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Acoustic parameters of the speech signal and their intra- and interindividual variability in Czech
Houzar, Alžběta ; Skarnitzl, Radek (advisor) ; Volín, Jan (referee) ; Hes Svobodová, Marie (referee)
The doctoral thesis focuses on the variability of a wide range of acoustic parameters of the speech signal in the Czech language. It summarizes the methodological approaches applied in previous studies on the acoustic characteristics of speech and presents a comprehensive analysis of intra-speaker and inter-speaker variability of an extensive set of selected parameters through original experiments conducted using a unified speech material. The individual experiments examined acoustic parameters that characterize fundamental frequency, vowel formants, short- and long-term frequency spectrum, and the temporal domain of speech, employing a total of 61 metrics. The variability of all parameters was observed within an individual's speech during one type of utterance as well as in relation to speaking style, with recordings of both read and spontaneous speech from thirty speakers being analyzed. Based on the experimental results, information regarding the distribution of parameter values in both speaking styles within the given population was obtained. In the final experiment, a comprehensive analysis of all investigated parameters was conducted, focusing on their mutual relationships and their contribution to the overall variability of the speech signal. The results of this comprehensive analysis...
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Acoustic properties of Czech diphthongs
Studenovský, David ; Palková, Zdenka (advisor) ; Zimmermann, Július (referee) ; Hes Svobodová, Marie (referee)
This thesis aims to contribute to the basic acoustic description of Czech diphthongs [ou, au, eu]. The diphthong is a unit characterized by the change of quality within its duration, thus dividing it into two parts. The analysis of this change and the phonologic interpretation of these two-part segments in the system of a given language is however difficult. This is why the description of diphthongs was frequently neglected. At the present time, the need for investigating such units is increasing - neurophonetic and psychological research on the one hand and speech technology on the other are more and more interested in examining speech segments with short temporal changes. To obtain a detailed acoustic description of diphthongs is a topical problem of current language description. In this thesis we studied the aspects of duration, spectrum and intensity changes at the local level and compared them with results acquired for simple vowels. In the temporal domain we observed the duration values divided by the initial, transient and final part of the diphthongs on the basis of auditory perception and also their total duration. The material used was partly taken from the database of the Institute of Phonetics, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, partly from specifically created texts. The...
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Temporal configurations of Czech stress-group in connection with its phonotactic structure
Churaňová, Eliška ; Volín, Jan (advisor) ; Palková, Zdenka (referee) ; Hes Svobodová, Marie (referee)
The main objective of this thesis is to explore the relationships between the phonotactic structure of the Czech stress-group and the rhythm of speech. Three most frequent consonantal-vocalic structures of Czech two-syllable stress-groups were selected for the purposes of this thesis: CVCV, CVCCV and CVCCV. In an auditory experiment, which contained the comparison of two stress-groups or the comparison of a stress-group and a low-frequency shadow of a stress-group, the respondents established how similar the rhythm of each couple of stress-groups sounded. The results indicate that the position of a consonantal cluster within the stress-group is the strongest phonotactic factor in perception of the rhythmic similarity. The number of consonants within a consonantal cluster and the presence of a long vowel in both stress- groups were considered weaker factors for perceiving the rhythmic similarity by the respondents. Possibilities for a follow-up research were proposed for the factors that did not reach statistical significance, i.e., the difference in sonority or voicing of consonants. Keywords: speech rhythm, stress-group, phonotactics, consonantal-vocalic structure, Czech
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Acoustic properties of Czech diphthongs
Studenovský, David ; Palková, Zdenka (advisor) ; Zimmermann, Július (referee) ; Hes Svobodová, Marie (referee)
This thesis aims to contribute to the basic acoustic description of Czech diphthongs [ou, au, eu]. The diphthong is a unit characterized by the change of quality within its duration, thus dividing it into two parts. The analysis of this change and the phonologic interpretation of these two-part segments in the system of a given language is however difficult. This is why the description of diphthongs was frequently neglected. At the present time, the need for investigating such units is increasing - neurophonetic and psychological research on the one hand and speech technology on the other are more and more interested in examining speech segments with short temporal changes. To obtain a detailed acoustic description of diphthongs is a topical problem of current language description. In this thesis we studied the aspects of duration, spectrum and intensity changes at the local level and compared them with results acquired for simple vowels. In the temporal domain we observed the duration values divided by the initial, transient and final part of the diphthongs on the basis of auditory perception and also their total duration. The material used was partly taken from the database of the Institute of Phonetics, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, partly from specifically created texts. The...
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