This study examined the effect of context on the association between formant trajectories and tongue and lip kinematics in the American English diphthongs /aɪ/ and /aʊ/. Seventeen native speakers of American English had electromagnetic sensors placed on their tongue and lips to record kinematic signals that were time-aligned with the corresponding acoustic recording. Speakers produced the diphthongs in isolation, in a single word rVl context, in a phrase hVd context, and in a sentence context. Kinematic data and the F1 and F2 trajectories were extracted from the middle 50% of each diphthong production. To allow direct comparison of signals with different units of measurement, all data were converted to z-scores. The z-score records were plotted together on common axes. For each tracked sensor from each diphthong production, an absolute difference between the kinematic and acoustic variables was calculated. Average z-score difference sums were calculated for each speaker's /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ production in each context, and this measure was called the Acoustic Kinematic Disparity Index (AKDI). A repeated measures ANOVA was used to test for main context effects on the AKDI, with concurrent contrasts to test for differences between the baseline (isolated diphthong) condition and the more complex phonetic contexts. The results revealed that context has a significant impact on acoustic and kinematic relationships. The sentence context resulted in the highest number of significantly different AKDI values when compared to the isolated condition, the single word rVl context resulted in the second highest number, and the phrase level hVd context resulted in the least differences. These findings suggest, therefore, that more complex phonetic contexts have a greater effect on the acoustic and kinematic relationship. These findings imply that caution is warranted in relying on acoustics to draw inferences about articulator movements in complex phonetic contexts. These results further indicate that the investigation of sounds produced in one context does not necessarily allow a straightforward generalization to other contexts.

This thesis examines the occurrence of Canadian Raising in Manitoba, using acoustic-spectral analysis. Factors such as lexical frequency and morphological complexity are examined to determine their role in Canadian Raising production within the sample population. One of the key findings is that what are usually analyzed as “raised” phones in pre-voiceless context are considerably shorter than non-raised (pre-voiced) phones, but do not exhibit substantial differences in terms of vowel quality. A method of multiple-timepoint spectral analysis used to achieve this finding is described in detail. Examination of raising-like diphthongs before /ɹ/ indicates that vowel duration differences exist in different contexts. There is some indication that morphological complexity is related to variants of “raised” phones, such that complex morphology is correlated with longer duration.

This thesis examines the occurrence of Canadian Raising in Manitoba, using acoustic-spectral analysis. Factors such as lexical frequency and morphological complexity are examined to determine their role in Canadian Raising production within the sample population. One of the key findings is that what are usually analyzed as “raised” phones in pre-voiceless context are considerably shorter than non-raised (pre-voiced) phones, but do not exhibit substantial differences in terms of vowel quality. A method of multiple-timepoint spectral analysis used to achieve this finding is described in detail. Examination of raising-like diphthongs before /ɹ/ indicates that vowel duration differences exist in different contexts. There is some indication that morphological complexity is related to variants of “raised” phones, such that complex morphology is correlated with longer duration.

Submitted by BRUNA FARIA CAMPOS DE FREITAS (brunafcf1@hotmail.com) on 2018-03-23T11:09:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Final - Bruna Faria.pdf: 715422 bytes, checksum: cd579068881cc64b5b76b11ce7d9b43d (MD5) / Rejected by Milena Maria Rodrigues null (milena@fclar.unesp.br), reason: Bom dia Bruna, Para aprovação no Repositório Institucional da UNESP, serão necessárias algumas correções na sua Dissertação. Solicitamos que realize uma nova submissão seguindo as orientações abaixo: - O trabalho deverá conter ficha catalográfica: http://www.fclar.unesp.br/#!/biblioteca/servicos/elaboracao-de-fichas-catalograficas/ Em caso de maiores dúvidas, entrar em contato com as bibliotecárias da Seção de Referência (Camila ou Elaine). Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2018-03-23T11:52:58Z (GMT) / Submitted by BRUNA FARIA CAMPOS DE FREITAS (brunafcf1@hotmail.com) on 2018-03-23T13:27:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Final - Bruna Faria.pdf: 758170 bytes, checksum: 0867a8ad7972025d473c5ee2313c59d2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Maria Rodrigues null (milena@fclar.unesp.br) on 2018-03-23T14:31:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 freitas_bfc_me_arafcl.pdf: 758170 bytes, checksum: 0867a8ad7972025d473c5ee2313c59d2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-23T14:31:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 freitas_bfc_me_arafcl.pdf: 758170 bytes, checksum: 0867a8ad7972025d473c5ee2313c59d2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo identificar quais os contextos linguísticos e extralinguísticos que propiciam a ocorrência da monotongação dos ditongos orais decrescentes na fala de moradores da cidade de Uberaba- MG. Entende-se por “monotongação” o processo de redução do ditongo, que perde sua semivogal e passa a uma vogal simples, como ocorre em “c[ay]xa” > “c[a]xa” (HORA; RIBEIRO, 2006). Sendo assim, sabendo que a língua portuguesa sofreu e sofre variações e mudanças à medida que é utilizada por seus falantes, faz-se necessário que se realizem pesquisas na área de Variação Linguística objetivando uma abordagem científica do tema. Para isso, organizamos um corpus de língua falada, representativo da comunidade urbana de Uberaba – MG, por meio de entrevistas, que foram embasadas no modelo laboviano. Foram entrevistados 24 informantes de escolarização e sexo diferentes. Após essa etapa, as entrevistas foram transcritas ortograficamente e, posteriormente, foram selecionadas as ocorrências de palavras com ditongo decrescente e com a monotongação do ditongo decrescente, estas, por sua vez, foram transcritas foneticamente também. As ocorrências foram quantitativamente analisadas, com a ajuda do programa estatístico GOLDVARB X, segundo fatores linguísticos e extralinguísticos, levando em consideração a variável dependente: monotongação ou não dos ditongos decrescentes. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que, na fala do uberabense, há a preferência pela forma monotongada dos ditongos /aj/, /ej/ e /ow/ e que tal preferência é condicionada, principalmente, por fatores linguísticos, tais como o contexto fonológico seguinte, a extensão da palavra e a tonicidade. Em relação aos fatores considerados extralinguísticos, como sexo, idade e escolaridade, no que diz respeito ao fenômeno da monotongação no português mineiro de Uberaba, eles pouco influem, ou até mesmo nada influem sobre sua realização. / This dissertation aims to identify the linguistic and extralinguistic contexts that allow the occurrence of the monotongation of the descending oral diphthongs in the speech of residents of the city of Uberaba - MG. Monotongation is the process of reducing the diphthong that loses its semivowel and changes into a simple vowel, as in "c[ay] xa" > "c [a] xa" (HORA; RIBEIRO, 2006). Thus, knowing that the Portuguese language has had variations and changes as it is used by its speakers, it is necessary to carry out a research in the area of Linguistic Variation with a scientific approach onto the theme of this work. Thereon, we organized a corpus of spoken language through interviews with the representative urban community of Uberaba - MG, which was based on the Labovian model. Twenty-four (24) informants of different schooling and sex were interviewed. After this step, the interviews were orthographically transcribed and, later, the occurrence of words with descending diphthongs and the monotongation of the descending diphthongs were selected, which, in turn, were also transcribed phonetically. The occurrences were quantitatively analyzed with the help of the GOLDVARB X statistical program according to linguistic and extralinguistic factors, taking into account the dependent variable: monotongation or not of the descending diphthongs. The results obtained showed that in the Uberabense speech there is a preference for the monotong form of the diphthongs /aj/, /ej/ and /ow/ and that such preference is mainly conditioned by linguistic factors such as the following phonological context, the extension of the word and the tone. In relation to factors considered extralinguistic, such as sex, age and schooling, with respect to the phenomenon of monotongation in the Portuguese of Uberaba, they have little or no influence on their achievement.

The current study examined the association between formant trajectories and tongue and lip movements in the American English diphthongs /aɪ/, /aʊ/, and /ɔɪ/. Seventeen native speakers of American English had electromagnetic sensors placed on their tongues and lips to record movement data along with corresponding acoustic data during productions of the diphthongs in isolation. F1 and F2 trajectories were extracted from the middle 50% of the diphthongs and compared with time-aligned kinematic data from tongue and lip movements. The movement and formant tracks were converted to z-scores and plotted together on a common time scale. Absolute difference scores between kinematic variables and acoustic variables were summed along each track to reflect the association between the movement and acoustic records. Results show that tongue movement has the closest association with changes in F1 and F2 for the diphthong /aɪ/. Lip movement has the closest association with changes in F1 and F2 for the diphthong /aʊ/. Results for the diphthong /ɔɪ/ suggest tongue advancement has the closest association with changes in F2, while neither lip movement nor tongue movement have a clearly defined association with changes in F1. These results suggest that for diphthongs with the lip rounding feature, lip movement may have a greater influence on F1 and F2 than previously considered. Researchers who use formant data to make inferences about tongue movement and vowel space may benefit from considering the possible influence of lip movements on vocal tract resonance.

Le but principal de cette analyse est de déterminer si les glides, et par conséquent, les diphtongues, ont ou non un caractère phonologique en portugais brésilien. Nous partirons des analyses qui ont déjà été réalisées dans différents cadres théoriques : Câmara Jr. (1970), dans un cadre structuraliste, Mateus (1982 [1975]) dans la théorie générative linéaire, Silva (1992), Bisol (1989, 1999) et Mateus & D’Andrade (2000) dans la théorie autosegmentale, et deux analyses plus récentes dans le cadre de la théorie de l’optimalité (Martins, 2011, Simioni, 2011), en relevant les avantages et les inconvénients de ces différentes approches, ainsi que les problèmes non encore résolus. Enfin, nous allons proposer, à notre tour, une analyse à la lumière d’un autre cadre théorique pour expliquer la variation entre hiatus et diphtongues, et en conséquence le statut phonologique du glide en portugais : la phonologie « CVCV » ou « strict CV » (Lowenstamm, 1996, Scheer, 2004). Un cadre phonologique sans constituants comme celui-ci permet d’éliminer un des grands problèmes présents dans les autres analyses : celui de savoir si le glide appartient à une attaque, à un noyau branchant ou à une coda. Ce cadre permet de rendre compte d’une façon plus appropriée des contradictions et des problèmes observés dans le traitement des glides et diphtongues en portugais, notamment leur contraintes phonotactiques et leur interaction avec l’accent de mot dans la langue. / The main purpose of this analysis is to determine whether the glides, and therefore, the diphthongs, have or not phonological character in Brazilian Portuguese. We will start from the analyzes that have been conducted in different theoretical frameworks: Câmara Jr. (1970), in a structuralist framework, Mateus (1982 [1975]) in the linear generative theory, Silva (1992), Bisol (1989, 1999) and Mateus & D'Andrade (2000) in the autosegmental theory, and two recent analyzes in the context of the theory of optimality (Martins, 2011 Simioni, 2011), noting the advantages and disadvantages of these different approaches and the unsolved problems. Finally, we propose, in our turn, an analysis in the light of another theoretical framework to explain the variation between hiatus and diphthongs, and therefore the status of phonological glide in Portuguese: the phonology "CVCV" or "strict CV" (Lowenstamm, 1996, Scheer, 2004). A phonological framework without constituents as such eliminates one of the major problems found in other analyzes: to know whether the glide belongs to an onset, a complex nucleus or a coda. It allows us to account more appropriately for contradictions and problems observed in the treatment of glides and diphthongs in Portuguese, including their phonotactic constraints and their interaction with the stress word in the language.

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between acoustic and kinematic measures of diphthong production in 11 individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 11 neurologically healthy control speakers. The participants produced four diphthongs: /ɔɪ/, /aʊ/, /aɪ/, /eɪ/. These sounds were spoken in a sentence context. Their speech audio signal was recorded with a microphone and their tongue movements were recorded with a magnetic tracking system. The first and second formants (F1 and F2) were computed with acoustic analysis software, and these signals were time-aligned with the vertical and anteroposterior magnet movement records. Pearson correlations between F1 and the magnet's vertical movement and between F2 and anteroposterior movement were computed for the individual diphthongs. The results of this study revealed an often non-linear relationship between the acoustic and kinematic measures. The degree to which the formant measures predicted the lingual movements varied across speakers and also during the on-glide, transition, and off-glide phases of the diphthongs. The findings of this study suggest that the relationship between formants and tongue movements is more complex than would be predicted from the theoretical origins of F1 and F2. Thus, researchers should be aware that acoustic parameters might not always accurately reflect the physical movements of articulators.

Previous research indicates that humans develop a phonological library in infancy. As humans grow into adulthood, their phonological library becomes well established. Upon encountering phonemes from a new language, humans process these phonemes by comparison to their native phonological library. Event-related potentials (ERP), specifically the mismatch negativity, have been shown to indicate that this process of comparing non-native phonemes to our native phonological library is not improved through learning the new language as an adult. An alternative explanation may be that there is an underlying change in the neural generators as the non-native phonemes are learned, but that this change is not reflected in the ERP. The current study seeks to examine this hypothesis through the simultaneous collection of ERP and blood-oxygen-level-dependent functional MRI (fMRI) data. The findings of the ERP and fMRI data are inconclusive. The study also explores the processing of diphthongs, a category of phonemes rarely tested before, through both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. The study presents behavioral data demonstrating that non-native diphthongs are processed based upon the separate elements of the phonemes, rather than as complete units.

The current study examined the effects of bite blocks on articulatory kinematics when producing diphthongs /ɑɪ/ and /ɑʊ/ within a phrase. Participants consisted of 20 young adults (10 males, 10 females) with no speech, language or hearing disorders. Participants produced the diphthongs in the carrier phrase Im an owl that hoots. A Northern Digital Instruments Wave electromagnetic articulograph measured the articulatory movements while the speaker produced the stimuli in two conditions (pre bite block insertion and post bite block insertion). Bilateral bite blocks were made using Express dental putty, which is a silicone impression material, in order to create a 10 mm inter-incisal gap. Marker distance, maximum speed, and jaw contribution to tongue movement for three sensors (tongue back, tongue mid, tongue front) were calculated for the diphthongs segmented from the carrier phrase. F1 and F2 transitions and rate were also calculated for each diphthong. Results revealed kinematic differences during diphthong production after the bite block was inserted. Tongue movements independent from the jaw increased after the bite block was inserted, especially during production of the diphthong /ɑʊ/. Bite block by gender interactions during production of the diphthong /ɑɪ/ revealed larger and faster initial movements for males. The results did not reveal any significant acoustic changes other than a longer transition duration. Kinematic adjustments were sufficient to maintain overall similar acoustic output before and after bite block insertion.

Submitted by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2018-07-06T13:07:29Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_Marcia_Evangelista.pdf: 1527337 bytes, checksum: 2ba5b6dc7fd2bfb65909ac3a006d7598 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2018-07-06T14:10:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_Marcia_Evangelista.pdf: 1527337 bytes, checksum: 2ba5b6dc7fd2bfb65909ac3a006d7598 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-06T14:11:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_Marcia_Evangelista.pdf: 1527337 bytes, checksum: 2ba5b6dc7fd2bfb65909ac3a006d7598 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-23 / Sem bolsa / Este trabalho tem por objetivo investigar e analisar, à luz da Teoria da sílaba (Selkirk, 1982) e daTeoria autossegmental (Clements & Hume, 1995), o processo epentético na aquisição do espanhol como L2, por falantes nativos do Português Brasileiro. A inserção do glide palatal [j] promove a formação de um ditongo crescente em contexto no qual inexiste na língua alvo. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, foram coletados dados de 34 graduandos do Curso de Letras Português e Espanhol da Universidade Federal de Pelotas do 1º, 3º e 7º semestre. Para a constituição do corpus, foi proposto um instrumento composto de leitura de palavras isoladas, leitura de frases e detextos autênticos, bem como entrevista sociolinguística. Após oitiva e codificação, os dados foram submetidos ao Programa Computacional GoldVarb 2001 (versão3.0b3); controlaram-se variáveis linguísticas e extralinguísticas. Os resultados apontaram que o contexto preferencial de inserção do glide palatal [j] é uma sílaba fechada, do padrão CVC, e que o contexto precedente e seguinte carregam, preferencialmente, uma vogal coronal média-alta; além disso, o nível principiante no estudo formal do espanhol-L2 é aquele que mais se sobressai no emprego do glide palatal. / This study has as main goal to investigate and analyze, under the Syllable Theory (Selkirk, 1982) and the Autosegmental Theory (Clements & Hume, 1995), the epenthetic process in the L2 Spanish Language Acquisition, by Brazilian Portuguese native speakers. The palatal glide insertion [j] promotes the formation of a rising diphthong in a contexto which there is not into the target language. In order to develop the research, it was collected data from 34 Letters Course students - Portuguese and Spanish; from first, third and seventh semester of Pelotas Federal University. For the corpus constitution, it was proposed an instrument composed by isolated words reading, sentences reading and authentic texts, as well as sociolinguistic interview. After the auditory and codificaton, the data were submitted to the GoldVarb 2001(3.0b3 version) Computational Program, it was controlled the linguistics and extralinguistics variables. The results showed that the preferred context of the palatal glide insertion [j] is a closed syllable, from CVC standard and that the previous and ahead contexto carry, preferably, médium-high vowel, besides that, the early level in the formal Spanish study as L2, is the one which stands out at the palatal glide usage.