10. Speakers and Accents Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is an accent?
A manner or style of pronunciation
What is an idiolect?
The unique combination of dialect and accent of one individual
What is the difference between a dialect and an accent?
A dialect includes vocabulary and grammar; accent refers to pronunciation
Which of the following is an example of phonological accent variation? A) Using louder speech in noise
B) Replacing /t/ with a glottal stop
C) Preferring “cup” over “mug”
D) Using the same intonation across questions and statements
B) Replacing /t/ with a glottal stop
What contributes to inter-speaker variation at the physical level?
Size of the vocal tract and larynx
Which is NOT a source of intra-speaker variation?
A) Age
B) Health
C) Height
D) Style
C) Height
What type of speech variation is caused by misperception of sounds?
Innovation by misperception
What is a common cause of second-language accent?
Phonetic and phonological influence from the first language
What feature is most relevant for distinguishing speakers in forensic phonetics?
Idiosyncratic pronunciation patterns
Which method is not reliable on its own for identifying a speaker?
“Voiceprint” comparison
What is a key limitation of forensic “earwitness” evidence?
Unreliable auditory memory
In speaker recognition, why is using predictable speech content valuable?
It gives access to idiolect patterns
What is the typical error rate of automatic speaker recognition systems?
1%
Which features are preferred for automatic speaker recognition?
Syntactic structure
What does MFCC stand for in speech processing?
Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients
Why are MFCCs important in speaker comparison?
They capture key spectral features that differ between speakers
Why must acoustic measurements be normalized when comparing accents?
To account for both speaker and accent differences
What did Labov’s study on New York accents focus on?
Social class variation in post-vocalic /r/ use
What is a major factor in the spread of accent innovations?
Social meaning and identity
