Speech Timing and Rhythmic Structure in Arabic dialects:a comparison of two approaches

HAMDI SULTAN, RIM; Barkat-Defradas, Melissa; Ferragne, Emmanuel; Pellegrino, Francois

Document type :

Communication dans un congrès avec actes

Title :

Speech Timing and Rhythmic Structure in Arabic dialects:a comparison of two approaches

Author(s) :

HAMDI SULTAN, RIM [Auteur]

Savoirs, Textes, Langage (STL) - UMR 8163 [STL]
Barkat-Defradas, Melissa [Auteur]
Équipe 3 : Parole et discours : fonctionnement/dysfonctionnement et appropriation
Ferragne, Emmanuel [Auteur]
Centre de Linguistique Inter-langues, de Lexicologie, de Linguistique Anglaise et de Corpus [CLILLAC-ARP (EA_3967)]
Pellegrino, Francois [Auteur]
Dynamique Du Langage [DDL]

Conference title :

International Speech and Communication Association

City :

Jeju Island

Country :

Corée du Sud

Start date of the conference :

2004-10-04

Book title :

Actes of International Speech and Communication Association

Journal title :

INTERSPEECH 2004 - ICSLP 8th International Conference on Spoken Language Processing

Publication date :

2004

English keyword(s) :

Linguistic

HAL domain(s) :

Sciences de l'Homme et Société/Linguistique

English abstract : [en]

This paper raises questions about the discrete or continuous nature of rhythm classes. Within this framework, our study investigates speech rhythm in the different Arabic dialects that have been constantly described as ...
Show more >This paper raises questions about the discrete or continuous nature of rhythm classes. Within this framework, our study investigates speech rhythm in the different Arabic dialects that have been constantly described as stress-timed compared with other languages belonging to different rhythm categories. Preliminary evidence from perceptual experiments revealed that listeners use speech rhythm cues to distinguish speakers of Arabic from North Africa from those of the Middle East. In an attempt to elucidate the reasons for this perceptual discrimination, an acoustic investigation based on duration measurement was carried out (i.e. percentages of vocalic intervals (%V) and the standard deviation of consonantal intervals (∆C)). This experiment reveals that despite their rhythmic differences, all Arabic dialects still cluster around stress-timed languages exhibiting a different distribution from languages belonging to other rhythm categories such as French and Catalan. Besides, our study suggests that there is no such thing as clear-cut rhythm classes but rather overlapping categories. As a means of comparison, we also used Pairwise Variability Indices so as to validate the reliability of our findings.Show less >

Language :

Anglais

Peer reviewed article :

Oui

Audience :

Internationale

Popular science :

Non

Collections :