Heather Bliss

Articulation without acoustics: “Soundless” vowels in Oneida and Blackfoot

Abstract Speech is largely driven by a feed-forward production mechanism, allowing articulators to reach their targets even in the absence of auditory feedback. However, it is not known whether natural languages can systematically encode such movements without acoustic consequences. Perception and production studies were conducted of two endangered languages purported to exhibit this property in utterance-final sequences. Ultrasound, video, acoustic, and perception data were collected from native speakers of Oneida (Iroquoian) and Blackfoot (Algonquian) in field settings. Results show distinct articulator positions for different utterance-final vowels despite these vowels being completely inaudible, both in terms of acoustic and perceptual measures. Speech production models must include a sufficiently robust feed-forward articulatory component to allow articulations to be realized even when acoustic information is systematically absent.

Developing ultrasound overlay videos for SENĆOŦEN language learners

This paper reports on an initiative to develop a pronunciation training tool for learners of SENCOŦEN (Salish: Canada). In acquiring new speech sounds, second language learners rely on both acoustic and articulatory information. Ultrasound has been demonstrated to be effective for pronunciation instruction, as it allows learners to visualize tongue movements during speech. However, ultrasound-based instruction can be difficult to implement with large groups or with learners wanting to learn independently. To address these limitations, we developed a technique for creating ultrasound overlay videos which combine ultrasound images of tongue movements with external profile views of a speaker’s head. Ultrasound is particularly useful in SENCOŦEN, as its inventory includes many lingual articulations that are difficult to distinguish without visual cues, such as velar/uvular contrasts, and a complex coronal series (e.g., ť, ťθ, ʧ, ʃ, ƛ, ɫ, l, ľ). SENCOŦEN is critically endangered, but efforts are underway to re...