Two discriminative methods for solving tone problems in Mandarin speech recognition are presented. First, discriminative training on the HMM （hidden Markov model） based tone models is proposed. Then an integration t...Two discriminative methods for solving tone problems in Mandarin speech recognition are presented. First, discriminative training on the HMM （hidden Markov model） based tone models is proposed. Then an integration technique of tone models into a large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system is presented. Discriminative model weight training based on minimum phone error criteria is adopted aiming at optimal integration of the tone models. The extended Baum Welch algorithm is applied to find the model-dependent weights to scale the acoustic scores and tone scores. Experimental results show that tone recognition rates and continuous speech recognition accuracy can be improved by the discriminatively trained tone model. Performance of a large vocabulary continuous Mandarin speech recognition system can be further enhanced by the discriminatively trained weight combinations due to a better interpolation of the given models.展开更多
When scientific research began in early twentieth-century China,a key issue was the acquisition of reliable empirical information through objective and precise observations.This article examines a specific case where ...When scientific research began in early twentieth-century China,a key issue was the acquisition of reliable empirical information through objective and precise observations.This article examines a specific case where a scientist grappled with such an issue:the linguist Chao Yuen Ren’s application of mechanical means in his phonetic studies.In the 1920s–1930s,Chao conducted a series of field and lab studies on the dialects in southern and central China.In contrast to traditional scholars’exclusive reliance on sharp ears and rhyme books,Chao employed mechanical devices to inscribe and analyze the spectrographs of dialectical tones and used phonographs to record the articulations of his subjects.It is demonstrated that Chao’s machines not only provided a new method of observation;they also altered the theoretical understanding of certain fundamental categories in Chinese phonology,such as tones.Moreover,Chao did not aim to replace human perception with automatic mechanisms in empirical investigations.Rather,the use of machines in his research called for an active and engaged scientific persona.展开更多
The brain localization debate of lexical tone processing concerns functional hypothesis that lexical tone, owing to its strong linguistic features, is dominant in the left hemisphere, and acoustic hypothesis that all ...The brain localization debate of lexical tone processing concerns functional hypothesis that lexical tone, owing to its strong linguistic features, is dominant in the left hemisphere, and acoustic hypothesis that all pitch patterns, including lexical tone, are dominant in the right hemisphere due to their acoustic features. Lexical tone as a complex signal contains acoustic components that carry linguistic, paralinguistic, and nonlinguistic information. To examine these two hypotheses, the current study adopted triplet stimuli including Chinese characters, their corresponding pinyin with a diacritic, and the four diacritics representing Chinese lexical tones. The stimuli represent the variation of lexical tone for its linguistic and acoustic features. The results of a listening task by Mandarin Chinese speakers with and without aphasia support the functional hypothesis that pitch patterns are lateralized to different hemispheres of the brain depending on their functions, with lexical tone to the left hemisphere as a function of linguistic features.展开更多
This study examines strategies in responding to thanks by CanE （Canadian English） and CamE （Cameroon English） speakers. Based on data collected by means of a DCT （Discourse Completion Task） questionnaire, the st...This study examines strategies in responding to thanks by CanE （Canadian English） and CamE （Cameroon English） speakers. Based on data collected by means of a DCT （Discourse Completion Task） questionnaire, the study addresses formal, functional, situational, and interactional similarities and differences in both varieties of English. With regard to speaker strategies （Aijmer, 1996） or conventions of means, it was found that the Canadian participants mostly prefer ＂minimizing the favor＂ when responding to thanks, while the Cameroonians most frequently ＂express appreciation＂. At the level of the realization types, the findings show that patterns with ＂no problem＂ are predominant in the Canadian corpus, whereas the Cameroonian respondents rather employ patterns with ＂welcome＂. Differences can also be found in the situational distribution of the speaker strategies and their linguistic realizations as well as in the use and the length of supportive moves.展开更多
This paper reported an acoustic experiment examining the effect of topic structure and syntax on boundary pitch parameters. Simple discourses containing three sentences were constructed and the boundary between the fi...This paper reported an acoustic experiment examining the effect of topic structure and syntax on boundary pitch parameters. Simple discourses containing three sentences were constructed and the boundary between the first sentence and the second sentence of each discourse varied along the following parameters： （1） topic internal, clause; （2） topic shift, clause; （3） topic internal, sentence; and （4） topic shift, sentence. Seven native speakers of Standard Chinese read the short discourses aloud. The offset f0, f0 Max, and f0 Min of the first sentence and the onset f0, f0 Max, and f0 Min of the second sentence were measured. It was found that relative to topic internal condition, topic shift condition induced higher onset f0 following the boundary. Moreover, this higher onset f0 was caused by the raising of both f0 max and f0 min, suggesting pitch register raising rather than pitch range expansion following the boundary. Syntactic structure as index by clause or sentence was found to have no effect on boundary pitch parameters. These results provide strong evidence for a role of topic strucutre in speech production展开更多
汉语含'的'名词短语结构应该怎么分析,众说纷纭,主要困难在于相关语料似有矛盾之处,[XP的YP]的语法行为有时像是[[XP的]YP],有时又像[XP[的YP]]。本文从台湾闽南语相应之e的声调变化及分布来看闽南语名词短语[XP e YP]的结构,...汉语含'的'名词短语结构应该怎么分析,众说纷纭,主要困难在于相关语料似有矛盾之处,[XP的YP]的语法行为有时像是[[XP的]YP],有时又像[XP[的YP]]。本文从台湾闽南语相应之e的声调变化及分布来看闽南语名词短语[XP e YP]的结构,提出闽南语名词短语[XP e YP]其实应该含有两个e,结构是[[XP e][e YP]].由此推论有关汉语[XP的YP]结构应该是[[XP的]YP]或[XP[的YP]]的争论是可以解决的:两方的看法基本上都是正确的,因为表面上的一个'的'其实是两个'的'缩减而成。汉语[XP的YP]的结构应该是[[XP的][的YP]]。展开更多
This paper aims at investigating the Mandarin tone perception of native Kam speakers in Rongjiang area through the categorical perception experiment,and comparing with the results of the native Mandarin speakers.The r...This paper aims at investigating the Mandarin tone perception of native Kam speakers in Rongjiang area through the categorical perception experiment,and comparing with the results of the native Mandarin speakers.The results show that the native Kam speakers are able to differentiate phonemic categories among the four Mandarin tones in pairs at the linguistic level.At the behavioral level,the tone perception of T1-T2,T1-T3(T3 as baseline),T1-T4,T2-T4 and T3-T4(T3 as baseline)continua is shown to be categorical,but the degree of categorization is significantly lower than that of the Mandarin speakers.In T1-T3(T1 as baseline),T2-T3 and T3-T4(T4 as baseline)continua,the kam speakers fail to establish categorical perception,exhibiting continuous perception instead.The results indicate that complex tone system of the Kam language does not facilitate the categorical perception of Mandarin tones by Kam speakers.展开更多
文摘Two discriminative methods for solving tone problems in Mandarin speech recognition are presented. First, discriminative training on the HMM （hidden Markov model） based tone models is proposed. Then an integration technique of tone models into a large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system is presented. Discriminative model weight training based on minimum phone error criteria is adopted aiming at optimal integration of the tone models. The extended Baum Welch algorithm is applied to find the model-dependent weights to scale the acoustic scores and tone scores. Experimental results show that tone recognition rates and continuous speech recognition accuracy can be improved by the discriminatively trained tone model. Performance of a large vocabulary continuous Mandarin speech recognition system can be further enhanced by the discriminatively trained weight combinations due to a better interpolation of the given models.
文摘When scientific research began in early twentieth-century China,a key issue was the acquisition of reliable empirical information through objective and precise observations.This article examines a specific case where a scientist grappled with such an issue:the linguist Chao Yuen Ren’s application of mechanical means in his phonetic studies.In the 1920s–1930s,Chao conducted a series of field and lab studies on the dialects in southern and central China.In contrast to traditional scholars’exclusive reliance on sharp ears and rhyme books,Chao employed mechanical devices to inscribe and analyze the spectrographs of dialectical tones and used phonographs to record the articulations of his subjects.It is demonstrated that Chao’s machines not only provided a new method of observation;they also altered the theoretical understanding of certain fundamental categories in Chinese phonology,such as tones.Moreover,Chao did not aim to replace human perception with automatic mechanisms in empirical investigations.Rather,the use of machines in his research called for an active and engaged scientific persona.
文摘The brain localization debate of lexical tone processing concerns functional hypothesis that lexical tone, owing to its strong linguistic features, is dominant in the left hemisphere, and acoustic hypothesis that all pitch patterns, including lexical tone, are dominant in the right hemisphere due to their acoustic features. Lexical tone as a complex signal contains acoustic components that carry linguistic, paralinguistic, and nonlinguistic information. To examine these two hypotheses, the current study adopted triplet stimuli including Chinese characters, their corresponding pinyin with a diacritic, and the four diacritics representing Chinese lexical tones. The stimuli represent the variation of lexical tone for its linguistic and acoustic features. The results of a listening task by Mandarin Chinese speakers with and without aphasia support the functional hypothesis that pitch patterns are lateralized to different hemispheres of the brain depending on their functions, with lexical tone to the left hemisphere as a function of linguistic features.
文摘This study examines strategies in responding to thanks by CanE （Canadian English） and CamE （Cameroon English） speakers. Based on data collected by means of a DCT （Discourse Completion Task） questionnaire, the study addresses formal, functional, situational, and interactional similarities and differences in both varieties of English. With regard to speaker strategies （Aijmer, 1996） or conventions of means, it was found that the Canadian participants mostly prefer ＂minimizing the favor＂ when responding to thanks, while the Cameroonians most frequently ＂express appreciation＂. At the level of the realization types, the findings show that patterns with ＂no problem＂ are predominant in the Canadian corpus, whereas the Cameroonian respondents rather employ patterns with ＂welcome＂. Differences can also be found in the situational distribution of the speaker strategies and their linguistic realizations as well as in the use and the length of supportive moves.
文摘This paper reported an acoustic experiment examining the effect of topic structure and syntax on boundary pitch parameters. Simple discourses containing three sentences were constructed and the boundary between the first sentence and the second sentence of each discourse varied along the following parameters： （1） topic internal, clause; （2） topic shift, clause; （3） topic internal, sentence; and （4） topic shift, sentence. Seven native speakers of Standard Chinese read the short discourses aloud. The offset f0, f0 Max, and f0 Min of the first sentence and the onset f0, f0 Max, and f0 Min of the second sentence were measured. It was found that relative to topic internal condition, topic shift condition induced higher onset f0 following the boundary. Moreover, this higher onset f0 was caused by the raising of both f0 max and f0 min, suggesting pitch register raising rather than pitch range expansion following the boundary. Syntactic structure as index by clause or sentence was found to have no effect on boundary pitch parameters. These results provide strong evidence for a role of topic strucutre in speech production
文摘汉语含'的'名词短语结构应该怎么分析,众说纷纭,主要困难在于相关语料似有矛盾之处,[XP的YP]的语法行为有时像是[[XP的]YP],有时又像[XP[的YP]]。本文从台湾闽南语相应之e的声调变化及分布来看闽南语名词短语[XP e YP]的结构,提出闽南语名词短语[XP e YP]其实应该含有两个e,结构是[[XP e][e YP]].由此推论有关汉语[XP的YP]结构应该是[[XP的]YP]或[XP[的YP]]的争论是可以解决的:两方的看法基本上都是正确的,因为表面上的一个'的'其实是两个'的'缩减而成。汉语[XP的YP]的结构应该是[[XP的][的YP]]。
基金supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China(22&ZD213)
文摘This paper aims at investigating the Mandarin tone perception of native Kam speakers in Rongjiang area through the categorical perception experiment,and comparing with the results of the native Mandarin speakers.The results show that the native Kam speakers are able to differentiate phonemic categories among the four Mandarin tones in pairs at the linguistic level.At the behavioral level,the tone perception of T1-T2,T1-T3(T3 as baseline),T1-T4,T2-T4 and T3-T4(T3 as baseline)continua is shown to be categorical,but the degree of categorization is significantly lower than that of the Mandarin speakers.In T1-T3(T1 as baseline),T2-T3 and T3-T4(T4 as baseline)continua,the kam speakers fail to establish categorical perception,exhibiting continuous perception instead.The results indicate that complex tone system of the Kam language does not facilitate the categorical perception of Mandarin tones by Kam speakers.
