Speaker: Edward Flemming
Title: Generating and parsing f0 contours using a model of f0 production
Time: Monday, September 23rd, 5pm – 6:30pm
Location: 32-D831
Abstract: I will present ongoing work aimed at developing a framework for formulating phonetic grammars of tone realization that can derive complete fundamental frequency (f0) trajectories from phonological specifications.
The proposed framework consists of two main components: A model of f0 production that maps time-aligned tone targets to f0 trajectories, and a set of weighted constraints that select the optimal targets for a given phonological representation. The constraints can evaluate properties of both the underlying targets and the resulting f0 trajectory.
In addition to generating f0 contours, the model of f0 production can also be fitted to observed f0 contours to infer the underlying f0 targets, effectively parsing the f0 contour. This proves particularly valuable when analyzing tones with targets that are difficult to locate because they correspond to a turning point in the f0 contour that is not a local maximum or minimum (often referred to as ‘elbow’ targets).
This analytical approach will be illustrated through a study of variation in the realization of the Mandarin rising tone as a function of speech rate.