Lexical tone is a linguistic feature which can present difficulties for second language learners wanting to revitalize their heritage language. This is true not only from the standpoint of understanding and pronunciation, but also because tone is often under-documented and resources are limited or too technical to be useful to community members.…

In this paper I argue for a property-driven approach to phonological typology. Rather than seeking to classify or label languages, the central goal of phonological typology is to determine how different languages systematize the phonetic substance available to all languages. The paper focuses on a very murky area in phonological typology,…

Pronunciation errors may be caused by several different deviations from the target, such as voicing, intonation, insertions or deletions of segments, or that the articulators are placed incorrectly. Computer-animated pronunciation teachers could potentially provide important assistance on correcting all these types of deviations, but they have an…

In this paper, a new automatic contour tracking system, EdgeTrak, for the ultrasound image sequences of human tongue is presented. The images are produced by a head and transducer support system (HATS). The noise and unrelated high-contrast edges in ultrasound images make it very difficult to automatically detect the correct tongue surfaces. In…

Describes an innovative program that systematically exposes second-language learners to the phonetic elements of French, including prosodic features of the language. The first half of the 12 one-hour lessons introduces active listening exercises, delaying oral production until lesson seven. The program's goals and instructional units are included.…

Forces applied to vocal fold tissue as the vocal folds collide may cause tissue injury that manifests as benign organic lesions. A novel method for measuring this quantity in humans in vivo uses a low-profile force sensor that extends along the length and depth of the glottis. Sensor design facilitates its placement and stabilization so that…

Describes a two phase experiment that was conducted at the university of Ottawa using audiocassettes and multimedia while teaching French, specifically French phonetics, intonation, and pronunciation, to a group of low-intermediate level language students. Looks at whether receptive and productive skills are influenced by the explicit teaching of…

Presents an analysis of some aspects of conversational phonology by examining the general phonetic resources that are used by speakers of Tyneside (a nonstandard variety of English). This phonological analysis of the interaction of turn-completion takes into account pitch, loudness, and tempo, as well as segmental features. (TR)

Computer assisted instruction in Chinese is considered in relation to the design and recognition of Chinese characters, speech synthesis of the standard Chinese language, and the identification of Chinese tone. The PLATO work has shifted its orientation from provision of supplementary courseware to implementation of independent lessons and…

This book describes the conception, implementation, teaching, and evaluation of an experimental course in corrective phonetics for students enrolled in the Certificate in French as a Second Language (FLS) at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal (Canada) during the winter and summer sessions of 1992. It also discusses the principles of a proposed…

Papers from the Proceedings of the 17th meeting of the AIMAV (Association internationale pour le developpement de la communication interculturelle) are collected in this volume. Conference papers appear either in English, in French, or in Russian. For purposes of this abstract, all titles below have been translated into English. The…