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Utilization of general rhythm metrics for differentiation of Slovak English from Slovak and English
Kaprál, Jakub ; Volín, Jan (advisor) ; Klégr, Aleš (referee)
The purpose of the present thesis is to analyze Slovak English from the perspective of speech rhythm in relation to its native (Slovak) and target (English) language. The first part contains theoretical background for the study of language rhythm, history of its research, and describes rhythmically relevant features of English and Slovak phonetic systems. It is concluded by summary of rhythmical differences between the two languages and hypotheses are proposed. The experimental part uses rhythm metrics for determination of phonetic properties of rhythm in Slovak English. It is based on recordings of one English and two Slovak representative radio reporters along with six recordings of Slovak students of English studies. The rhythm metrcis results for Slovak English closely approximate the results for native English but due to inconsistency of the results the question of aplicability of rhythm metrics to L1, let alone L2, remains open. Keywords: Slovak English, speech rhythm, rhythm metrics, prosody, second language acquisition
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Utilization of general rhythm metrics for differentiation of Slovak English from Slovak and English
Kaprál, Jakub ; Volín, Jan (advisor) ; Klégr, Aleš (referee)
The purpose of the present thesis is to analyze Slovak English from the perspective of speech rhythm in relation to its native (Slovak) and target (English) language. The first part contains theoretical background for the study of language rhythm, history of its research, and describes rhythmically relevant features of English and Slovak phonetic systems. It is concluded by summary of rhythmical differences between the two languages and hypotheses are proposed. The experimental part uses rhythm metrics for determination of phonetic properties of rhythm in Slovak English. It is based on recordings of one English and two Slovak representative radio reporters along with six recordings of Slovak students of English studies. The rhythm metrcis results for Slovak English closely approximate the results for native English but due to inconsistency of the results the question of aplicability of rhythm metrics to L1, let alone L2, remains open. Keywords: Slovak English, speech rhythm, rhythm metrics, prosody, second language acquisition
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Temporal accuracy of speech imitation in two age groups of children
Prachová, Pavla ; Volín, Jan (advisor) ; Palková, Zdena (referee)
The goal of this thesis was to test the ability of speech imitation in terms of temporal accuracy in two age groups of children. The first age group comprised 8 girls and 8 boys at the age of 10 to 11 years; the second group consisted of 8 girls and 8 boys at the age of 12 to 13 years. For the purpose of the experiment a perception-production test was created - it consisted of six, nine and twelve syllabic declarative sentences which contained two, three and four trisyllabic stress- groups. The task of the participating children was to repeat the sentences in three manners: in exactly the same words as they had heard them, and then by using the syllable /na/ and /ba/. Even though the children were able to meet the task, in some cases deviations occurred, such as deformations of the sentences in a certain way. Accuracy of imitation was investigated through average deviations from the model sentences. Based on the obtained values we identified the factors of length and composition of the task items and also the manner and order of imitation. We were also interested whether age and gender of respondents affect the accuracy of imitation. Key words speech rhythm, tempo, duration, stress-group, average deviation, imitation, children
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Perceptual evaluation of rhythmic features in Czech English
Hanzlíková, Dagmar ; Volín, Jan (advisor) ; Klégr, Aleš (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effect of changes in speech rhythm on the perception of personality traits which are detectable in speech. The theoretical part is concerned with the description of some important theories in the field of psychology of personality, then with summarizing research done in the effects of foreign-accented speech on perception, and finally with presenting the issue of speech rhythm with a focus on representative studies of speech rhythm and its effect on speech perception. In an independently designed experiment, the changes in speech rhythm were created by manipulating the durational patterns and pitch contours. Subsequently a perceptual test was prepared. Twenty subjects were asked to evaluate individual speech samples and rate to what extent they would characterize the speaker by the given personality trait. The results from the perceptual tests were analyzed from multiple points of view: the effects of the manipulations on the perception in general, and then in relation to the nationality of the speaker (native vs. non-native speaker), to the personality trait in question, and in relation to the individual speakers and items. The results showed some tendencies for example in perception of honesty in relation to durational patterns, or in perception of...
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