The starting point of this study is the theory of tonal consonance by Plomp and Levelt. The major reference point is the theory of Critical Band and its use for evaluating consonance of simple tones. On the basis of s...The starting point of this study is the theory of tonal consonance by Plomp and Levelt. The major reference point is the theory of Critical Band and its use for evaluating consonance of simple tones. On the basis of such empirical criterion, our aim consists in providing a method of estimating the value of consonance of complex tones, by taking account not only of the number of harmonics, but also of the intensity of the partials which contribute to forming the tone. By introducing a specific algorithm, the level of consonance of a chord of complex tones is expressed in terms both of frequency differences and sound intensity of the partials. The results give rise to a series of considerations and applications, ranging from displaying the order of consonance of all intervals within the octave up to evaluating the hierarchy of chords in the frame of a musical scale.展开更多
Nowadays English is more and more popular. There are a lot of books teaching people how to learn English. But it should be noted that although English is easy to learn,it is difficult to master. This paper analyzes th...Nowadays English is more and more popular. There are a lot of books teaching people how to learn English. But it should be noted that although English is easy to learn,it is difficult to master. This paper analyzes the reason why it is hard to master from three aspects:speech sounds,vocabulary,grammar.In this paper a large number of examples are given to illustrate the difficulties to master English.展开更多
This paper begins with a brief introduction to the two branches of the English language.Analyze the differences pronunciation between American English and British English,then demonstrates the reason why cause the dif...This paper begins with a brief introduction to the two branches of the English language.Analyze the differences pronunciation between American English and British English,then demonstrates the reason why cause the different.Firstly,about four hundred years ago,people from Britain,German,France and many other parts of the world came into the U.S.They not only brought their rich cultures but also their languages too.Secondly,because of its territory expansion and economic development,American English become stronger.And then in different vowels and consonants analyze the differences of pronunciation between American English and British English,and set some examples.展开更多
In English, many sounds and sound groups have symbolism. To study the sounds’ functions will improve our ability of reading and appreciating English poems.
When study English phonetics,Chinese learners will meet many difficulties,which need teachers to deal with.This paper is to discuss about how to teach consonants.
This paper gives a brief account of English consonant cluster's structure and phonetic features from the perspective of the definition and cause of neutralization of English consonants as well as their distinctive...This paper gives a brief account of English consonant cluster's structure and phonetic features from the perspective of the definition and cause of neutralization of English consonants as well as their distinctive features and oppositions.It comes up with the final conclusion that neutralization exists in only thirteen English consonant clusters,among a large number of consonant clusters.展开更多
In the paper, the author presents the negative transfer influence of Xinyang dialect on learners' English consonant pronunciation by comparing their differences in the segmental level, and proposes some suggestion...In the paper, the author presents the negative transfer influence of Xinyang dialect on learners' English consonant pronunciation by comparing their differences in the segmental level, and proposes some suggestions for English pronunciation teaching based on the theories of Contrastive Analysis, the Input Hypothesis.展开更多
The negative transfer of native language influences the English acquisition process of the college students from Yantai in a great degree,both in the segmental and suprasegmental level,while the consonants in the segm...The negative transfer of native language influences the English acquisition process of the college students from Yantai in a great degree,both in the segmental and suprasegmental level,while the consonants in the segmental level are influenced most.The paper makes an experimental phonetic contrastive study on [d?],[t?],[?] in the aspect of frication between native English speakers from America and English learners from Yantai basing on processing a large number of English word corpora by using PRAAT.It is found that the degree of frication of [d?],[t?],[?] in American English is strong,while Yantai weak.展开更多
The present system experimentally demonstrates a synthesis of syllables and words from tongue manoeuvers in multiple languages,captured by four oral sensors only.For an experimental demonstration of the system used in...The present system experimentally demonstrates a synthesis of syllables and words from tongue manoeuvers in multiple languages,captured by four oral sensors only.For an experimental demonstration of the system used in the oral cavity,a prototype tooth model was used.Based on the principle developed in a previous publication by the author(s),the proposed system has been implemented using the oral cavity(tongue,teeth,and lips)features alone,without the glottis and the larynx.The positions of the sensors in the proposed system were optimized based on articulatory(oral cavity)gestures estimated by simulating the mechanism of human speech.The system has been tested for all English alphabets and several words with sensor-based input along with an experimental demonstration of the developed algorithm,with limit switches,potentiometer,and flex sensors emulating the tongue in an artificial oral cavity.The system produces the sounds of vowels,consonants,and words in English,along with the pronunciation of meanings of their translations in four major Indian languages,all from oral cavity mapping.The experimental setup also caters to gender mapping of voice.The sound produced from the hardware has been validated by a perceptual test to verify the gender and word of the speech sample by listeners,with∼98%and∼95%accuracy,respectively.Such a model may be useful to interpret speech for those who are speech-disabled because of accidents,neuron disorder,spinal cord injury,or larynx disorder.展开更多
Arabic and Chinese are one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world.The mark of Arabic is Pinyin characters plus pinyin symbols.On the other hand,the mark of Chinese is ideographic square shaped character...Arabic and Chinese are one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world.The mark of Arabic is Pinyin characters plus pinyin symbols.On the other hand,the mark of Chinese is ideographic square shaped characters;each pronunciation of a Chinese character is generally a syllable.There are great differences between Arabic and Chinese consonants,so this paper mainly discusses the similarities and differences between the two languages and their respective characteristics through the comparative analysis of Chinese and Arabic consonants.展开更多
This paper considers the renderings of the sequence -UI- by Cameroonian, Gabonese, and native French users learning English with the view to finding out whether French users speaking different L 1s pronounce this sequ...This paper considers the renderings of the sequence -UI- by Cameroonian, Gabonese, and native French users learning English with the view to finding out whether French users speaking different L 1s pronounce this sequence in different or similar ways. The data were recordings of items containing -UI- and the contrastive method of analysis was used. It was found that this sequence is rendered in two ways by the learners. Besides, different L2 French-speaking learners tend to pronounce it in the same ways and so do L2 and L1 French-speaking learners. It can therefore be hypothesised that Francophone speakers tend to draw more from French when they speak English than from their respective L 1s.展开更多
The study is based on an observation of the pronunciation of a group of undergraduate students of English as a Second Language （ESL） whose mother tongue is Arabic and who have no formal training in the spoken variet...The study is based on an observation of the pronunciation of a group of undergraduate students of English as a Second Language （ESL） whose mother tongue is Arabic and who have no formal training in the spoken variety of English other than that received in the classroom. The study of acquisition of pronunciation of consonant clusters at morphological, particularly at the morphophonological levels indicates that the learners are sensitive to the syllabic structure viz., cccv type and cccvcc type, at the word-initial, medial and final positions. Samples of words with different consonant clusters were tested with a homogeneous group of students. Words of identical morphological categories were used as the data to test the students＇ level of perception. These were analyzed using Speech Analyzer Version 2.5. The data includes consonant clusters like plosive-fricative, plosive-plosive, fricative-fricative and plosive-fricative-trill/liquid combinations. The results varied according to the perceptual and articulatory abilities of the learners. It was observed that the plosive perception and acquisition of three-consonant clusters of plosive-plosive word initially, plosive-plosive combinations word finally and plosive-fricative type, posed more difficulty for the learners. The tendency to drop one of the consonants of the cluster was more pronounced with syllables ending in plural morphemes and those ending in -mp, -pt, -kt, -nt, -bt, etc. Difficulty was also noticed with the initial plosive＋/r/, plosive＋/1/combinations, especially in word initial positions. Across the syllable boundaries, these clusters are almost inaudible with some speakers. The difficulty in the articulation of these consonant clusters can be accounted for the mother tongue influence, as in the case of many other features. The results of the analysis have a pedagogical implication in the use of such words with consonant clusters, to teach reading skills to the students of undergraduate level in the present setting and promote self-learning through the use of speech tools.展开更多
It is well known that both bursts and formant transitions serve as separate cues to the place of articulation of initial stop consonants. In Vietnamese, final voiceless stop consonants/p, t, k/are unreleased （i.e., p...It is well known that both bursts and formant transitions serve as separate cues to the place of articulation of initial stop consonants. In Vietnamese, final voiceless stop consonants/p, t, k/are unreleased （i.e., produced without an audible burst）. This provides an opportunity to study these final stop consonants and to compare their characteristics with those of the corresponding initial stop consonants. As unreleased final consonants have not been previously studied, this paper analyses the Vowel-Consonant （VC） and Consonant-Vowel-Consonant （CVC） productions in terms of the transition duration, the starting formant transition values and the slopes of the VC transitions. Measurements have shown that in the same preceding vowel contexts, the 3 final stop consonants/p, t, k/are always clearly differentiated by at least one of the 3 slopes of Fl, F2 or F3. In perception tests, synthesized consonant C in the context/a/-C are recognized as/p/, or/t/, or/k/when the slopes of the/a/-C transition ofF2 and F3 are varied. It means that slopes of the VC transition are an important parameter that allows Vietnamese distinguishing the 3 final voiceless stop consonant/p, t, k/in Vietnamese language. These final stop consonants can also be differentiated in the locus equation space. The study also pointes out that the effects of the final consonants on either long vowels or short vowels. The results explain why Vietnamese can not pronounce the short vowels in isolation.展开更多
文摘The starting point of this study is the theory of tonal consonance by Plomp and Levelt. The major reference point is the theory of Critical Band and its use for evaluating consonance of simple tones. On the basis of such empirical criterion, our aim consists in providing a method of estimating the value of consonance of complex tones, by taking account not only of the number of harmonics, but also of the intensity of the partials which contribute to forming the tone. By introducing a specific algorithm, the level of consonance of a chord of complex tones is expressed in terms both of frequency differences and sound intensity of the partials. The results give rise to a series of considerations and applications, ranging from displaying the order of consonance of all intervals within the octave up to evaluating the hierarchy of chords in the frame of a musical scale.
文摘Nowadays English is more and more popular. There are a lot of books teaching people how to learn English. But it should be noted that although English is easy to learn,it is difficult to master. This paper analyzes the reason why it is hard to master from three aspects:speech sounds,vocabulary,grammar.In this paper a large number of examples are given to illustrate the difficulties to master English.
文摘This paper begins with a brief introduction to the two branches of the English language.Analyze the differences pronunciation between American English and British English,then demonstrates the reason why cause the different.Firstly,about four hundred years ago,people from Britain,German,France and many other parts of the world came into the U.S.They not only brought their rich cultures but also their languages too.Secondly,because of its territory expansion and economic development,American English become stronger.And then in different vowels and consonants analyze the differences of pronunciation between American English and British English,and set some examples.
文摘In English, many sounds and sound groups have symbolism. To study the sounds’ functions will improve our ability of reading and appreciating English poems.
文摘When study English phonetics,Chinese learners will meet many difficulties,which need teachers to deal with.This paper is to discuss about how to teach consonants.
文摘This paper gives a brief account of English consonant cluster's structure and phonetic features from the perspective of the definition and cause of neutralization of English consonants as well as their distinctive features and oppositions.It comes up with the final conclusion that neutralization exists in only thirteen English consonant clusters,among a large number of consonant clusters.
文摘In the paper, the author presents the negative transfer influence of Xinyang dialect on learners' English consonant pronunciation by comparing their differences in the segmental level, and proposes some suggestions for English pronunciation teaching based on the theories of Contrastive Analysis, the Input Hypothesis.
文摘The negative transfer of native language influences the English acquisition process of the college students from Yantai in a great degree,both in the segmental and suprasegmental level,while the consonants in the segmental level are influenced most.The paper makes an experimental phonetic contrastive study on [d?],[t?],[?] in the aspect of frication between native English speakers from America and English learners from Yantai basing on processing a large number of English word corpora by using PRAAT.It is found that the degree of frication of [d?],[t?],[?] in American English is strong,while Yantai weak.
基金The authors would like to acknowledge theMinistry of Electronics and Informa-tion Technology(MeitY)Government of India for financial support through the scholarship for Palli Padmini,during research work through Visvesvaraya Ph.D.Scheme for Electronics and IT.
文摘The present system experimentally demonstrates a synthesis of syllables and words from tongue manoeuvers in multiple languages,captured by four oral sensors only.For an experimental demonstration of the system used in the oral cavity,a prototype tooth model was used.Based on the principle developed in a previous publication by the author(s),the proposed system has been implemented using the oral cavity(tongue,teeth,and lips)features alone,without the glottis and the larynx.The positions of the sensors in the proposed system were optimized based on articulatory(oral cavity)gestures estimated by simulating the mechanism of human speech.The system has been tested for all English alphabets and several words with sensor-based input along with an experimental demonstration of the developed algorithm,with limit switches,potentiometer,and flex sensors emulating the tongue in an artificial oral cavity.The system produces the sounds of vowels,consonants,and words in English,along with the pronunciation of meanings of their translations in four major Indian languages,all from oral cavity mapping.The experimental setup also caters to gender mapping of voice.The sound produced from the hardware has been validated by a perceptual test to verify the gender and word of the speech sample by listeners,with∼98%and∼95%accuracy,respectively.Such a model may be useful to interpret speech for those who are speech-disabled because of accidents,neuron disorder,spinal cord injury,or larynx disorder.
文摘Arabic and Chinese are one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world.The mark of Arabic is Pinyin characters plus pinyin symbols.On the other hand,the mark of Chinese is ideographic square shaped characters;each pronunciation of a Chinese character is generally a syllable.There are great differences between Arabic and Chinese consonants,so this paper mainly discusses the similarities and differences between the two languages and their respective characteristics through the comparative analysis of Chinese and Arabic consonants.
文摘This paper considers the renderings of the sequence -UI- by Cameroonian, Gabonese, and native French users learning English with the view to finding out whether French users speaking different L 1s pronounce this sequence in different or similar ways. The data were recordings of items containing -UI- and the contrastive method of analysis was used. It was found that this sequence is rendered in two ways by the learners. Besides, different L2 French-speaking learners tend to pronounce it in the same ways and so do L2 and L1 French-speaking learners. It can therefore be hypothesised that Francophone speakers tend to draw more from French when they speak English than from their respective L 1s.
文摘The study is based on an observation of the pronunciation of a group of undergraduate students of English as a Second Language （ESL） whose mother tongue is Arabic and who have no formal training in the spoken variety of English other than that received in the classroom. The study of acquisition of pronunciation of consonant clusters at morphological, particularly at the morphophonological levels indicates that the learners are sensitive to the syllabic structure viz., cccv type and cccvcc type, at the word-initial, medial and final positions. Samples of words with different consonant clusters were tested with a homogeneous group of students. Words of identical morphological categories were used as the data to test the students＇ level of perception. These were analyzed using Speech Analyzer Version 2.5. The data includes consonant clusters like plosive-fricative, plosive-plosive, fricative-fricative and plosive-fricative-trill/liquid combinations. The results varied according to the perceptual and articulatory abilities of the learners. It was observed that the plosive perception and acquisition of three-consonant clusters of plosive-plosive word initially, plosive-plosive combinations word finally and plosive-fricative type, posed more difficulty for the learners. The tendency to drop one of the consonants of the cluster was more pronounced with syllables ending in plural morphemes and those ending in -mp, -pt, -kt, -nt, -bt, etc. Difficulty was also noticed with the initial plosive＋/r/, plosive＋/1/combinations, especially in word initial positions. Across the syllable boundaries, these clusters are almost inaudible with some speakers. The difficulty in the articulation of these consonant clusters can be accounted for the mother tongue influence, as in the case of many other features. The results of the analysis have a pedagogical implication in the use of such words with consonant clusters, to teach reading skills to the students of undergraduate level in the present setting and promote self-learning through the use of speech tools.
文摘It is well known that both bursts and formant transitions serve as separate cues to the place of articulation of initial stop consonants. In Vietnamese, final voiceless stop consonants/p, t, k/are unreleased （i.e., produced without an audible burst）. This provides an opportunity to study these final stop consonants and to compare their characteristics with those of the corresponding initial stop consonants. As unreleased final consonants have not been previously studied, this paper analyses the Vowel-Consonant （VC） and Consonant-Vowel-Consonant （CVC） productions in terms of the transition duration, the starting formant transition values and the slopes of the VC transitions. Measurements have shown that in the same preceding vowel contexts, the 3 final stop consonants/p, t, k/are always clearly differentiated by at least one of the 3 slopes of Fl, F2 or F3. In perception tests, synthesized consonant C in the context/a/-C are recognized as/p/, or/t/, or/k/when the slopes of the/a/-C transition ofF2 and F3 are varied. It means that slopes of the VC transition are an important parameter that allows Vietnamese distinguishing the 3 final voiceless stop consonant/p, t, k/in Vietnamese language. These final stop consonants can also be differentiated in the locus equation space. The study also pointes out that the effects of the final consonants on either long vowels or short vowels. The results explain why Vietnamese can not pronounce the short vowels in isolation.
