Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (1996) moving from controlled and guided activities to more communicative ones. Additionally, L1 Greek and L1 English data were obtained in order to compare the vowel inventories of the two languages.The results showed that after teaching, explicit pronunciation instruction can selectively bring about a change in both young and older students’ L2 vowel production, while no improvement was reported for the implicit and control groups9for either age group. Generally, considerable intra- and inter-speaker variability was revealed after tuition and despite the small changes observed, systematic native-like production was difficult to attain. Moreover, no clear effect of learners’ age was documented. A thorough examination of the factors hindering pronunciation accuracy is presented and the findings are discussed on the basis of current theories of L2 phonological acquisition.

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 Duration as a Phonetic Cue in Native and Non‑Native American English

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28
Author(s):  
Biljana Čubrović
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
American English ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
The Us ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Phonetic Duration

This vowel study looks at the intricate relationship between spectral  characteristics and vowel duration in the context of American English vowels, both from a native speaker (NS) and non-native speaker (NNS) perspective. The non-native speaker cohort is  homogeneous in the sense that all speakers have Serbian as their mother tongue, but have been long-time residents of the US. The phonetic context investigated in this study is /bVt/, where V is one of the American English monophthongs /i ɪ u ʊ ε æ ʌ ɔ ɑ/. The results of the acoustic analysis show that the NNS vowels are generally longer than the NS vowels. Furthermore, NNSs neutralise the vowel quality of two tense and lax pairs of vowels, /i ɪ/ and /u ʊ/, and rely more heavily on the phonetic duration when prononuncing them.

scholarly journals Spelling Mistakes Made by Korean Students on the Elementary Level of Learning Ukrainian as a Foreign Language

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Iryna Zbyr
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Literacy Skill ◽  
Elementary Level ◽  
Korean Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Written Text ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Republic

<p>Spelling is a basic literacy skill in any language as it is in communication. This research attempted to investigate the academic performance and spelling mistakes of the first-year students at the Department of Ukrainian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in the Republic of Korea. The study included 20 students in the first semester and 18 – in the second. The finding of the study indicated that the students committed a number of spelling mistakes that affect the coherence of their academic written text. Also, the finding showed that these spelling errors may be attributed to mother tongue interferences in which they relate to the difference between the systems of both native language and foreign language. Data were collected through a battery of test on Beginning Ukrainian Grammar and Composition, which is taken by the students after their first and second semester. This study is aimed at singling out types of spelling mistakes and determining their reasons. Furthermore, this data allowed the author to come up with possible ways of avoiding or reducing the number of such errors. This research recommends that future investigations be conducted in the area to confirm the results of the current research in order to examine from other perspectives such as ages and grade. Due attention is paid to defining the term “spelling mistakes” in the process of learning Ukrainian as a foreign language on the elementary level. In addition, the effect of such mistakes on acquiring written communicative competence by the Korean students is examined. Types of mistakes that are referred to as “spelling mistakes” are defined in the article as well.</p>

scholarly journals Subjective acoustic analysis of tumor’s dysphonia using 'rbh' scale

2003 ◽  
Vol 131 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 40-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slobodan Mitrovic
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Vocal Cords ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Most Frequent Value ◽  
Human Ear ◽  
The Voice

The goal of psycho acoustic or subjective voice analysis, in a phoniater's everyday work, is to describe a subjective experience based on the physical parameters created in the process of phonation. The work was a clinical prospective study and the sample consisted of 80 people of both sexes, 40 people with benign and pseudo tumors of vocal cords and 40 people with malign tumors of vocal cords. All the patients were otorinolaringologically and phoniatrically examined. The subjective acoustic analysis was done with the patients pronouncing numbers from 1 to 10 in the comfortable zone. Afterwards, the quality of the voices was estimated in RBH scale. The subjective acoustic analysis found roughness in the voices of 87,50% patients in the first group and the most frequent value was Mod=3 ( intense roughness), 62,50% patients. Hoarseness was present in 90,00 % cases , with largest value Mod=2 (moderate hoarseness), 55,00% patients. In the second group, roughness existed in the voices of 70,00% patients, most often intense one (Mod=3), 30,00% patients. Hoarseness existed in 95,00% cases, 45,00% with moderate (Mod=2) and 35,00% with intense one. T test showed that there is a statistically significant difference between the strength of the roughness determined by the subjective acoustic analysis in the first and the second group, with p<0,01. The difference between the strength of the hoarseness in the first and the second group is also statistically significant, with p<0,01. All the growths on vocal cords irrespective of their nature change the characteristics of the voice, most of all its clearness. In cases of vocal cords tumors, by the subjective acoustic analysis, i.e. the perception of the psycho physiological characteristics of voice, a human ear can register pathological phenomena of the voice but cannot determine the character of the growth on the vocal cords.

scholarly journals AN ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF VOICELESS ALVEOLAR PLOSIVE /t/ IN SUNDANESE, INDONESIAN, AND ENGLISH BY SUNDANESE SPEAKERS

Metahumaniora ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Jeri Sukmawijaya ◽  
Sutiono Mahdi ◽  
Susi Yuliawati
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Initial Segment ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Stressed Syllable ◽  
The Voice ◽  
The Way ◽  
Voice Recording

A voiceless alveolar plosive /t/ is pronounced with many variations. In English, it is perceived to have an aspiration when it is in the initial segment of a word in a stressed syllable while Sundanese and Indonesian do not aspirate it. The study focuses on finding out Voice Onset Time (VOT) or duration of /t/ in Sundanese, Indonesian, and English produced by Sundanese speakers. The method used is quantitative and qualitative (mix method). The data are obtained from the voice recording of eighteen undergraduate students. They are all native Sundanese speakers who are learning English at IKIP Siliwangi Cimahi. The voice recordings are analyzed and measured by acoustic analysis by using PRAAT software. The result shows the average VOT or duration of /t/ in the initial segment of the word in Sundanese and Indonesian is identical, namely 20 ms. It indicates that they do not aspirate /t/ in Sundanese and Indonesian. Additionally, they transfer the way they produce /t/ in their two languages into English as their foreign language. It can be seen from the average VOT or duration of /t/ in the initial segment of the word in English that lasts 29 ms. This finding can be a reference to other researchers who want to know the necessary duration of /t/ in Sundanese and Indonesian produced by Sundanese speakers. 

scholarly journals ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF PITCH ACCENT AS A REGIONAL FORENSIC MARKER IN SERBIAN

2021 ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Kristina Tomić
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Forensic Phonetics ◽  
Novi Sad ◽  
Frequency Ratios ◽  
Forensic Markers

The current research compares the acoustic correlates of pitch accent of two urban dialects of spoken Serbian, urban Niš and Novi Sad. We analyzed spontaneous speech of nineteen native speakers of Serbian with regard to vowel duration and fundamental frequency ratios. It was shown that the tone between the stressed and post-stressed vowel is generally falling in the speech of Niš, while in the speech of Novi Sad it reflects the tone of the expected pitch accent in that particular word. The same is true of the interval between the end of the stressed and the beginning of the post-stressed vowel, which is always rising in the speech of Niš. In Niš, speakers tend to produce vowels in words with falling accents as longer than in words with rising accents. On average, vowels are longer in the speech of Novi Sad. Bearing in mind that regional variations provide important forensic markers (Kašić and Đorđević 2009), this research aims to contribute to the discipline of forensic phonetics, in particular to speaker profiling. Its significance also lies in the fact that it examines spontaneous speech, and is thus relevant for forensic casework (Rose 2002; Nolan, de Jong, and McDougall 2006).

scholarly journals Semantic and Linguo-Cultural Analysis of Synonymic Set for Caress

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shorena Tsignadze
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Cultural Characteristics ◽  
Semantic System ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Domestic Hen

The semantic and Lingo-cultural analysis of the synonymic et for cares is discussed in the article. Georgian and English synonymic dictionaries are used as an analytic source. Studying synonyms has quite a long history. Linguistic observation of such items in different systematic languages is very interesting. We consider the difference which exists in the Georgian and English languages as structural-semantic, as well as lingu-cultural point of views. Synonyms are the part of lexical-semantic system of a language and the main point is shown in their absolute or partial coincidence. Their study allows us to have the access to a huge reserve depictive means of a language and gives us the opportunity to show them in a methodological way, which is “very crucial for learning our mother tongue as well as a foreign language”(Jorjaneli. K. 2006:6).While making a linguo-cultural analysis, the focus is mainly point on the question of what this notion means in different languages, what does it imply to, how is it expressed by; how does one language differ from another based on their linguistic portraits.As the observation on synonyms has revealed, the usage of substantial adjectives and zoonyms in the caress-endearment speech is universal for these two languages. Of course, individual words aso participate, which is the result of the linguo-cultural characteristics of each language. For example, addressing words like the following ones are very specific in English : Sweetie-pie( a sweet patty), bantam( bantam is associated with the breed of a little domestic hen), minuscule ( this is one of script varieties. It is used while showing an affection as a sign of something very little, insignificant), and in Georgian we can find - შენი ჭკუისა! ( Sheni chkuisa) მიტირე (mitire) / მტლად დაგედე (mtlad gadagede) / ჭირი მოგჭამე(chiri mogchame) / ჭირი მოგპარე (chiri mogpare) and so on.

The Relationship Between Perception and Acoustics for a High-Low Vowel Contrast Produced by Speakers With Dysarthria

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1215-1228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Bunton ◽  
Gary Weismer
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Speech Disorders ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Motor Speech Disorders ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Vowel Contrast ◽  
Consistent Error ◽  
The Relationship

This study was designed to explore the relationship between perception of a high-low vowel contrast and its acoustic correlates in tokens produced by persons with motor speech disorders. An intelligibility test designed by Kent, Weismer, Kent, and Rosenbek (1989a) groups target and error words in minimal-pair contrasts. This format allows for construction of phonetic error profiles based on listener responses, thus allowing for a direct comparison of the acoustic characteristics of vowels perceived as the intended target with those heard as something other than the target. The high-low vowel contrast was found to be a consistent error across clinical groups and therefore was selected for acoustic analysis. The contrast was expected to have well-defined acoustic measures or correlates, derived from the literature, that directly relate to a listeners' responses for that token. These measures include the difference between the second and first formant frequency (F2-F1), the difference between F1 and the fundamental frequency (F0), and vowel duration. Results showed that the acoustic characteristics of tongue-height errors were not clearly differentiated from the acoustic characteristics of targets. Rather, the acoustic characteristics of errors often looked like noisy (nonprototypi-cal) versions of the targets. Results are discussed in terms of the test from which the errors were derived and within the framework of speech perception theory.

scholarly journals The importance of word-final vowel duration for non-native portuguese speaker identification by means of Support Vector Machines

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 689-714
Author(s):  
Suzanne Franks ◽  
Rommel Barbosa
Keyword(s):  
Support Vector Machines ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Speaker Identification ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Acoustic Features ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Vector Machines

This article studies the acoustic characteristics of some oral vowels in tonic syllables of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and which acoustic features are important for classifying native versus non-native speakers of BP. We recorded native and non-native speakers of BP for the purpose of the acoustic analysis of the vowels [a], [i], and [u] in tonic syllables. We analyzed the acoustic parameters of each segment using the Support Vector Machines algorithm to identify to which group, native or non-native, a new speaker belongs. When all of the variables were considered, a precision of 91% was obtained. The two most important acoustic cues to determine if a speaker is native or non-native were the durations of [i] and [u] in a word-final position. These findings can contribute to BP speaker identification as well as to the teaching of the pronunciation of Portuguese as a foreign language.

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