Using a coupled-oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties (CE and SP)

This paper presents preliminary results of a semi-automatic methodology to extract three parameters of a dynamic model of speech rhythm. The model attempts to analyze the production of rhythm as a system of coupled oscillators which represent syllabicity and phrase stress as levels of temporal orga...

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Main Authors: Pablo Arantes, Ronaldo Mangueira Lima Júnior
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associação Brasileira de Linguística 2021-09-01
Series:Cadernos de Linguística
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/cadernos/article/view/577
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author Pablo Arantes
Ronaldo Mangueira Lima Júnior
author_facet Pablo Arantes
Ronaldo Mangueira Lima Júnior
author_sort Pablo Arantes
collection DOAJ
description This paper presents preliminary results of a semi-automatic methodology to extract three parameters of a dynamic model of speech rhythm. The model attempts to analyze the production of rhythm as a system of coupled oscillators which represent syllabicity and phrase stress as levels of temporal organization. The estimated parameters are the syllabic oscillator entrainment rate (alpha), the syllabic oscillator decay rate (beta), and the coupling strength between the oscillators (w0). The methodology involves finding the <alpha, beta, w0> combination that minimizes the distance between natural duration contours and simulated contours generated using several combinations of the parameters. The distance between natural and model-generated contours was measured in two ways by comparing: (1) plain or overt syllable to syllable duration and (2) relative change along both contours.We applied this methodology to read speech produced by five speakers of the state of Ceará (CE) and eight speakers of the state of São Paulo (SP). Mean w0 and alpha values are compatible with the view that Brazilian Portuguese is a mixed-rhythm language. Results from two bayesian hierarchical regression models do not suggest a difference between SP and CE speakers, but indicate a difference between the two methods, with the relative change method generating lower alpha values and higher w0 values, and the reverse for the plain duration method.
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spelling doaj.art-e7dfd1d2800a4fdf982508a755f5d2e12022-12-22T02:04:43ZengAssociação Brasileira de LinguísticaCadernos de Linguística2675-49162021-09-012410.25189/2675-4916.2021.v2.n4.id577Using a coupled-oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties (CE and SP)Pablo Arantes0Ronaldo Mangueira Lima Júnior1Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar)Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) This paper presents preliminary results of a semi-automatic methodology to extract three parameters of a dynamic model of speech rhythm. The model attempts to analyze the production of rhythm as a system of coupled oscillators which represent syllabicity and phrase stress as levels of temporal organization. The estimated parameters are the syllabic oscillator entrainment rate (alpha), the syllabic oscillator decay rate (beta), and the coupling strength between the oscillators (w0). The methodology involves finding the <alpha, beta, w0> combination that minimizes the distance between natural duration contours and simulated contours generated using several combinations of the parameters. The distance between natural and model-generated contours was measured in two ways by comparing: (1) plain or overt syllable to syllable duration and (2) relative change along both contours.We applied this methodology to read speech produced by five speakers of the state of Ceará (CE) and eight speakers of the state of São Paulo (SP). Mean w0 and alpha values are compatible with the view that Brazilian Portuguese is a mixed-rhythm language. Results from two bayesian hierarchical regression models do not suggest a difference between SP and CE speakers, but indicate a difference between the two methods, with the relative change method generating lower alpha values and higher w0 values, and the reverse for the plain duration method. https://cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/cadernos/article/view/577ProsodySpeech rhythmBrazilian Portuguese
spellingShingle Pablo Arantes
Ronaldo Mangueira Lima Júnior
Using a coupled-oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties (CE and SP)
Cadernos de Linguística
Prosody
Speech rhythm
Brazilian Portuguese
title Using a coupled-oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties (CE and SP)
title_full Using a coupled-oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties (CE and SP)
title_fullStr Using a coupled-oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties (CE and SP)
title_full_unstemmed Using a coupled-oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties (CE and SP)
title_short Using a coupled-oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two Brazilian Portuguese varieties (CE and SP)
title_sort using a coupled oscillator model of speech rhythm to estimate rhythmic variability in two brazilian portuguese varieties ce and sp
topic Prosody
Speech rhythm
Brazilian Portuguese
url https://cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/cadernos/article/view/577
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