Phonemic Analysis Research Articles

Coherence-based phonemic analysis on the effect of reverberation to practical automatic speech recognition

Reverberation is one of the most critical obstacles to adopt automatic speech recognition (ASR) in real life environments. Therefore, comprehensive understanding on the effect of reverberation to ASR is required to design robust ASR systems for practical uses. To deepen our understanding on the effect of reverberation to practical ASR, we performed a phonemic analysis on commercial ASR system. The analysis method involves a new metric named mean phoneme coherence (MPC), defined by time–frequency-averaged coherence function between clean and reverberated speech spectrograms of each phoneme. MPC measures the amount of spectral contamination on phonemes under certain reverberation condition thus quantifies not only the amount of reverberation on the phonemes but also contextual influences on the phoneme within sentence spoken in the reverberation condition. MPC was proven to represent the amount of reverberation and intelligibility of speeches under given reverberation condition by comparing MPC with word error rate (WER) in real reverberation conditions. Furthermore, the relationship between phoneme groups’ vulnerability to spectral contamination and ASR performance upon reverberation is analyzed by comparing median of phoneme groups’ MPC distribution with phoneme group word accuracy (PGWA). Analysis has shown that the two quantities show weak correlation, thus reverberation differently affects the intelligibility of phonemes. In addition, a comparative study among phoneme groups has shown that nasals and semivowels show the least robust ASR performances to reverberation while nasals and stops are most vulnerable to cause spectral contamination. The results and discussions present what should be taken into account for ASR robust to reverberation.

Influence of Mother Tongue on English Pronunciation: A Contrastive Analysis of Bogghom and English Phonemes

Influence of Mother Tongue on English Pronunciation: A Contrastive Analysis of Bogghom and English Phonemes

Phonemic processing is below expectations and linked to word-finding difficulty in multiple sclerosis

Background: Word-finding difficulty is prevalent but poorly understood in persons with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Objective: The objective was to investigate our hypothesis that phonological processing ability is below expectations and related to word-finding difficulty in patients with RRMS. Method: Data were analyzed from patients with RRMS (n = 50) on patient-reported word-finding difficulty (PR-WFD) and objective performance on Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-4) Phonemic Proficiency (PP; analysis of phonemes within words), Word Reading (WR; proxy of premorbid literacy and verbal ability), and Sentence Repetition (SR; auditory processing of word-level information). Results: Performance (mean (95% confidence interval)) was reliably lower than normative expectations for PP (−0.41 (−0.69, −0.13)) but not for WR (0.02 (−0.21, 0.25)) or SR (0.08 (−0.15, 0.31). Within-subjects performance was worse on PP than on both WR (t(49) = 4.00, p < 0.001, d = 0.47) and SR (t(49) =3.76, p < 0.001, d = 0.54). Worse PR-WFD was specifically related to lower PP (F2,47 = 6.24, p = 0.004, η2 = 0.21); worse PP performance at PR-WFD Often (n = 13; −1.16 (−1.49, −0.83)) than Sometimes (n = 17; −0.14 (−0.68, 0.41)) or Rarely (n = 20; −0.16 (−0.58, 0.27). PR-WFD was unrelated to WR or SR (ps > 0.25). Conclusion: Phonological processing was below expectations and specifically linked to word-finding difficulty in RRMS. Findings are consistent with early disease-related cortical changes within the posterior superior temporal/supramarginal region. Results inform our developing model of multiple sclerosis-related word-finding difficulty.

ЭКСПЕРИМЕНТАЛЬНЫЙ ФОНЕТИЧЕСКИЙ АНАЛИЗ СОГЛАСНЫХ ФОНЕМ АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА

An experimental phonetic analysis of consonant phonemes in English Summary The article deals with the experimental phonetic analysis of consonant phonemes in English. In the article, the obtained acoustic values of consonant phonemes located in different phonetic positions in the word structure were compared and the best phonetic positions where these consonants manifested and better preserved their immanent properties were determined. At the same time, for each phonetic position in the word structure and for each speaker, the practical application of consonants was included in separate tables. In the acoustic analysis of linguistic material, the “Praat” computer program, which is designed for conducting acoustic analyzes of the speech signal was used. Key words: phonetic analysis, consonant phonemes, phonological system, speech flow, occlusion-explosive consonants

Linguistic modulation of the neural encoding of phonemes.

Speech comprehension entails the neural mapping of the acoustic speech signal onto learned linguistic units. This acousto-linguistic transformation is bi-directional, whereby higher-level linguistic processes (e.g. semantics) modulate the acoustic analysis of individual linguistic units. Here, we investigated the cortical topography and linguistic modulation of the most fundamental linguistic unit, the phoneme. We presented natural speech and "phoneme quilts" (pseudo-randomly shuffled phonemes) in either a familiar (English) or unfamiliar (Korean) language to native English speakers while recording functional magnetic resonance imaging. This allowed us to dissociate the contribution of acoustic vs. linguistic processes toward phoneme analysis. We show that (i) the acoustic analysis of phonemes is modulated by linguistic analysis and (ii) that for this modulation, both of acoustic and phonetic information need to be incorporated. These results suggest that the linguistic modulation of cortical sensitivity to phoneme classes minimizes prediction error during natural speech perception, thereby aiding speech comprehension in challenging listening situations.

English Phonological Operations: A Study of Rule Interactions

This study focuses on English phonological operations with emphasis on rule interaction, rule ordering, bleeding, and feeding. It is a study in rule-governed phonological description. The method adopted for analysis is the descriptive survey approach. The theoretical framework adopted is Noam Chomsky’s generative phonology. The finding is that phonological descriptive generalization is best done by rules rather than by phonemic analysis. This study recommends that the study of phonetics and phonology in Nigerian universities should focus more on practical exposure using laboratory instruments; laboratory exercises in conversational English using relevant phonological materials (tapes, records, video films, among others.), distinctive features, and rule writing approach for the advanced students are recommended.

An analysis of the english phoneme /f/ produced by mongolian students using the spectrogram praat method (A case study of the intermediate level students at the School of Arts and Sciences, NUM)

An analysis of the english phoneme /f/ produced by mongolian students using the spectrogram praat method (A case study of the intermediate level students at the School of Arts and Sciences, NUM)

A Contrastive Perspective on English and Dutch Front Monophthongs

This paper explores the front pure vowels of English and Dutch from a contrastive standpoint. It basically aims to quantitatively discover the degree to which English and Dutch front monophthong systems are different from each other and proceeds to make some early yet data-driven predictions about the comparative levels of difficulty that the English-speaking learners of Dutch and the Dutch-speaking learners of English as a foreign language would experience while learning their target languages. Applying the same method designed for a quantitative-contrastive phonemic analysis in the earlier works of 2015 and 2019, the researchers prove that the front monophthong systems of English and Dutch are considerably different (81.82%) from each other and that the acquisition workload is heavier (83.33:80) for English speaking learners of Dutch as a foreign language than it is for Dutch speaking learners of English. In contrast, learners of English will need to generate a greater degree (83.33:80) of substratum counter-influence than learners of Dutch in order to achieve an acceptable level of accuracy in the articulation of their target phonemes. Although both groups of learners retain one vowel sound that occurs as phonetically identical phoneme (16.67:20), the final indication is that the English front monophthong system is likely to pose a greater challenge for its learners. Spectrum, Volume 17, June 2022: 31-46

Evaluation of Verbal Working Memory and Phonemic Analysis Skills in Adolescents with Cochlear Implant.

Introduction Adolescents with cochlear implants may have difficulty developing language and memory abilities. Objective The primary objectives of this study are (1) to evaluate the language skills and verbal working memory performance of early and late diagnosed-intervened cochlear implanted adolescents and (2) to investigate the relationship between the verbal working memory and phonemic analysis skills in adolescents with cochlear implant. Methods This study included 72 participants with cochlear implant aged between 10 and 18 years. The participants were divided into two groups; those who had first hearing aid at the age of 6 months at the latest and had a first cochlear implant in at least one ear at the latest at 24 months were included in the early group, all the others were in the late group. The phonemic analysis test, a subtest of the test of language development: Primary, 4th edition (TOLD: P-4) - Turkish version, was used to assess language-based abilities, and the meaningless word repetition (MWR) test was utilized to assess verbal working memory. Results The adolescents with cochlear implants who received early diagnosis and intervention performed statistically significantly better in phonemic analysis scores and verbal working memory tests ( p < 0.001). A statistically significant relationship was found between phonemic analysis and verbal working memory skills (Pearson, r = 0.567 and r = 0.659, p < 0.001). Conclusions Rehabilitation of phonological skills can contribute to the development of verbal working memory in adolescents with cochlear implants. There is a need for further studies on this issue with more detailed tests.

A comparative and acoustic analysis of phoneme /g/ in spontaneous speech in Basque Country, Andalusia and Madrid

In this work, we perform the acoustic analysis of the features of harmonicity, sonority, duration and intensity of each /g/ sound extracted from a sample of spontaneous speech from a corpus collected from recordings of local television programs in Andalusia, Madrid and the Basque Country. This corpus consists of 1292 utterances, in which the velar appears on 151 occasions in different contexts. These sounds are described and categorized thanks to the Praat spectrographic analysis program and a comparison of their features among the three dialectal communities that the corpus contains. The most relevant results allow us to conclude that undescribed realizations of [ɣ] occur in spontaneous speech; that the intensity curves of these approximant sounds yield significant figures for their characterization; and that the frequency of production of the approximant [ɣ] is greater in Andalusia than in Madrid or Euskadi.

Effects of a developmental dyslexia remediation protocol based on the training of audio-phonological cognitive processes in dyslexic children with high intellectual potential: study protocol for a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design

BackgroundThe significant prevalence of children with high intellectual potential (HIP) in the school-age population and the high rate of comorbidity with learning disabilities such as dyslexia has increased the demand for speech and language therapy and made it more complex. However, the management of dyslexic patients with high intellectual potential (HIP-DD) is poorly referenced in the literature. A large majority of studies on HIP-DD children focus on the screening and diagnosis of developmental dyslexia, but only a few address remediation. Developmental dyslexia is a severe and persistent disorder that affects the acquisition of reading and implies the impairment of several underlying cognitive processes. These include deficits in Categorical Perception, Rapid Automatized Naming, and phonological awareness, particularly phonemic awareness. Some authors claim that HIP-DD children's underlying deficits mainly concern rapid automatized naming and phonological awareness. Thus, the purpose of this study is to present a remediation protocol for developmental dyslexia in HIP-DD children. This protocol proposes to compare the effects on reading skills of an intensive intervention targeting categorical perception, rapid automatized naming, and phonemic analysis versus standard speech therapy remediation in HIP-DD children.MethodsA multiple-baseline single-case experimental design (A1BCA2) will be proposed to 4 French HIP-DD patients for a period of 30 weeks. Intervention phases B and C correspond to categorical perception training and rapid automatized naming training. During phases B and C, each training session will be associated with phonemic analysis training and a reading and writing task. At inclusion, a speech and language, psychological, and neuropsychological assessment will be performed to define the four patients' profiles. Patients will be assigned to the different baseline lengths using a simple computerized randomization procedure. The duration of the phases will be counterbalanced. The study will be double blinded. A weekly measurement of phonological and reading skills will be performed for the full duration of the study.DiscussionThe purpose of this protocol is to observe the evolution of reading skills with each type of intervention. From this observation, hypotheses concerning the remediation of developmental dyslexia in HIP-DD children can be tested. The strengths and limitations of the study are discussed.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04028310. Registered on July 18, 2019. Version identifier is no. ID RCB 2019-A01453-54, 19-HPNCL-02, 07/18/2019.

A Phonemic Analysis Between English And Indonesian In English Conversation

This study compares and contrasts the phonetic systems of English and Indonesian in the "English Conversation" In order to teach students how to pronounce English with Indonesian phonemes, the research aims to compare and contrast the phonemes in the English Conversation. Ten English consonant phonemes and ten Indonesian consonant phonemes are the focus of this study. A qualitative technique is used in the descriptive-contextual research methodology. Based on the types of phonemes, the technique design compares the phonemes in Text Conversation written in English and Indonesian. The "English Conversation ", which are made up of 10 consonant phonemes, were discovered to share commonalities between the English and Indonesian phonemic systems. Ten consonants in the English Conversation represent the distinctions between the English and Indonesian phonetic systems.

The most important characteristics of Kubeisa dialect as one qiltu dialects

This research presents briefly Iraqi Arabic dialects including KIA which is under investigation. It sheds on the main characteristics which are the main concern in this research which distinguish the qiltu dialects from other gilt dialects. This may be due to the fact that Kubeisa is a small town located far from urban regions which remains a "virgin territory" that the dialect spoken by its people requires analysis and investigation . In addition to the investigation of segmental phonemes and sounds in context (Deflexion) in Kubeisa Iraqi Arabic (KIA), this study also aimed at pointing out whether this dialect belongs to "qiltu - dialects" or "gilt - dialects" spoken in Iraq. Then the dialect under investigation in this research, i-e., segmental phonemes of KIA are presented. The phonological analysis of the segmental phonemes of KIA was the focus of the current study's explanatory qualitative design, which involved gathering and analyzing qualitative data. The analysis of taped content, comprising sentences and words said by KIA speakers using a tape-recording equipment, is the focus of the current work. In addition, audio recording equipment is used. This study is a qualitative inquiry that is based on the words and writing created by a small group of KIA speakers. This study is descriptive since it deals with information that was gathered in the form of Instead of statistics, use recorded speech or conversations. This research concentrates on conducting interviews with KIA speakers and leveraging the instruments for recording audio activity. In this research, the researcher uses interviews which consist of several preset topics that are addressed to people who become the research subjects. To acquire qualitative data, the current study used semi-structured interviews. A semi-structured interview is one in which questions are prepared ahead of time but the interviewer is permitted to add several questions that were not planned ahead of time during the interview Also, it presents a brief survey of the main dialects used in the west of Iraq, namely HIA and RA (Dlaim Arabic). This research presents the most important results and discussion of findings of data analysis. In conclusion, the most important points in which the research is conducted are presented.

تحليل فونولوجي للأصوات في السياق في اللهجة العراقية الكبيسية

This research presents the phonological aspects which happens in KID. This study concerns with the process which occur in connected speech such as Assimilation, Elision, Intrusion..These process are used by the speakers of KIA .In this empirical study, the spontaneous speech of the individuals who speak KID has been recorded in natural setting. The three phonological phenomena that concern this study have been explained briefly before starting the phonological analysis of the data collected about KID. This study is restricted to the analysis of segmental phonemes in KIA, that is the consonants and vowels and any aspects related to them. It also studies the phonological processes of assimilation, elision, and linking as aspects of connected speech.The researcher employed judgment sampling to select my informants from the Kubiesa community for the current investigation. First, the Muslim population in Kubeisa (KIA) speaks the language as a native speaker because they were born and reared there, providing a practical rationale for the usage of this approach. The data collected will depend on interviews with people who are considered native speakers of this dialect and live in kubeisa town. The same thing is true with the conversations recorded for the same purpose.When analyzing the examples taken from the data to point out the assimilated intruded, elided and imalized sounds in context.Several utterances from the speech and discussions of native KIA speakers are analyzed in this study. It includes talks and debates on a variety of subjects, including social, economic, educational, religious, and sporting issues. Its main goal is to pinpoint the crucial phonological mechanism of KIA within the context of the studied phonological issues. According to the hypothesis, such variances might exist.KIA has regressive and progressive assimilation, but there is no coalescent assimilation.In KIA,, all types of elision depend on context.

Segmental Phonology in Arabic Dialect Spoken in Kubeisa Town with Reference to Standard English

This research investigates an Iraqi dialect used in the western Iraqi town of Kubeisa. It performs a phonological analysis for single phonemes. This study sought to determine whether Kubeisa Iraqi Arabic (KIA) belongs to the "qiltu - dialects" or "gilt - dialects" spoken in Iraq in addition to looking at segmental phonemes in KIA with relation to SE. The phonological analysis of the segmental phonemes of KIA with reference to SE was the focus of the current study's explanatory qualitative design, which involved gathering and analyzing qualitative data. The analysis of taped content, comprising sentences and words said by KIA speakers using a tape-recording equipment, is the focus of the current work. The model adopted for this study was Roach (2009). Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) was also referred. In terms of the data analysis the findings arrived at, relevant conclusions were drawn. There are certain features that characterize KIA and distinguish it from SE. This thesis concluded that speakers of KIA use CCs in medial position of words more than initial or final positions. Vowel sounds in KIA are less in number than in SE, regressive assimilation is used more than progressive assimilation, KIA intrusion is widely used by the native speakers of this dialect. KIA is rich in the use of? Imala (deflexion) process in addition to these conclusions, this study showed that this dialect is considered one of the "qiltu dialect" since KIA pronounced the sounds /q/ and /k/ rather than the phonemes /g/ and /t∫/ in all the data analyzed.

Speech phoneme and spectral smearing based non-invasive COVID-19 detection.

COVID-19 is a deadly viral infection that mainly affects the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cavities before the lung in the human body. Early detection followed by immediate treatment can potentially reduce lung invasion and decrease fatality. Recently, several COVID-19 detections methods have been proposed using cough and breath sounds. However, very little study has been done on the use of phoneme analysis and the smearing of the audio signal in COVID-19 detection. In this paper, this problem has been addressed and the classification of speech samples has been carried out in COVID-19-positive and healthy audio samples. Additionally, the grouping of the phonemes based on reference classification accuracies have been proposed for effectiveness and faster detection of the disease at a primary stage. The Mel and Gammatone Cepstral coefficients and their derivatives are used as the features for five standard machine learning-based classifiers. It is observed that the generalized additive model provides the highest accuracy of 97.22% for the phoneme grouping "/t//r//n//g//l/." This smearing-based phoneme classification technique can also be used in the future to classify other speech-related disease detections.

On the Progress of Phonemic Analysis of Chinese Word Syllables

The process of the sound notation of sinographs arose in China to address problems in pronunciations. Attention to this process is almost as old as the use of the sinographs, and thus has marked historical relevance. Throughout this extended period of time, there was no strong appropriate method to convey the pronunciation of sinographs to the learners of the language, despite several attempts. With the design of different methods of sinograph sound notation, that is, direct notation, the fan-qie method, the national sound notation alphabet, and the scheme of the Chinese phonemic alphabet, the analysis of the Chinese word syllable has progressed developmentally, with an increasingly delicate view of segmentation of the Chinese syllable. The latter three methods, which divided the Chinese word syllable in two, three, and even four parts respectively, have been designed under influences of foreign linguistic methods, and for which, the communications between China, and India and European countries have offered an impetus for the progress in Chinese syllabic analysis. This paper thus addresses the development of these models for articulating the phonology of the Chinese word or syllable, by presenting the above models, and by describing their application and appropriacy to the field of Chinese linguistics through an ethnography of language and text.

Acoustic Analysis of Dawoodi Consonants: A Severely Endangered Language of Northern Pakistan

Dawoodi (previously known as Domaaki) is an Indo Aryan language, spoken by very limited number of speakers in Gilgit. All Dawoodi speakers are multilingual and prefer to use other languages due to which Dawoodi is moving towards language death. The present study aims to develop the phonemic inventory of Dawoodi language. For the present study, qualitative approach is used in identification of sounds and phonemic analysis. Quantitative approach is carried out to figure out the acoustic cues of the sounds, which are presented in mean values. Moreover, palatography is also carried out to clarify the place of articulation of certain phonemes. The findings show that Dawoodi has large consonant and vowel inventories. Phonemic analysis reveals that Dawoodi has 36 consonant segments including voiced, voiceless and aspirated voiceless consonants. However, all the consonants do not occur at all three positions of the word. Acoustic analysis was carried out to measure VOT, closure duration and burst for the identification of stops. Fricatives are measured in terms of friction, V1 and V2 duration. Affricates were identified through closure, friction and total duration. Other consonants have vowels like formant structures (fainter) and their formant frequencies were measured.

Phonemic Characterization of the Production of English Consonants by Nonnative Saudi Speakers

The current study characterizes the production of English consonants by Saudi L2 speakers and offers pedagogical implications for teachers and curriculum designers. Fifteen nonnative Saudi speakers, with at least one of year of residence in an English-speaking country, were recorded individually reading an English passage containing all the English consonants. Their recordings were subjected to a segmental, phonemic analysis to identify and describe any phonemic mispronunciation. The following consonants were found challenging to the Saudi L2 speakers: /v/, /?/, /p/ and /?/. Their production of these consonants was characterized by devoicing of /v/, inserting /g/ after /?/, voicing or lack of aspiration of /p/, and trilling or tapping of /?/. L1 influence played the main role in their mispronunciation. Their production of /v/ and /p/ resulted in phonemic substitutions with /f/ and /b/, respectively. These substitutions have the potential of being detrimental to speech intelligibility according to the Functional Load Principle and Lingua Franca Core; therefore, they should be prioritized in teaching English pronunciation to Saudi learners. The paper concludes by outlining pedagogical implications and offering tips for teaching English pronunciation to Saudi learners.

Auditory Analysis of Segmental Phonemes in Kubeisa Iraqi Arabic with Reference to Standard English and Modern Standard Arabic

In this study, a dialect of Iraqi that is spoken in the western Iraqi town of Kubeisa is examined. With regard to Standard English and Modern Standard Arabic, it does an auditory analysis for phonemes in isolation which include consonants and vowels. It has not previously given significant attention by scholars despite having a range of phonological features compared to other dialects spoken in western Iraq in particular and Iraq in general. This may be because Kubeisa is a small town located outside of metropolitan areas and is still considered a "virgin territory," necessitating analysis and research into the dialect used by its residents in relation to SE and MSA. The auditory analysis of the segmental phonemes of KIA with reference to SE and MSA was the focus of the current study's explanatory qualitative design, which involved gathering and analyzing qualitative data. The analysis of taped content, comprising sentences and words said by KIA speakers using a tape-recording equipment, is the focus of the current work. According to Peter Roach's idea of the segmental phonemes, which is a branch of segmental phonology, speech is broken down into phonemes (or segmental phonemes), which generally correspond to the phonetic components of the examined speech. In order to determine how this dialect differs from Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and how it differs from the utterances chosen for examination, MSA was also consulted in this research.&#x0D; For this empirical study, the spontaneous speech of people who speak KIA was recorded in a natural setting. Relevant conclusions were reached based on the data analysis and findings. There are specific characteristics that set KIA apart from SE. This thesis found that speakers of KIA use CCs in middle positions of words more often than in initial or ending positions, that MSA and KIA speakers use less vowel sounds than speakers of SE.