Conference Proceedings

Long term average speech spectra in Yolngu Matha and Pitjantjatjara speaking females and males

Hywel Stoakes, Andrew Butcher, Janet Fletcher, Marija Tabain

Interspeech 2011 Conference Proceedings: Speech Science and Technology for Real Life | ISCA-INT SPEECH COMMUNICATION ASSOC | Published : 2011

Abstract

This paper provides a spectral analysis of two Australian languages Yolngu Matha (YM), Pitjantjatjara (PTJ) and Australian Aboriginal English (AAE) as spoken in two language communities. The aim of this study is to show clear quantitative spectral differences between Australian Aboriginal English and the two Aboriginal languages. Thirteen speakers of Yolngu Matha (YolNu Matha) ten male, three female and three female speakers of Pitjantjatjara were recorded reading or retelling a passage in their first language and also in English. The results show that there is a difference between the spectral averages of the two language groups with the AAE having higher amplitudes at higher frequencies wh..

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Funding Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Michele Swanborough, Dorothy Bukulatjpi, Peter Datjing Burarrwanga, Shepherdson College at Galiwin'ku and the speakers who kindly gave their time to participate in this study. Thanks to four anonymous reviewers for their comments, all errors remain our own. This research was made possible with funding from the Australian Research Council.