Male Native Speakers Research Articles

Development and validation of Competing Sentence Test in Kannada.

The main objective was to develop and validate a MATLAB-based Competing Sentence Test (CST-K) and obtain preliminary normative data for this test within a small cohort of children aged 8 to 12. This study comprised two phases. Phase 1 involved developing and validating the Competing Sentence Test in Kannada (CST-K). Sentences were selected from Kannada academic textbooks of III and IV standards, recorded by a male native Kannada speaker, and evaluated by three experienced audiologists. Phase 2, which includes normative pilot estimation, was conducted on 60 right-handed children aged 8-12 without hearing difficulties. The CST-K was administered in a quiet room in the school, where the noise level ranged from 40.3 to 43.2 dBA using a laptop and soundcard, presenting thirty pairs of simple sentences with a signal-to-competition ratio of -15 dB. Test-retest reliability was assessed after three weeks. Participants were evenly distributed among four age groups: 8-8.11 years, 9-9.11 years, 10-10.11 years, and 11-11.11 years. The results indicated a significant difference between the scores obtained for the right and left ears. There was also a statistically significant difference across the age groups. The test-retest reliability test showed excellent reliability for the right ear and good reliability for the left ear scores. A MATLAB-based Competing Sentence Test in Kannada Language was developed and validated in a recent study. The study found that scores were higher for the right ear and there was a significant age-related difference. This test can be used to evaluate binaural separation skills in Kannada-speaking children and can be included in the test battery. The study also provides normative data for the competing sentence test, which is reliable, making it a unique tool for clinicians to assess various clinical populations.

Instrumental Analysis of English Vowels Produced by Male and Female Zilfaawi Arabic Speakers

Arab and non-Arab English as a foreign language (EFL) students continue to have difficulty pronouncing English vowels accurately. To examine this, our study analyzes how male and female Saudi EFL students pronounce English monophthongs when compared to native speakers assessed in previous research. Gender-related variations between male and female Arab English speakers are also explored. Formant frequencies (F1 and F2) are employed to evaluate vowel quality, with vowel duration measured to investigate vowel length. Learners’ pronunciations of English words containing vowels of interest are used to collect data. Five male and five female EFL learners produced English monophthongs in the /hVd/ context. We then compare the results with previous data on native English speakers and conduct acoustic analysis. Regarding duration, male non-native English speakers’ data are compared with previous results for male native speakers, revealing that the vowels of Saudi learners are shorter than those of native English speakers, and those of non-native men are longer than those of non-native women. Moreover, the low vowels produced by Saudi and native men are longer than their non-low vowels. Regarding vowel quality, men produce lower vowels than native speakers. Women, however, produce lower and more front vowels than native women. Statistically, this study reveals significant differences between male and female Saudi EFL learners in producing English vowels. Saudi men’s vowel space is more centralized than Saudi women’s space. Both men and women overlap low vowels. Saudi learners’ mispronunciations of English vowels indicate that L1 interference is not the only cause of mispronunciations.

УСЛОВИЯ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ ИНТЕНЦИИ ПОДЕЛИТЬСЯ В ТЕХНИЧЕСКИ ОПОСРЕДОВАННОЙ КОММУНИКАЦИИ (ГЕНДЕРНЫЙ АСПЕКТ)

The article examines the conditions for the implementation of the intention to share in technically mediated communication. The main research methods are as follows: interview method, descriptive method, quantitative method. The subject of the study is gender-marked conditions for the implementation of the intention to share in a person-centered format of technically mediated communication. There are identified the following terms for the original message replication in a person-centered communication format: the replicated message falls into the zone of the emotive reflection, the dialogic modality, the referential optimality and the cognitive harmony of a native speaker. It has been elucidated that male native speakers implement the intention to share if a replicated message falls into the sphere of the emotive reflection, the dialogic modality and the referential optimality. Although female speakers implement the intention to share in the following instances: if a replicated message falls into the sphere of the emotive reflection, the dialogic modality, the referential optimality, the cognitive harmony and the perlocutionary effect of a native speaker.

THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH BACK VOWELS: A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF AMERICAN ENGLISH AND STANDARD SERBIAN

This paper reports on the findings of a contrastive study of American English high back vowels /u, ʊ/ and Serbian vowel /u/ produced by ten male native speakers of Serbian. Previous research (Marković 2009a; Bjekić, Čubrović 2021; Čubrović 2019, 2017; Dančetović, Nešić 2017) has indicated that the differences in quality between the English high back vowels /u/ and /ʊ/ are often poorly detected by Serbian speakers. Therefore, the overall aim of the present research is to observe the acoustic properties of high back vowels in the given languages, so as to determine whether or not our subjects can adequately produce the L2 vowels with respect to both quality and quantity, and whether they can differentiate them from their L1 categories. The research subjects were first instructed to read a set of 13 monosyllabic English words representing the high back vowels /u, ʊ/ in different phonetic environments. The second task called for the subjects to read a set of 13 Serbian words representing the vowel /u/ in short and long stressed syllables. The collected speech samples were then analyzed acoustically using Praat, version 6.2.13 (Boersma, Weenink 2022). The statistical analysis of the acoustic measurements was performed using R, version 4.2.1 (R Development Core Team 2022). The results suggest that, in terms of quantity, in the speech of Serbian students, the lax vowel, in particular, bears more resemblance to the subjects’ L1 category, rather than the targeted vowel. The analysis of the formant data indicates that, although our subjects’ L2 categories differ from those of native speakers, the quality of GA high back vowels our subjects produce does not reflect the quality of their L1 categories.

The normalization of vowel formants – a case study of Croatian and Serbian

The aim of this study was to compare the results of a traditional formant analysis of vowels with the results of normalization systems on the example of Croatian and Serbian speech. Male native speakers of Croatian and Serbian were used for this study (N=92). Traditional results of formant analyses express differences among analysed groups of speakers caused by linguistic, sociolinguistic, but also physiological factors. Considering that the values of formant vowels are influenced by many factors, including idiosyncratic physiological characteristics of the vocal tract, normalization approaches remove those variables among speakers that are caused by mutual physiological differences. Therefore, the dialectal, inter-linguistic and/or sociolinguistic differences among speakers whose speech is being analysed are isolated in a scientifically more objective way. The results of this study have shown that formant values are more grouped together and centralized (especially in vowels [a] and [i]), than in non-normalized results within each language individually. This contrastive analysis has shown that in Croatian [i], [o] and [u] are more closed and frontal, the vowel [a] is more closed and back, and the vowel [e] is more open and front, in relation to the vowels in Serbian. This study exemplifies the advantage of normalization systems in the interpretation of acoustic results.

Realization of politeness strategies in EFL learners and English native speakers’ complaint and request speech acts: focusing on differences by gender and level of education

This study aimed to identify EFL learners and English native speakers’ use of politeness strategies in the compliant and request speech acts. To do so, a 50-item questionnaire was developed and given to 108 EFL learners with three different levels of education in both genders, who were selected randomly from Sheikhbahaee University and the University of Isfahan. The EFL learners’ request and complaint emails in three levels of education and English native speakers’ emails in both genders were also gathered. The data were analyzed based on Nogami and Rinnert's (2006), and Brown and Levinson’s (1987) models of complaint and request speech acts. Accordingly, the results of this study indicated that the EFL learners’ perceptions in the use of request and complaints’ politeness strategies were not in line with their actual performance in emails. It was also found that there were significant differences between levels and genders in request and complaint emails: because MA and BA female students and male native speakers expressed their request emails in a direct way, but male EFL students and female native speakers represented their complaints in a direct way.

Speech Aggression in Corporate Communication: The Gender Aspect in the Philosophy of Culture

The article sheds light on the means of verbal aggression expression as used in the speech of female and male native speakers of English in corporate communication within the gender framework in the philosophy of culture. The means of expression are analysed using the transcripts of talks and business meetings to single out their common use patterns. Research methodology is premised on the philosophical approach to culture, statistical data analysis, methods of continuous sampling, definitional analysis, textual analysis, component analysis and complex analysis of vocabulary units, as well as lexical and stylistic analysis. Upon examining the peculiarities of speech aggression, the authors address gender differences in speech act production. The study demonstrates the significance of the gender factor in implementing verbal behaviour strategies in cases of verbal aggression within corporate communication while also revealing some significant differences in male and female speech aggression in corporate communication (negative connotations in women’s and men’s speech).

강세 충돌 해소의 음성학적 실태 연구

The present study examines the phonetic realization of vowels in the avoidance of stress clash. This study compares a 5 syllable phrase which shows stress movement, with a 4 syllable word which has stress on the right foot. 5 male native speakers and 5 female native speakers read 16 sentences with words and phrases. Pitch declined in the third syllable compared to the first syllable in phrases (σ1σ3). Correspondingly, pitch in the third syllable of a phrase was lower than that of a word. Intensity in the first and the third syllable of a phrase was similar (σ1≒σ3) and there was no significant intensity change in the third syllables between a word and a phrase. As a result, pitch reflected the effect of stress clash and showed stress shift and stress deletion in the manner of an acoustic value decrease, achieving the goal of avoiding stress clash. Intensity, on the other hand, maintained the periodical alternation (sw sw) and did not show the grid lowering in the manner of an acoustic value decrease.

Acoustic Analysis of the Socio-phonetic Variation in the English Language Long Vowels

The present study investigates the variation in the long English vowels among native English speakers and non-native Pakistani speakers of the English language. The recordings have been collected through e-mail from different regional speakers of Pakistani languages, from U.K. and the U.S., using social-networking. The analysis of the recordings is done using PRAAT software. The long vowel /i:/ was delimited for the study. Durations quoted by the renowned phonetician Danial Jones (1976), were used as a reference for the native speakers of the English language. The initial hypotheses were built to analyze the data. The study reveals that native speakers tend to follow the pattern introduced by Danial Jones with just a slight idiolectal difference. The non-native Pakistani speakers differentiate themselves in the duration of long vowels from the native speakers. Female native speakers have shown significant variation when compared with male native speakers.

Talker Adaptation and Lexical Difficulty Impact Word Recognition in Adults with Cochlear Implants

Introduction: Talker-specific adaptation facilitates speech recognition in normal-hearing listeners. This study examined talker adaptation in adult cochlear implant (CI) users. Three hypotheses were tested: (1) high-performing adult CI users show improved word recognition following exposure to a talker (“talker adaptation”), particularly for lexically hard words, (2) individual performance is determined by auditory sensitivity and neurocognitive skills, and (3) individual performance relates to real-world functioning. Methods: Fifteen high-performing, post-lingually deaf adult CI users completed a word recognition task consisting of 6 single-talker blocks (3 female/3 male native English speakers); words were lexically “easy” and “hard.” Recognition accuracy was assessed “early” and “late” (first vs. last 10 trials); adaptation was assessed as the difference between late and early accuracy. Participants also completed measures of spectral-temporal processing and neurocognitive skills, as well as real-world measures of multiple-talker sentence recognition and quality of life (QoL). Results: CI users showed limited talker adaptation overall, but performance improved for lexically hard words. Stronger spectral-temporal processing and neurocognitive skills were weakly to moderately associated with more accurate word recognition and greater talker adaptation for hard words. Finally, word recognition accuracy for hard words was moderately related to multiple-talker sentence recognition and QoL. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate a limited talker adaptation benefit for recognition of hard words in adult CI users. Both auditory sensitivity and neurocognitive skills contribute to performance, suggesting additional benefit from adaptation for individuals with stronger skills. Finally, processing differences related to talker adaptation and lexical difficulty may be relevant to real-world functioning.

Younger and older adults show non-linear, stimulus-dependent performance during early stages of auditory training for non-native English.

Older adults often report difficulty understanding speech produced by non-native talkers. These listeners can achieve rapid adaptation to non-native speech, but few studies have assessed auditory training protocols to improve non-native speech recognition in older adults. In this study, a word-level training paradigm was employed, targeting improved recognition of Spanish-accented English. Younger and older adults were trained on Spanish-accented monosyllabic word pairs containing four phonemic contrasts (initial s/z, initial f/v, final b/p, final d/t) produced in English by multiple male native Spanish speakers. Listeners completed pre-testing, training, and post-testing over two sessions. Statistical methods, such as growth curve modeling and generalized additive mixed models, were employed to describe the patterns of rapid adaptation and how they varied between listener groups and phonemic contrasts. While the training protocol failed to elicit post-test improvements for recognition of Spanish-accented speech, examination of listeners' performance during the pre-testing period showed patterns of rapid adaptation that differed, depending on the nature of the phonemes to be learned and the listener group. Normal-hearing younger and older adults showed a faster rate of adaptation for non-native stimuli that were more nativelike in their productions, while older adults with hearing impairment did not realize this benefit.

The urban Tlemcenian glottal stop in a prospective coma due to contact and accommodation: A cross-sectional investigation

Although many researchers have attempted to include age as a variable in explaining linguistic variation, the delicate mechanisms via which variability in speech relates to age-grading aspect are still incomplete in especially lesser-known Arabic-speaking communities akin to Tlemcen, an urban city in Algeria. This paper aims at cross-sectionally investigating the sociolinguistic situation occurring in the Tlemcen speech community especially concerning the use of the glottal stop, an urban realisation of classical Arabic qaf. With the help of a survey interview, questionnaire and non-participant observation, data were collected from a convenient sample of 122 participants of different age cohorts and genders from Tlemcen. The results show that the dialect contact taking place in the community is moving towards aspects of koineisation, mainly levelling and simplification. Social and psychological features are said to explain the dialectal ruralisation guided by post-adolescent and young male native urban dialect speakers, while females of all ages, including old people, are strictly preservative. Keywords: Accommodation, age, dialect contact, glottal stop, Tlemcen, speech community.

The urban Tlemcenian glottal stop in a prospective coma due to contact and accommodation: A cross-sectional investigation

Although many researchers have attempted to include age as a variable in explaining linguistic variation, the delicate mechanisms via which variability in speech relates to age-grading aspect are still incomplete in especially lesser-known Arabic-speaking communities akin to Tlemcen, an urban city in Algeria. This paper aims at cross-sectionally investigating the sociolinguistic situation occurring in the Tlemcen speech community especially concerning the use of the glottal stop, an urban realisation of classical Arabic qaf. With the help of a survey interview, questionnaire and non-participant observation, data were collected from a convenient sample of 122 participants of different age cohorts and genders from Tlemcen. The results show that the dialect contact taking place in the community is moving towards aspects of koineisation, mainly levelling and simplification. Social and psychological features are said to explain the dialectal ruralisation guided by post-adolescent and young male native urban dialect speakers, while females of all ages, including old people, are strictly preservative.
 

The production of the English stop voicing contrast by Arab L2 speakers of English

The English voiceless stop /p/ and voiced stop /ɡ/ are absent in the consonant inventory of Arabic. This difference provides a fertile ground for empirical research in L2 speech learning among Arab L2 speakers of English. The current study, therefore, aims to explore the English stop voicing contrast as produced by Arab native speakers. Focusing on Voice Onset Time (VOT) as an acoustic parameter, the study seeks to examine the extent to which (1) Arab L2 speakers of English maintain the English stop voicing contrast for /p-b/ and /k-ɡ/, and (2) the L2 VOT continuum by Arab L2 speakers follows or deviates from the L1 VOT continuum in English. The acoustic phonetic experiment involved elicited materials of /p-b/ and /k-ɡ/ from four male native speakers of Arabic. The tokens were recorded in isolation (utterance-initial position) and in a carrier sentence (utterance-medial position). The data were then acoustically analysed following standard segmentation, annotation and measurement criteria. Results reveal that the Arab L2 speakers can, to a large extent, maintain the English stop voicing contrast across all places of articulation, with voiced stops usually being produced with “normal” negative VOT (prevoicing) and voiceless stops usually being produced with “normal” positive VOT and also accompanied with aspiration in the long-lag region. There are also exceptional cases of “abnormal” negative VOT (prevoicing) for voiceless stops and “abnormal” positive VOT (devoicing) for voiced stops, with an extremely larger number of devoiced tokens for voiced stops in comparison to prevoiced tokens for voiceless stops. The results accord well with the Speech Learning Model’s prediction that phonetically “new” sounds are relatively easier to learn than phonetically “similar” sounds. The conclusion is drawn that languages sharing the same sound contrast may exhibit different phonetic implementations in marking a phonological contrast.

Insights into rapid adaptation to Spanish-accented English words in younger and older adults

Older adults often report difficulty understanding speech produced by non-native talkers. Although numerous studies have described auditory training protocols to improve speech recognition in noise, there are comparatively few studies evaluating auditory training for improving recognition of non-native speech. However, there is evidence that older adults can achieve short-term, rapid adaptation to non-native speech. In this study, a word-level training paradigm was employed, targeting improved recognition of Spanish-accented English. Younger and older adults with normal hearing or hearing impairment were trained on Spanish-accented monosyllabic word pairs containing four phonemic contrasts (initial s/z, initial v/f, final b/p, final d/t) produced in English by multiple male native Spanish speakers. Listeners completed pre-testing, training, and post-testing, over two sessions. While the training protocol failed to elicit any long-term learning for Spanish-accented speech, detailed examination of listeners' performance during the pre-testing revealed patterns of rapid adaptation that appear to vary by phonemic contrast and that may be dependent on the acoustic features of the stimulus. Statistical methods such as growth curve modeling and generalized additive mixed models are employed to describe the patterns of rapid adaptation, and how they vary between listener groups and different stimulus types.

An Automated Speech-in-Noise Test for Remote Testing: Development and Preliminary Evaluation.

Purpose The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a novel, automated speech-in-noise test viable for widespread in situ and remote screening. Method Vowel-consonant-vowel sounds in a multiple-choice consonant discrimination task were used. Recordings from a professional male native English speaker were used. A novel adaptive staircase procedure was developed, based on the estimated intelligibility of stimuli rather than on theoretical binomial models. Test performance was assessed in a population of 26 young adults (YAs) with normal hearing and in 72 unscreened adults (UAs), including native and nonnative English listeners. Results The proposed test provided accurate estimates of the speech recognition threshold (SRT) compared to a conventional adaptive procedure. Consistent outcomes were observed in YAs in test/retest and in controlled/uncontrolled conditions and in UAs in native and nonnative listeners. The SRT increased with increasing age, hearing loss, and self-reported hearing handicap in UAs. Test duration was similar in YAs and UAs irrespective of age and hearing loss. The test-retest repeatability of SRTs was high (Pearson correlation coefficient = .84), and the pass/fail outcomes of the test were reliable in repeated measures (Cohen's κ = .8). The test was accurate in identifying ears with pure-tone thresholds > 25 dB HL (accuracy = 0.82). Conclusion This study demonstrated the viability of the proposed test in subjects of varying language in terms of accuracy, reliability, and short test time. Further research is needed to validate the test in a larger population across a wider range of languages and hearing loss and to identify optimal classification criteria for screening purposes.

The second formants of the laterals in Turkish

The study shows that there are two distinct lateral phonemes in Turkish with a minimal pair example. 20 male native speakers of Turkish, aged 20-26, were asked to read six short phrases and a minimal pair which contained laterals. The spectrograms were examined by PRAAT to determine whether it is possible to identify the laterals with regard to their second formants. As the laterals could have been greatly affected by the formants of the surrounding sounds, they were detected by following acoustic cues and the F 2 values were gathered at 50ms of these sounds, which minimized the impact of the other sounds. The non-velarized lateral /l/ is marked by a higher F 2 than the velarized lateral /ɫ/ because of a tongue raising gesture. In order to distinguish between the two laterals, the Mann-Whitney U test was employed based on their F 2 values in the minimal pair example, for α = 0.01. With reference to the data, it appears that there is a statistically significant difference between the F 2 values of the laterals ( p < 0.01). There is strong evidence that second formants help define the laterals in Turkish.

Walking on Glass: Reconciling Experience and Expectation within Japan

ABSTRACTThis article utilizes an autoethnographic story-telling perspective in which I situate myself as a critical participant observer. Through critiquing the “situatedness of the self and others” in context, I share a selection of narrative snapshots concerning place and positionality as a white male native speaker of English (i.e. an ethnolinguistic minority) employed within Japan for two decades. I structure the discussion around the dominant burden of representation that regulates workplace interactions, experiences, opportunities and inequities. This burden of representation is drawn from to highlight the dualities of privilege which emerge when attempting to move beyond generalized group appraisals toward recognition of a more individual-level experience. Informed by dominant assumptions and taken-for-granted ideologies, I contend that white male native speakers of English in Japan remain erroneously fixed as the privileged recipients of special treatment as opposed to the stigmatized recipients of reductive objectification as experientially evidenced. I further show how personal struggles to establish professional credibility are undermined via historically crafted semiotic meanings, cultural logic and the (in)actions of similarly defined colleagues who are content with an inequitable status-quo.

A Sociolinguistic Approach to the Persian Native Speakers’ Strategies for Expressing Sorrow and Happiness: A Comparison of the Gender Differences

This study aimed to investigate the strategies adopted by Persian native speakers for expressing their happiness and sorrow. For this purpose, the researcher spent one month observing the behavior of different male and female native speakers of Farsi who were of different ages between 12-68. The researcher collected the data either by participating different events of happiness and sorrow or putting the audience under one of these circumstances by giving them some good or bad news in order to audit their way of expressing happiness and sorrow. The responses collected were extracted as 8 happiness expression strategies (surprise, positive adjectives, appreciation, thanking God, expressing emotions and statements and informal emotional expression) and 6 sorrow-expression strategies (expressing pity, questions, statements, curse words and threatening). Among these strategies, statement was common in both happiness and sorrow strategies. After identifying the strategies, the number and percentage of each strategy was calculated for male and female participants. The results indicated that surprise, thanking God, statements and appreciation are the most frequent happiness strategies among male participants and expressing emotions and surprise are the most frequently-used happiness strategies among female ones. One important point in the strategy of "expressing emotion" is that it is a female-specific strategy not used by male population at all. On the other hand, regarding expressions of sorrow, according to the findings of this research, expressing pity is the most frequent strategy both for males and females. In expressing sorrow, using curse words is the second rank for male participants and other strategies are somehow equally-used among both groups as the difference between the frequencies of male and female was not that considerable.

Gender Specificity of the Evaluation Strategy of the Association of Russian Native Speakers: Quantitative Aspect

The article deals with the actual problem of gender influence on the course of associative processes. The aim of the work is to identify and describe the gender specifics of the evaluation strategy of the association. The conclusions are based on the material of a free associative experiment with multiple reactions of examinees, conducted by the author in 2016 with female and male native speakers of Russian language aged 7 to 25 years. This type of experiment showed that the evaluation reactions mainly have the second and third rank in the associative series. The gender specificity of the evaluation association is registered in response to each proposed word stimulus, most vividly - to words-stimuli, strength, joy, peace. Evaluative reactions predominate in the associative fields of nuclear units among female examinees, first of all with girls 7-10 years and young women 18-25 years old. Thus, the free associative experiment with multiple reactions of the examinees makes it possible to obtain the most representative experimental material, including identifying gender features of the associative mechanism.