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Program to support correct pronunciation of foreign languages
Malucha, Jan ; Kohl,, Ing, Zdeněk (referee) ; Sigmund, Milan (advisor)
The aim of the diploma thesis is the development of an autonomous program for checking and evaluating the pronunciation of a foreign language. Theoretical part includes a treatise on the history and importance of computer-assisted language teaching; it also contains a brief introduction to phonetics, phonology and pronunciation issues, as well as an introduction to speech signal processing with a focus on computational methods for pronunciation analysis. In the practical part, a search of currently widespread and available tools for pronunciation control was processed and a number of algorithms usable for its analysis were programmed. Some of the algorithms have been enclosed in a graphical user interface as a basic prototype of a functional program to support pronunciation. The achieved results and the direction of further development are discussed in the conclusion.
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Dialects of English in computer games
Opanasiuk, Yevhenii ; Walek, Agata (referee) ; Sučková, Magda (advisor)
Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá analýzou anglických dialektů, které se objevují ve videohrách. Jejím cílem je analyzovat použití různých dialektů v sérii her Grand Theft Auto. Teoretická část je zaměřena na poskytnutí potřebných konceptů souvisejících se sociolingvistikou, rozmanitostí jazyka, dialekty, akcenty a herním průmyslem. Praktická část je zaměřena na jazykovou analýzu anglických dialektů, které se objevují v sérii her GTA. Tato analýza identifikuje dialekty postav ve hře z gramatické a fonetické perspektivy a vysvětluje důvody, které vedly tvůrce hry k výběru těchto dialektů.
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Intonation of a French sentence with enumeration by Czech speakers - a contrastive study
Brožová, Wanda ; Suková Vychopňová, Kateřina (advisor) ; Jančík, Jiří (referee)
1 ABSTRACT The bachelor thesis " Intonation of a French sentence with enumeration by Czech speakers - a contrastive study" describes the issue of selected prosodic phenomena of these two languages with a closer focus on intonation. The theoretical part introduces phonetics and phonology in general and subsequently presents the Czech and French phonetic systems - their segmental and suprasegmental levels. This bachelor thesis therefore describes the syllabic system and the basic prosodic elements of both languages studied. Among the basic prosodic phenomena, it describes the syllable, rhythm, rhythmic group, accent, and intonation. The practical part focuses on the analysis of intonation of Czech speakers in a French sentence with enumeration. A recording of a native speaker and a recording from the textbook (from which the sentence with enumeration was used for the recordings) are also analysed for comparison. The aim of the practical part was to find out whether native Czech speakers who speak French would follow the intonation of their native language for the given type of sentence or whether they would be proficient enough to use the intonation typical of the French language for a declarative sentence with enumeration. Through contrastive comparison and analysis using the program Praat, it was found that...
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Perception of native and non-native English accents by Czech listeners
Luongová, Ngoc Huyen My ; Červinková Poesová, Kristýna (advisor) ; Nádraská, Zuzana (referee)
This bachelor thesis explores the perception of native and non-native English accents by Czech listeners, focusing on their intelligibility and comprehensibility. Furthermore, it aims to scrutinise the scope of the Interlanguage Speech Intelligibility Benefit (ISIB). The theoretical part provides the necessary terminology to set a theoretical framework for the research conducted in the practical part of the thesis. In the practical part, audio recordings of native and non-native speech were played to low and high-proficient Czech users of English. Data obtained through the transcription and rating tasks was employed to assess the intelligibility and comprehensibility of each accent. The intelligibility scores provided evidence substantiating the matched ISIB. However, the mismatched ISIB was not proven to be effective. As for comprehensibility, the speech produced by native speakers was rated to be more comprehensible in contrast with non-native speech production. This outcome also demonstrates that intelligibility and comprehensibility are related yet partially independent. Lastly, this thesis sheds light on the importance of exposure to non-native English accents.
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Program to support correct pronunciation of foreign languages
Malucha, Jan ; Kohl,, Ing, Zdeněk (referee) ; Sigmund, Milan (advisor)
The aim of the diploma thesis is the development of an autonomous program for checking and evaluating the pronunciation of a foreign language. Theoretical part includes a treatise on the history and importance of computer-assisted language teaching; it also contains a brief introduction to phonetics, phonology and pronunciation issues, as well as an introduction to speech signal processing with a focus on computational methods for pronunciation analysis. In the practical part, a search of currently widespread and available tools for pronunciation control was processed and a number of algorithms usable for its analysis were programmed. Some of the algorithms have been enclosed in a graphical user interface as a basic prototype of a functional program to support pronunciation. The achieved results and the direction of further development are discussed in the conclusion.
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Characteristics of the vowels in German language compared to those in the Czech language
Černá, Stanislava ; Nečasová, Pavla (advisor) ; Zeman, Dalibor (referee)
Characteristics of the wovels in German language compares to those in the Czech language Annotation in the english language My thesis explores characteristics of the vowels in German language and compares them to those in the Czech language. The thesis is devided into the following parts: introduction, theoretical part, practical part and the ending. Introduction summarizes the reasons that made me choose this particular topic, it presents the literature and my opinion on why phonetics is such an important part of communication, my expectations and the description of my work. Theoretical part consists of several chapters: a)characteristics of german vowels, how they are devided according to the basic classification (the position of the tongue, quality, quantity, labialization) and according to other clasiffications (stress/reduction, participation of the nasal cavity and the description of the individual vowels and diphtongs) b)characteristics of czech vowels, how they are devided according to the basic classification (the position of the tongue, quality, quantity, labialization) and according to other clasiffications (stress/reduction, participation of the nasal cavity and the description of the individual vowels and diphtongs) c)most common problems with pronunciation for non-native speakers which are...
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Czech Language in the Crimea
Wildová, Zuzana ; Janovec, Ladislav (advisor) ; Hájková, Eva (referee)
The text deals with the current state of the language of the Czech minority in Crimea. Based on field research, it describes phenomena and changes that occurred in the language of Crimean Czechs that were caused by the influences of the foreign language and culture environment. Main focus of the text is phonetics, i.e. the way how speakers are affected by the Russian pronunciation standards. The text contains historical and cultural context relevant to the departure of Czechs to Crimea and the shape of the Czech minority nowadays. Individual chapters are dedicated to specific phenomena: deviations in the pronunciation of vocals in first syllables of words, changes in the pronunciation of the consonant [j], labialization in pronunciation of consonant [v], changes in the pronunciation of loanwords, pronunciation of consonants [ ] and [ ] in Czech words, pronunciation of toponyms, prosthesis and elimination of speech sounds from the beginning of words, deviations in the pronunciation of speech sounds from the middle of words, vocalization of prepositions and influences of Russian language standards on the use of their vocalized form.
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Commonly Mispronounced English Words by Czech Speakers
Novotná, Gabriela ; Červinková Poesová, Kristýna (advisor) ; Bojarová, Marie (referee)
The first chapters of this thesis describe the process of collecting mispronounced words in English, first by searching through various sources including course books, didactic manuals and teachers' books; and second by attending English lessons at various schools and listening to Czech students' production of English. The collected data were classified according to the cause of observed mispronunciations. The established categories were analysed and commented from the phonetic point of view. The practical part further contains a small-scale research carried out among university students of the English language in which their reading was recorded and evaluated in relation to the examined phenomenon. Key words commonly mispronounced words, Czech native speakers, stress placement, silent letters 1
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Developing pronunciation through musical activities in French lessons
Prucek, Jan ; Klinka, Tomáš (advisor) ; Jančík, Jiří (referee)
Title of the thesis: Developing pronunciation through musical activities in French lessons Keywords: communicative approach, phonetics, phonology, pronunciation, prosody, activity, music, rhythm, rhythmisation, melody, tempo, intonation, accent, song, rap, facial expressions Abstract: This thesis deals with the teaching of French phonetics, considers the status of phonetics in communicatively oriented teaching, and comes to the fact that the teaching of phonetics and phonology is not a priority in the communicative approach. The work demonstrates the importance of such teaching, and therefore explores how the teaching of pronunciation or some of its components could be made more attractive. Based on the proven relationship of music and language, both as auditory phenomena, this thesis approaches the interwoven elements of these two areas. The aim is to explore how the musical elements, such as: rhythm, melody, tempo, phrasing, etc., could be used in the teaching of French pronunciation - especially at the suprasegmental level. The work offers a basic inventory of exercises which benefit from this characteristic and which has been verified in practice, and in the final analysis summarises their effectiveness in foreign language teaching.
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Distinctive Features of Irish Accent
Uher, Tomáš ; Červinková Poesová, Kristýna (advisor) ; Ženíšek, Jakub (referee)
TITLE: Distinctive Features of Irish Accent AUTOR: Tomáš Uher DEPARTMENT: Department of English Language and Literature SUPERVISOR: Mgr. Kristýna Poesová ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to examine the distinctive phonetic and phonological aspects of Irish English. The theoretical part provides a comprehensive description of the segmental and suprasegmental features of the Irish accent in contrast with the Received Pronunciation. The first section of the practical part analyses the speech of three Irish actors in Irish films and TV shows in order to examine the use of the distinctive features described in the theoretical part. The second section of the practical part presents a 45 minute long lesson plan on the Irish accent with suggested exercises for intermediate (B2) learners. KEY WORDS: accent, Irish, pronunciation, phonetics, phonology, lesson plan
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