Based on a small dataset of spontaneous speech produced by 6 speakers aged 18-20, this study aims to acoustically describe vowel quality in the Pisan variety of Italian with respect to male-female differences. The Pisan variety is characterized by the lowering of [ɛ] and [ɔ], which is said to be a sociophonetic cue of vernacular speech. The initial aim was to explore whether gender-related sociophonetic differences influence the production of [ɛ] and [ɔ] in young speakers, and which of the two groups (males or females) were more likely to adopt this vernacular feature. However, we did not find consistent evidence of [ɛ] and [ɔ] lowering in the analyzed corpus. Nevertheless, there was variation in the production of [ɛ], which dif- ferentiated the male Pisan speakers from their Florentine counterparts. For this reason, this study also tested an automatic classification system of [ɛ] vowels, which could predict with decent accuracy (77%) the variety to which a specific vowel token belonged.

Combei, C.r., Tordini, O. (2017). A pilot sociophonetic study on open-mid vowels uttered by young male and female speakers of the Pisan variety. In C.C. Chiara Bertini (a cura di), Fattori sociali e biologici nella variazione fonetica. Social and biological factors in speech variation. (pp. 107-126). Milano : Officinaventuno [10.17469/O2103AISV000006].

A pilot sociophonetic study on open-mid vowels uttered by young male and female speakers of the Pisan variety

Claudia Roberta Combei
;
2017-01-01

Abstract

Based on a small dataset of spontaneous speech produced by 6 speakers aged 18-20, this study aims to acoustically describe vowel quality in the Pisan variety of Italian with respect to male-female differences. The Pisan variety is characterized by the lowering of [ɛ] and [ɔ], which is said to be a sociophonetic cue of vernacular speech. The initial aim was to explore whether gender-related sociophonetic differences influence the production of [ɛ] and [ɔ] in young speakers, and which of the two groups (males or females) were more likely to adopt this vernacular feature. However, we did not find consistent evidence of [ɛ] and [ɔ] lowering in the analyzed corpus. Nevertheless, there was variation in the production of [ɛ], which dif- ferentiated the male Pisan speakers from their Florentine counterparts. For this reason, this study also tested an automatic classification system of [ɛ] vowels, which could predict with decent accuracy (77%) the variety to which a specific vowel token belonged.
2017
Settore L-LIN/01
Settore GLOT-01/A - Glottologia e linguistica
English
Rilevanza internazionale
Capitolo o saggio
sociophonetics
acoustics
Pisan
open-mid vowels
https://www.studi.aisv.it/index.php/home/article/view/183
Combei, C.r., Tordini, O. (2017). A pilot sociophonetic study on open-mid vowels uttered by young male and female speakers of the Pisan variety. In C.C. Chiara Bertini (a cura di), Fattori sociali e biologici nella variazione fonetica. Social and biological factors in speech variation. (pp. 107-126). Milano : Officinaventuno [10.17469/O2103AISV000006].
Combei, Cr; Tordini, O
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/410784
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