School of Languages and Linguistics - Research Publications
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ItemTonal alignment of focal accents in two varieties of Indian English(University of Canterbury, 2014)This study examines the tonal alignment of focal rising pitch movements in two varieties of Indian English: Bengali and Kannada English. The results revealed that all speakers use a bitonal rising pitch accent to realise focal prominence. An examination of the alignment patterns of Low and High tone targets shows that a late rising L*+H accent on focally prominent words is characteristic of Bengali English speakers whereas Kannada English speakers use an L+H* accent. Consistent with the literature, the phonetic location of the tone targets is also strongly correlated with accented syllable duration and a range of other phonetic factors.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableThe impact of task automaticity on speech in noise(Elsevier Science, 2014)In the control of skeleto-motor movement, it is well established that the less complex, or more automatic a motor task is, the less variability and uncertainty there is in its performance. It was hypothesized that a similar relationship exists for integrated cognitive-motor tasks such as speech where the uncertainty with which actions are initiated may increase when the feedback loop is interrupted or dampened. To investigate this, the Lombard effect was exploited to explore the acoustic impact of background noise on speech during tasks increasing in automaticity. Fifteen healthy adults produced five speech tasks bearing different levels of automaticity (e.g., counting, reading, unprepared monologue) during habitual and altered auditory feedback conditions (Lombard effect). Data suggest that speech tasks relatively free of meaning or phonetic complexity are influenced to a lesser degree by a compromised auditory feedback than more complex paradigms (e.g., contemporaneous speech) on measures of timing. These findings inform understanding of the relative contribution speech task selection plays in measures of speech. Data also aid in understanding the relationship between task automaticity and altered speech production in neurological conditions where dual impairments of movement and cognition are observed (e.g., Huntington’s disease, progressive aphasia).
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ItemProsodic effects on vowel spectra in three Australian languages(International Speech Communications Association, 2014)In this paper, the spectral properties of vowels in three Australian languages are examined with the aim of determining whether prosodic prominence and domain-edge effects on formant frequencies, formant variability and vowel space dispersion can be identified. It is shown that these vowel systems are sufficiently dispersed, with an anchoring of the system by the open central vowel. It is also shown that for Burarra but not for Gupapuyngu or Warlpiri there is some evidence of prosodically-driven hyper-articulation. Finally, the data indicate pre-boundary lengthening in all three languages, which in some cases appears to be associated with changes in vowel quality.
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ItemAmplitude and F0 as acoustic correlates of Kelantan Malay word-initial geminates(University of Canterbury, 2014)
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ItemAn Investigation of the /el/-/ae l/ Merger in Australian English: A Pilot Study on Production and Perception in South-West Victoria(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2014-01-01)This exploratory study looks at evidence of merger between /el/ and /æl/ in Australian English, and the possible relationship between production and perception that might be involved in such a process. This merger appears to occur primarily in Victoria, although its regional distribution within that state still requires investigation. The phenomenon appears to be motivated by the interaction of three different phonetic processes: increasing lateral velarization; increasing vowel lowering; and misperception/misparsing of the phonetic signal. We focus here on the behaviour of a sample of native speakers from Warrnambool, a regional township in south-west Victoria. Given evidence that some speakers merge the vowels in /el/ and /æl/ while others do not, our participants are categorized as maintainers (those who keep /el/–/æl/ distinct) and combiners (those who merge /el/–/æl/), and we compare how the groups process /el/–/æl/ in perception. Overall results point to an association, according to category, between listeners' own production and perception of /el/–/æl/ in an identification task, although individual variability is also evident and needs to be understood.
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ItemIdentifying /el/-/æl/: A comparison between two regional Australian towns(University of Canterbury, 2014)