Speaker variability in the realisation of lexical tones
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v23i2.30908Keywords:
Speaker characteristics, Lexical Tone, Forensic Speaker Comparison, CantoneseAbstract
While previous studies on the speaker-discriminatory power of static f0 parameters abound, few have focused on the dynamic and linguistically structured aspects of f0. Lexical tone offers a case in point for this endeavour. This article reports an exploratory study on the speaker-discriminatory power of individual lexical tones and of the height relationship of level tone pairs in Cantonese, and the effects of voice level and linguistic condition on their realisation. Twenty native Cantonese speakers produced systematically controlled words either in isolation or in a carrier sentence under two voice levels (normal and loud). Results show that f0 height and f0 dynamics are separate dimensions of a tone and are affected by voice level and linguistic condition in different ways. Moreover, discriminant analyses reveal that the contours of individual tones and the height differences of level tone pairs are useful parameters for characterising speakers.References
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Osanai, T., Tanimosto, M., Kido, H. and Suzuki, T. (1995). Text-dependent speaker verification using isolated word utterances based on dynamic programming [In Japanese]. National Research Institute for Police Science Report 48: 15--19.
Pang, J. L. and Rose, P. (2012). Likelihood ratio-based forensic voice comparison with the Cantonese diphthong /ei/ F-pattern. In Proceedings of the 14th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology.
Protopapas, A. and Lieberman, P. (1997). Fundamental frequency of phonation and perceived emotional stress. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 101(4): 2267--2277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.418247
R Core Team. (2013). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Version 3.0.0. .
Rose, P (1987). Considerations in the normalization of the fundamental frequency of linguistic tone. Speech Communication 6: 343--351.
Rose, P. (2002). Forensic Speaker Identification. London: Taylor & Francis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9780203166369
Rose, P. and Morrison, G. (2009). A response to the UK position statement on forensic speaker comparison. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 16: 139--163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v16i1.139
Sereno, J., Lee, H. and Jongman, A. (2015). Effects of speaking rate and context on the production of Mandarin tone. In Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS 2015).
Tabachnick, B. and Fidell, L. (2007). Using Multivariate Statistics. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Vance, T. J. (1976). An experimental investigation of tone and intonation in Cantonese. Phonetica 33: 368—392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000259793
Wang, C. Y. and Rose, P. (2012). Likelihood ratio-based forensic voice comparison with Cantonese /i/ F-Pattern and tonal F0. In Proceedings of the 14th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology (SST 2012).
Wong, P. C. and Diehl, R. L. (2003). Perceptual normalization for inter-and intratalker variation in Cantonese level tones. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 46(2): 413--421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2003/034)
Xu, Y. (2001). Sources of tonal variations in connected speech. Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph series #17: 1--31.
Yip, M. (2002). Tone. Cambridge: CUP. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164559
Bates, D.M. and Maechler, M. (2009). lme4: Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using S4 Classes, R Package Version 0.999375-32
Bauer, R. and Benedict, P. (1997). Modern Cantonese Phonology. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110823707
Bauer, R. S., Cheung, K. H. and Cheung, P. M. (2003). Variation and merger of the rising tones in Hong Kong Cantonese. Language Variation and Change 15(2): 211--225. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954394503152039
Boersma, P. and Weenink, D. (2014). Praat: Doing Phonetics with Computers.
Boss, D. (1996). The problem of F0 and real-life speaker identification: a case study. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 3(1): 155--169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v3i1.155
Braun, A. (1995). Fundamental frequency – how speaker-specific is it? In A. Braun and O. Köster (eds.) Studies in Forensics Phonetics. Beiträge zur Phonetik und Linguistik: 64. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag.
Chao, Y. R. (1947). Cantonese Primer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674732438
DeJong, G., McDougall, K. and Nolan, F. (2007). Sound change and speaker identity: an acoustic study. In C. Müller and S. Schötz (eds.) Speaker Classification. Springer.
French, P. and Stevens, L. (2013). Forensic speech science. In M. Jones & R.-A. Knight (eds.) The Bloomsbury Companion to Phonetics. London: Bloomsbury.
Fung, R. and Wong, C. (2011). The acoustic analysis of the new rising tone in Hong Kong Cantonese. In Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences.
Gold, E. and French, P. (2011). International practices in forensic speaker comparison. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 18(2): 293--307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v18i2.293
Jessen, M., Köster, O. and Gfroerer, S. (2005). Influence of vocal effort on average and variability of fundamental frequency. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 12(2): 174--213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/sll.2005.12.2.174
Künzel, H. (2000). Effects of voice disguise on speaking fundamental frequency. International Journal of Speech Language and the Law 7(2): 150--179. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/sll.2000.7.2.149
Lehiste, J. (1970). Suprasegmentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Li, J. J. and Rose, P. (2012). Likelihood ratio-based forensic voice comparison with F-pattern and tonal F0 from the Cantonese /eu/ diphthong. In Proceedings of the 14th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology (SST 2012).
Li, Y. (2006). Tone ratios combined with F0 register in Cantonese as speaker-dependent characteristic. In Proceedings of Speech Prosody 2006.
McDougall, K. (2004). Speaker-specific formant dynamics: An experiment on Australian English /a?/. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 11: 103--130.
McDougall, K. (2006). Dynamic features of speech and the characterisation of speakers: Towards a new approach using formant frequencies. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 13(1): 89--126. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/sll.2004.11.1.103
Mok, P., Zuo, D. and Wong, P. (2013). Production and perception of a sound change in progress: Tone merging in Hong Kong Cantonese. Language variation and change 25(3): 341--370. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954394513000161
Moosmüller, S. (1997). Phonological variation in speaker identification. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law Linguistics 4(1): 29--47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v4i1.29
Nolan, F. (2002). Intonation in speaker identification: an experiment on pitch alignment features. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 9(1): 1--21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/sll.2002.9.1.1
Nolan, F. (2003). Intonational equivalence: an experimental evaluation of pitch scales. Paper presented at the 15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Barcelona.
Nolan, F. (1983). The Phonetic Bases of Speaker Recognition. Cambridge: CUP. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0167-6393(87)90039-2
Nolan, F., McDougall, K., DeJong, G. and Hudson, T. (2009). The DyViS database: Style-controlled recordings of 100 homogeneous speakers for forensic phonetic research. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 16(1): 31--57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v16i1.31
Osanai, T., Tanimosto, M., Kido, H. and Suzuki, T. (1995). Text-dependent speaker verification using isolated word utterances based on dynamic programming [In Japanese]. National Research Institute for Police Science Report 48: 15--19.
Pang, J. L. and Rose, P. (2012). Likelihood ratio-based forensic voice comparison with the Cantonese diphthong /ei/ F-pattern. In Proceedings of the 14th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology.
Protopapas, A. and Lieberman, P. (1997). Fundamental frequency of phonation and perceived emotional stress. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 101(4): 2267--2277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.418247
R Core Team. (2013). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Version 3.0.0. .
Rose, P (1987). Considerations in the normalization of the fundamental frequency of linguistic tone. Speech Communication 6: 343--351.
Rose, P. (2002). Forensic Speaker Identification. London: Taylor & Francis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9780203166369
Rose, P. and Morrison, G. (2009). A response to the UK position statement on forensic speaker comparison. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 16: 139--163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v16i1.139
Sereno, J., Lee, H. and Jongman, A. (2015). Effects of speaking rate and context on the production of Mandarin tone. In Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS 2015).
Tabachnick, B. and Fidell, L. (2007). Using Multivariate Statistics. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Vance, T. J. (1976). An experimental investigation of tone and intonation in Cantonese. Phonetica 33: 368—392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000259793
Wang, C. Y. and Rose, P. (2012). Likelihood ratio-based forensic voice comparison with Cantonese /i/ F-Pattern and tonal F0. In Proceedings of the 14th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology (SST 2012).
Wong, P. C. and Diehl, R. L. (2003). Perceptual normalization for inter-and intratalker variation in Cantonese level tones. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 46(2): 413--421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2003/034)
Xu, Y. (2001). Sources of tonal variations in connected speech. Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph series #17: 1--31.
Yip, M. (2002). Tone. Cambridge: CUP. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164559
Published
2016-11-21
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Section
Articles
How to Cite
Chan, R. K. W. (2016). Speaker variability in the realisation of lexical tones. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, 23(2), 195-214. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v23i2.30908
