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 The acoustic characteristics of non-native American English vowels

Linguistica ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-72
Author(s):  
Biljana Čubrović
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native American ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Language Background ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Native Speech

This study aims at discussing the phonetic property of vowel quality in English, as exercised by both native speakers of General American English (AE) and non-native speakers of General American English of Serbian language background, all residents of the United States. Ten Serbian male speakers and four native male speakers of AE are recorded in separate experiments and their speech analyzed acoustically for any significant phonetic differences, looking into a set of monosyllabic English words representing nine vowels of AE. The general aim of the experiments is to evaluate the phonetic characteristics of AE vowels, with particular attention to F1 and F2 values, investigate which vowels differ most in the two groups of participants, and provide some explanations for these variations. A single most important observation that is the result of this vowel study is an evident merger of three pairs of vowels in the non-native speech: /i ɪ/, /u ʊ/, and /ɛ æ/.

Acoustic analysis of American English vowels by native speakers of Luso‐Portuguese

1998 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 3092-3092
Author(s):  
Patricia N. Schwartz ◽  
Christina F. Famoso ◽  
Adelia DaSilva
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
English Vowels

scholarly journals Perception of American English vowels by sequential Spanish–English bilinguals

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAULA B. GARCÍA ◽  
KAREN FROUD
Keyword(s):  
Mismatch Negativity ◽  
American English ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Related Potentials

Research on American-English (AE) vowel perception by Spanish–English bilinguals has focused on the vowels /i/-/ɪ/ (e.g., in sheep/ship). Other AE vowel contrasts may present perceptual challenges for this population, especially those requiring both spectral and durational discrimination. We used Event-Related Potentials (ERPs), MMN (Mismatch Negativity) and P300, to index discrimination of AE vowels /ɑ/-/ʌ/ by sequential adult Spanish–English bilingual listeners compared to AE monolinguals. Listening tasks were non-attended and attended, and vowels were presented with natural and neutralized durations. Regardless of vowel duration, bilingual listeners showed no MMN to unattended sounds, and P300 responses were elicited to /ɑ/ but not /ʌ/ in the attended condition. Monolingual listeners showed pre-attentive discrimination (MMN) for /ɑ/ only; while both vowels elicited P300 responses when attended. Findings suggest that Spanish–English bilinguals recruit attentional and cognitive resources enabling native-like use of both spectral and durational cues to discriminate between AE vowels /ɑ/ and /ʌ/.

scholarly journals Accuracy and acceptability of second-dialect performance on American television

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-252
Author(s):  
REMCO KNOOIHUIZEN
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
American English ◽  
Short Vowel ◽  
Mitigating Factors ◽  
Dialect Acquisition ◽  
Vowel Systems ◽  
Second Dialect Acquisition ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Australian English

This article analyses a case of second-dialect performance as an idealised instance of second-dialect acquisition, without mitigating factors such as access, analytical ability and motivation. It focuses on the Australian English and American English speech of three young Australian actors. An acoustic analysis of their short-vowel systems shows that they can successfully adapt to perform in an American English accent, but that their second-dialect system is less stable and more variable than their native system.A foreign-accent rating experiment on the actors’ American English with American English judges shows that the actors on average are thought to sound slightly less American than the native American English-speaker controls. The discrepancy between the acoustic accuracy and listener acceptability may be explained by judges attending to different features from those included in the acoustic study.This study of second-dialect performance shows what is maximally possible in second-dialect acquisition. Given the difference between the two measures of success, studies of second-dialect acquisition would benefit from including subjective measures in addition to acoustic accuracy.

Acoustic analysis of American English vowels by native speakers of Russian

1998 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 3092-3092
Author(s):  
Lisa Jayne Romano ◽  
Fredericka Bell‐Berti ◽  
Eugenia Lorin
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
English Vowels

The effects of identification training on the identification and production of American English vowels by native speakers of Japanese

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN G. LAMBACHER ◽  
WILLIAM L. MARTENS ◽  
KAZUHIKO KAKEHI ◽  
CHANDRAJITH A. MARASINGHE ◽  
GARRY MOLHOLT
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Training Procedure ◽  
Identification Performance ◽  
Vowel Identification ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Positive Effect

The effectiveness of a high variability identification training procedure to improve native Japanese identification and production of the American English (AE) mid and low vowels /æ/, //, //, //, // was investigated. Vowel identification and production performance for two groups of Japanese participants was measured before and after a 6-week identification training period. Recordings were made of both group's pre-/posttraining vowel productions of the five vowels, which were evaluated by a group of native AE listeners using a five-alternative, forced-choice identification task and by an acoustic analysis of the vowel productions. The overall results confirmed that the identification performance of the experimental (trained) participants improved after identification training with feedback and that the training also had a positive effect on their production of the target AE vowels.

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.

Effects of semantic predictability on children's preservation of a phonemic voice contrast

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAN CHARLES-LUCE ◽  
KELLY M. DRESSLER ◽  
ELVIRA RAGONESE
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
American English ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Word Duration ◽  
Interactive Activation ◽  
And Task

We investigated the effects of semantic predictability on children's preservation of the /t/-/d/ phonemic voice contrast in American English. In Experiment 1, a total of 36 seven-, nine-, and twelve-year-olds produced minimal pairs differing in intervocalic /t/ and /d/ in semantically biasing and semantically neutral passages. The seven-year-olds preserved the phonemic contrast in both passage types. However, for the nine- and twelve-year-olds, total word duration and preceding vowel duration preserved the /t/-/d/ contrast, but this interacted with semantic predictability. The contrast was preserved in the biasing and not in the neutral passages. The production results from the older children replicated previous findings from adults, demonstrating that semantic predictability influences speech production at both a lexical and a segmental level. In Experiment 2, listeners identified the tokens produced in Experiment 1. The identification results suggested that differences produced by speakers may not necessarily have a functional role for listeners. An interactive activation framework is proposed to account for the semantic effects on older children's and adults' production. For the youngest children, however, we suggest that pragmatic compensation and task demands interact with the effects of interactive activation.

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