Persian Vowels Research Articles

Study and Comparison of Formant Characteristics of Persian Vowels in 4-7-year-old Children Using Cochlear Implants and Those Using Hearing Aids

Study and Comparison of Formant Characteristics of Persian Vowels in 4-7-year-old Children Using Cochlear Implants and Those Using Hearing Aids

Persian Vowel Production in Hearing-Impaired Children With Cochlear Implants: The Influence of the Implantation Age

Background and Objectives: Speech intelligibility is affected by vowel quality. Auditory feedback is an essential factor in vowel quality. The purpose of the current study was to compare vowel space and formant frequencies in Normal-Hearing (NH) and Cochlear-Implanted (CI) Persian-speaking children aged 4 to 6 years. Methods: The participants were 10 CI children (5 girls and 5 boys) aged 4 to 6 years. All children had congenital hearing loss and received a multichannel CI before 2 years of age. The control group comprised 20 NH children (10 girls and 10 boys) aged 4 to 6 years. The two groups were matched by age. The participants were asked to produce six Persian vowels (/u/, /o/, /a/, /i/, /e/, /æ/) in /ChVCd/ context and then the average of formant frequencies (F1, F2,) was measured using Praat analysis software (Version: 5, 3, 27). The Independent samples t-test was conducted to assess the differences in F1 and F2 values between the two groups using SPSS 16. Results: The mean values of F1 and F2 of all 6 Persian vowels were not significantly different between CI and NH children (P>0.05). Conclusion: Findings of the present study implied that children who were implanted CI under 2 years of age are likely to produce Persian vowels similar to normal-hearing children.

Vowel harmony in Persian

Persian is a language with several types of vowel harmony. This paper applies Optimality Theory (henceforth OT) to analyze this phonological process which includes various types of regressive and progressive vowel harmony in different words and expressions, as well as translaryngeal harmony and parasitism. It offers various examples whose trigger or target does not exist in the underlying representation and is therefore created in an intermediate representation. It discusses how backness harmony feeds height harmony in English loanwords. It also discusses blockers and exceptionality. The latter is analyzed using Pater's Lexically Specific Constraint Theory. It also addresses two cases of opacity in feeding and counterfeeding interactions. The main contribution of this paper is that it presents a set of empirical data on Persian vowel harmony and OT analyses which are of general theoretical interest.

Vowel duration measurement in school-age children with cochlear implant

ObjectivesNormal hearing system is an essential factor for accurate production of speech segments. It seems that cochlear implant prosthesis helps children with hearing impairment to speak more accurately than before receiving prosthesis. The current research aimed to compare the vowel duration in school-aged children with cochlear implants and that in children with normal hearing. Additionally, the performance of girls and boys in two groups were investigated. MethodsA cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was carried out to compare the vowel duration in 9- to 12-year-old children with cochlear implant and those with normal hearing. Participants were 52 children who were matched by age and sex. We asked the children to read the target words with each word including one vowel and then participants’ voice samples were recorded. Then, vowel duration was measured using Praat software. Finally, the vowel duration was compared between the two groups running independent sample t-test. The level of significance was (P < 0.05). ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference observed between the two groups in the mean values of the vowel duration for the six Persian vowels (P > 0.05). Also, no significant difference was found between boys and girls in the mean value of the vowel duration between the two groups (P > 0.05). ConclusionPersian vowels in school-aged children with cochlear implant and with typical hearing are produced with similar durations. This finding is probably related to the increased duration of using prosthesis in this age range and speech mode used to measure vowel duration in the present study.

Persian Non-High Vowel Perception by Korean Speakers and Its Education

This study investigates the pattern of vowel perception in Korean speakers with special attention to Persian non-high vowels. Results of a forced-choice identification test reveal that the Persian /&#257;/ and /o/ are quite consistently mapped to Korean [&#257;] and [o], respectively. Surprisingly, however, Korean speakers who do not know Persian at all tend to perceive [e] for Persian /a/, and [i] for Persian /e/. This result is unexpected in that the vowel qualities of the two Persian vowels are often taught as [a] for Persian /a/ and [e] for Persian /e/ in the Persian language education in Korea. Thus, the perceptual data provided in this study have important implications for a more accurate learning of Persian vowel quality for Korean learners.

Investigation of the Formant Structure of Persian Vowels in the Persian - Azari Bilingual Adults

Investigation of the Formant Structure of Persian Vowels in the Persian - Azari Bilingual Adults

A SURVEY ON SEVERAL POTENTIALLY PROBLEMATIC AREAS OF PRONUNCIATION FOR IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS

Almost all English language teachers get students to study grammar, vocabulary, etc., but some of these same teachers make little attempt to teach pronunciation in any overt way and only give attention to it in passing. Pronunciation teaching not only makes students aware of different sounds and sound features, but can also improve their speaking. Concentrating on sounds, making aware of where words should be stressed, where words made in mouth, give students information about spoken English and help them achieve the goal of improved comprehension and intelligibility. Pronunciation forms a natural link to other aspects of language use, such as listening, vocabulary, and grammar; ways of highlighting this interdependence in teaching need to be explored. The present paper looks at the problems which Iranian learners are deal with through learning English according to the differences between their segmental and suprasegmental patterns in phonology. Comparing the Persian vowel system with that of English reveals some significant differences in the following three areas: 1) the number of vowels, 2) tense/lax distinctions, and 3) the pure/glide. There are also noticeable differences in consonantal distributions between Persian and English such as their numbers, clusters, manner and place of articulation. The syllabus types of English and Persian are also cause a lot of problem in spoken language. The differences between word stress patterns in Persian and English also make problematic areas for Iranian students. In this paper, through detailed examination of Persian and English sound systems, some of the specific problems areas have been identified, especially in reference to some of the characteristic phonological differences between the two languages.Keywords: vowel, consonant, syllable type, stress pattern

A pilot acoustic study of Modern Persian vowels in colloquial speech

While the current literature on Modern Persian (MP) shows heightened interest in its vowel inventory, a cogent synchronic account of Modern Persian vowels (MPV) has yet to be presented. Previous phonological descriptions of MPV presuppose a pairing system based on a historical length distinction that is still reflected in MP orthography: /i:, e/, /u:, o/, /ɒ:, æ/. A synchronic phonological analysis of MPV must be based on phonetic measurements; however, existing acoustic studies examine only formal speech, and thus do not reflect colloquial surface forms. Therefore, the goal of this investigation is to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive acoustic study of MPV that presupposes no pairings and is based on colloquial speech in a controlled prosodic environment. Vowel duration and first and second formants were measured using Praat for 90 CVC(C) monosyllables as pronounced phrase-finally in carrier sentences by two Tehrani native speakers: one male, one female. Results show that average durations for each vowel contradicted the traditional length-based pairings. Furthermore, features of the following phonological environment likely to affect vowel length — postvocalic consonant type, coda complexity (CVC vs. CVCC), and adherence to the Sonority Sequencing Principle in complex codas — had no notable effect. Results of formant measurements show the two non-high back vowels to be higher than expected, whereas the high back vowel was noticeably centralized.

Objective Voice Analysis of Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients and Comparison With Hearing Aids Users and Hearing Controls

Phonation is influenced by hearing as a feedback mechanism. The purpose of the present study was to compare selected acoustic parameters in children using cochlear implants (CIs), those using hearing aids (HA), and their normal-hearing (NH) peers. The participants were 15 children using CI (mean age: 72 months), 15 children using HA (mean age: 74 months), and 15 NH children (mean age: 77 months). The vowel /a/ was produced to measure perturbation and mean fundamental frequency. The six Persian vowels in /CbVCd/ were obtained to extract vowel duration. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. Results revealed a statistically significant difference between the NH group and the HA group regarding fundamental frequency (F2,51 = 3.443, P < 0.05), jitter local (F2,51 = 1.629, P < 0.05), jitter local absolute (F2,51 = 6.519, P < 0.001), jitter rap (F2,51 = 7.151, P < 0.001), jitter ppq5 (F2,51 = 5.894, P < 0.001), shimmer local (%) (F2,51 = 8.070, P < 0.001), shimmer local (dB) (F2,51 = 3.884, P < 0.05), shimmer apq3 (F2,51 = 4.926, P < 0.05), shimmer apq5 (F2,51 = 8.442, P < 0.001), and harmonic-to-noise ratio (F2,51 = 4.117, P < 0.001). The mean values of the duration of all six vowels were significantly greater in children with CI and HA than in NH children (P < 0.001). It seems that after 8 months of using CI, auditory control of voice production would be enabled. Furthermore, children with hearing impairment potentially regard vowel sound duration as a distinguishing feature, whereas in NH speakers, the duration has the least effect in vowel identification.

Acoustic Analysis of Persian Vowels in Cochlear Implant Users: A Comparison With Hearing-impaired Children Using Hearing Aid and Normal-hearing Children

Vowel production in essence is auditorily controlled; hence, the role of the auditory feedback in vowel production is very important. The purpose of this study was to compare formant frequencies and vowel space in Persian-speaking deaf children with cochlear implantation (CI), hearing-impaired children with hearing aid (HA), and their normal-hearing (NH) peers. A total of 40 prelingually children with hearing impairment and 20 NH groups participated in this study. Participants were native Persian speakers. The average of first formant frequency (F1) and second formant frequency (F2) of the six vowels were measured using Praat software (version 5.1.44). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the differences between the three3 groups. The mean value of F1 for vowel /i/ was significantly different (between CI and NH children and also between HA and NH groups) (F2, 57 = 9.229, P < 0.001). For vowel /a/, the mean value of F1 was significantly different (between HA and NH groups) (F2, 57 = 3.707, P < 0.05). Regarding the second formant frequency, a post hoc Tukey test revealed that the differences were between HA and NH children (P < 0.05). F2 for vowel /o/ was significantly different (F2, 57 = 4.572, P < 0.05). Also, the mean value of F2 for vowel /a/ was significantly different (F2, 57 = 3.184, P < 0.05). About 1 year after implantation, the formants shift closer to those of the NH listeners who tend to have more expanded vowel spaces than hearing-impaired listeners with hearing aids. Probably, this condition is because CI has a subtly positive impact on the place of articulation of vowels.

A Comparison of Persian Vowel Production in Hearing-Impaired Children Using a Cochlear Implant and Normal-Hearing Children

Normal-hearing (NH) acuity and auditory feedback control are crucial for human voice production and articulation. The lack of auditory feedback in individuals with profound hearing impairment changes their vowel production. The purpose of this study was to compare Persian vowel production in deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) and that in NH children. The participants were 20 children (12 girls and 8 boys) with age range of 5 years; 1month to 9years. All patients had congenital hearing loss and received a multichannel CI at an average age of 3years. They had at least 6months experience of their current device (CI). The control group consisted of 20 NH children (12 girls and 8boys) with age range of 5 to 9years old. The two groups were matched by age. Participants were native Persian speakers who were asked to produce the vowels /i/, /e/, /ӕ/, /u/, /o/, and /a/. The averages for first formant frequency (F1) and second formant frequency (F2) of six vowels were measured using Praat software (Version 5.1.44, Boersma & Weenink, 2012). The independent samples t test was conducted to assess the differences in F1 and F2 values and the area of the vowel space between the two groups. Mean values of F1 were increased in CI children; the mean values of F1 for vowel /i/ and /a/, F2 for vowel /a/ and /o/ were significantly different (P<0.05). The changes in F1 and F2 showed a centralized vowel space for CI children. F1 is increased in CI children, probably because CI children tend to overarticulate. We hypothesis this is due to a lack of auditory feedback; there is an attempt by hearing-impaired children to compensate via proprioceptive feedback during articulatory process.

Linear and non-linear acoustic voice analysis of Persian speaking Parkinson's disease patients

Purpose: Many studies have analyzed acoustic voice characteristics (AVC) of Parkinson's disease patients (PDP) by linear or non-linear methods. The aim of this study is to compare the linear and non-linear approaches in acoustic voice analysis of Persian speaking PDPs. Method: This cross sectional, non-experimental study was done 27 (15 males, 12 females) PDP and 21 healthy age-sex matched subjects (11 males, 10 females). Patients were chosen from attendants of movement disorders clinic using convenience sampling. All of patients evaluated in on medication period. AVC consisting average fundamental frequency (f0), standard deviation of f0, mean percentage of jitter, shimmer, and HNR in prolongation of all Persian vowels /a, e, i, o, u /. Praat 5.1.17 software (as a linear tool) and Matlab (as a non-linear method) used to evaluate AVC. Result: There was not any significant difference between PDPs and normal subjects except for jitter /ae /(0.041) and / e/ (0.021). According to non-linear characteristic...

Vowel Production in Persian Deaf Children with Cochlear Implant: is the Age of Implantation an Important Factor?

Proper production of vowels has great significance in speech intelligibility. Evidence shows that cochlear implantation has a significant impact on language and reading abilities in some children immediately after the surgery. The aim of the present study is comparing the quality of 6 simple Persian vowels between two groups of cochlear-implanted children under and over 2years old. This was a cross-sectional analytic study conducted on 70 children who were implanted under the age of 2, 70 children who were implanted over the age of 2 and 238 normal children as control group. For data analysis, the SFS win acoustic analysis was used. Result of this study showed that F2/i/, f1/e/, f2/e/, f2/∞/, f1/a/, F2/a/, f1/o/, F2/o/and F2/u/means had significant difference between three groups (P<0.05). Children implanted under the age of 2 showed similar performance as normal children in vowel production. Early cochlear implantation (under the age of 2) affects the quality of simple Persian vowel production significantly as well as the increase of speech intelligibility.

Formant frequency of Persian Vowels in 18-24 years old university students

Formant frequency of Persian Vowels in 18-24 years old university students

A Historical Study of the Persian Vowel System

It is widely believed that the Middle Persian vowel system was quantitative (e.g, Salemann, 1930; Rastergueva, 1969; Windfuhr, 1979; Pisowicz, 1985). This vowel system changed over time to result in its current main dialects: Dari (spoken in Afghanistan), Modern Persian (spoken in Iran), and Tajik (spoken in Tajikistan). The goal of this paper is to account for the development of the Middle Persian vowel system to these three dialects. The framework within which I present my analysis is modified contrastive specification (Dresher, Piggott and Rice, 1994). In particular, I follow the view that contrastive specification is the result of ordering features into a contrastive hierarchy (Dresher, 2003a, 2003b, 2003c; Dresher and Xi, 2005). This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 contains background on the vowel systems of Dari, Modern Persian, and Tajik. Section 3 suggests historical changes in terms of contrastive features in the inventories of these dialects. Section 4 concludes.

Characteristics of Persian vowels.

Characteristics of Persian vowels.