VOCALISM AS AN FRTICULATORY-ACOUSTIC COMPNENT OF SONDS

Актуальность поиска подтверждения феномена речи и объяснения её механизма обусловлена проблемами отсутствия описания артикуляционной модели. The relevance of the search confirmation of the phenomenon of speech and the explanation of its mechanism is due to the problems of the lack of a description of the articulatory model.

Introduction

The chapter deals with the origin and phonetic causes of sound changes involving consonants, with the diachronic pathways connecting the input and output phonetic forms, and with models of sound change (e.g., Evolutionary Phonology, the Neogrammarian’s articulatory model, Ohala’s acoustic equivalence model). The need to use articulatory and acoustic data for ascertaining the causes of sound change (and in particular the palatalization and assibilation of velar, labial, and dentoalveolar obstruents) is emphasized. The chapter is also concerned with how allophones are phonologized in sound-change processes and with the special status of (alveolo)palatal stops regarding allophonic phonologization.

Ocular dynamics reveal articulatory processing at single-phoneme level during silent reading

Silent reading is a cognitive operation that produces verbal content with no vocal output. One relevant question is the extent to which this verbal content is processed as overt speech in the brain. To address this, we investigated the signatures of articulatory processing during reading. We acquired sound, eye trajectories and vocal gestures during the reading of consonant-consonant-vowel (CCV) pseudowords. We found that the duration of the first fixations on the CCVs during silent reading are correlated to the duration of the transitions between consonants when the CCVs are actually uttered. An articulatory model of the vocal system was implemented to show that consonantal transitions measure the articulatory effort required to produce the CCVs. These results demonstrate that silent reading is modulated by slight articulatory features such as the laryngeal abduction needed to devoice a single consonant or the reshaping of the vocal tract between successive consonants.

A theory-driven model of handshape similarity

Following the Articulatory Model of Handshape (Keane 2014), which mathematically defines handshapes on the basis of joint angles, we propose two methods for calculating phonetic similarity: a contour difference method, which assesses the amount of change between handshapes within a fingerspelled word, and a positional similarity method, which compares similarity between pairs of letters in the same position across two fingerspelled words. Both methods are validated with psycholinguistic evidence based on similarity ratings by deaf signers. The results indicate that the positional similarity method more reliably predicts native signer intuition judgements about handshape similarity. This new similarity metric fills a gap in the literature (the lack of a theory-driven similarity metric) that has been empty since effectively the beginning of sign-language linguistics.

Mumbling: Macho or Morphology?

Purpose Mumbling as opposed to clear speech is a typical male characteristic in speech and can be the consequence of a small jaw opening. Whereas behavioral reasons have often been offered to explain sex-specific differences with respect to clear speech, the purpose of this study is to investigate a potential anatomical reason for smaller jaw openings in male than in female speakers. Method Articulatory data from 2 data sets (American English and German) were analyzed with respect to jaw opening in low vowels during speech. Particular focus was placed on sex-specific differences, also incorporating potential interactions with different accent conditions in 1 of the data sets. In addition, a modeling study compared the articulatory consequences of similar jaw-opening settings in a typical male and a typical female articulatory model. Results Greater jaw openings were found for the female speakers, in particular in the accented condition, where jaw opening was found to be larger. In line with this finding, the modeling study showed that similar jaw-opening settings in male and female speakers led to differences in pharyngeal constriction, resulting in complete radico-pharyngeal closure in the male model. Conclusion The empirical and modeling findings suggest a possible physiological component in sex-specific differences in speech clarity for low vowels.

2. Context Sensitive Acoustic Near-Neutralization in Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters present an interesting problem with respect to their implication to the interactions between phonology and phonetics. Only recently, however, have the articulations produced in tongue twisters been analyzed phonetically. The research presented is a preliminary study into the so-called /s/ → /∫/ neutralization occurring in English tongue twisters. Traditionally, it was believed that tongue slips in tongue twisters resulted in complete phoneme replacement, neutralizing the contrast. (Pronouncing “seashell” as “sheashell”). More recent studies suggest a differing phonetic account, in which the resulting sound is nearly-neutralized. This study examined the segments /s/ and /∫/ near-neutralizing in differing contexts. Acoustic data was collected from one speaker eliciting eight artificial tongue twisters repeatedly in various contexts. The central band of frequency of the sounds were analyzed using Praat. A near-neutralization effect was found, that the “neutralized" segment was significantly between a /s/ and a /sh/. This effect was observed in both a forwards and backwards direction (“sheashell” & “seasell”) were both present in the data, with a noticeably stronger right-to-left effect; in accordance with cross-linguistic studies of /s/ - /sh/ neutralization. A recurrent network articulatory model is presented in the discussion, which can account for the asymmetry and context sensitivity of results. Findings move us towards a greater understanding of the greater problem of sibilant harmony across languages.

PEMBELAJARAN PELAFALAN BAHASA PERANCIS MELALUI MODEL ARTIKULATORIS PENGEMBANGAN (MAP) BERBASIS MULTIMEDIA INTERAKTIF

AbstrakPenelitian ini merupakan kajian untuk merancang dan mengembangkan model pembelajaran pelafalan bahasa Perancis, yaitu model artikulatoris pengembangan (MAP) berbasis teknologi multimedia CD-ROM Interaktif. Kajian ini dilakukan untuk melakukan penyempurnaan dan inovasi berupa pengintegrasian teknologi multimedia dan MAP dalam pembelajaran pelafalan bahasa Perancis. Penelitian ini mengkaji (1) perancangan dan pengembangan model pembelajaran Artikulatoris Pengembangan yang berbasis multimedia CD-ROM dalam pembelajaran pelafalan bahasa Perancis; (2) pemerolehan data empirik mengenai efektivitas penerapan model tersebut dalam pembelajaran pelafalan bahasa Perancis, (3) kendala yang dihadapi oleh para pembelajar selama proses pembelajaran. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah Research & Development. Adapun langkah-langkah yang peneliti tempuh dalam melaksanakan penelitian ini terdiri dari tiga tahap, yaitu (1) Studi Pendahuluan, (2) Perencanaan dan Pengembangan Model, dan (3) Validasi Model. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa MAP berbasis multimedia CD-ROM terbukti efektif dalam meningkatkan kualitas pembelajaran pelafalan bahasa Perancis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pula terdapat 2 (dua) jenis kesalahan pelafalan mahasiswa, yaitu secara fonologis dan secara artikulatoris. Kedua kesalahan tersebut diakibatkan oleh kesulitan mahasiswa dalam melafalkan [µ], [ø], [õ] [ã],[e],[ò],[v], dan [z]. Kesulitan secara fonologis dipengaruhi oleh penguasaan bahasa sebelumnya, sementara kesalahan secara artikulatoris mahasiswa tidak memfungsikan alat ucap secara tepat dan optimal.Kata-kata kunci: Model pembelajaran pelafalan, bahasa Perancis, MAP Abstract This research is aimed to design and develop a teaching model of French pronunciation, namely the model of interactiveCD-ROMmultimedia-based articulatory development. The study was undertaken to make improvements and innovations, such as the integration of multimedia technology and the articulatory model in teaching French pronunciation. This study presents data concerning (1) the design and development of the model; (2) the empirical data on the effectiveness of the application of the model in teaching French pronunciation, (3) the constraints faced by the learner during the learning process. The method used was Research & Development, which consisted of three phases, namely: (1) preliminary study, (2) planning and development of the model and (3) validation of the model. Results show that the model in question proved to be effective in improving the quality of learning French pronunciation. In addition, results show there were two types of student pronunciation errors, phonological and articulatory. Both are caused by the difficulty in pronouncing [µ], [ø], [õ] [ã],[e],[ò],[v], and [z]. Phonological difficulties are influenced by first language interference, while articulatory difficulties are caused by students not using their articulatory tracts properly and optimally. Keywords: Pronunciation teaching model, French, articulatory model of development